Winter tyres vol 2

[FiF]

St John Smythe said:

FiF said:

St John Smythe said:

FiF said:

RicksAlfas said:

St John Smythe said:

Like a stuck record with this one........

Funniest post in this thread!

Yep irony meter on full scale deflection.

Here comes FIF, as predicted

Yep still waiting to see you add any substance to the thread. Quite a few seasons now you've just been vacuously trolling. It matters not whether you're pro or anti but make a sensible comment at least once a year.

As I've said before FIF, just because someone has a differing opinion to you, doesn't make them a troll.

But it gets that way with empty pokes with no substance just to get a reaction.

If that wavey byebye means you're on your way then great success.

Anyway do we actually have a different opinion? As always there is no definitive right/ wrong answer to this question, it all depends on the details. That's been my stance throughout.

[anonymous-user]

FiF said:

St John Smythe said:

FiF said:

St John Smythe said:

FiF said:

RicksAlfas said:

St John Smythe said:

Like a stuck record with this one........

Funniest post in this thread!

Yep irony meter on full scale deflection.

Here comes FIF, as predicted

Yep still waiting to see you add any substance to the thread. Quite a few seasons now you've just been vacuously trolling. It matters not whether you're pro or anti but make a sensible comment at least once a year.

As I've said before FIF, just because someone has a differing opinion to you, doesn't make them a troll.

But it gets that way with empty pokes with no substance just to get a reaction.

If that wavey byebye means you're on your way then great success.

Anyway do we actually have a different opinion? As always there is no definitive right/ wrong answer to this question, it all depends on the details. That's been my stance throughout.

Nope, still here

[JagXJR]

funkyrobot said:

Had a bit of a slide this morning on a small roundabout, even though I had the winters on.

Am I right in thinking that these frosty mornings can be worse for traction than full blown ice? My reasoning is that if the forecast is ice, the road is treated. However, it clearly hasn't been attended to this morning because it's just a frost.

I think I'll keep them on for a bit longer.

At first I thought "they haven't gritted" but as the water runs across the road then thought perhaps the grit has been washed away.

Still not out of the woods yet.

[funkyrobot]

JagXJR said:

At first I thought "they haven't gritted" but as the water runs across the road then thought perhaps the grit has been washed away.

Still not out of the woods yet.

I don't think the road was gritted. Certainly didn't look like it had been.

I think it was just a cold, slippery patch on a roundabout. Had a slight sheen to it.

No, not done with yet. Evening drives home would be fine for normal tyres now, but the mornings are still good for the winters.

[lemonslap]

Took the Dunlop Wintersport 4D's off at the weekend and put my summer Goodyear Assy 2's back on. Gained an extra 4 MPG over the last 350 miles!

[RicksAlfas]

I've had to de-ice my windscreen three times this week, and this morning it was snowing, so mine are staying on until the end of the month as usual.

[rllmuk]

Took mine off last night. Now I've run winters for 5 or 6 years, swapping from summmers each year. Past two have been a complete waste of time, and the grip levels on the Wintrac Xtremes is just atrocious. I fully understand the benefits, and when I had to cross Emley moor and most of West Yorkshire every day to get to work they were essential. But down here, in Suffolk, this my just have been last year bothering. No doubt I'll feel different come Oct/Nov time later this year, and the wheels will still be in the garage, so we'll see. May just swap the tyres for something newer, they're getting on a bit in design the Wintracs.

For now, am glad I can enjoy driving my car with confidence in its ability to handle the road acceptably!

Only fly in the ointment was that AMD Essex did the nuts up on my winter wheels so tight the other week that cracking each one off caused the breaker bar to bounce back in to my hands when they finally gave. Ridiculous.

[Bluebarge]

Dannbodge said:

I went back into summers a couple of weeks ago due to getting a new car.
As a result the winters (225/45/17s) I have are going on eBay.

Is now a good time to sell or should I wait for later in the year (closer to next winter) and what sort of price can I expect?

They are Michelin alpin A4 with 5/6mm tread

With 5mm of tread they only have 1mm of wear left before they would require replacing (if intended for use in snow). So I wouldn't expect too much for them, unless you can sell to someone who knows nothing about winter tyres.

