Winter tyres vol 2
Discussion
shoestring7 said:
f1nn said:
prand said:
I bought a set of Cooper Winter tyres for a holiday to the Alps in the first week of Jan. i bought snow chains too in case we had trouble like the boxing day changeover day carnage.
As it happens I ddn't really need the tyres and def not chains, but driving up to the resort and around looking for our apartment, there was plenty of compacted snow and ice about, but didn't trouble the car at all (fully laden audi a6 avant) so i guess that was the tyres. So I was pleased at that point. They definitely did give you an extra level of confidence as they definitely felt more grippy than summers.
Then again, there were plenty of non winter tyre shod cars about and none seemed to be sliding off the road, however a week later If the snow had returned as it did a couple of weeks later, i imagine they would have been essential.
Back in England (also Berkshire!), there's been a bit of cold weather, and i've cut through some icy and snowy back roads. Despite providing good grip, I'm not really convinced that snow tyres would have made too much difference, as i would have just taken more care or a different route.
And above all, these Coopers knock 150-200 miles off a tank of diesel, so on top of the tyres and fitting, thats an extra £20 or so every tank they cost me being on the car.
So in summary, I'd say they are definitely safer tyres in cold, wet and icy conditions, but for me, not really worth it for the daily winter conditions I come across at home. I'm planning to swap them back quite soon now, and will stick them in the shed till next ski trip.
That's an honest review if ever there was one, and a very interesting point regarding the fuel consumption.As it happens I ddn't really need the tyres and def not chains, but driving up to the resort and around looking for our apartment, there was plenty of compacted snow and ice about, but didn't trouble the car at all (fully laden audi a6 avant) so i guess that was the tyres. So I was pleased at that point. They definitely did give you an extra level of confidence as they definitely felt more grippy than summers.
Then again, there were plenty of non winter tyre shod cars about and none seemed to be sliding off the road, however a week later If the snow had returned as it did a couple of weeks later, i imagine they would have been essential.
Back in England (also Berkshire!), there's been a bit of cold weather, and i've cut through some icy and snowy back roads. Despite providing good grip, I'm not really convinced that snow tyres would have made too much difference, as i would have just taken more care or a different route.
And above all, these Coopers knock 150-200 miles off a tank of diesel, so on top of the tyres and fitting, thats an extra £20 or so every tank they cost me being on the car.
So in summary, I'd say they are definitely safer tyres in cold, wet and icy conditions, but for me, not really worth it for the daily winter conditions I come across at home. I'm planning to swap them back quite soon now, and will stick them in the shed till next ski trip.
If there was anything like a 20% drop (or a reduction from ~34mpg to ~27mpg for my car) I would have noticed.
SS7
An average car get's something like 400 miles to a tank, so knocking 200 miles off it, that's got to me more like halved the economy, and I can't see that either!
Mr2Mike said:
The "magic 7 Celsius" is complete nonsense anyway. How can anyone believe that all summer tyres have been deliberately engineered to lose grip at exactly the same temperature.
Don't belive that at all, neither do I believe either type of tyre suddenly becomes useless the 'wrong' side of 7 deg C - hence the sarcastic use of 'magic'.But I do firmly believe you are better off on cold weather tyres for the majority of the time during our winter months, even in the SW.
bertie said:
Surely an A6 can't do 1,500 to 2,000 miles on a tank?
An average car get's something like 400 miles to a tank, so knocking 200 miles off it, that's got to me more like halved the economy, and I can't see that either!
The Saab (9-5 Aero estate) is on winter tyres at the moment, it got 38mpg last week on a trip from Swindon to Bromley and back. Cruise control @70, M4, M3 M25 and a bit of urban crawl at the end. That's about as good as it does.An average car get's something like 400 miles to a tank, so knocking 200 miles off it, that's got to me more like halved the economy, and I can't see that either!
The winters are narrower, which ought to reduce the aero drag, I run the same pressures as the summers, there is probably more rolling resistance.
f1nn said:
Thing is, we live in Berkshire, and despite driving a rear wheel drive saloon on all season tyres, I've never been stuck either. I lived in the North East up until six years ago,
Do you mean 'all season', or do you mean Summer?I run All Season tyres year round on my Merc - they're legally (where required) winter tyres as they're marked M&S and have the 3 peak mountain symbol. If they're the sort of tyres you've got then it's no surprise you've been OK.
