Winter tyres vol 2

[Dan Friel]

Davie said:

Fox- said:

I don't disagree but it would very much appear that the Nankang is NOT a 'reasonable' winter tyre, it is a poor winter tyre. IMHO the results speak for themselves. Why would you pick the tyre that came 29th in a winter tyre wet braking test? Probably the most relevant test for a British winter, especially given the forthcoming winter forecast.

Ahhh...

"It would appear that..."

So you've driven on these tyres? No, ok... that's cool.

I think perhaps you should consider that different people have very different requirements - in my (Mums) situation: Tyres at 3mm and in need of renewal, winter coming, sub 5,000 miles PA, rarely sees a motorway and drives like Miss Daisy, I could have put similarly priced summer tyres on - perhaps Toyo Proxes T1R but I figured an M/S marked tyre would be better than a similarly priced summer tyre in low temperatures and should we get a dusting of snow.

Are they the best options out there... for you... perhaps not. For her, again perhaps not but I'm quite confident they'll be infinitely better than was was on it and given a couple of years back, she couldn't get off the drive in her Toyo Proxes shod Clio and thus three children with profound special needs and their parents found themselves with no teacher for the day. Thus, if the Nankangs help get her off the drive and the 3 miles to work in adverse conditions, then they were worth the relatively minor investment.

As a side note, I've driven the car extensively in various conditions and with various degrees of enthusiasm and over the past week I've also driven it over a couple of hundred miles on it's new tyres and pushed it on and have noted zero difference in handling - yes in bone dry, mild temps, it's feels a little less planted but in standing water and low temps, it takes a fair degree of provocation to unsettle it. Standing on the brakes in the wet at sub 8degs from 40mph, I can't get the ABS to kick in.

I'll remind you... she's 58, drives 3 miles a day to work and has never had a dab of oppo in her life. I'm by no means saying they are brilliant, yes in fact they may be distinctly crap but then again I'm fairly satisfied the a) they're better than what she had and b) will be better than some similarly priced summer tyres in wet / slush / snowy conditions.

But the original poster never said that the Nankangs would be worse than summer tyres in winter conditions, he merely commented that there are much better and more suitable winter tyres for UK conditions. I don't think that's up for debate..

If you really can't get the ABS to kick in by standing on the brakes, I suggest that the braking system might need a quick look at..

[Charlie Boy]

Interesting review from Russia..

http://translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&...

[Bonefish Blues]

R1gtr said:

I was planning on ordering from 'Tyreleader' but they have no contact number and have not responded to two emails I have sent so my money will be going elsewhere.

I've ordered from there twice this year with no problems

[Pablo16v]

Bonefish Blues said:

R1gtr said:

I was planning on ordering from 'Tyreleader' but they have no contact number and have not responded to two emails I have sent so my money will be going elsewhere.

I've ordered from there twice this year with no problems

I ordered my Nokians from Tyreleader. The order was placed on Monday evening and my mate sent a text this morning letting me know they'd arrived at his garage. I'll definitely consider them again.

[defblade]

Any recommendations for winters for my latest steed, a Grand Vitara?

I commute by motorbike in all weather except snow and ice, so with my last car (BMW 318 touring, Uniroyal M+S) I was happy to fit winters and use them all year, they don't see the road much in summer anyway. A bit of very mild off-roading may be in the future, but keeping mobile in winter, come what may, is my main priority.

OE size is 235/60/16 100H; I was also wondering about the pros and cons of maybe going a little narrower, say 215/65.


Thanks in advance, gurus

[Pique]

Still 10º in the evening in the South West. The one year I finally buy winters too

New set of Wintersport M3's sat in the garage - it's not even raining!

[jkh112]

Pique said:

Still 10º in the evening in the South West. The one year I finally buy winters too

New set of Wintersport M3's sat in the garage - it's not even raining!

Same here. My first year with winters for my 996 and it was so mild in Bristol today I was wearing a t shirt.

Since last Winter I now also have a mitsubishi outlander which is on summer tyres . When the snow arrives I wonder which will perform better - a soft roader 4wd on summers or a rear wheel drive porsche on winters.

Edited by jkh112 on Thursday 20th November 22:48

[Red 5]

Bonefish Blues said:

R1gtr said:

I was planning on ordering from 'Tyreleader' but they have no contact number and have not responded to two emails I have sent so my money will be going elsewhere.

I've ordered from there twice this year with no problems

I've ordered from them several times. When it goes well (99% of the time I guess) it's all very good.
When it goes badly, it's very bad indeed!

Poor communication and an unwillingness to deal with the problem. It took me 4 weeks to receive my 4th tyre in the end.

You really need to keep everything crossed, then it'll be fine I'm sure .....

[sjj84]

Anybody know of any all season or winter tyres in a 205/40r17 figment? Struggling to find anything made by a company I've even heard of.

[Red 5]

jkh112 said:

Same here. My first year with winters for my 996 and it was so mild in Bristol today I was wearing a t shirt.

