Winter tyres vol 2
Discussion
bertie said:
monthefish said:
bertie said:
I've just ordered some Pirelli Sotto Zero for the FF, I want to use the car as much as possible!
Prices seem to go up exponentially once tyre sizes grow!!!
Massively.Prices seem to go up exponentially once tyre sizes grow!!!
(That's why I'm delighted I can get away with 16" for my winter wheel set.)
Forever Alone said:
Chaps I'm currently leading so ideally I don't want to buy winter tyres again this year as it'll be going back soon.
What alternatives are there for me?
I would suggest you drive carefully (as normal?), except for the 2-3 days where we have heavy snowfall and/or sub-zero temperatures (work from home instead). Provided that your tyres are not bald/semi-slicks, I would be surprised if you came to any harm.What alternatives are there for me?
Lalli220 said:
bertie said:
I've just ordered some Pirelli Sotto Zero for the FF, I want to use the car as much as possible!
Prices seem to go up exponentially once tyre sizes grow!!!
I had to order some sottozeros for my Jag XFR last winter, cheapest place I found was tyre leader, german place on the inter web...think it was around £800 for all 4.Prices seem to go up exponentially once tyre sizes grow!!!
Mine are 245/35-20 front and 295/35-20 rear
Curiously the fronts seem dearer than rears!
Orangecurry said:
jon- said:
Here are my thoughts on the CrossClimate vs the best in category all season and winter tyres. Sorry it's a bit long winded!
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/Is-there-a-tr...
Hi Jonhttp://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/Is-there-a-tr...
you know I'm a big fan of what you do, so don't take this the wrong way, but shirley to give the tyres the 'correct' environment for a UK winter, you have to repeat this test at temperatures below 7 deg cel ?
Even in the warm UK, this is more representative of the temperature on the roads at commuting-time?
I understand that you are testing to see if a true all-rounder exists, but it has to be tested at the lower temperatures as well?
Naturally, if you were to do a complete test, you would test at 30+, 15, 7, 0, and -5, but when even the most basic of tests can run into five figure costs, things get prohibitively expensive.
For this test, I expected the temperatures to be a little lower. As usual, the UK weather threw a curveball, which with hindsight I was happy about. You can reference other all season and winter tyre tests for colder running conditions, and having looked at other test data and manufacturer data, I'm happy the wet performance balance of the tyres wouldn't change too much at 7c, or even freezing conditions.
The biggest problem of running "all season tyres" year round has always been dry performance, and this is reflected at 20c and 0c, it's just a basic limitation of a siped tyre. It seems crazy to me to put a tyre on to give you slightly better wet braking for the few months a year it's around freezing, but then ignore a massive 15% penalty in dry braking for the rest of the year. That was the point I was trying to get across.
Just popped the Falken HS439s on the E39 for their 3rd and final year.
I reckon they'll have done about 22k miles when I bin them in March.
They've now been superceded by a newer model but always have been very happy with them. Not cheap in my sizes (225/45/17 front, 255/40/17 rear) but not silly either. From memory they cost about £500 all in fitted.
We've only had one frost up here in t'Dales so far but is pretty usual for us to have extremes of weather through winter. Would expect avg temp to be down at 7 and below over the next 4 weeks.
Amazing difference this morning though on damp/wet roads covered in leaves. Much more grip if not a little squidgy after the Bridgestone Potenza RE050s I use in summer.
Bring on the snow
I reckon they'll have done about 22k miles when I bin them in March.
They've now been superceded by a newer model but always have been very happy with them. Not cheap in my sizes (225/45/17 front, 255/40/17 rear) but not silly either. From memory they cost about £500 all in fitted.
We've only had one frost up here in t'Dales so far but is pretty usual for us to have extremes of weather through winter. Would expect avg temp to be down at 7 and below over the next 4 weeks.
Amazing difference this morning though on damp/wet roads covered in leaves. Much more grip if not a little squidgy after the Bridgestone Potenza RE050s I use in summer.
Bring on the snow
benjj said:
Just popped the Falken HS439s on the E39 for their 3rd and final year.
I reckon they'll have done about 22k miles when I bin them in March.
They've now been superceded by a newer model but always have been very happy with them. Not cheap in my sizes (225/45/17 front, 255/40/17 rear) but not silly either. From memory they cost about £500 all in fitted.
We've only had one frost up here in t'Dales so far but is pretty usual for us to have extremes of weather through winter. Would expect avg temp to be down at 7 and below over the next 4 weeks.
Amazing difference this morning though on damp/wet roads covered in leaves. Much more grip if not a little squidgy after the Bridgestone Potenza RE050s I use in summer.
Bring on the snow
Have considered buying cross climates on my 540 auto. I don't know if they would be sufficient if we were to get a bad winter and RWD auto. I believe cross climate tests do show they perform just as good as winters in many areas (braking, traction). Might wait another year until the current tyre's are completely goosed!I reckon they'll have done about 22k miles when I bin them in March.