Colleagues in Berkshire who have a Merc and a Jag, where completely stuffed by the bad winters of 2009 and 2010. Both had to abandon their cars - the Merc E Class estate driver claiming his car was undriveable, where he'd had no probs with his previous 5 Series. The Jag driver spend a night in it un a journey from Oxford to Maidenhead. Of course, they aren't PH driving gods, they're just ordinary people.
bertie said:
shoestring7 said:
f1nn said:
prand said:
I bought a set of Cooper Winter tyres for a holiday to the Alps in the first week of Jan. i bought snow chains too in case we had trouble like the boxing day changeover day carnage.
As it happens I ddn't really need the tyres and def not chains, but driving up to the resort and around looking for our apartment, there was plenty of compacted snow and ice about, but didn't trouble the car at all (fully laden audi a6 avant) so i guess that was the tyres. So I was pleased at that point. They definitely did give you an extra level of confidence as they definitely felt more grippy than summers.
Then again, there were plenty of non winter tyre shod cars about and none seemed to be sliding off the road, however a week later If the snow had returned as it did a couple of weeks later, i imagine they would have been essential.
Back in England (also Berkshire!), there's been a bit of cold weather, and i've cut through some icy and snowy back roads. Despite providing good grip, I'm not really convinced that snow tyres would have made too much difference, as i would have just taken more care or a different route.
And above all, these Coopers knock 150-200 miles off a tank of diesel, so on top of the tyres and fitting, thats an extra £20 or so every tank they cost me being on the car.
So in summary, I'd say they are definitely safer tyres in cold, wet and icy conditions, but for me, not really worth it for the daily winter conditions I come across at home. I'm planning to swap them back quite soon now, and will stick them in the shed till next ski trip.
That's an honest review if ever there was one, and a very interesting point regarding the fuel consumption.As it happens I ddn't really need the tyres and def not chains, but driving up to the resort and around looking for our apartment, there was plenty of compacted snow and ice about, but didn't trouble the car at all (fully laden audi a6 avant) so i guess that was the tyres. So I was pleased at that point. They definitely did give you an extra level of confidence as they definitely felt more grippy than summers.
Then again, there were plenty of non winter tyre shod cars about and none seemed to be sliding off the road, however a week later If the snow had returned as it did a couple of weeks later, i imagine they would have been essential.
Back in England (also Berkshire!), there's been a bit of cold weather, and i've cut through some icy and snowy back roads. Despite providing good grip, I'm not really convinced that snow tyres would have made too much difference, as i would have just taken more care or a different route.
And above all, these Coopers knock 150-200 miles off a tank of diesel, so on top of the tyres and fitting, thats an extra £20 or so every tank they cost me being on the car.
So in summary, I'd say they are definitely safer tyres in cold, wet and icy conditions, but for me, not really worth it for the daily winter conditions I come across at home. I'm planning to swap them back quite soon now, and will stick them in the shed till next ski trip.
If there was anything like a 20% drop (or a reduction from ~34mpg to ~27mpg for my car) I would have noticed.
SS7
An average car get's something like 400 miles to a tank, so knocking 200 miles off it, that's got to me more like halved the economy, and I can't see that either!
bertie said:
Surely an A6 can't do 1,500 to 2,000 miles on a tank?
An average car get's something like 400 miles to a tank, so knocking 200 miles off it, that's got to me more like halved the economy, and I can't see that either!
Not quite sure about your maths or assumptions, but there was definitely a significant drop since I had these fitted. On summer tyres I'd expect to get easily 600 or nearer to 700 miles to a tank ( 70 litre tank btw, so 40-45mpg is not so outrageous even with a 2.7tdi) long distance on French motorways, i struggled to get over 450 ( 30mpg) at an average 80mph this trip. The tyres were inflated as advised to well over 40psi too.An average car get's something like 400 miles to a tank, so knocking 200 miles off it, that's got to me more like halved the economy, and I can't see that either!
