Winter tyres vol 2
Discussion
jon- said:
On the subject on whether the Michelin CrossClimates work "well enough" in snow and ice, I drove an A3 to the alps and filmed it.
https://youtu.be/YO0zyQh2l3M
Genuinely impressed. Though I feel I'm going to get torn apart here
That's good to know - I've just fitted some on the FR-V family hack.https://youtu.be/YO0zyQh2l3M
Genuinely impressed. Though I feel I'm going to get torn apart here
Mr2Mike said:
And yet there don't seem to be piles of cars in ditches shod with summer tyres. Quite odd.
There was a hefty spate of stupid crashes in Aberdeenshire last week in the mornings after a cold night. 
It's expected to be around -6 deg C here tonight so no doubt there will be more, along with Facebook full of w
kers whining that the council didn't grit every inch of tarmac before they set out to work.Mr2Mike said:
M1C said:
Although it has been well under the 7*C threshold for some time now.
And yet there don't seem to be piles of cars in ditches shod with summer tyres. Quite odd.bertie said:
Having swapped my car onto winters just I can't believe how much better it feels in this recent cold wet weather.
The traction and grip that the winter compound finds is astonishing
Having done 150 miles over the weekend on the winters I noticed absolutely no difference to normal. But then I've never really noticed this magic transformation just because its a bit cold that everyone seems to go on about. Feels a bit snake oily.The traction and grip that the winter compound finds is astonishing
Still hoping for some snow - then we'll notice the difference!
Fox- said:
bertie said:
Having swapped my car onto winters just I can't believe how much better it feels in this recent cold wet weather.
The traction and grip that the winter compound finds is astonishing
Having done 150 miles over the weekend on the winters I noticed absolutely no difference to normal. But then I've never really noticed this magic transformation just because its a bit cold that everyone seems to go on about. Feels a bit snake oily.The traction and grip that the winter compound finds is astonishing
Still hoping for some snow - then we'll notice the difference!
George111 said:
Fox- said:
bertie said:
Having swapped my car onto winters just I can't believe how much better it feels in this recent cold wet weather.
The traction and grip that the winter compound finds is astonishing
Having done 150 miles over the weekend on the winters I noticed absolutely no difference to normal. But then I've never really noticed this magic transformation just because its a bit cold that everyone seems to go on about. Feels a bit snake oily.The traction and grip that the winter compound finds is astonishing
Still hoping for some snow - then we'll notice the difference!
My California T is 3 months old and was on normal factory fit Pirelli P Zero.
In the cold & damp it was a bit skittery and I had the Pirelli Sotto Zero in storage so had them fitted.
The grip it finds now and the confidence it gives are to me an astonishing difference.
Indeed in a back to back with my mates Carrera 4S on summers the California had much better traction and felt far better keyed in & less glassy.
Each to their own.
As the weather turned a little colder in Yorkshire in the last few weeks I went for some Khumo Wintercraft WP51 in 205/55/ R16 for my Astra H.
Last year around this time I was using a Volvo v40 (2002) which came with Pirelli SottoZeros on the front which were the first winter tyres I had on a normal car. I changed my motorhome a few years ago to by Toyo H09 Winters all year round.
The tyres on the Astra were nearing the end of life anyway so went for these to see how we go over winter and I will probably be selling the car next year anyway.
These were £65 each fitted at the local tyre place in town (Mobile Tyres Goole).
So far the tyres are doing well and grip in these colder conditions seems high. A soaked M62 was dispensed with ease as well last week with good wet performance.
Echoing what others have said on this thread, just don't try to drive at summer dry speeds..grip is better at the moment yes...but not to summer tyres in summer standards!
Last year around this time I was using a Volvo v40 (2002) which came with Pirelli SottoZeros on the front which were the first winter tyres I had on a normal car. I changed my motorhome a few years ago to by Toyo H09 Winters all year round.
The tyres on the Astra were nearing the end of life anyway so went for these to see how we go over winter and I will probably be selling the car next year anyway.
These were £65 each fitted at the local tyre place in town (Mobile Tyres Goole).
So far the tyres are doing well and grip in these colder conditions seems high. A soaked M62 was dispensed with ease as well last week with good wet performance.
Echoing what others have said on this thread, just don't try to drive at summer dry speeds..grip is better at the moment yes...but not to summer tyres in summer standards!
bertie said:
George111 said:
Fox- said:
bertie said:
Having swapped my car onto winters just I can't believe how much better it feels in this recent cold wet weather.
The traction and grip that the winter compound finds is astonishing
Having done 150 miles over the weekend on the winters I noticed absolutely no difference to normal. But then I've never really noticed this magic transformation just because its a bit cold that everyone seems to go on about. Feels a bit snake oily.The traction and grip that the winter compound finds is astonishing
Still hoping for some snow - then we'll notice the difference!
My California T is 3 months old and was on normal factory fit Pirelli P Zero.
In the cold & damp it was a bit skittery and I had the Pirelli Sotto Zero in storage so had them fitted.
The grip it finds now and the confidence it gives are to me an astonishing difference.
Indeed in a back to back with my mates Carrera 4S on summers the California had much better traction and felt far better keyed in & less glassy.
Each to their own.
I have Michelin Primacy 3 tyres on my Volvo (in a 225/50-17 fitting) which are general purpose touring tyres and in the SE with the very mild weather so far, are performing just as well as the Nokians I've previously used and the Continental TS850s I have in the garage ready to fit if the weather really does get a lot worse.
