Winter tyres vol 2
Discussion
I don't understand why where you live makes a difference.
Don't these people ever leave their local area?
I bought mine because I use the car to travel all over the place in, they have been useful this winter on trips North and into Scotland although I'll agree that most of time they haven't been necessary this year. In the same way Airbags aren't really needed 99% of the time, its nice to have them when you need them
As for the post above that says they're dangerous in warmer weather - I suggest you buy a decent make and not some Chinese mud and snow tyres that cost £20.
Don't these people ever leave their local area?
I bought mine because I use the car to travel all over the place in, they have been useful this winter on trips North and into Scotland although I'll agree that most of time they haven't been necessary this year. In the same way Airbags aren't really needed 99% of the time, its nice to have them when you need them
As for the post above that says they're dangerous in warmer weather - I suggest you buy a decent make and not some Chinese mud and snow tyres that cost £20.
kambites said:
bertie said:
I don't view it as an increased cost as you are just spreading the wear out over 2 sets of tyres.
Only true if you cover enough miles to actually wear them out before age kills them. The average car in the UK does about 10k miles a year and the average set of tyres lasts, what, 30k miles? So if you split that 10k 50/50 between summers and winters, the tyres will be six years old before they run out of tread. You don't have to do much less than an average mileage to push that beyond the age I'd be happy keeping tyres.
Edited by kambites on Monday 2nd March 10:09
Either way seems worth it to me.
Dave Hedgehog said:
they are positively dangerous when it gets warm (10c+) as the car will not stop
Lol. Not if you buy a decent tyre in the first place. Braking distances are longer than a good summer tyre, but not enough to get excited about. You also need to compare braking performance in the wet and dry, and consider the type of vehicle you are fitting them to. Something powerful and sporty - you'll be better off with summers. On a boggo hatchback or an MPV - you won't see much difference in performance in day-to-day driving. Blaster72 said:
I don't understand why where you live makes a difference.
Don't these people ever leave their local area?
I bought mine because I use the car to travel all over the place in, they have been useful this winter on trips North and into Scotland although I'll agree that most of time they haven't been necessary this year. In the same way Airbags aren't really needed 99% of the time, its nice to have them when you need them
As for the post above that says they're dangerous in warmer weather - I suggest you buy a decent make and not some Chinese mud and snow tyres that cost £20.
Because in the North you tend to get snow and cold weather. Down here in the South it tends to get a bit damp but that's about it.Don't these people ever leave their local area?
I bought mine because I use the car to travel all over the place in, they have been useful this winter on trips North and into Scotland although I'll agree that most of time they haven't been necessary this year. In the same way Airbags aren't really needed 99% of the time, its nice to have them when you need them
As for the post above that says they're dangerous in warmer weather - I suggest you buy a decent make and not some Chinese mud and snow tyres that cost £20.
kambites said:
Far more people run summers in the winter without any problems than winters in the summer. If I had to choose one, I'd go for summers all year 'round for where I live (Southampton). The drop off in grip levels of the winters with road temperatures edging into the teens over the last few days has been marked. I really wouldn't want to be driving on them when the road is 40+ degrees.
I drove a car from here to Bulgaria on winters in the summer a few years ago... never again.
It's not normally 40 degrees here though is it? You might get 3 or 4 days a year where the temperatures top 30, it's only ever hit 38 degrees once, chances are a summer for us will be mid to high 20s most of the time, winters dont represent any real danger in that kind of condition. I'm saying that not as a winter tyre preacher, though I do have them on my car, but having run them for 4 years (different ones obviously) all year round it's made little to no difference to me whether they were winters or summers with the temperatures and weather conditions we have. I bought them because they were cheap, and would probably be better just incase, then they stayed on the car til I either sold it or they wore out. I drove a car from here to Bulgaria on winters in the summer a few years ago... never again.
Edited by kambites on Monday 2nd March 10:23
Bluebarge said:
Dave Hedgehog said:
they are positively dangerous when it gets warm (10c+) as the car will not stop
Lol. Not if you buy a decent tyre in the first place. Braking distances are longer than a good summer tyre, but not enough to get excited about. You also need to compare braking performance in the wet and dry, and consider the type of vehicle you are fitting them to. Something powerful and sporty - you'll be better off with summers. On a boggo hatchback or an MPV - you won't see much difference in performance in day-to-day driving. St John Smythe said:
Because in the North you tend to get snow and cold weather. Down here in the South it tends to get a bit damp but that's about it.
It's not about snow though, winter tyres are not snow tyres.Anything under 7deg C normal tyres harden and it's often under 7deg for a fair part of the year.
Mr2Mike said:
Depends where you live. Certainly in the south-west it's not worth it, I've never had anything but summer tyres and never got stuck.
