Winter tyres vol 2
Discussion
Put a set of Michelin CrossClimate+ on the E36 today.
I had actually run the winters (Hankook I*Cept Evo) all through the summer as the Vredesteins on my 17 inch summer alloys were worn right down come MoT time earlier this year. TBH, I was planning to get rid of the car however, change of circumstances means I'll probably keep it for the time being so thought might as well try some all seasons. The (v hot) summer wasn't that kind to the winters (lots of squealing at roundabouts even at low speed and after a run you could really smell the rubber). They didn't wear quite as badly as I expected. They've lasted from 2012 (when I originally bought them for a German road trip) so they've done well.
Car instantly feels better. The winters were pretty much shagged, very skittish and any decent throttle at standstill would active the traction control.
Watched a few videos on YouTube (including by our resident tyre expert Jon) and it seems the CrossClimates are remarkably good on snow. As a GP, it's important for me to still be able to get into work even in the snow hence going for the all seasons rather than regular summers. They also seem to do well for wear so fingers crossed they'll be a decent tyre overall.
I had actually run the winters (Hankook I*Cept Evo) all through the summer as the Vredesteins on my 17 inch summer alloys were worn right down come MoT time earlier this year. TBH, I was planning to get rid of the car however, change of circumstances means I'll probably keep it for the time being so thought might as well try some all seasons. The (v hot) summer wasn't that kind to the winters (lots of squealing at roundabouts even at low speed and after a run you could really smell the rubber). They didn't wear quite as badly as I expected. They've lasted from 2012 (when I originally bought them for a German road trip) so they've done well.
Car instantly feels better. The winters were pretty much shagged, very skittish and any decent throttle at standstill would active the traction control.
Watched a few videos on YouTube (including by our resident tyre expert Jon) and it seems the CrossClimates are remarkably good on snow. As a GP, it's important for me to still be able to get into work even in the snow hence going for the all seasons rather than regular summers. They also seem to do well for wear so fingers crossed they'll be a decent tyre overall.
Edited by g3org3y on Thursday 29th November 15:01
AFAIK, technically speaking, Crossclimates are 'all weather' tyres, not 'all season '.
All Season are just the description that North Americans give to tyres that aren't high performance Summer optimised. ie. Marginally better than performance tyres in cold and snowy conditions, but still crap.
All Season are just the description that North Americans give to tyres that aren't high performance Summer optimised. ie. Marginally better than performance tyres in cold and snowy conditions, but still crap.
Lucas Ayde said:
AFAIK, technically speaking, Crossclimates are 'all weather' tyres, not 'all season '.
All Season are just the description that North Americans give to tyres that aren't high performance Summer optimised. ie. Marginally better than performance tyres in cold and snowy conditions, but still crap.
We don't really have the all weather term in the UK, it's either summer, all season or winter. All Season are just the description that North Americans give to tyres that aren't high performance Summer optimised. ie. Marginally better than performance tyres in cold and snowy conditions, but still crap.
Michelin don't want you calling the CrossClimate any of those either. They call it a "summer tyre with snow capability"
RicksAlfas said:
And me. They suit that car.
Off topic now, but the current obsession with massive wheels is a real triumph of marketing over function. You don't see it as much elsewhere. In the US and Europe you see far more SE spec BMWs (for example) than M-Sports, where as here it seems the other way round. Bring back big sidewalls!
100% agree with this regarding the bigger sidewalls.Off topic now, but the current obsession with massive wheels is a real triumph of marketing over function. You don't see it as much elsewhere. In the US and Europe you see far more SE spec BMWs (for example) than M-Sports, where as here it seems the other way round. Bring back big sidewalls!
Had a Suzuki Swift which had the big sidewall tyres and the alloys after 5 years were perfect.
Now have the new style Mini Clubman SD and it's a bl**** nightmare.
If it's not potholes its the other half clipping a multi-storey car park exit. Yes, it is a very tight squeeze but just the slightest touch and it makes a right mess.