Admittedly, these Cooper Weathermaster SA2s were rated as poor (G) for economy, as I couldn't get the Dunlops or Pirellis in the time I decided to fit them. I didn't think they would be this bad even as you can almost feel the rolling resistance, maybe something wrong with the car...
prand said:
bertie said:
Surely an A6 can't do 1,500 to 2,000 miles on a tank?
An average car get's something like 400 miles to a tank, so knocking 200 miles off it, that's got to me more like halved the economy, and I can't see that either!
Not quite sure about your maths or assumptions, but there was definitely a significant drop since I had these fitted. On summer tyres I'd expect to get easily 600 or nearer to 700 miles to a tank ( 70 litre tank btw, so 40-45mpg is not so outrageous even with a 2.7tdi) long distance on French motorways, i struggled to get over 450 ( 30mpg) at an average 80mph this trip. The tyres were inflated as advised to well over 40psi too.An average car get's something like 400 miles to a tank, so knocking 200 miles off it, that's got to me more like halved the economy, and I can't see that either!
Admittedly, these Cooper Weathermaster SA2s were rated as poor (G) for economy, as I couldn't get the Dunlops or Pirellis in the time I decided to fit them. I didn't think they would be this bad even as you can almost feel the rolling resistance, maybe something wrong with the car...
Last friday my WRX tried to strangle itself with its own timing belt, I can't be too mad as it's the first breakdown/non scheduled event in a year and a half and 30k miles.
So this morning I was in my fathers freelander. With front wheel drive as the viscous coupling crapped out. And on budget "all terrain" tyres.
We had snow... Apparently snow is not terrain...
Honestly, how do people survive driving around with (no) grip like this?
So this morning I was in my fathers freelander. With front wheel drive as the viscous coupling crapped out. And on budget "all terrain" tyres.
We had snow... Apparently snow is not terrain...
Honestly, how do people survive driving around with (no) grip like this?
prand said:
bertie said:
Surely an A6 can't do 1,500 to 2,000 miles on a tank?
An average car get's something like 400 miles to a tank, so knocking 200 miles off it, that's got to me more like halved the economy, and I can't see that either!
Not quite sure about your maths or assumptions, but there was definitely a significant drop since I had these fitted. On summer tyres I'd expect to get easily 600 or nearer to 700 miles to a tank ( 70 litre tank btw, so 40-45mpg is not so outrageous even with a 2.7tdi) long distance on French motorways, i struggled to get over 450 ( 30mpg) at an average 80mph this trip. The tyres were inflated as advised to well over 40psi too.An average car get's something like 400 miles to a tank, so knocking 200 miles off it, that's got to me more like halved the economy, and I can't see that either!
Admittedly, these Cooper Weathermaster SA2s were rated as poor (G) for economy, as I couldn't get the Dunlops or Pirellis in the time I decided to fit them. I didn't think they would be this bad even as you can almost feel the rolling resistance, maybe something wrong with the car...
NORTS said:
Put them on last year, winters still sit in my garage this winter. Haven't bothered and have had no need to as the weathers been very mild.
...As it actually is most winters in most parts of the UK, with its maritime climate.If we had the climate of Central Europe or the Mid-West US, anglers would go ice fishing, we would all use winter tyres and possibly own a snow-plough.
bertie said:
prand said:
bertie said:
Surely an A6 can't do 1,500 to 2,000 miles on a tank?
An average car get's something like 400 miles to a tank, so knocking 200 miles off it, that's got to me more like halved the economy, and I can't see that either!
Not quite sure about your maths or assumptions, but there was definitely a significant drop since I had these fitted. On summer tyres I'd expect to get easily 600 or nearer to 700 miles to a tank ( 70 litre tank btw, so 40-45mpg is not so outrageous even with a 2.7tdi) long distance on French motorways, i struggled to get over 450 ( 30mpg) at an average 80mph this trip. The tyres were inflated as advised to well over 40psi too.An average car get's something like 400 miles to a tank, so knocking 200 miles off it, that's got to me more like halved the economy, and I can't see that either!
