Winter tyres vol 2
Discussion
Utterpiffle said:
jon- said:
Yeah, I've also read about this El Nino thingy a few times recently. So I asked an expert...I used to work at an energy trading company. One of the commodities they trade (other than the usual coal, oil, gas, carbon etc) is weather. Seems like a strange concept, and I don't even begin to understand it... Anyway, these guys need to know - or at least have a good view of the long term forecast. Their job literally depends on it.
I was told that he had no indicators of a particularly harsh winter, and they were expecting temperatures and rain/snow fall to be similar to last year.
(Either that, or he insider info that he didn't want to spill)
Useless info, but I found it interesting...
We can live in hope.
Just had my cross climates fitted by ats, good service, better than another indie garage who took 4 hours.
First impressions road noise is low. They feel very soft, but ride well. There is a touch on vagueness on turn but hopefully this will wear off as they wear in. Hopefully report back once bad weather comes.
64 quid a tyre is a good bargain and considering the rating they have, I hope they live up to the hype.
First impressions road noise is low. They feel very soft, but ride well. There is a touch on vagueness on turn but hopefully this will wear off as they wear in. Hopefully report back once bad weather comes.
64 quid a tyre is a good bargain and considering the rating they have, I hope they live up to the hype.
The Spruce goose said:
Just had my cross climates fitted by ats, good service, better than another indie garage who took 4 hours.
First impressions road noise is low. They feel very soft, but ride well. There is a touch on vagueness on turn but hopefully this will wear off as they wear in. Hopefully report back once bad weather comes.
64 quid a tyre is a good bargain and considering the rating they have, I hope they live up to the hype.
What size Cross Climate's did you fit, and what car are they on?First impressions road noise is low. They feel very soft, but ride well. There is a touch on vagueness on turn but hopefully this will wear off as they wear in. Hopefully report back once bad weather comes.
64 quid a tyre is a good bargain and considering the rating they have, I hope they live up to the hype.
cslwannabe said:
Can't decide whether to go for Dunlop Winter Sport 5 - the new kid on the block getting rave reviews or Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 as I'm a big Michelin fan and know if should cope with a measly 300bhp easy enough as they're aimed at high performance stuff...
These should help you decide:http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Auto-Bil...
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Auto-Exp...
Sadly, cross-climates aren't available for my car yet. As I've changed cars this year, I've had to buy new winters - we don't get gritted out where we live, so rain / freezing temps are a problem, as is snow. Trying something different this year - Pirelli Sottozero. They seem to have quite a good rating for cold and wet levels of grip as well as snow / mud - mud is also a problem sometimes as we're surrounded by farmland.
Getting them fitted in a couple of weeks time, so will be interested to see how well they perform.
Getting them fitted in a couple of weeks time, so will be interested to see how well they perform.
jon- said:
cslwannabe said:
Can't decide whether to go for Dunlop Winter Sport 5 - the new kid on the block getting rave reviews or Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 as I'm a big Michelin fan and know if should cope with a measly 300bhp easy enough as they're aimed at high performance stuff...
These should help you decide:http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Auto-Bil...
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Auto-Exp...
jon- said:
These should help you decide:
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Auto-Bil...
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Auto-Exp...
Thanks Jon- that's part of my dilemma though, the Pilot Alpin score in the AutiBild test doesn't quite reflect the comments however all the previous tests of the Pilot Alpin place it higher - http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Michelin/Pilot-A...http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Auto-Bil...
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Auto-Exp...
The Dunlop are cheaper and one of the videos I found showed them on an A45 AMG which should allay my concern that they are maybe more aimed at the 'average' cars whereas the Pilot Alpin is for the performance end as the michelin Alpin is for the lower powered vehicles. Too much choice these days - back in 2005 when I bought my first it was somewhat different!
Previously used my MX5 for winter, this time I thought the Fiesta would be better all round and much easier to get tyres for etc. Nope!