Next car will 100% have anything but low profile tyres.
Unfortunately, most cars which have a bit of performance all have these fitted.
BTW winters are being fitted on Saturday.
Finally decided on Hankook W320 Winter I*cept Evo2 without run flat.
Hopefully they will be a good tyre
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 30th November 00:34
Just had the General Snow Grabber fitted to the Touareg.
Under £600 fitted, for 20" tyres seemed a decent deal to me.
Reckon I'll run them all year, for the mileage that I do, I don't really have much enthusiasm for buying a set of summers.
Interestingly, when I was in, a rep for one of the tyre companies was in and chatting to both me and the owner in the office.
Sales of All Seasons for cars and SUVS are up by about 30% this year compared to last (well, September through November). Prediction from him and the tyre guy was that sales of full Winters for SUV's and normal estates etc would likely fall as people in the UK buy a set of all seasons as a better/more cost efficient compromise than 2 sets of tyres.
Interesting to see what the thread thought.
Under £600 fitted, for 20" tyres seemed a decent deal to me.
Reckon I'll run them all year, for the mileage that I do, I don't really have much enthusiasm for buying a set of summers.
Interestingly, when I was in, a rep for one of the tyre companies was in and chatting to both me and the owner in the office.
Sales of All Seasons for cars and SUVS are up by about 30% this year compared to last (well, September through November). Prediction from him and the tyre guy was that sales of full Winters for SUV's and normal estates etc would likely fall as people in the UK buy a set of all seasons as a better/more cost efficient compromise than 2 sets of tyres.
Interesting to see what the thread thought.
Tom_Spotley_When said:
Interestingly, when I was in, a rep for one of the tyre companies was in and chatting to both me and the owner in the office.
Sales of All Seasons for cars and SUVS are up by about 30% this year compared to last (well, September through November). Prediction from him and the tyre guy was that sales of full Winters for SUV's and normal estates etc would likely fall as people in the UK buy a set of all seasons as a better/more cost efficient compromise than 2 sets of tyres.
Interesting to see what the thread thought.
I think for many motorists they make a lot of sense. There's the odd Fiat and Peugeot with them fitted as standard. If we weren't all caught up in the Eco/CO2 race I think more manufacturers would fit them, or at least offer them as an option.Sales of All Seasons for cars and SUVS are up by about 30% this year compared to last (well, September through November). Prediction from him and the tyre guy was that sales of full Winters for SUV's and normal estates etc would likely fall as people in the UK buy a set of all seasons as a better/more cost efficient compromise than 2 sets of tyres.
Interesting to see what the thread thought.
Tom_Spotley_When said:
Just had the General Snow Grabber fitted to the Touareg.
Under £600 fitted, for 20" tyres seemed a decent deal to me.
Reckon I'll run them all year, for the mileage that I do, I don't really have much enthusiasm for buying a set of summers.
You ok with 20% worst dry braking, for the 200+ days a year the roads are dry?Under £600 fitted, for 20" tyres seemed a decent deal to me.
Reckon I'll run them all year, for the mileage that I do, I don't really have much enthusiasm for buying a set of summers.
Spare set of wheels for the GT86 had Falken Eurowinter HS01 put on them this weekend.
At which point the temperature decided to go up to 15 degrees
Anyway, no more being stuck on the OHs driveway this winter, or sweating about being able to get to/from places for work. (Why does it always snow when I'm away and I risk being stuck somewhere/having a risky drive...gerr)
At which point the temperature decided to go up to 15 degrees
Anyway, no more being stuck on the OHs driveway this winter, or sweating about being able to get to/from places for work. (Why does it always snow when I'm away and I risk being stuck somewhere/having a risky drive...gerr)
jon- said:
You ok with 20% worst dry braking, for the 200+ days a year the roads are dry?
