Winter Tyres

[jon-]

RicksAlfas said:

Is it possible that the make up of the Avon tyres has changed since the Indian take over? Jon might know.

Unknown I'm afraid, and I don't have the data to check.

There's a good probability compounds would have changed over the past few years, whether that be cost savings or other reasons we'll never know. Tyre companies have also spent the past few years quietly optimising their tyres for new labelling scores, and that includes the wet braking test. Strangely, this isn't always optimal for actual wet braking on the road.

[V8A*ndy]

Fox- said:

V8A*ndy said:

Where and what size? That's very cheap.

Standard Mini size, 175/65/15.

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m95b0s1486p109419/Goodye...

Ahh I see 15s....

BTW those Ultra Grip 8s are brilliant tyres. You won't be disappointed.

[Gtom]

I have fitted vredestein wintrac xtreme tyres (215/55/16) on my mondeo and the traction control light has never lit up so much in damp/greasy conditions. The previous tyres were some really really cheap things that were on when I got the car and never gave any trouble at all!
They are part worns (6mm+) so it can't be the realising agent causing them to be slippy.

Opinions?

[FurtiveFreddy]

Gtom said:

I have fitted vredestein wintrac xtreme tyres (215/55/16) on my mondeo and the traction control light has never lit up so much in damp/greasy conditions. The previous tyres were some really really cheap things that were on when I got the car and never gave any trouble at all!
They are part worns (6mm+) so it can't be the realising agent causing them to be slippy.

Opinions?

Difficult to say without knowing how you're driving the car at the time the TC light comes on.

[AnimalMkIV]

I put the Vreds on my XK8 and they are working brilliantly. Only flicks the Trac light if I give it too much boot. The rubbish Landsail tyres that were on when I bought it had zero grip as soon as the roads were damp and temps below 10.

[ATM]

I've now ordered a set of these.

[RicksAlfas]

jon- said:

Unknown I'm afraid, and I don't have the data to check.

Pfffft.

[MGSteve]

Gtom said:

I have fitted vredestein wintrac xtreme tyres (215/55/16) on my mondeo and the traction control light has never lit up so much in damp/greasy conditions. The previous tyres were some really really cheap things that were on when I got the car and never gave any trouble at all!
They are part worns (6mm+) so it can't be the realising agent causing them to be slippy.

Opinions?

Have the same issue with the run-in Vred wintracs on my ZT260 at the moment. This is the 3rd winter they have been used (still have 6+ mm tread on them) but for some reason they are very slippery, resulting in very tail happy handling and difficulties pulling away without spinning the wheels. I haven't have any issues previous years.
I can only think its too warm for them, so am using my other summer tyre equipped car until the temp drops closer to freezing, when I will see if things improve.

[aspen]

My winters have been on since Saturday. Noticed a little squirm at first but I suspect it is probably due to the tread blocks moving as it was only an initial movement.

I've noticed that they are an improvement in the wet. Previously slippy junctions and roundabouts are now much less problematic.

[giblet]

No issues with traction control for me, been running part worn Ice Touring ST's for a couple of months now. Only managed to get it to kick in when nailing it from stationary on damp roads a few times but thats it. Granted its a unpowerful fwd car (210bhp Saab 9-3) but its driving fine.

[page3]

Interested in those of you with Vredestein wintrac Xtreme who are seeing traction control lights a lot.

I run these on my A3 and traction, especially on those warmer, damp days is excellent - no worse than my usual Continental SportContact 5's. When the temperature goes down, the tyres get better and better - the continentals were really poor in cold weather until they had warmed up, which took ages. The Vredesteins are great from cold.

The wintracs are the XL version Audi recommend for the A3. Perhaps that makes a difference.

[Pablo16v]

MGSteve said:

Gtom said:

I have fitted vredestein wintrac xtreme tyres (215/55/16) on my mondeo and the traction control light has never lit up so much in damp/greasy conditions. The previous tyres were some really really cheap things that were on when I got the car and never gave any trouble at all!
They are part worns (6mm+) so it can't be the realising agent causing them to be slippy.

Opinions?

Have the same issue with the run-in Vred wintracs on my ZT260 at the moment. This is the 3rd winter they have been used (still have 6+ mm tread on them) but for some reason they are very slippery, resulting in very tail happy handling and difficulties pulling away without spinning the wheels. I haven't have any issues previous years.
I can only think its too warm for them, so am using my other summer tyre equipped car until the temp drops closer to freezing, when I will see if things improve.

Is it possible that some winter tyres can go 'off' over time?

My Nokian W+'s were the same during year 3, and they got so bad I ended up replacing them despite having more than 5mm left. They were lethal in the wet, even at sub zero temps. It was like the rubber had hardened or something.

[anonymous-user]

Ennoch said:

I'm certainly pretty inclined to agree with the recently voiced dissatisfaction over the performance of Avon IceTouring's. Having used Bridgestone Blizzak's and a succession of Continental WinterContact's I ended up at the end of last winter with a set of these as my Conti's were really getting close to being useless. As it happened, we didn't get any more snow, I sold the old car and lent the Cooper WeatherMaster Snow's to a friend (same tyre, different name). He put a few thousand miles on them as he literally couldn't get his car off the drive if there was too much frost, let alone snow.

Roll forward to this winter and they're on the Scoob, and I'm blown away by just how terrible they are in the conditions so far. Granted, I think in the deeper snow they'll probably perform very well, but on the c5deg greasy roads at the moment they're like driving on banana skins. Understeer, oversteer, sudden snap out & instability under braking. You name the fault, they have it. Compared to decent tyres such as the Blizzak's & WinterContact's they just don't perform well enough to be considered a credible tyre as the bias seems to be focused too much on snow and not icy/greasy conditions, and the online reviews from Canada would seem to support this as their conditions do not really compare with ours.

As Avon have basically rebadged a US winter/snow tyre rather than developed a true 'Euro Winter' they've cheaped out. I can only imagine that a lot of the online UK-centric reviews written for these are from people who either don't drive particularly briskly, or who have never driven a winter tyre before so are obviously going to be blown away by the summer vs winter difference. Winter tyres can be awesome, and contrary to popular belief it's also possible for them to not fall off a performance cliff if it's above seven degrees. Sadly, the Avon/Cooper's don't succeed here and instead turn what was a perfectly tractable road into a drifty mess. I'm so sorely disappointed by the performance that a pair of TS850's were ordered this morning to replace them asap.

I've had those Avons on various cars over the last 10 or 12 years and never had a problem with them. That includes innumerable trips across France in atrocious weather on skiing trips and what have you. Also left them on a couple of cars all year round and am still here to tell the tale. I must drive like an old woman.

[OnistOssifer]

Gtom said:

I have fitted vredestein wintrac xtreme tyres
They are part worns (6mm+) so it can't be the realising agent causing them to be slippy.

Opinions?

You bought winter tyres that have the winter tyre bit worn off them. They're also probably ancient.

I ran those tyres on a Lancer about 6 years ago, they were very good, so good I ran them all year. I was running 225-45-18 on a VW PD-powered diesel Lancer with a 180hp/340lb-ft remap. No issues with grip at all.

[McClure]

My local Audi stealership outdid itself last week. They told me:

a. It's not worth the risk of just changing tyres as they might fail when being re-fitted; and
b. a set of winter wheels and tyres would be £1,750 plus VAT!



Needless to say I'll be going elsewhere.

[FurtiveFreddy]

OnistOssifer said:

Gtom said:

I have fitted vredestein wintrac xtreme tyres
They are part worns (6mm+) so it can't be the realising agent causing them to be slippy.

Opinions?

You bought winter tyres that have the winter tyre bit worn off them. They're also probably ancient.

I ran those tyres on a Lancer about 6 years ago, they were very good, so good I ran them all year. I was running 225-45-18 on a VW PD-powered diesel Lancer with a 180hp/340lb-ft remap. No issues with grip at all.

Good point about the age and tread wear. Gtom, there is a DOT code on the tyre. If you can find it, it may be possible to find out the tyre's history.
What pressures are you running in them?

Edited by FurtiveFreddy on Wednesday 4th December 14:22

[OnistOssifer]

First morning of ice on the road, today. Must say the Dunlops fared really well - summer tyred cars were slipping and spinning the whole way through the estate. The i30 didn't even think about spinning, and even braking was totally uneventful.

Dunlop WinterResponce2 seem to be a very good choice for white-goods commuting cars like the i30.

[jshell]

OnistOssifer said:

Gtom said:

I have fitted vredestein wintrac xtreme tyres
They are part worns (6mm+) so it can't be the realising agent causing them to be slippy.

Opinions?

You bought winter tyres that have the winter tyre bit worn off them. They're also probably ancient.

Maybe age related, but at 6mm they'll still be good in anything except extreme weather. I changed out my old conti winters last week and they were on the tread wear index having been quite successful in even heavy-ish snow.

[Bluebarge]

jshell said:

Maybe age related, but at 6mm they'll still be good in anything except extreme weather. I changed out my old conti winters last week and they were on the tread wear index having been quite successful in even heavy-ish snow.

What he said -4mm is the depth at which they no longer as a winter tyre for snow traction - they should still work as an ordinary tyre below that.

[towelie]

jshell said:

OnistOssifer said:

Gtom said:

I have fitted vredestein wintrac xtreme tyres
They are part worns (6mm+) so it can't be the realising agent causing them to be slippy.

Opinions?

You bought winter tyres that have the winter tyre bit worn off them. They're also probably ancient.

Maybe age related, but at 6mm they'll still be good in anything except extreme weather. I changed out my old conti winters last week and they were on the tread wear index having been quite successful in even heavy-ish snow.

I'm experiencing the same thing with my 3 year old vredestein snowtrac 3's.. loads of tread on them and they're like driving on ice.

Pulling out of junctions briskly and the rears spin up so quickly I'm on opposite lock when not even trying!