205/40r17 is officially the worst size in the world to buy tyres for. It's either Pirelli SottoZero at £100 each or cheaper brands at roughly £50 and below. What are Nexen and Nankang like, at half the price it's impossible to ignore. If they made the CrossClimate things in my size it would be a simple choice.
Alternatively I can get 15 inch steel (if they will clear the brakes) with tyres for £350 - £380 which is looking like a bit of a no brainer. It might look a little rubbish but at least it might improve the ride a bit
205/40r17 is officially the worst size in the world to buy tyres for. It's either Pirelli SottoZero at £100 each or cheaper brands at roughly £50 and below. What are Nexen and Nankang like, at half the price it's impossible to ignore. If they made the CrossClimate things in my size it would be a simple choice.
Alternatively I can get 15 inch steel (if they will clear the brakes) with tyres for £350 - £380 which is looking like a bit of a no brainer. It might look a little rubbish but at least it might improve the ride a bit
poing said:
Previously used my MX5 for winter, this time I thought the Fiesta would be better all round and much easier to get tyres for etc. Nope!
205/40r17 is officially the worst size in the world to buy tyres for. It's either Pirelli SottoZero at £100 each or cheaper brands at roughly £50 and below. What are Nexen and Nankang like, at half the price it's impossible to ignore. If they made the CrossClimate things in my size it would be a simple choice.
Alternatively I can get 15 inch steel (if they will clear the brakes) with tyres for £350 - £380 which is looking like a bit of a no brainer. It might look a little rubbish but at least it might improve the ride a bit
Picked up 2 nexen for the rear wheels of my bmw last winter. Didn't buy them till I went into a ditch after sliding backwards down a hill. Would be sideways every slight hill or corner in the snow on the summers. The winters took me through 2 foot snow drifts without effort. Would really recommend them, but then again never had any sort of winter tyre before.205/40r17 is officially the worst size in the world to buy tyres for. It's either Pirelli SottoZero at £100 each or cheaper brands at roughly £50 and below. What are Nexen and Nankang like, at half the price it's impossible to ignore. If they made the CrossClimate things in my size it would be a simple choice.
Alternatively I can get 15 inch steel (if they will clear the brakes) with tyres for £350 - £380 which is looking like a bit of a no brainer. It might look a little rubbish but at least it might improve the ride a bit
Slow said:
Picked up 2 nexen for the rear wheels of my bmw last winter. Didn't buy them till I went into a ditch after sliding backwards down a hill. Would be sideways every slight hill or corner in the snow on the summers. The winters took me through 2 foot snow drifts without effort. Would really recommend them, but then again never had any sort of winter tyre before.
Why did you not put winters on the front ?Slow said:
Picked up 2 nexen for the rear wheels of my bmw last winter. Didn't buy them till I went into a ditch after sliding backwards down a hill. Would be sideways every slight hill or corner in the snow on the summers. The winters took me through 2 foot snow drifts without effort. Would really recommend them, but then again never had any sort of winter tyre before.
Cheers for that, that makes it roughly £200 for a full set of tyres.It's the dry & wet performance that worries me with the cheaper winters, I do tend to drive faster than I should and like to spend a bit on my tyres. With the smaller wheels I get branded winters for a good price, although I do take a drop in width but that is an advantage in the winter and often makes little difference in the dry and wet.
I'm aware that branded winters is a relative thing because mainland Europe use the brands I call cheap through choice.
I'm officially confused, although I suppose it's a first world problem and all that stuff.
Chuggy said:
Why did you not put winters on the front ?
Simple answer is I couldn't afford them, only £50ish each as well.Not a big powerfully built company directer, just a 20 year old at the time working minimum wage job to help my mums business.
Running a Range Rover on a smaller budget while in college now but living at home so it's affordable. Still won't get winters as I can't find a set of 18" wheels that fit for under £300+ cost of tyres. Will have to make do with my 20" low profile M+S rated tyres.
Some people here just assume everyone can just afford them, not always the case.
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