Winter Tyres

[SB10]

Currently running Falken 225/35/19s on my Seat Leon. I'm struggling to get anywhere in this weather with these.

Would i get away with firing on some winter tyres on the front to give me some traction?

usually use blackcircles but they dont list any in my size...

quick google found these,

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Orde...

Any good? or be as ste as what i have?

Recommendations welcome

EDIT > Meant to add, picked 215's over the 225s as i presume a narrower tyre is better? (Plus they are half the price for some crazy reason :S)

Edited by SB10 on Monday 6th December 09:53

[MidnightXR6]

Your problem is that the tyres you have on are probably summer directional tyres?.

You could just buy a set of cheap non directional ones and it would help.

Im running 235/45/17s on the back of the ute but they are not full on summer directional tread and do ok in the snow.

[JohnS]

The cheapest of winter tyres will make a massive difference over any "summer" type tyre. I've been running a set for 5 years now (this will be their 6th winter!), and the difference they make is staggering.

One of my neighbours finally bought a set this last month from mytyres.co.uk after being stuck for several days earlier this year in deep snow. he can't believe the difference they have made on his Astra, and now even tackles steep hills (going up or down) without worrying.

If you can get a set of cheap 16 or 17 inch rims from a breakers yard, you'll find a much better selection of tyres at sensible prices.

[SB10]

I really need to stick with the 19s though... the car is already that low its catching in the deepest of snow.

16/17 etc would absolutely kill it.

Might risk it, order a pair of those ones above. Wack them on the front and see how i go.

[jims2]

Hi,

Would it not help if you changed the tyre profile as well.

My wifes Ibiza runs on 17" low profiles and i changed them in October
for winter tyres and new 15" rims but kept the overall diameter. What
a difference over the snow earlier this. The car was almost undrivable
but now its so much better, just drove her up to Shotts this morning
and came back with no problems whatsover well other than all the other
cars stuck and causing tailbacks.

Used these folks for a rim and tyre package www.mytyres.co.uk

[SB10]

Cheers i'll have a gander.

Would rather keep the 19s but i'll see how it goes.

[MidnightXR6]

Give Camskill a go for tyres also. I used to use mytyres but camskill tend to be cheaper most times.

[Andrew[MG]]

I managed to order 2 winter tyres for my 16s from eBay this morning. I'd prefer a full set but nobody has them other than mytyres and they just put their prices up! Camskill have pretty much nothing left and aren't getting supplies until next year. Best advice is to keep checking eBay every day for the size you are looking for.

[OJ...]

Got my 19s through my local Kwik Fit who undercut every web offer I looked at but then we put them on at the end of October (he says trying not to be too smug...but we learnt our lesson last winter and decided to act early). I'm not sure there will be any deals to be had at the moment and very few tyres available at all given the demand. If you can get them I agree with what everybody is saying - They work much, much better than ordinary tyres in the snow or just simply colder conditions (below 7 degrees is best) so we'll keep our on until end of Feb. Best of luck. O

[masopa]

OJ... said:

Got my 19s through my local Kwik Fit who undercut every web offer I looked at but then we put them on at the end of October (he says trying not to be too smug...but we learnt our lesson last winter and decided to act early). I'm not sure there will be any deals to be had at the moment and very few tyres available at all given the demand. If you can get them I agree with what everybody is saying - They work much, much better than ordinary tyres in the snow or just simply colder conditions (below 7 degrees is best) so we'll keep our on until end of Feb. Best of luck. O

Ditto... wasn't a huge fan of the winters when I put them on but before long they bed in / scrub off and only seem slightly more "woolly" than summers. They're not just good in snow, but also general water clearing - reduction in aquaplaning has saved a couple of pairs of underpants for me.

My 911 with winters managed to get up our hill whereas my wife's Landrover didn't. 'Nuff said. (although I did manage to get the Landy up eventually...)

[klimakool]

uniroyal rainsports, dont know if you can still get them but thats what i have on the car, 4 years now, never miss a beat. but luckily i use the quad or the dog in this weather

[bigwheel]

OJ... said:

Got my 19s through my local Kwik Fit who undercut every web offer I looked at but then we put them on at the end of October (he says trying not to be too smug...but we learnt our lesson last winter and decided to act early). I'm not sure there will be any deals to be had at the moment and very few tyres available at all given the demand. If you can get them I agree with what everybody is saying - They work much, much better than ordinary tyres in the snow or just simply colder conditions (below 7 degrees is best) so we'll keep our on until end of Feb. Best of luck. O

My daughter got a "good quote" from KwikFit the other month for 2 wide tyres for her Merc C coupe. I thought, "Good price, go get 'em". A week later I chanced upon the receipt and the cheeky bu**ers had added £20+ for balancing, valves, rubber disposal, etc.

[SB10]

Nae 19s in my size in stock anywhere

Bugger it, grim and bear it!

[Andrew[MG]]

Mine were dispatched from somewhere in Engerlund today. They should get here when the snow melts.....d'oh!

[stackofire]

Andrew[MG] said:

Mine were dispatched from somewhere in Engerlund today. They should get here when the snow melts.....d'oh!

I ordered mine on 30th November from mytyres.co.uk and still waiting. They sent me a tracking number and when I checked it the tyres were coming from Hungary and now are stuck in Germany since Thursday

Fortunately, I received my snow chains today and they are brilliant. My street is going up the hill with about a foot of compacted snow and I got up it with no bother at all. Made me feel invincible

[Pablo16v]

klimakool said:

uniroyal rainsports, dont know if you can still get them but thats what i have on the car, 4 years now, never miss a beat. but luckily i use the quad or the dog in this weather

My wife's Saab 9-5 is running Rainsport 2's for a 2nd winter. They work superbly well in the snow with really impressive grip levels. We also used them on her old Passat which had been rubbish on Goodyear Eagles.

[Andrew[MG]]

Continental Winter Contact TS790 for me

[cat220]

Andrew[MG] said:

I managed to order 2 winter tyres for my 16s from eBay this morning. I'd prefer a full set but nobody has them other than mytyres and they just put their prices up! Camskill have pretty much nothing left and aren't getting supplies until next year. Best advice is to keep checking eBay every day for the size you are looking for.

I've now been waiting over a month for my winter tyres only to be told today that they won't be available until next year! Regards e-bay can you recommend any specific sellers?

Also, there seem to be quite a few for sale with 5mm of tread left, would these be worth a shot? whats the standard tread depth of "normal" winter tyres?

Thanks,
C

[kiwifraser]

cat220 said:

Andrew[MG] said:

I managed to order 2 winter tyres for my 16s from eBay this morning. I'd prefer a full set but nobody has them other than mytyres and they just put their prices up! Camskill have pretty much nothing left and aren't getting supplies until next year. Best advice is to keep checking eBay every day for the size you are looking for.

I've now been waiting over a month for my winter tyres only to be told today that they won't be available until next year! Regards e-bay can you recommend any specific sellers?

Also, there seem to be quite a few for sale with 5mm of tread left, would these be worth a shot? whats the standard tread depth of "normal" winter tyres?

Thanks,
C

8mm when new, although they are effectively ready for the bin at 3mm.

[cat220]

kiwifraser said:

cat220 said:

Andrew[MG] said:

I managed to order 2 winter tyres for my 16s from eBay this morning. I'd prefer a full set but nobody has them other than mytyres and they just put their prices up! Camskill have pretty much nothing left and aren't getting supplies until next year. Best advice is to keep checking eBay every day for the size you are looking for.

I've now been waiting over a month for my winter tyres only to be told today that they won't be available until next year! Regards e-bay can you recommend any specific sellers?

Also, there seem to be quite a few for sale with 5mm of tread left, would these be worth a shot? whats the standard tread depth of "normal" winter tyres?

Thanks,
C

8mm when new, although they are effectively ready for the bin at 3mm.

Cheers, that's the 5mm ones off the list