When to put on winter tyres
Discussion
jshell said:
Would love to see you try with a 1-series on wide run-flats. Well, actually it'd stay on the road as you wouldn't get started on the simplest incline.
My Cayenne has Winters all year round and they've been ace for 2 years now with loads still to go.
Not sure about run-flats, but I guess it depends on the tread more than anything else? I love short wheelbase RWD in snow My Cayenne has Winters all year round and they've been ace for 2 years now with loads still to go.
I seriously considered getting a 1 Series, but couldn't get over the fact how expensive it was, especially with a decent engine. Ended up with the XF now. Back in Austria I once used to have a two seater on Avon ZV1, one year I got caught by snow one early October morning, I wanted to swap the roadster round with the Land Rover (long garage with two cars parked behind each other). Couldn't get it back up the maybe 30cm high drive way. Even in second gear with no gas, just slowly releasing the clutch, all that happened was the back wheels spinning (slowly).
The ZV1's were brilliant for blasts through the Alps on a summer day, but even with modest rain, the car drove like on sheer ice.
With more conventional summer tyres a small incline wouldn't be a problem, but a none cleared hill would certainly be a show stopper. (Erm, this is where the passengers get out and push.) That said, I most likely would still be able to keep the car on the road ... as long as I wouldn't try anything stupid ... just not getting further.
Different story. It once took 3 people to push a neighbours MX5 MK1 up the little mountain were my grandparents live. I think it might even have been on winter tyres, but fresh snow on ice, with absolutely no weight over the rear axle is not going to be your friend up steep roads.
Newro said:
@hman @Technomad
In Austria, during the summer months, temperatures of 25C and well above are the norm. If you drive your winter tyres all year round you'll be lucky if you get two seasons out of them. In Scotland where it usually stays below 20C, it probably wouldn't be that bad.
Looking at the stats teh difference between the UK and Austria in Summer temps is negligible ( 23c for austria in July compared to 22c for the uk) - I have now completed 4 seasons on these tyres and they are half worn so should see 8 seasons!- Nokian WRG2's are winter tyres which can be used year round In Austria, during the summer months, temperatures of 25C and well above are the norm. If you drive your winter tyres all year round you'll be lucky if you get two seasons out of them. In Scotland where it usually stays below 20C, it probably wouldn't be that bad.
Edited by Newro on Thursday 30th October 11:55
hman said:
Looking at the stats teh difference between the UK and Austria in Summer temps is negligible ( 23c for austria in July compared to 22c for the uk)
Hmm, that difference strikes me as a bit low. I looked up Linz and Edinburgh herehttp://www.worldweatheronline.com/Linz-weather-ave...
http://www.worldweatheronline.com/Edinburgh-weathe...
... and the difference on this side is noticeable more. Probably less so if you compare the Alps, but then, just like in Scotland where the bulk of the population is in the central belt, in Austria most people live a long the Danube, and almost nobody in the Alps.
hman said:
I have now completed 4 seasons on these tyres and they are half worn so should see 8 seasons!- Nokian WRG2's are winter tyres which can be used year round
Not familiar with this particular tyre. But they are marked as Winter, not All Season tyre, which would be a completely different story. I used to have Continental and now am on Pirelli.When you say 4 season, are you talking about 4 summers as well, and if so how many miles?
Winter tyres have two indicators, if the first one is reached, you are no longer allowed to use them as Winter tyres in Austria but could still use them over the rest of the year until the tread was down to the lower one. I got around 4 winters out of a set, and usually driving them one summer finished them off. (Lots of tyre squeal!) That was with around 25k miles (~40tkm) a year.
The ones on the roadster I actually still have in the back of the garage ... was driving so little on them, that they outlasted the car. (I probably should get rid of them.)
Some people in Austria put old winter tyres on their car ... store them (inappropriately) for 2+ years before putting them first on. That takes some of the softener out and lets them last a lot longer. Downside of course is that they don't really grip that much any more - but as the tread is fine, and they are marked correctly, totally legal to drive. Considered a money saving advice - in some circles.
jshell said:
Would love to see you try with a 1-series on wide run-flats. Well, actually it'd stay on the road as you wouldn't get started on the simplest incline.
My Cayenne has Winters all year round and they've been ace for 2 years now with loads still to go.
Yeah, I used to reckon I could get around in most conditions - my old 328 with 15" wheels was just about usable with a couple of bags of sand in the boot. Then I got a 1-series with 18" low profile runflats. It was simply unbelievably bad: running with momentum I could keep it moving, but once stopped, that was the proverbial IT: I was doing fine one night in about 20cm of snow until the plod closed the Edinburgh bypass, diverting all the traffic up the calder road slip at Sighthill. Spent half an hour trying to get going there, on about a 1:15 gradient. I then got stuck on a completely level road between two speed bumps. Bought a set of winters the next day.My Cayenne has Winters all year round and they've been ace for 2 years now with loads still to go.
Newro said:
Not sure about run-flats, but I guess it depends on the tread more than anything else?
It's more to do with compound, to be honest. You can have chunky treads, but wrong compound means no self-cleaning and the tyre can go rock-hard meaning no grip. Old cars used to be better in snow as the old compounds, pre-high speed ratings, were just a bit more like today's winters.Technomad said:
jshell said:
Would love to see you try with a 1-series on wide run-flats. Well, actually it'd stay on the road as you wouldn't get started on the simplest incline.
My Cayenne has Winters all year round and they've been ace for 2 years now with loads still to go.
Yeah, I used to reckon I could get around in most conditions - my old 328 with 15" wheels was just about usable with a couple of bags of sand in the boot. Then I got a 1-series with 18" low profile runflats. It was simply unbelievably bad: running with momentum I could keep it moving, but once stopped, that was the proverbial IT: I was doing fine one night in about 20cm of snow until the plod closed the Edinburgh bypass, diverting all the traffic up the calder road slip at Sighthill. Spent half an hour trying to get going there, on about a 1:15 gradient. I then got stuck on a completely level road between two speed bumps. Bought a set of winters the next day.My Cayenne has Winters all year round and they've been ace for 2 years now with loads still to go.
jshell said:
Newro said:
Not sure about run-flats, but I guess it depends on the tread more than anything else?
It's more to do with compound, to be honest. You can have chunky treads, but wrong compound means no self-cleaning and the tyre can go rock-hard meaning no grip. Old cars used to be better in snow as the old compounds, pre-high speed ratings, were just a bit more like today's winters.I think the biggest improvement that came to winter tyres was when they introduced "Lamellen" (Not sure how to translate that, "multi-siped"?). Just running your hand over the profile and compare it with a normal tyre is eye opening.
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