Winter tyres vol 2

[thecrow]

I have just ordered Michelin Alpin PA4s for my Cayman GTS 4.0, the Pirellis it came with have gone rock solid in the cold. I am hoping to recover a bit of the feel of the car (as well as be able to take it to the alps for a ski trip!). Was a bit of a challenge finding them in the right sizes but having had winters on my e46 M3 and my 700bhp M6 it was always going to be done!

Edited by thecrow on Sunday 28th November 08:59

[Speed addicted]

snowandrocks said:

Anyone know of any decent winter biased heavy duty tyres suitable for a Hilux?

It's got BF Goodrich All Terrains on just now and while they're almost unstoppable until you run out of ground clearance their on road snow performance isn't a patch on the proper Michelin winter tyres we have an an old Accord.

It's great fun if you're in the mood, in 2wd today with nothing in the back I felt like a Tokyo Drift King!

I’m running Michelin latitude cross on my Mitsubishi l200, the work well on everything so far. They’ve been great for the last 15k miles including some off-road and heavy snow.
They’re more all season than winter tyres though.

[Turn7]

Falken HS01 any good ? Thinking of putting some on her Yaris.....

[anonymous-user]

bolidemichael said:

jon- said:

B'stard Child said:

F20CN16 said:

Turn7 said:

Stupid question that I guess I know the answer to, but will ask anyway....

Wife has an old Yaris, would a front only pair of Winters be worth doing, or does it need the full set ?

We are very close to swapping it out, but havnt yet decided with what, and if we could get through this winter on a pair it would buy us some thinking time.

Very bad idea… the rear will try to overtake the front on bends and braking.

^ WHS - Equivalent to having slick tyres on the back and new tyres on the front and driving on wet roads would you do that??

I've tried this on snow (a while back now)

It's really not controllable even if you know what's coming.

BC's explanation is a good one, it helps to visualise what you're essentially risking by taking a short cut.

I've fitted Maxxis AP2 to the A2 and they're effective and cheap. We recently had a puncture and had to replace the tyre. I sourced a pair of AP3 and kept the good one (AP2) as a spare.

I'd agree that over the lifetime of the tyre they may prove a false economy when running to 2mm, but for us the mileage of 5,000 per annum means that they have good tread for years and the cheap replacement is a bonus too.

Edited by bolidemichael on Sunday 28th November 08:53

I had snow tyres on the front of a civic for years and summers on the rear, it would drive up snowy hills that stopped other cars and never once swapped ends (or even gave a twitch ) and didnt once kill me dead - like most things it just required being sensible. I would have preferred 4 snow tyres obviously but on a fwd car having grip at the front was far better than no grip at either end, and just not going to work was not an option.

[Regbuser]

Turn7 said:

Falken HS01 any good ? Thinking of putting some on her Yaris.....

Falken's good, run them on the vans.

[tail slide]

JimSuperSix said:

I had snow tyres on the front of a civic for years and summers on the rear, it would drive up snowy hills that stopped other cars and never once swapped ends (or even gave a twitch ) and didnt once kill me dead - like most things it just required being sensible. I would have preferred 4 snow tyres obviously but on a fwd car having grip at the front was far better than no grip at either end, and just not going to work was not an option.

Same here on a Clio Cup for years, works fine for good acceleration and hard braking, so much better than regular tyres, in fact as if it was just wet. For cornering you only have to remember that there IS still snow or ice for those rears, and slow down a fair bit below normal corner entry speed, as everyone else will be doing.

[Davie]

tail slide said:

Same here on a Clio Cup for years, works fine for good acceleration and hard braking, so much better than regular tyres, in fact as if it was just wet. For cornering you only have to remember that there IS still snow or ice for those rears, and slow down a fair bit below normal corner entry speed, as everyone else will be doing.

User name checks out. Though not sure if during an emergency avoidance situation I'd be remembering the severely compromised grip on the back end before I yanked the wheel over...

