Winter tyres vol 2

[jon-]

d_a_n1979 said:

I think general rule of thumb is winters, when around 4-5mm, is the right time to replace.

Isn't that the law in Germany and similar?

My pals just fitted the Petlas winter tyres to his 335D; hasn't used them in anger yet but says they're a superb feel to the car. He lives East Lancs way; so will get a lot more wet and colder weather than I will generally and he's up and down the M65 daily to his motorsport garage near to Preston

They seem to get very good reviews currently!

3mm in most countries is the legal requirement.

The Petlas might feel great compared to whatever he had before, but it doesn't mean they're great tyres. They're certainly not as bad as some though.

[d_a_n1979]

jon- said:

d_a_n1979 said:

I think general rule of thumb is winters, when around 4-5mm, is the right time to replace.

Isn't that the law in Germany and similar?

My pals just fitted the Petlas winter tyres to his 335D; hasn't used them in anger yet but says they're a superb feel to the car. He lives East Lancs way; so will get a lot more wet and colder weather than I will generally and he's up and down the M65 daily to his motorsport garage near to Preston

They seem to get very good reviews currently!

3mm in most countries is the legal requirement.

The Petlas might feel great compared to whatever he had before, but it doesn't mean they're great tyres. They're certainly not as bad as some though.

He’s had his fair share of premium winter tyres on this car and his 335i; so for me, if he says they’re good then I’d take his word on that

Everyone has their tyre choices; always a personal thing etc...

Germany is 4mm; just found it in Google... That’s why you see a lot of alloys and winter tyres for sale on eBay.de with the tyres around 4-5mm...

[jon-]

d_a_n1979 said:

He’s had his fair share of premium winter tyres on this car and his 335i; so for me, if he says they’re good then I’d take his word on that

Everyone has their tyre choices; always a personal thing etc...

Germany is 4mm; just found it in Google... That’s why you see a lot of alloys and winter tyres for sale on eBay.de with the tyres around 4-5mm...

Germany is particularly uptight

While I don't doubt his findings, it doesn't mean in the bigger picture they're good tyres. Grip isn't a personal thing, it's a measurable objective thing, and when European Petlas winter tyres have been measured, they've been found lacking.

https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2020-Winter-Ty... the very worst on test of 52 tyres tested in the wet
https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2016-Winter-Ty... 39 of 49

Edited by jon- on Monday 4th January 23:01

[d_a_n1979]

jon- said:

Germany is particularly uptight

While I don't doubt his findings, it doesn't mean in the bigger picture they're good tyres. Grip isn't a personal thing, it's a measurable objective thing, and when European Petlas winter tyres have been measured, they've been found lacking.

https://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2020-Winter-... the very worst on test of 52 tyres tested in the wet
https://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2016-Winter-... 39 of 49

Aye, this is East Lancs though pal... ‘them’ll do’ etc

They’ll be hell of a lot better than the 20” premium rubber bands he generally drives around on...

[jon-]

[Kolbenkopp]

jon- said:

Germany is particularly uptight

You won't see me disagreeing here . Just to add a small correction: the widely accepted rule of thumb is 3-4mm for winters. But legally it's actually a pretty lenient 1.6mm. And anybody close to the Austrian border is likely also going with 4mm as it's a legal requirement there. Ukraine seems to lead the below chart with 6mm required...

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profiltiefenmessung#...

[Kolbenkopp]

Kolbenkopp said:

Great -- thanks et merci for the recommendations . Will check those out and report back. Also ooking forward to the vid Jon, always very informative content. Worth dropping a link to the channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEvB1bmKjPWZ3V1wS...

Just to close this one -- went for the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 in the end. Local prices very close to budget tyres in this size (195/45/16, around €65). Initial impressions are very good. This is for an Abarth 595 that came with Conti EcoContact 3 from the factory. Prefer the Hankooks so far, but too early to tell really.

[Kolbenkopp]

ecsrobin said:

Stating the obvious but the joys of 14’s £220 for a set fitted. Might even try and fit nangkang semis on for the summer to see if she notices ????

Great minds think alike . We are sharing the 595 as I currently need to drive a lot less (2020 :-/). The A052 Yokos are available in a size that works. Bit extreme perhaps and worried how bad they will be in the rain though...

[DailyHack]

d_a_n1979 said:

My pals just fitted the Petlas winter tyres to his 335D; hasn't used them in anger yet but says they're a superb feel to the car.

They seem to get very good reviews currently!

Petlas are good! Little known fact - they are a Turkish company and supply the Turkish airforce with their aircraft tyres, so they know how to make a decent tyre I am sure.

Another good budget brand is Riken, run these as winters on my 3series, been great over the years.

[anonymous-user]

It looks like they have chosen not to make a good tyre, despite knowing how, then

[South tdf]

With a trip to Poland pending for Christmas I bought a set of unused BMW alloys with new Conti winter contacts which went on Sunday.

Being in the South it’s my first time on winters but have noticed they do seem to feel a little better on the damp and muddy country lanes. Will see by the spring if I am a convert.

[jon-]

Kolbenkopp said:

Kolbenkopp said:

Great -- thanks et merci for the recommendations . Will check those out and report back. Also ooking forward to the vid Jon, always very informative content. Worth dropping a link to the channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEvB1bmKjPWZ3V1wS...

Just to close this one -- went for the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 in the end. Local prices very close to budget tyres in this size (195/45/16, around €65). Initial impressions are very good. This is for an Abarth 595 that came with Conti EcoContact 3 from the factory. Prefer the Hankooks so far, but too early to tell really.

They won the Auto Bild SUV test too, they're doing really well this year

[DickyC]

Mrs C dislikes driving when it's slippery. I bought a set of wheels, had them refurbished and fitted with winters. One winter. They've been in the garage ever since; she doesn't drive in poor conditions at all now. I tried to sell them: I forget how much the wheels were but the refurb and tyres were getting on for £750. I put them up for £250. 5mm of tread. Not one enquiry. Just had them put back on. Get some use out if them.

[Kawasicki]

jon- said:

In theory they will be a little more robust. In practice, some brands have exactly the same tyres for the XL and non-XL tyres, so it might not be any difference.

And some XL tyres are lighter built versions of the normal tyre.

[Davie]

Re. the XL or not to XL question... this time not Burger King related, thanks chaps and thus have opted to go with the OEM spec tyre, ie non XL

It's a Quatrac Pro I'm opting for... I did debate mail order at £350 and doing a 120 mile round trip to my tame mechanic who'd fit them for free but Black Circles have quoted £397 fully fitted locally so that's looking like an option.

I've run Quatrac 5 before, granted 16's and on a FWD and was impressed in all weathers be in mid summer, the Ring in a freezing, wet October and a foot of snow... and the Pro version is seemingly slightly improved but factor in AWD now too and if that combination can't cope with the weather outside, I'll stay at home.

[loskie]

Quatracs are bloody brilliant, a lot better than some full uk winter tyres I have run. I changed from them one year to Avon Ice Touring which were poor in comparison

[jon-]

loskie said:

Quatracs are bloody brilliant, a lot better than some full uk winter tyres I have run. I changed from them one year to Avon Ice Touring which were poor in comparison

Careful, Vredestein just released the "quatrac" which is a brand new tyre replacing the Quatrac 5

[21st Century Man]

Vredestein seem to have a lot of variants, it can be hard work sorting out what's what and when you have, you get hit by size impacting availability and then have to compromise. It does seem much easier with other manufacturers.

[RicksAlfas]

21st Century Man said:

Vredestein seem to have a lot of variants, it can be hard work sorting out what's what and when you have, you get hit by size impacting availability and then have to compromise. It does seem much easier with other manufacturers.

It's a bit like Pirelli. Every tyre they make seems to be a P Zero!

[Ron99]

RicksAlfas said:

It's a bit like Pirelli. Every tyre they make seems to be a P Zero!

Fortunately Pirelli seem to be slipping down into the mediocre-quality tyre range these days so they won't be near the top of many people's shopping list on here, therefore the confusion caused by all their tyres carrying the same name won't matter.