First year with winter tyres - when to put them on?
Discussion
Once I've sold my RR Sport I'll be 4x4-less for the first time in 3 years this winter (I know, the trauma, how will I survive?).
To improve my chances of survival and avoiding certain starvation when the first snow flurries hit, I have treated my 330Ci to a set of winter tyres (Vredstein Wintrac Xtremes) so I stand at least some hope of getting out of the drive.
My question is, at what point do people put their winter tyres on their car? It was 2'C on my way to work the other morning, so probably cool enough - but typical British weather it seems to be hovering around 16-17'C some afternoons! Will this trash the winter tyres or will they be OK? I guess it comes down to:
- what cool tempertature do 'summer' tyres stop working as well
- what warm tempertature do 'winter' tyres stop working as well
Incidentally, mine are going on seperate wheels so I can swap between them, but would rather just fit them once and leave them there until Spring.
Anyway, thanks in advance.
To improve my chances of survival and avoiding certain starvation when the first snow flurries hit, I have treated my 330Ci to a set of winter tyres (Vredstein Wintrac Xtremes) so I stand at least some hope of getting out of the drive.
My question is, at what point do people put their winter tyres on their car? It was 2'C on my way to work the other morning, so probably cool enough - but typical British weather it seems to be hovering around 16-17'C some afternoons! Will this trash the winter tyres or will they be OK? I guess it comes down to:
- what cool tempertature do 'summer' tyres stop working as well
- what warm tempertature do 'winter' tyres stop working as well
Incidentally, mine are going on seperate wheels so I can swap between them, but would rather just fit them once and leave them there until Spring.
Anyway, thanks in advance.
7 degrees is the magic number the media would have you believe. I'll stick mine when it's fairly consistantly below that while I'm on the road, or if it starts to get frosty every morning. the general concensus is that UK winter tyres are more what colder countries consider to be all seasion tyres. you're not going to crash and die the first day you use them at 8 degrees. That said I put my Ice Touring STs on quite early last year and did wear about half the tread off the fronts over the the winter, then again they're cheaper than my summer tyres so I guess it's not a major issue.
Generally, summer tyres begin to loose their effectiveness below 7°C.
Winter tyres don't wear too badly if the weather is warmer (some PHers run winter tyres all year round and claim no ill effects). Grip will be lower than summer tyres though if the weather's nice.
Personally, I'm holding off the change to winters for now. See how the temperatures are in a few weeks.
Winter tyres don't wear too badly if the weather is warmer (some PHers run winter tyres all year round and claim no ill effects). Grip will be lower than summer tyres though if the weather's nice.
Personally, I'm holding off the change to winters for now. See how the temperatures are in a few weeks.
Codswallop said:
(some PHers run winter tyres all year round and claim no ill effects).
Yep, that's me. 
Codswallop said:
Grip will be lower than summer tyres though if the weather's nice.
Haven't really noticed this but I am not running a sports car so limits aren't explored normally but there are occasions and I can't really say it's significantly (or noticeably) worse on them.OP, you seem a sensible chap - put them on sometime this month and then you're fully prepared, but just bear it in mind when driving in warmer, dry conditions. You're simply running a very soft compound, and think of it as such - if you go cornering hard or standing on the brakes they'll wear rapidly, but if you're gentle they won't disappear 
I was lucky enough to be at the Pirelli tyre test at Silverstone last year and I noticed that even on a cold dry day winter tyres go off quickly and start to lose grip, of course that was under track conditions and I was pushing it but it can't have been doing the tyres any good at all.
Personally I'd wait a little bit and wait to see how the weather goes, as soon as it's either mostly wet or cold I'd change them, when it's mostly dry I wouldn't bother.
Personally I'd wait a little bit and wait to see how the weather goes, as soon as it's either mostly wet or cold I'd change them, when it's mostly dry I wouldn't bother.
I will, as I do each year, fit my wheels with winter tyres, but not until it is much colder, however in doing that I am moving from an all-purpose tyre to a specialist tyre with a narrow operating band.
Search via Google or go to tyre vendor’s or manufacturer’s sites and they are ramming down your throat that summer tyres stop having effective grip at 7 degrees C. This may be all well and good, but they tend not to mention that in the UK we do not normally have summer tyres fitted to our cars!
In the UK, cars tend to be fitted with All-season tyres which are effective until -3.
I use tyres marketed in the UK for the UK. They would be useless in, say, Scandinavia where temperatures get very cold, and equally the tyres that are best in very cold countries would not work that well in the UK.
Search via Google or go to tyre vendor’s or manufacturer’s sites and they are ramming down your throat that summer tyres stop having effective grip at 7 degrees C. This may be all well and good, but they tend not to mention that in the UK we do not normally have summer tyres fitted to our cars!
In the UK, cars tend to be fitted with All-season tyres which are effective until -3.
I use tyres marketed in the UK for the UK. They would be useless in, say, Scandinavia where temperatures get very cold, and equally the tyres that are best in very cold countries would not work that well in the UK.
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