[Carbon Sasquatch]

tail slide said:

JimSuperSix said:

I had snow tyres on the front of a civic for years and summers on the rear, it would drive up snowy hills that stopped other cars and never once swapped ends (or even gave a twitch ) and didnt once kill me dead - like most things it just required being sensible. I would have preferred 4 snow tyres obviously but on a fwd car having grip at the front was far better than no grip at either end, and just not going to work was not an option.

Same here on a Clio Cup for years, works fine for good acceleration and hard braking, so much better than regular tyres, in fact as if it was just wet. For cornering you only have to remember that there IS still snow or ice for those rears, and slow down a fair bit below normal corner entry speed, as everyone else will be doing.

Insane IMHO - for the price of a couple to tyres.

You clearly recognise the massive difference in grip, so I just don't understand why you take the risk.

The analogy someone else posted above is a good one - it's like fitting slicks to the rears only & going out in the rain.

[anonymous-user]

journeymanpro said:

Cross climate 2, end of thread.

Yep.

I fitted them to my wife’s FWD BMW X1 in January this year.

I posted a month or so ago about how good they were all year including over summer, but this morning we had about 6 inches of snow, and all the rural roads/villages around me were totally coated in a decent covering.

The car didn’t even twitch. Up and down some steep and twisty rural lanes laden with fresh snow, compacted snow, and freezing conditions.

4x4’s with ‘normal’ tyres were all slipping over the place and struggling. Range Rovers, X5’s, etc.

Hot summer days, rain, ice, snow. No problem.

Cross Climate’s are just ‘fit and forget’ for pretty much any daily driver, unless it is a dedicated performance car.

Massively easier than mucking about with winter tyres.

(I speak as someone who previously fitted winter tyres to my wife’s car every winter)

[anonymous-user]

Carbon Sasquatch said:

tail slide said:

JimSuperSix said:

I had snow tyres on the front of a civic for years and summers on the rear, it would drive up snowy hills that stopped other cars and never once swapped ends (or even gave a twitch ) and didnt once kill me dead - like most things it just required being sensible. I would have preferred 4 snow tyres obviously but on a fwd car having grip at the front was far better than no grip at either end, and just not going to work was not an option.

Same here on a Clio Cup for years, works fine for good acceleration and hard braking, so much better than regular tyres, in fact as if it was just wet. For cornering you only have to remember that there IS still snow or ice for those rears, and slow down a fair bit below normal corner entry speed, as everyone else will be doing.

Insane IMHO - for the price of a couple to tyres.

You clearly recognise the massive difference in grip, so I just don't understand why you take the risk.

The analogy someone else posted above is a good one - it's like fitting slicks to the rears only & going out in the rain.

1. because for some people, me included at the time, the cost of the 2 extra tyres was about equal to the contents of my bank account.

and 2. because you still drive to the conditions and grip of course, same as you would if you were one of the thousands out driving to work on just summer tyres except you have the added bonus of being able to steer and stop. Out of lets say 20 cars crawling along in the snow in a queue of traffic and all the others are on summer tyres , who do you think has the better ability to go, steer and stop?

I assume you dont think a car on summer tyres will perform more safely on snow than a car with 2 winter or snow tyres? Having driven both I can assure you the difference is night and day, you just have to be aware the car is now balanced differently so you drive and corner appropriately.

Btw your analogy is wrong - this is like taking a car on 4 slicks and fitting 2 normal tyres before driving in the rain - would you be better off keeping 4 slicks on? Nope.

[Earthdweller]

Lord Marylebone said:

journeymanpro said:

Cross climate 2, end of thread.

Yep.

I fitted them to my wife’s FWD BMW X1 in January this year.

I posted a month or so ago about how good they were all year including over summer, but this morning we had about 6 inches of snow, and all the rural roads/villages around me were totally coated in a decent covering.