My Dax Rush (jon-) has plenty of power to overwhelm any tyre and none will work well on that, summer or winter
Freds said:
Location has to be a factor, we're very isolated and serviced by narrow, hilly roads which regularly flood, freeze over and potentially block with snow, often lots of it. Winters are a necessity here, even on Subarus.
It absolutely is, I suspect you'd never get anywhere in parts of Scotland etc. without proper winter tyres. It was more the fallacy that summer tyres magically stop working at 7 Celsius that I was referring to. Provided there is no actual snow/ice they can still perform perfectly adequately at the kind of temperatures we tend to see in the south, though that's with decent brand tyres. The only car I had with budget tyres (a ZS180, crappy tyres fitted by previous owner) didn't fare very well at all in freezing temperatures.
George111 said:
bertie said:
George111 said:
Fox- said:
bertie said:
Having swapped my car onto winters just I can't believe how much better it feels in this recent cold wet weather.
The traction and grip that the winter compound finds is astonishing
Having done 150 miles over the weekend on the winters I noticed absolutely no difference to normal. But then I've never really noticed this magic transformation just because its a bit cold that everyone seems to go on about. Feels a bit snake oily.The traction and grip that the winter compound finds is astonishing
Still hoping for some snow - then we'll notice the difference!
My California T is 3 months old and was on normal factory fit Pirelli P Zero.
In the cold & damp it was a bit skittery and I had the Pirelli Sotto Zero in storage so had them fitted.
The grip it finds now and the confidence it gives are to me an astonishing difference.
Indeed in a back to back with my mates Carrera 4S on summers the California had much better traction and felt far better keyed in & less glassy.
Each to their own.
I have Michelin Primacy 3 tyres on my Volvo (in a 225/50-17 fitting) which are general purpose touring tyres and in the SE with the very mild weather so far, are performing just as well as the Nokians I've previously used and the Continental TS850s I have in the garage ready to fit if the weather really does get a lot worse.
My Dax Rush (jon-) has plenty of power to overwhelm any tyre and none will work well on that, summer or winter
I don't accept that good quality summer tyres perform well in winter. Perhaps the generic car tyres made by Michelin etc for cooking model hatchbacks hang in there a bit longer than LingLong ditchfinders, but it's not true to say cart-blanche that high quality summers work fine in winter. Many of them don't.
Furthermore, the more PHworthy the car, the more obvious the benefit is likely to be. A K11 Micra on 155/70R13s will perform largely the same whatever tyres.
A high performance car will become noticeably skittish in winter on its summer tyres.
bertie said:
I'm not trying to convince anyone, I'm just sharing my experience.
If you're happy on summers, great, go find another more interesting thread.
Some people will never listen to sense, I have winters on and they come into their own at this time of year, 800 mile round trip the other day and I left Scotland in the cold and wet, got down to the other halfs folks and it was -6 the next morning, heading back to Scotland and it was +9 by the time I got home. Would summers have coped? Just about. Was I rather glad to have winters on? Yes, it meant that I knew I could drive in whatever conditions I found. If you're happy on summers, great, go find another more interesting thread.
Even heading on a normal road a few miles out of Edinbrgh at this time of year needs the car to have some better tryes on. You can head round the otherside of the hills from town and leave a clear dry town and come face to face with a snow covered road.
lordf said:
bertie said:
I'm not trying to convince anyone, I'm just sharing my experience.
If you're happy on summers, great, go find another more interesting thread.
Some people will never listen to sense, I have winters on and they come into their own at this time of year, 800 mile round trip the other day and I left Scotland in the cold and wet, got down to the other halfs folks and it was -6 the next morning, heading back to Scotland and it was +9 by the time I got home. Would summers have coped? Just about. Was I rather glad to have winters on? Yes, it meant that I knew I could drive in whatever conditions I found. If you're happy on summers, great, go find another more interesting thread.
Even heading on a normal road a few miles out of Edinbrgh at this time of year needs the car to have some better tryes on. You can head round the otherside of the hills from town and leave a clear dry town and come face to face with a snow covered road.
For me I cant see the downside, al you're doing is having 2 sets of tyres at the same time and sharing the wear between them rather than having tyres sequentially, so the only cost implication is the changeover and that's minimal.
If other folks are happy on summers all year round, great, I just don't understand why they'd come and comment on a winter tyre thread.
Unless it's to tell us all we're wrong.
bertie said:
Unless it's to tell us all we're wrong.
The title of the thread is 'Winter tyres' and hence it's just as suitable for people to question why they should potentially waste money on them as it is for people to talk about the benefits.Confirmation bias is very prevalent in social media and leads to huge numbers of people thinking that their way of thinking is the one true way. Having your ideas challenged is healthy and should lead to both parties learning something.
Winters going on now!
Summers are on the limit, and it's well below 7 when I'm driving to and from work.
They "only" have around 5.5mm of tread left on them but that should be enough to get me through till spring, and a damn sight better than 1.5mm summers!
Amusingly, the drive home from the garage at 4pm was 8 degrees.
Summers are on the limit, and it's well below 7 when I'm driving to and from work.
They "only" have around 5.5mm of tread left on them but that should be enough to get me through till spring, and a damn sight better than 1.5mm summers!
Amusingly, the drive home from the garage at 4pm was 8 degrees.
Edited by Calza on Thursday 1st December 18:32
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