Since last Winter I now also have a mitsubishi outlander which is on summer tyres . When the snow arrives I wonder which will perform better - a soft roader 4wd on summers or a rear wheel drive porsche on winters.

Edited by jkh112 on Thursday 20th November 22:48

From my experience, the 911 will leave the outlander standing. I imagine all that engine will help with traction on winters in snow, just as it does on Tarmac in the dry.
My 135i has left summer shod Range Rovers on steep gradients in virgin and packed snow!

Your 4wd on summers also can't stop on the White stuff, but the 911 will stop and steer very well indeed.

[jkh112]

Red 5 said:

From my experience, the 911 will leave the outlander standing. I imagine all that engine will help with traction on winters in snow, just as it does on Tarmac in the dry.
My 135i has left summer shod Range Rovers on steep gradients in virgin and packed snow!

Your 4wd on summers also can't stop on the White stuff, but the 911 will stop and steer very well indeed.

Sounds like it could be fun when the snow comes, especially seeing my work colleagues' faces when I arrive at work in the Porsche and leave the 4wd at home.

[TroubledSoul]

I just watched this video and became very excited at the thought of snow....

http://youtu.be/iBaBqZYe16c

Just out of interest, at what sort of tread depth do winters cease to be worthwhile?

[jon-]

TroubledSoul said:

I just watched this video and became very excited at the thought of snow....

http://youtu.be/iBaBqZYe16c

Just out of interest, at what sort of tread depth do winters cease to be worthwhile?

They start to lose effectiveness at 4mm

[jon-]

sjj84 said:

Anybody know of any all season or winter tyres in a 205/40r17 figment? Struggling to find anything made by a company I've even heard of.

http://lovetyres.com/tyre/Bridgestone-Blizzak-LM25/205-40-17

They're not meant to be too bad.

[FiF]

sjj84 said:

Anybody know of any all season or winter tyres in a 205/40r17 figment? Struggling to find anything made by a company I've even heard of.

Errr Pirelli Sottozero not cheap though.


But then they might be just a figment of my imagination.


Or Nankang SV2 but then we'll both die in the hail of PH must win the Internet crossfire.

[Davie]

Dan Friel said:

But the original poster never said that the Nankangs would be worse than summer tyres in winter conditions, he merely commented that there are much better and more suitable winter tyres for UK conditions. I don't think that's up for debate..

If you really can't get the ABS to kick in by standing on the brakes, I suggest that the braking system might need a quick look at..

The original poster has a BMW 5 series diesel... I'm not saying it would than an RS4 cabriolet for taking the kids to school, I'm merely commenting that there are better and more suitable cars for UK family needs.

My point, you buy the thing that satisfies your needs and at the budget you can afford, based upon you own personal situation and preferences. Ultimately, there's always something better.

[blueg33]

Motormatt said:

blueg33 said:

Elroy Blue said:

blueg33 said:

My summers handled the monsoons this morning perfectly well

You'll be sorry, the blizzards are coming soon. I know they are, the Daily Express said so.

Good - My new winter tyres and wheels are in the garage waiting

The only thing I am not looking forward to is being outside in the cold jacking the car up twice to swap the wheels over

here they are thanks ebay - a bargain

Linky

Its seldom you're surprised at how cheaply you can get work done on a car, but for years I've changed winters over myself (usually in the cold and dark, whilst struggling to balance the jack on a piece of wood so it doesn't tip over or disappear into the gravel and cursing the stupid design of the locking nuts).

Then I found out my local tyre shop would do it for £10, yes, £10. Its a no-brainer. They don't use an air gun, and all are torqued up correctly with an actual torque wrench - unlike my own 'feels about right' approach.
Of course I have the advantage of being able to take the winter set to the tyre shop and the summers home again in the car as its an estate, something you'd struggle with unless you took them up there first in another car.

Its tricky to get 4 wheels and tyres in an Evora plus its a 24 mile round trip to the nearest garage or tyre place.

I reckon I could do the job for free in less time than it would take me to drive to the garage and I own a torque wrench

[Sixpackpert]

This topic has just reminded me Jaguar still have my winter tyres in storage (I sold the XF this summer).

Must go and get them.

Anybody interested in them? I can't remember make and model of them at the moment (they are for 18inch wheels as I had a 2012 2.2d Sport) but they were used for 2 seasons with not many miles put on them at all.

Let me know if interested and I will go and get them!

[bramley]

I'm a big advocate of winter tyres in the UK having had them on various cars, but in my experience they are hopeless in warm conditions. I'm living in Malawi for two years and I'm amazed at the number of cars here running on winter tyres! Lots of jap imports come in with them, and it's currently 35 degrees. Road safety is a joke at the best of times but it can't be helping matters.

[Charlie Boy]

TroubledSoul said:

I just watched this video and became very excited at the thought of snow....

http://youtu.be/iBaBqZYe16c

Reminds me of when I had a bugeye WRX and lived in Sweden except I was doing that kind of stuff on a frozen lake