Winter tyres vol 2

[RichardM5]

They will be fine, but you'll get less grip than with regular summer tyres at this time of year, just don't rag it too much.

I had to keep my winters on until well into June one year as I had a problem with the summer wheels and had to wait for replacements. They still managed 2 further winter seasons before being replaced at a little over 4mm tread left.

[RicksAlfas]

TroubledSoul said:

I've got a bit of a dilemma that maybe some of you knowledgeable tyre enthusiasts can assist with

I need a set of tyres pretty much immediately for the WRX STI daily. Now, I've just seen on ebay a set of wheels that are exactly what I want for the track car but wearing Michelin Alpins with about 7mm on them and they are the correct size to throw on the daily.

The question is, would I get away with them going on when it's still so warm or would they be shredded by the time the cold arrives? It would be a no brainer otherwise.

As long as you aren't doing trackdays every weekend they will be absolutely fine. I was in Italy in August and a good third of the locals were driving around on winters in the 30 degree sun.

[TroubledSoul]

Oh god I wouldn't do a trackday on the winters, just seems a good solution as I get the tyres and a set of wheels I already wanted so long as they're not going to be bald by the end of December

[blugnu]

As a poster upthread said, I leave my winters on if there is not another winter in them (I've been using winter tyres for 10 winters) They aren't as good as summers in the summer, but they don't fall apart.

[TroubledSoul]

Excellent, thanks folks.

[theboss]

MrBarry123 said:

Looking for a bit of advice from those in the South of the UK...

I currently have Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s fitted to my car which whilst great, aren't likely going to be suitable for November through to February. As such, I've decided to look at a new set of tyres however I can't decide whether it's worthwhile going for something like a Pilot Alpin PA4 over the Pilot Sport 4S.

(The Cup 2s will be refitted in March as they've worn evenly and all tyres still have >3mm tread.)

I ran a set of Pilot Super Sports through winter last year and they performed well so I'm leaning towards the 4S however I wouldn't want the 4S to perform any worse than the SS.

My question therefore is how those of you who run winter tyres in the never-very-extreme part of the UK get on with them?

Edited by MrBarry123 on Monday 9th October 12:34

I switched from MPSS to PA4 last winter... grip in cold and wet weather conditions were *much* better with PA4 and really transformed the car (F10 M5). However the rears wore through in about 5k miles instead of the 20k I'd get out of MPSS. I'm now running 4S and they are wearing similarly, if a little quicker, to MPSS. So its going to be a toss-up between cold/wet performance vs wear/cost.

[MrBarry123]

theboss said:

I switched from MPSS to PA4 last winter... grip in cold and wet weather conditions were *much* better with PA4 and really transformed the car (F10 M5). However the rears wore through in about 5k miles instead of the 20k I'd get out of MPSS. I'm now running 4S and they are wearing similarly, if a little quicker, to MPSS. So its going to be a toss-up between cold/wet performance vs wear/cost.

Thanks, that is useful.

[jon-]

MrBarry123 said:

Looking for a bit of advice from those in the South of the UK...

I currently have Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s fitted to my car which whilst great, aren't likely going to be suitable for November through to February. As such, I've decided to look at a new set of tyres however I can't decide whether it's worthwhile going for something like a Pilot Alpin PA4 over the Pilot Sport 4S.

(The Cup 2s will be refitted in March as they've worn evenly and all tyres still have >3mm tread.)

I ran a set of Pilot Super Sports through winter last year and they performed well so I'm leaning towards the 4S however I wouldn't want the 4S to perform any worse than the SS.

My question therefore is how those of you who run winter tyres in the never-very-extreme part of the UK get on with them?

Edited by MrBarry123 on Monday 9th October 12:34

If you can leave the car at home when it snows, the 4S is the best choice. It's MUCH Better than the Super Sport in cold wet conditions, and you won't have the 15% dry braking penalty you'll have on full winters.

[MrBarry123]

Thanks Jon, that's also very helpful.

My job would allow me to remain at home if we ever got very heavy snow i.e. I'm not that important to anyone!

I'll therefore opt for the 4S and keep the Cup 2s in the hope that I can get some track time arranged next year.

[jon-]

As it's starting to look colder from next week, I'm sticking the Cup 2's back on the M3

[Dog Star]

I've been a winter tyre convert for several years now, however the price for my E class on 19"s is a bit rich for me (it also goes back next December) so I'm giving it a miss - I'm allowed to work from home and our other car has them so I'm sure not spunking out over £700.

[DailyHack]

So far my "economy" Riken Snowtimes are doing a fine job on my BMW E91 in this wet weather we are having, they do kick up loads of spray for drivers behind me - and it does stop them tail-gaiting which good...they wouldn't me doing an emergency stop though, as the grip is phenomenal!

a black 2012 BMW tourer with black steels is an interesting look, but its growing on me!