The car didn’t even twitch. Up and down some steep and twisty rural lanes laden with fresh snow, compacted snow, and freezing conditions.

4x4’s with ‘normal’ tyres were all slipping over the place and struggling. Range Rovers, X5’s, etc.

Hot summer days, rain, ice, snow. No problem.

Cross Climate’s are just ‘fit and forget’ for pretty much any daily driver, unless it is a dedicated performance car.

Massively easier than mucking about with winter tyres.

(I speak as someone who previously fitted winter tyres to my wife’s car every winter)

I’d say exactly the same about the Goodyear vector 4 seasons fitted to our fwd Mini Countryman which is effectively the same car as yours

Just epic all round tyres which should probably be the default

When the summers wear out on my X3 I’m
thinking of just going A/S rather than summer/winter with that too

Although maybe keep the winters in reserve in case we get a real bad hit

[Theoldfm]

I’ve just bought some Dunlop Winter Sports and a set of 18” wheels for wintering my 335d. Seem really good so far.

[url]

[bolidemichael]

I'm pretty certain that for the last two or three winters, this thread has experienced more 'naysaying' contributors than this year... could the tide be turning amongst UK petrolheads?

Edited by bolidemichael on Sunday 28th November 23:29

[thiscocks]

JimSuperSix said:

bolidemichael said:

jon- said:

B'stard Child said:

F20CN16 said:

Turn7 said:

Stupid question that I guess I know the answer to, but will ask anyway....

Wife has an old Yaris, would a front only pair of Winters be worth doing, or does it need the full set ?

We are very close to swapping it out, but havnt yet decided with what, and if we could get through this winter on a pair it would buy us some thinking time.

Very bad idea… the rear will try to overtake the front on bends and braking.

^ WHS - Equivalent to having slick tyres on the back and new tyres on the front and driving on wet roads would you do that??

I've tried this on snow (a while back now)

It's really not controllable even if you know what's coming.

BC's explanation is a good one, it helps to visualise what you're essentially risking by taking a short cut.

I've fitted Maxxis AP2 to the A2 and they're effective and cheap. We recently had a puncture and had to replace the tyre. I sourced a pair of AP3 and kept the good one (AP2) as a spare.

I'd agree that over the lifetime of the tyre they may prove a false economy when running to 2mm, but for us the mileage of 5,000 per annum means that they have good tread for years and the cheap replacement is a bonus too.

Edited by bolidemichael on Sunday 28th November 08:53

I had snow tyres on the front of a civic for years and summers on the rear, it would drive up snowy hills that stopped other cars and never once swapped ends (or even gave a twitch ) and didnt once kill me dead - like most things it just required being sensible. I would have preferred 4 snow tyres obviously but on a fwd car having grip at the front was far better than no grip at either end, and just not going to work was not an option.

Had my MK2 golf on all seasons on the front and budget summers on the back and it was very good in the snow. Probably better balanced than with all summers in the dry.

[anonymous-user]

thiscocks said:

JimSuperSix said:

bolidemichael said:

jon- said:

B'stard Child said:

F20CN16 said:

Turn7 said:

Stupid question that I guess I know the answer to, but will ask anyway....

Wife has an old Yaris, would a front only pair of Winters be worth doing, or does it need the full set ?

We are very close to swapping it out, but havnt yet decided with what, and if we could get through this winter on a pair it would buy us some thinking time.

Very bad idea… the rear will try to overtake the front on bends and braking.

^ WHS - Equivalent to having slick tyres on the back and new tyres on the front and driving on wet roads would you do that??

I've tried this on snow (a while back now)

It's really not controllable even if you know what's coming.

BC's explanation is a good one, it helps to visualise what you're essentially risking by taking a short cut.

I've fitted Maxxis AP2 to the A2 and they're effective and cheap. We recently had a puncture and had to replace the tyre. I sourced a pair of AP3 and kept the good one (AP2) as a spare.

I'd agree that over the lifetime of the tyre they may prove a false economy when running to 2mm, but for us the mileage of 5,000 per annum means that they have good tread for years and the cheap replacement is a bonus too.

Edited by bolidemichael on Sunday 28th November 08:53

I had snow tyres on the front of a civic for years and summers on the rear, it would drive up snowy hills that stopped other cars and never once swapped ends (or even gave a twitch ) and didnt once kill me dead - like most things it just required being sensible. I would have preferred 4 snow tyres obviously but on a fwd car having grip at the front was far better than no grip at either end, and just not going to work was not an option.

Had my MK2 golf on all seasons on the front and budget summers on the back and it was very good in the snow. Probably better balanced than with all summers in the dry.

but..but...surely you died every time you tried to brake or corner??

[Cold]

bolidemichael said:

I'm pretty certain that for the last two or three winters, this thread has experienced more 'naysaying' contributors than this year... could the tide be turning amongst UK petrolheads?

Edited by bolidemichael on Sunday 28th November 23:29

Yep, everyone seems to be driving past Pirelli Scorpion All Season equipped Range Rovers despite only having one winter tyre fitted to the spare wheel of their 3 series.

[Slow]

JimSuperSix said:

thiscocks said:

JimSuperSix said:

bolidemichael said:

jon- said:

B'stard Child said:

F20CN16 said:

Turn7 said:

Stupid question that I guess I know the answer to, but will ask anyway....

Wife has an old Yaris, would a front only pair of Winters be worth doing, or does it need the full set ?

We are very close to swapping it out, but havnt yet decided with what, and if we could get through this winter on a pair it would buy us some thinking time.

Very bad idea… the rear will try to overtake the front on bends and braking.

^ WHS - Equivalent to having slick tyres on the back and new tyres on the front and driving on wet roads would you do that??

I've tried this on snow (a while back now)

It's really not controllable even if you know what's coming.

BC's explanation is a good one, it helps to visualise what you're essentially risking by taking a short cut.

I've fitted Maxxis AP2 to the A2 and they're effective and cheap. We recently had a puncture and had to replace the tyre. I sourced a pair of AP3 and kept the good one (AP2) as a spare.

I'd agree that over the lifetime of the tyre they may prove a false economy when running to 2mm, but for us the mileage of 5,000 per annum means that they have good tread for years and the cheap replacement is a bonus too.

Edited by bolidemichael on Sunday 28th November 08:53

I had snow tyres on the front of a civic for years and summers on the rear, it would drive up snowy hills that stopped other cars and never once swapped ends (or even gave a twitch ) and didnt once kill me dead - like most things it just required being sensible. I would have preferred 4 snow tyres obviously but on a fwd car having grip at the front was far better than no grip at either end, and just not going to work was not an option.

Had my MK2 golf on all seasons on the front and budget summers on the back and it was very good in the snow. Probably better balanced than with all summers in the dry.

but..but...surely you died every time you tried to brake or corner??

I always used to throw a pair of the cheapest nastiest winters on the rear of my bmw e46s. I would have a set of mismatched 16” wheels for the back with sub £50 winters of no brand you knew.

The thing was unstoppable in the snow and ice. Being in the highlands we certainly got it every year.

You would just have to realise you can’t fly into a corner and slam on the brakes.

[anonymous-user]

JimSuperSix said:

but..but...surely you died every time you tried to brake or corner??

No one said anyone is going to die

I said it’s a very bad idea, having seen what can happen from the imbalance. If it’s worked for you then fine.

Getting so tired of attitudes on here when having a simple conversation.

[21st Century Man]

Slow said:

The thing was unstoppable in the snow and ice.

Presumably had they been tested they would be at the bottom of the ranking for braking?

[QuartzDad]

Cold said:

Yep, everyone seems to be driving past Pirelli Scorpion All Season equipped Range Rovers despite only having one winter tyre fitted to the spare wheel of their 3 series.

and username checks out.