They've now been superceded by a newer model but always have been very happy with them. Not cheap in my sizes (225/45/17 front, 255/40/17 rear) but not silly either. From memory they cost about £500 all in fitted.
We've only had one frost up here in t'Dales so far but is pretty usual for us to have extremes of weather through winter. Would expect avg temp to be down at 7 and below over the next 4 weeks.
Amazing difference this morning though on damp/wet roads covered in leaves. Much more grip if not a little squidgy after the Bridgestone Potenza RE050s I use in summer.
Bring on the snow
johnwilliams77 said:
Have considered buying cross climates on my 540 auto. I don't know if they would be sufficient if we were to get a bad winter and RWD auto. I believe cross climate tests do show they perform just as good as winters in many areas (braking, traction). Might wait another year until the current tyre's are completely goosed!
I've no experience of these super modern All Seasons but have used a few on my wife's FWD kiddy wagons over the years. They've always worked well, seemingly a good compromise.I've never really seen the point in putting All Seasons on the E39 up here though. It costs me £30 a year to swap so I'm always on the appropriate tyre for the conditions. That said I'd probably either a) not bother or b) go All Seasons if I still lived in London/South.
As a family we're utterly dependent on our mobility. We live at 1000ft ASL in the Yorkshire Dales, do a 22 mile school run twice a day and our nearest supermarket is an 8 mile round trip, most of it on little country lanes. Our road isn't on the gritting/ploughing list either so we have to fend for ourselves when the temps drop. We can also get proper serious dumps of snow. This is our road:
The E39 on a proper winter tyre is pretty good but not unstoppable, mainly due to ground clearance and big fat tyres. The very best was (obviously) my Range Rover on decent winters. My wife's Mk4 Golf on proper winters was also pretty awesome.
My favourite though is always the rally Porsche on a set of Yoko winters that I use for rallying. Just give it full pedal everywhere and pretend you're a Blomqvist!
Top of Buttertubs Pass
Prepped for a winter rally
That'll do
s
t old Saab that I hated. Good in snow though.
Rangie ready for skids
What I'm really, REALLY looking forward to is the new little Panda we've bought for general school run hoonery and misc misadventure. I've just ordered a set of 195/50/15 Toyo Snowprox for it (£148 delivered for 4!) and reckon it'll be proper hoot!
benjj said:
I've no experience of these super modern All Seasons but have used a few on my wife's FWD kiddy wagons over the years. They've always worked well, seemingly a good compromise.
I've never really seen the point in putting All Seasons on the E39 up here though. It costs me £30 a year to swap so I'm always on the appropriate tyre for the conditions. That said I'd probably either a) not bother or b) go All Seasons if I still lived in London/South.
Michelin would not be happy: cross climates are not all seasons!I've never really seen the point in putting All Seasons on the E39 up here though. It costs me £30 a year to swap so I'm always on the appropriate tyre for the conditions. That said I'd probably either a) not bother or b) go All Seasons if I still lived in London/South.
http://www.evo.co.uk/features/15600/michelin-cross...
Decisions!
jon- said:
Man uses a 200k supercar in snow and salty conditions, and risks getting hit by idiot on the wrong tyres.
Most people would keep their money safely locked up in their garage.
Agree completely. But then most people are utter imbeciles who wouldn't know fun if it came up and slapped them round the face.Most people would keep their money safely locked up in their garage.
jon- said:
The biggest problem of running "all season tyres" year round has always been dry performance, and this is reflected at 20c and 0c, it's just a basic limitation of a siped tyre. It seems crazy to me to put a tyre on to give you slightly better wet braking for the few months a year it's around freezing, but then ignore a massive 15% penalty in dry braking for the rest of the year. That was the point I was trying to get across.
Understood - but I meant more that ideally your test would need to be conducted at lower temperatures to help us choose between Cross-climate vs the winter tyres.So dry/wet braking and handing between those tyre types - what happens to the numbers if at 7 deg cel and lower ?
Do the winters get markedly better than the Cross-climates at these lower temperatures?
jon- said:
thebraketester said:
jon- said:
bertie said:
Yes...
That is 100% awesome.Most people would keep their money safely locked up in their garage.
jon- said:
The biggest problem of running "all season tyres" year round has always been dry performance, and this is reflected at 20c and 0c, it's just a basic limitation of a siped tyre. It seems crazy to me to put a tyre on to give you slightly better wet braking for the few months a year it's around freezing, but then ignore a massive 15% penalty in dry braking for the rest of the year. That was the point I was trying to get across.
I take the opposite view, because you are less likely to need all that braking ability when conditions are good. However it does look like the CC allows us southerners to have our cake and eat it.Bill said:
I take the opposite view, because you are less likely to need all that braking ability when conditions are good. However it does look like the CC allows us southerners to have our cake and eat it.
You'd think, but VUFO did a study of 20,000 accidents around europe, and 70% of them happened on dry roads.Gassing Station | Suspension, Brakes & Tyres | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff