Why has Pistonheads gone Winter Tyre mad??????????????
Discussion
Why not? Half of Europe either has enforced winter tyres or recommended usage anyway - so why the hell do we not have something like that here? It doesnt snow badly every year, but a nice little taster from last winter is a good reminder that the biggest difference that you can make when driving in winter is the tyres!
Personally, I dont need them as I simply dont drive that far. But for those who do, why not be pre-armed?
Personally, I dont need them as I simply dont drive that far. But for those who do, why not be pre-armed?
off_again said:
Why not? Half of Europe either has enforced winter tyres or recommended usage anyway - so why the hell do we not have something like that here?
Because we have a maritime climate that results in far milder winters than Northern mainland Europe, and so benefit far less from the switch?Was a fair bit more than a weeks worth of light snow up this way, I still have the scars on my front bumper from the snow piling up on the road then turning to ice.
Given the cuts I dont expect the roads to be any clearer or better this yr either.
Edited cause on a conference call and getting my words mixed up - its a really exciting call NOT
Given the cuts I dont expect the roads to be any clearer or better this yr either.
Edited cause on a conference call and getting my words mixed up - its a really exciting call NOT
Edited by halo34 on Monday 4th October 15:08
Patrick Bateman said:
6BMW said:
Yeh but surely EU weather is more extreme than we get here - a week of snow at max is no cause for panic surely?
It's not just about snow.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/reasons-to-co...It's good there's more awareness of cold weather tyres, it might mean there are less accidents this year so our insurance premiums won't go up another 50%...
6BMW said:
I drive a BMW 645ci on 19" runflats......just found out that a change to winter tyres would cost me £900 !
Rather work from home LOL
I did that, much more sensible.Rather work from home LOL
I only got stuck once last year mind. 0.5% incline after coming off a roundabout outside Thame. Not a chance after it started snowing very heavily on the way home (I had had no trouble until then). I had to thank the 3 chavs in their 306 who rumbled past laughing and saying "try 2nd ya d
head". Thanks tts!Edited by zeppelin101 on Monday 4th October 15:15
It's weird, mind, how everyone I knew in Northumberland used to manage just fine on normal tyres through the ice and snow that were regular features up there growing up, even back when most cars were rear wheel drive.
Nowadays, despite traction control, modern tyres, front wheel drive, and the increasing popularity of 4WD models it seems that people are suffering winter prangs left, right, and centre. I remember on my first winter in London, when I was still having to commute by motorbike out to Hampshire, riding gingerly on frozen over roads as cars around me span off into the curbs. I suspect that the problem is more that drivers just aren't driving appropriately for the conditions, rather than that summer tyres can't cope.
Nowadays, despite traction control, modern tyres, front wheel drive, and the increasing popularity of 4WD models it seems that people are suffering winter prangs left, right, and centre. I remember on my first winter in London, when I was still having to commute by motorbike out to Hampshire, riding gingerly on frozen over roads as cars around me span off into the curbs. I suspect that the problem is more that drivers just aren't driving appropriately for the conditions, rather than that summer tyres can't cope.
It's just like panic buying. We had a few bad days of snow last year in a once-in-twenty-years weather occurrence.
You'll get lots of arguments from people about how winter tyres work better when the temperature is below 7 degrees and then they'll post an average temperature graph for the UK to prove their point. The problem is, these graphs are irrelevant unless you travel around the entire UK at all times of the day. For those in the south who commute in the day, the numbers are irrelevant.
You'll get lots of arguments from people about how winter tyres work better when the temperature is below 7 degrees and then they'll post an average temperature graph for the UK to prove their point. The problem is, these graphs are irrelevant unless you travel around the entire UK at all times of the day. For those in the south who commute in the day, the numbers are irrelevant.
alock said:
For those in the south who commute in the day, the numbers are irrelevant.
But dare to point this out and you have some whining scot telling you that London is not the whole country.No, it's not, but there are more cars in it than in the whole of Scotland, and we aren't going to take kindly to being told that we should base our decisions down here on weather conditions up there.
Patrick Bateman said:
6BMW said:
Yeh but surely EU weather is more extreme than we get here - a week of snow at max is no cause for panic surely?
It's not just about snow.Nobody really understands the relevance of winter tyres. Most think they are for snow only. This is only a small part of their job. The rubber is designed to have better traction on colder surfaces, the tread is designed to disperse water far better than summer or all-season tyres.
In short, they are designed for cold weather when there is more water, ice and snow. I can can vouch for them and say they work very well indeed.
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