Winter tyres vol 2
Discussion
poing said:
Previously used my MX5 for winter, this time I thought the Fiesta would be better all round and much easi'er 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
I've done the steels in 15" with 195 50 15s on a Mk7 fiesta S1600 and Nexens in 205 40 17s on it last year fitted to the standard wheels. The 15" wheels/winters worked well (Dunlop) in all conditions including snow, I couldn't live with the looks though, it also made the speedo read under a bit. The Nexens were mostly very good only saw a bit of snow but did ok, where they aren't so good is in the damp/wet had a few moments. 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
I've got a Mk7 fiesta st now and I've got pirelli sottozero 3s to go on it, I didn't want to compromise with extra power
I'm changing over in the last week of November again as it seems to coincide with the first round of snow we get here. Sticking with my Pirelli Sottoszeros as they have served me well for the past 3 winters.
The speed ratings do generally drop for winters but I'm not too fussed as 240kph is just about enough
The speed ratings do generally drop for winters but I'm not too fussed as 240kph is just about enough
Slow said:
Chuggy said:
Why did you not put winters on the front ?
Simple answer is I couldn't afford them, only £50ish each as well.......
Some people here just assume everyone can just afford them, not always the case.
blueST said:
Am I the first to blink?
Maybe not the first, but I'll be joining you today with my swapover. I have two bald fronts which need changing, so I thought I may as well put the winters on now and worry about two new fronts in March. Also means I only have to store two tyres over winter, too.S'pose the car will now be a cross-breed between a jaguar and a snow-leopard...
Sheepshanks said:
Slow said:
Chuggy said:
Why did you not put winters on the front ?
Simple answer is I couldn't afford them, only £50ish each as well.......
Some people here just assume everyone can just afford them, not always the case.
Plus, as soon as it's dry you've lost 20% braking at the rear.
In short, it's not something that's ever industry recommended, but we all know that anyway.
jon- said:
Sheepshanks said:
Slow said:
Chuggy said:
Why did you not put winters on the front ?
Simple answer is I couldn't afford them, only £50ish each as well.......
Some people here just assume everyone can just afford them, not always the case.
Plus, as soon as it's dry you've lost 20% braking at the rear.
In short, it's not something that's ever industry recommended, but we all know that anyway.
Something of a first world problem here...
My car currently has Vredestein Wintrac Extreme all round, they were on the car when I bought it a month ago - 245/40R18 front, 265/35R18 rear. They are all rated 98W, so 270kph.
I need to replace them but cannot find rears anywhere with a W rating. It seems Vredestein no longer make these (even though mine are DOT 4213, so not too old) and every other manufacturer make that winter size 'only' with a V rating (240kph).
Not the end of the world, but I like the fact that I can currently (and regularly do) bounce off the speed limiter (260kph-ish) even on winters.
I work in German btw, although you probably guessed that by now
I rarely go these sort of speeds for more than a couple of minutes at a time, so sure the V's would be fine anyway, but it would be nice to be properly equipped.
Any ideas?
My car currently has Vredestein Wintrac Extreme all round, they were on the car when I bought it a month ago - 245/40R18 front, 265/35R18 rear. They are all rated 98W, so 270kph.
I need to replace them but cannot find rears anywhere with a W rating. It seems Vredestein no longer make these (even though mine are DOT 4213, so not too old) and every other manufacturer make that winter size 'only' with a V rating (240kph).
Not the end of the world, but I like the fact that I can currently (and regularly do) bounce off the speed limiter (260kph-ish) even on winters.
I work in German btw, although you probably guessed that by now
I rarely go these sort of speeds for more than a couple of minutes at a time, so sure the V's would be fine anyway, but it would be nice to be properly equipped.Any ideas?
S1600 said:
poing said:
Previously used my MX5 for winter, this time I thought the Fiesta would be better all round and much easi'er 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
I've done the steels in 15" with 195 50 15s on a Mk7 fiesta S1600 and Nexens in 205 40 17s on it last year fitted to the standard wheels. The 15" wheels/winters worked well (Dunlop) in all conditions including snow, I couldn't live with the looks though, it also made the speedo read under a bit. The Nexens were mostly very good only saw a bit of snow but did ok, where they aren't so good is in the damp/wet had a few moments. 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
I've got a Mk7 fiesta st now and I've got pirelli sottozero 3s to go on it, I didn't want to compromise with extra power
I'm going to go for the 15's and see how it looks, I probably won't bother with wheel trims. I'm a bit confused by the tyre size thing, seems 195/55r15 gives an almost identical ratio but Ford typically use 195/50 and that does seem the most common. It makes it almost 1cm lower which isn't ideal in the winter with the 195/50. All the package deals seem to be the 195/50 so by the time I get separate tyres and get them fitted it doesn't save much money! I'll email/call them and see what's what.
I'd planned to get Crossclimates or Nokian Weatherproofs on the original 17s. Only fronts needed changing though and discovered it was very strongly discouraged to run these on the front only.
Ended picking up some 16 rims and fitting 4 Nokian WR D4s. Only cost £100 more than 2 Crossclimates!
Changed from 225/55/17 to 215/65/16 .... Loving the retro chunky look of the 16s. Off to the Alps twice this year and for the first time in a long time I'm running my own car and planning to keep it for at least another 4 years or so, making having 2 sets a bit of a no brainer really.
Ended picking up some 16 rims and fitting 4 Nokian WR D4s. Only cost £100 more than 2 Crossclimates!
Changed from 225/55/17 to 215/65/16 .... Loving the retro chunky look of the 16s. Off to the Alps twice this year and for the first time in a long time I'm running my own car and planning to keep it for at least another 4 years or so, making having 2 sets a bit of a no brainer really.
Edited by ncjones on Monday 26th October 19:48
poing said:
S1600 said:
poing said:
Previously used my MX5 for winter, this time I thought the Fiesta would be better all round and much easi'er 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
I've done the steels in 15" with 195 50 15s on a Mk7 fiesta S1600 and Nexens in 205 40 17s on it last year fitted to the standard wheels. The 15" wheels/winters worked well (Dunlop) in all conditions including snow, I couldn't live with the looks though, it also made the speedo read under a bit. The Nexens were mostly very good only saw a bit of snow but did ok, where they aren't so good is in the damp/wet had a few moments. 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
I've got a Mk7 fiesta st now and I've got pirelli sottozero 3s to go on it, I didn't want to compromise with extra power
I'm going to go for the 15's and see how it looks, I probably won't bother with wheel trims. I'm a bit confused by the tyre size thing, seems 195/55r15 gives an almost identical ratio but Ford typically use 195/50 and that does seem the most common. It makes it almost 1cm lower which isn't ideal in the winter with the 195/50. All the package deals seem to be the 195/50 so by the time I get separate tyres and get them fitted it doesn't save much money! I'll email/call them and see what's what.
jon- said:
People are idiots and it's dry more than it is wet?
The full stats we were presented with are:
70% accidents happen on dry roads
60% accidents happen in urban areas at low speed
75% of accidents happen on straight roads
99% of accidents on wet roads happen when there's very little water depth
25% of accidents happen on bends, 50% of which happen when it's wet. While this is a relatively low percentage of the overall accidents, it is the group of accidents with the highest damage and most casualties
where did you dig that out jon - we could have a whole thread on itThe full stats we were presented with are:
70% accidents happen on dry roads
60% accidents happen in urban areas at low speed
75% of accidents happen on straight roads
99% of accidents on wet roads happen when there's very little water depth
25% of accidents happen on bends, 50% of which happen when it's wet. While this is a relatively low percentage of the overall accidents, it is the group of accidents with the highest damage and most casualties
Winter tyres - does anyone have a review of use of winter tyres in non-winter conditions i.e. like now or spring
How much greater is tyre wear how much worse is grip fuel etc
I can find reviews about using winter tyres in winter but thats not always possible
This link strays into warmer weather
http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/wet-conditions/120...
MC Bodge said:
redddraggon said:
My winters in the lounge ready for me to get them on!
Nokian WR A3 in 205/55/17 95V
That's a great solution to the problem of where to store them in the summer, I'm going to suggest it to my wife.Nokian WR A3 in 205/55/17 95V
S1600 said:
This is how mine looked on steels, I didn't bother with wheel trims either.
I actually quite like that! Mine is dark blue so we'll see how it looks but that picture pushed me over the line so I'm 100% going for steels, guess I can sell them for close to what I paid if I don't like them.rouge59 said:
I put winter wheels on the Boxster 3 weeks ago, far earlier than I normally do due to almost bald rear summer tyres, & aside from a slight flex in the sidewall around corners at speed I can't see much difference, although admittedly I'm just a normal bloke & not a driving God.
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