We're in Devon, on the edge of Dartmoor and absolutely believe winter tyres are worth it (on both mine and the Mrs cars). Not just about 'getting stuck' but having the most suitable tyre for conditions - the roads around here are a muddy mess and cold weather tyres with a Mud and Snow rating are appreciably better than even premium summer tyres at this time is year even above the 'magic' 7 degrees C.Oh and it snowed/hailed here this morning enough to turn the roads white - much better off being on winters.
Down to personal choice on how safe you want to be and having space to store a spare set of wheels/tyres.
Hmm, mixed opinions it would seem, even from users of winter tyres.
I appreciate that they are winter rather than snow tyres we are discussing, and the improved grip at temps around or under 7 degrees comments are interesting, but my feeling is that if you drive sensibly and to the conditions, then all season tyres are fine.
I'll see if winter number 21 gives me any reason to change my mind.
I appreciate that they are winter rather than snow tyres we are discussing, and the improved grip at temps around or under 7 degrees comments are interesting, but my feeling is that if you drive sensibly and to the conditions, then all season tyres are fine.
I'll see if winter number 21 gives me any reason to change my mind.
We haven't really needed them this year, but it's nice having them on one of the cars and knowing that we have them if we need them. The difference in performance when you do need them is striking. Driving to the conditions is fine, but you don't have any control over what other people do.
Dave Hedgehog said:
Bluebarge said:
Dave Hedgehog said:
they are positively dangerous when it gets warm (10c+) as the car will not stop
Lol. Not if you buy a decent tyre in the first place. Braking distances are longer than a good summer tyre, but not enough to get excited about. You also need to compare braking performance in the wet and dry, and consider the type of vehicle you are fitting them to. Something powerful and sporty - you'll be better off with summers. On a boggo hatchback or an MPV - you won't see much difference in performance in day-to-day driving. St John Smythe said:
Blaster72 said:
I don't understand why where you live makes a difference.
Don't these people ever leave their local area?
I bought mine because I use the car to travel all over the place in, they have been useful this winter on trips North and into Scotland although I'll agree that most of time they haven't been necessary this year. In the same way Airbags aren't really needed 99% of the time, its nice to have them when you need them
As for the post above that says they're dangerous in warmer weather - I suggest you buy a decent make and not some Chinese mud and snow tyres that cost £20.
Because in the North you tend to get snow and cold weather. Down here in the South it tends to get a bit damp but that's about it.Don't these people ever leave their local area?
I bought mine because I use the car to travel all over the place in, they have been useful this winter on trips North and into Scotland although I'll agree that most of time they haven't been necessary this year. In the same way Airbags aren't really needed 99% of the time, its nice to have them when you need them
As for the post above that says they're dangerous in warmer weather - I suggest you buy a decent make and not some Chinese mud and snow tyres that cost £20.
bertie said:
St John Smythe said:
Because in the North you tend to get snow and cold weather. Down here in the South it tends to get a bit damp but that's about it.
It's not about snow though, winter tyres are not snow tyres.Anything under 7deg C normal tyres harden and it's often under 7deg for a fair part of the year.
otolith said:
We haven't really needed them this year, but it's nice having them on one of the cars and knowing that we have them if we need them. The difference in performance when you do need them is striking. Driving to the conditions is fine, but you don't have any control over what other people do.
Noted, and of course you are right, but nor would I have any control over others if I had winter tyres fitted.Granted, I may have more grip available but driving to the conditions to me means leaving larger gaps to try and avoid the people sliding about that can't fit legal tyres in the summer never one the winter.
You can only control the controllable I s'pose.
f1nn said:
otolith said:
We haven't really needed them this year, but it's nice having them on one of the cars and knowing that we have them if we need them. The difference in performance when you do need them is striking. Driving to the conditions is fine, but you don't have any control over what other people do.
Noted, and of course you are right, but nor would I have any control over others if I had winter tyres fitted.Granted, I may have more grip available but driving to the conditions to me means leaving larger gaps to try and avoid the people sliding about that can't fit legal tyres in the summer never one the winter.
You can only control the controllable I s'pose.
St John Smythe said:
bertie said:
St John Smythe said:
Because in the North you tend to get snow and cold weather. Down here in the South it tends to get a bit damp but that's about it.
It's not about snow though, winter tyres are not snow tyres.Anything under 7deg C normal tyres harden and it's often under 7deg for a fair part of the year.
Dave Hedgehog said:
Bluebarge said:
Dave Hedgehog said:
they are positively dangerous when it gets warm (10c+) as the car will not stop
Lol. Not if you buy a decent tyre in the first place. Braking distances are longer than a good summer tyre, but not enough to get excited about. You also need to compare braking performance in the wet and dry, and consider the type of vehicle you are fitting them to. Something powerful and sporty - you'll be better off with summers. On a boggo hatchback or an MPV - you won't see much difference in performance in day-to-day driving. http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/Summer-VS-Win...
I've had to do "anchors-on" emergency braking on a French autoroute using winters in temps of 40c and I had no cause for concern, and noticed no great difference. If it had been a test on a track than I'd expect the difference between a good winter and a good summer to be about 5-6m at most.
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