Admittedly, these Cooper Weathermaster SA2s were rated as poor (G) for economy, as I couldn't get the Dunlops or Pirellis in the time I decided to fit them. I didn't think they would be this bad even as you can almost feel the rolling resistance, maybe something wrong with the car...
SS7
prand said:
Not quite sure about your maths or assumptions, but there was definitely a significant drop since I had these fitted. On summer tyres I'd expect to get easily 600 or nearer to 700 miles to a tank ( 70 litre tank btw, so 40-45mpg is not so outrageous even with a 2.7tdi) long distance on French motorways, i struggled to get over 450 ( 30mpg) at an average 80mph this trip. The tyres were inflated as advised to well over 40psi too.
Admittedly, these Cooper Weathermaster SA2s were rated as poor (G) for economy, as I couldn't get the Dunlops or Pirellis in the time I decided to fit them. I didn't think they would be this bad even as you can almost feel the rolling resistance, maybe something wrong with the car...
I'm running Cooper Weathermaster Snow on my Vectra for the second winter running and I've not noticed any difference in mpg compared to my summer Uniroyal Rainsport 2s - onboard computer still claiming approx average 30mpg on a mix of motorway and A road.Admittedly, these Cooper Weathermaster SA2s were rated as poor (G) for economy, as I couldn't get the Dunlops or Pirellis in the time I decided to fit them. I didn't think they would be this bad even as you can almost feel the rolling resistance, maybe something wrong with the car...
shoestring7 said:
My maths, but what I actually typed was "I don't know what '150-200 miles off a tank' on this A6 represents, but call it 20%." on the basis that I was being generous and if you cruised around in a 2.0tdi A6 you might get 750 miles from a tank, and 150 miles off that is 20%.
SS7
Indeed, and what I did was to take your figures, which I still think are a bit of a stretch, and aply my utter sSS7
t maths to completely cock it up!Apologies for the thickness!
prand said:
Not quite sure about your maths or assumptions, but there was definitely a significant drop since I had these fitted. On summer tyres I'd expect to get easily 600 or nearer to 700 miles to a tank ( 70 litre tank btw, so 40-45mpg is not so outrageous even with a 2.7tdi) long distance on French motorways, i struggled to get over 450 ( 30mpg) at an average 80mph this trip. The tyres were inflated as advised to well over 40psi too.
Admittedly, these Cooper Weathermaster SA2s were rated as poor (G) for economy, as I couldn't get the Dunlops or Pirellis in the time I decided to fit them. I didn't think they would be this bad even as you can almost feel the rolling resistance, maybe something wrong with the car...
Hmmm. Most cars use about 25% more fuel travelling at 80mph than 60mph, and about 11% more travelling at 80mph than 70 mph, so your normal average will not be achievable if most of it is done at 60mph or less. Add a roofbox or ski rack and you can knock off another 10%, so not sure you're comparing apples with apples. A G rating is poor, most decent winter tyres manage at least an E and the best rate at C and Cooper is a pretty average make so they may have something to do with it, but I think the reasons for your poor fuel consumption lie elsewhere. I drive a diesel that averages 40mpg on a long UK motorway run, but I would expect to have to fill up before the end of my usual 500 mile run through France so I don't think 450 miles on a tank is bad, particularly when you consider that most tanks still have about 10l in them when the needle is hovering close to empty.Admittedly, these Cooper Weathermaster SA2s were rated as poor (G) for economy, as I couldn't get the Dunlops or Pirellis in the time I decided to fit them. I didn't think they would be this bad even as you can almost feel the rolling resistance, maybe something wrong with the car...
swanny71 said:
Mr2Mike said:
The "magic 7 Celsius" is complete nonsense anyway. How can anyone believe that all summer tyres have been deliberately engineered to lose grip at exactly the same temperature.
Don't belive that at all, neither do I believe either type of tyre suddenly becomes useless the 'wrong' side of 7 deg C - hence the sarcastic use of 'magic'.Edited by tenohfive on Wednesday 4th March 12:48
Gassing Station | Suspension, Brakes & Tyres | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff