New cars, Winter tyres and Consumer Law !
Discussion
johnwilliams77 said:
Breadvan72 said:
I have bunged Michelin Cross-Climates on my E34 525i Waft-o-shed. These are supposedly all weather tyres, but I am yet to find out if they work on snow. I have a Series Landy, but that has Maxxis general purpose all terrain tyres - again, snow ability unknown.
I am also considering putting them on an E39 waft-o-shed (automatic), hopefully you get some snow and can let me know how it goes...(I don't need to use the car day to day fortunately).Big mistake. Huge. There was grip, certainly, but the lack of ground clearance became glaringly obvious limitation as soon as I went out on actual snow. Add to that the fact that it was a manual 530d (nothing, nothing then boOOOOST) with a laughably ineffective traction control system and it was a Nervousblackcoat in the winter months.
Much better than on standard tyres, but really not a well-suited winter car in my view, as opposed my daughter's Panda diesel on winter tyres, which is nigh-on unstoppable.
TooMany2cvs said:
HustleRussell said:
Tyre manufacturer who doesn't offer an all-season tyre in 'wouldn't recommend all season tyres' shocker.
If Conti thought that an all-season tyre was a good compromise and/or would sell well, they'd make one...longblackcoat said:
Problem I had on a previous E39 (an M-Sport version, admittedly) was that snow tyres encouraged me to use it in (guess what) the snow.
Big mistake. Huge. There was grip, certainly, but the lack of ground clearance became glaringly obvious limitation as soon as I went out on actual snow. Add to that the fact that it was a manual 530d (nothing, nothing then boOOOOST) with a laughably ineffective traction control system and it was a Nervousblackcoat in the winter months.
Much better than on standard tyres, but really not a well-suited winter car in my view, as opposed my daughter's Panda diesel on winter tyres, which is nigh-on unstoppable.
This is why I am considering stumping up for cross climates next year rather an full on winters. I live in a city so it's very unlikely I will have ground clearance issues and I am running petrol model so no booooost! Bag of sand in the boot may help a tad.Big mistake. Huge. There was grip, certainly, but the lack of ground clearance became glaringly obvious limitation as soon as I went out on actual snow. Add to that the fact that it was a manual 530d (nothing, nothing then boOOOOST) with a laughably ineffective traction control system and it was a Nervousblackcoat in the winter months.
Much better than on standard tyres, but really not a well-suited winter car in my view, as opposed my daughter's Panda diesel on winter tyres, which is nigh-on unstoppable.
JustinP1 said:
In actuality the slant is quite different.
In general, winter tyres start to perform better than summer tyres at about 7 degrees. At 7 there's not much different.
The problem is, any warmer than 7 the performance of a winter tyre is worse than a summer tyre. Stopping distance, in the wet, they wear faster, and are less fuel economical.
That's rather an absolute statement. I doubt all winter/summer tyres have a magical 7 degree crossover, and not all tyres are created the same.In general, winter tyres start to perform better than summer tyres at about 7 degrees. At 7 there's not much different.
The problem is, any warmer than 7 the performance of a winter tyre is worse than a summer tyre. Stopping distance, in the wet, they wear faster, and are less fuel economical.
I've got a 2007 Mini and it came from the factory with some branded tyres - can't remember what they are but a mainstream name. After a few years I swapped to some winters (after I had to abandon the car for a week at the bottom of an icy hill it couldn't get over) and I didn't take them off for a couple of years because they subjectively gave a better ride and more grip and (objectively) better economy. In my opinion, in all conditions, a better tyre than the summers it came with. The only difference was 15" rims rather than 16"s on the summers; both tyres are runflats.
I swapped back to the summers this year, immediately noticed the difference, swapped back again last week and the extra comfort and grip on the winters - even last week in 15 degrees - was palpable.
On other cars I have the summers give more grip in dry conditions but there's nothing between them in the wet (and the winter tyre is narrower). Again the winters seem to give better economy - they are also more comfortable but they are on 18"s not 20"s so have a much thicker sidewall.
Breadvan72 said:
No need for messy sand in the boot. Just make sure that you only murder well fed hookers.
Yeah, but you can sprinkle sand under the wheels to give additional traction on ice, something that yer average streetwalker can't do. Obviously they could have helped push the car if only you'd not disposed of them, so my recommendation would be to keep a bag of sand in the boot and a couple of well-fed laydeez of the night sitting in the back seat whenever additional shoving is needed.Or just buy a 4x4; less bothersome all round.
4x4s are fairly rubbish on snow unless they have snow tyres or snow chains on. It is a popular myth that 4WD allows you to drive on snow, but it doesn't help all that much if the tyres are no good. Also, many owners of horrid SUVs have no clue when and how to use the lower ratio gearbox if one is fitted.
Breadvan72 said:
4x4s are fairly rubbish on snow unless they have snow tyres or snow chains on. It is a popular myth that 4WD allows you to drive on snow, but it doesn't help all that much if the tyres are no good. Also, many owners of horrid SUVs have no clue when and how to use the lower ratio gearbox if one is fitted.
Agreed. Mine has snow tyres, loads of clearance, low range and chains when needed. No hookers or sand though.PhilboSE said:
JustinP1 said:
In actuality the slant is quite different.
In general, winter tyres start to perform better than summer tyres at about 7 degrees. At 7 there's not much different.
The problem is, any warmer than 7 the performance of a winter tyre is worse than a summer tyre. Stopping distance, in the wet, they wear faster, and are less fuel economical.
That's rather an absolute statement. I doubt all winter/summer tyres have a magical 7 degree crossover, and not all tyres are created the same.In general, winter tyres start to perform better than summer tyres at about 7 degrees. At 7 there's not much different.
The problem is, any warmer than 7 the performance of a winter tyre is worse than a summer tyre. Stopping distance, in the wet, they wear faster, and are less fuel economical.
I've got a 2007 Mini and it came from the factory with some branded tyres - can't remember what they are but a mainstream name. After a few years I swapped to some winters (after I had to abandon the car for a week at the bottom of an icy hill it couldn't get over) and I didn't take them off for a couple of years because they subjectively gave a better ride and more grip and (objectively) better economy. In my opinion, in all conditions, a better tyre than the summers it came with. The only difference was 15" rims rather than 16"s on the summers; both tyres are runflats.
I swapped back to the summers this year, immediately noticed the difference, swapped back again last week and the extra comfort and grip on the winters - even last week in 15 degrees - was palpable.
On other cars I have the summers give more grip in dry conditions but there's nothing between them in the wet (and the winter tyre is narrower). Again the winters seem to give better economy - they are also more comfortable but they are on 18"s not 20"s so have a much thicker sidewall.
However, a big factor is tread design and construction so the actual crossover is bound to be a little blurred. It would also vary depending on the type of weather you're using them in.
I too have run winters through the summer. In 2012, which was very wet and cool. Never felt it was worth changing that year. They wore well, and the car handled fine, maybe ultimate grip was worse but that didn't matter on the car I had them on.
Back then I was swapping tyres over on the rims. Since then I've changed the barge and have two sets of rims so it's less than an hour to change and have the right tyre on at the right time.
The way I see it, as wear rates are similar, there is no extra tyre cost, just 4 rims needed. A no brainer for me.
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