[andyps]

Bluebarge said:

With 5mm of tread they only have 1mm of wear left before they would require replacing (if intended for use in snow). So I wouldn't expect too much for them, unless you can sell to someone who knows nothing about winter tyres.

They may not be worth a massive amount but unless there is deep snow they would still perform much better in bad conditions than a summer tyre or, probably, a new all season.

[Dog Star]

JagXJR said:

How much difference is there between a budget Winter and a good one?

We were in Andorra a couple of weeks ago an my mates Audi A4 Quattro was shod with some el-cheapo Russian winters. Conditions were the most extreme snow driving that I have ever seen and they were superb. They actually felt fine back down below the snow in normal temperatures as well, though I wasn't driving.

[jon-]

Dog Star said:

JagXJR said:

How much difference is there between a budget Winter and a good one?

We were in Andorra a couple of weeks ago an my mates Audi A4 Quattro was shod with some el-cheapo Russian winters. Conditions were the most extreme snow driving that I have ever seen and they were superb. They actually felt fine back down below the snow in normal temperatures as well, though I wasn't driving.

The difference isn't in snow performance, that's relatively easy, the difference is in warmer wet running.

And the answer is HUGE.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2014-50-Winte...

"As usual, there's a huge disparity between the best and the worst winter tyres in the wet braking test, with the winning Pirelli stopping in 35.7 meters and the worst budgets at 52.7 meters, a huge 17 meters, or nearly two double decker busses"

From 50mph.

[JagXJR]

Thanks.

That Pirelli is incredible, thought the Continental comes close. Always like Continentals.

Mine are not listed typically.

[Konan]

Well - I've had them on for a few seasons and I'm defiantly sticking to having a set of winter tyres. It's unbelievable how they managed to get me to my destination despite the frigid May weather.

19 degrees C - I really should swap the wheels back over but I wanted to scrub this set out. They just will not die!

[Dog Star]

My WinterContacts are still on the SLK. Next chance I get to put the summers back in will be the 10th May or so. I prefer them - if it's warm they do move around a bit but that's probably a good thing - a warning that if I go faster I will be upside down in a ditch, on fire, crying for my mum.

[funkyrobot]

My winter tyres are still on too. Need to get them changed soon as I think I'm chewing them up now. The mornings have still proven cold enough for use, but after the sun comes up it's game over.

Saying that, forecast is for a few cold mornings again so I may keep them on until next week.

[Sheepshanks]

jon- said:

The difference isn't in snow performance, that's relatively easy, the difference is in warmer wet running.

And the answer is HUGE.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2014-50-Winte...

"As usual, there's a huge disparity between the best and the worst winter tyres in the wet braking test, with the winning Pirelli stopping in 35.7 meters and the worst budgets at 52.7 meters, a huge 17 meters, or nearly two double decker busses"

From 50mph.

To be fair there's not a massive difference until you come some way down the list and then you're into brands that I doubt anyone has ever heard of.

Edited by Sheepshanks on Wednesday 15th April 10:22

[bertie]

Sheepshanks said:

To be fair there not a massive difference until you come some way down the list and then you're into brands that I doubt anyone has ever heard of.

You mean you've never tried the Imperial Snowdragon?

[Sheepshanks]

bertie said:

You mean you've never tried the Imperial Snowdragon?

I was even a bit wobbly about putting Kumho's on my car!

[bertie]

Sheepshanks said:

bertie said:

You mean you've never tried the Imperial Snowdragon?

I was even a bit wobbly about putting Kumho's on my car!

Was it wobbly before or after you put them on

I agree, I stick to the big names, it's the only thing between you and a tree / oncoming lorry, so I can never understand skimping on tyres.

[Dog Star]

Dog Star said:

My WinterContacts are still on the SLK. Next chance I get to put the summers back in will be the 10th May or so. I prefer them - if it's warm they do move around a bit but that's probably a good thing - a warning that if I go faster I will be upside down in a ditch, on fire, crying for my mum.

Funnily enough I did take them off on the 10th May (found a fantastic little back street garage, looks really scruffy, but they've all the best gear and the best wheel balancer I've ever seen - it's like Star Trek - changed for £5 a corner).

I fear I may have left them a bit too long - the rears are right on the winter tread markers and on the edges there's small chunks of sipe-age missing. They'll do me - just - for another winter. Wish I'd don't them a couple of months ago though.