[Sa Calobra]

mybrainhurts said:

tjlees said:

Monkeylegend said:

Sa Calobra said:

mybrainhurts said:

A tyre bod told me they'll be fecked if used in temps above 7deg.

The local fitter bloke down your greasy spoon?

I ran my Conti TS830's all year round over two summers and winters at temps up to 30C, they were fecked after 60k miles.

Yep - not really had a problem running winters in summers. Wear seems about same with only the grip being entertaining (in a good way) above 20C

The problem is not wear, it's higher temperatures rendering them less effective later in snow.

Mine have been on for a couple of weeks now and I cringe when I go round a sharp quick bend

[Mr Happy]

I'll be in the market for a set of winters, probably this coming week.

Anyone used or have an opinion on the Uniroyal MS Plus 77s? I'm not too worried about longevity as I do less than 10k/year, plus they'll only be on the car until spring.

They seem pretty well liked on Tyre Reviews ( here) so should be a relatively safe punt.

[Billy_Whizzzz]

MrBarry123 said:

Looking for a bit of advice from those in the South of the UK...

I currently have Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s fitted to my car which whilst great, aren't likely going to be suitable for November through to February. As such, I've decided to look at a new set of tyres however I can't decide whether it's worthwhile going for something like a Pilot Alpin PA4 over the Pilot Sport 4S.

(The Cup 2s will be refitted in March as they've worn evenly and all tyres still have >3mm tread.)

I ran a set of Pilot Super Sports through winter last year and they performed well so I'm leaning towards the 4S however I wouldn't want the 4S to perform any worse than the SS.

My question therefore is how those of you who run winter tyres in the never-very-extreme part of the UK get on with them?

Edited by MrBarry123 on Monday 9th October 12:34

I ran proper winters for about 6 or 7 years and were brilliant on the occasions they were really needed and great to have for chilly, 3 degree wet winter roads - but ultimately frustrating in 10 degree dry winter weather we get a fair amount of - so for last year, I ran cross climates from end Nov - Mar (on BMW M140i) which were brilliant - can't recommend them enough - and were perfect for british winters, and fine on the few days of real wintery ice and snow we had.

[tjlees]

Billy_Whizzzz said:

I ran proper winters for about 6 or 7 years and were brilliant on the occasions they were really needed and great to have for chilly, 3 degree wet winter roads - but ultimately frustrating in 10 degree dry winter weather we get a fair amount of - so for last year, I ran cross climates from end Nov - Mar (on BMW M140i) which were brilliant - can't recommend them enough - and were perfect for british winters, and fine on the few days of real wintery ice and snow we had.

Agreed but a the mo Michelin don't seem to provide fandango wide 255/35 r19 cross climates so using symmetric 18s complete wheels on s/h alloys bought from BMW. Added bonus is I can swap front to back to give even wear and the tyres are £240 cheaper than the 19s.

[matthias73]

Has anyone bought 17" steelies for a 3er?

Don't want to use my staggered 18s but a quick glance online suggests it's not much cheaper to buy steelies over alloys.

[nickfrog]

matthias73 said:

Has anyone bought 17" steelies for a 3er?

Don't want to use my staggered 18s but a quick glance online suggests it's not much cheaper to buy steelies over alloys.

You can usually buy cheap 2nd hand square set up alloys, including BMW OE. Look on both ebay and forums. I did it twice and buy selling the alloy+winters package when I sold the car, the depreciation was very small, none on one occasion.

[jon-]

Mr Happy said:

I'll be in the market for a set of winters, probably this coming week.

Anyone used or have an opinion on the Uniroyal MS Plus 77s? I'm not too worried about longevity as I do less than 10k/year, plus they'll only be on the car until spring.

They seem pretty well liked on Tyre Reviews ( here) so should be a relatively safe punt.

13th overall in a test from this year:

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2017-Auto-Bil...

The poor dry performance would put me off

[htid]

matthias73 said:

Has anyone bought 17" steelies for a 3er?

Don't want to use my staggered 18s but a quick glance online suggests it's not much cheaper to buy steelies over alloys.

I bought 17 inch alloys off of mrwinterwheels for my Z4 Coupe. It usually runs 18 staggered but bmw recommends 17 for winter tyres. I believe they have to be at least that to fit over the brakes. The only actual real cost as I see it is for the alloys at £369. I saw that as a fair price when spread over the years of use they will get plus not subjecting my now summer alloys to the salt on the road.

The tyres I went for were the Continental Winter Contact TS860 as they appear to have performed the best overall in the most recent tests

Edited by htid on Saturday 21st October 11:10