Run winters all year also (do circa 25k> annually) disagree with your post, my winters have been bloody marvellous in all weather we have had this year, tremendous in the wet damp roads we get here, but I guess each to their own.Suppose if I drove to the limits of my vehicle I may see a trade off - but I don't tend to drive a 318d underpowered, 1 1/2tonne piece of estate metal on skinny 205/16s that spirited - my car feels very planted on the motorway, standing water they excellent at.
Just done 900 miles last weekend to Cornwall/Penzance - was little bit warmer down there but not quite the Mediterranean..
Edited by DailyHack on Monday 3rd December 16:32
DailyHack said:
Run winters all year also (do circa 25k> annually) disagree with your post, my winters have been bloody marvellous in all weather we have had this year, tremendous in the wet damp roads we get here, but I guess each to their own.
Suppose if I drove to the limits of my vehicle I may see a trade off - but I don't tend to drive a 318d underpowered, 1 1/2tonne piece of estate metal on skinny 205/16s that spirited - my car feels very planted on the motorway, standing water they excellent at.
Just done 900 miles last weekend to Cornwall/Penzance - was little bit warmer down there but not quite the Mediterranean..
Just because you think it and say it doesn't make it true. Suppose if I drove to the limits of my vehicle I may see a trade off - but I don't tend to drive a 318d underpowered, 1 1/2tonne piece of estate metal on skinny 205/16s that spirited - my car feels very planted on the motorway, standing water they excellent at.
Just done 900 miles last weekend to Cornwall/Penzance - was little bit warmer down there but not quite the Mediterranean..
Edited by DailyHack on Monday 3rd December 16:32
There are a hundred ways to objectively and empirically test this and show with absolute clarity that it's not the case.
Winters are worse on wet damp roads as well as dry for the majority of the year no matter what car you attach them to, their operating temperature range is designed that way. So if yours are "Bloody marvellous that's great but summers would have been significantly better. Stopping distance is not about driving to the limits it's about what speed you need to stop from. A less "Sporty" car needs help from tyres even more as it's going to take longer to stop all other things being equal.
Only passing my own opinion from running them for considerable time, didn't say it was true and I am not making out it was true
But, from running summers for a long time the difference "to me" is very minimal, I have done a mixture of emergency braking dry and wet on winters and the car stopped on a dime... but like I said everyone will have different experience on both sets, so can make their own judgement.
But, from running summers for a long time the difference "to me" is very minimal, I have done a mixture of emergency braking dry and wet on winters and the car stopped on a dime... but like I said everyone will have different experience on both sets, so can make their own judgement.
Here's some objective winter tyre tests with a summer tyre reference included.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2018-Autobild...
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2018-Auto-Bil...
Should make the point.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2018-Autobild...
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2018-Auto-Bil...
Should make the point.
redditch said:
Aren't winter tyres better for temperatures a few degrees and below, rubber and cold aren't the best together, and winter tyres contain compounds to help this?
They have a higher % of silica and other things to enable them to stay more elastic as the temperature drops, but even at freezing a summer tyre will still outperform a siped tyre in the dry.jon- said:
Tom_Spotley_When said:
Just had the General Snow Grabber fitted to the Touareg.
Under £600 fitted, for 20" tyres seemed a decent deal to me.
Reckon I'll run them all year, for the mileage that I do, I don't really have much enthusiasm for buying a set of summers.
You ok with 20% worst dry braking, for the 200+ days a year the roads are dry?Under £600 fitted, for 20" tyres seemed a decent deal to me.
Reckon I'll run them all year, for the mileage that I do, I don't really have much enthusiasm for buying a set of summers.
Because I can’t afford to spend another £600 at the same time that I get married, for the 5,000 miles a year that I do, when 75% of my journeys are within 15 miles of my house at speeds of less than 40mph.
The 25% that aren’t are either to Manchester (maybe once or twice a month?) or to Gloucestershire (maybe once every 2 months). So that’s what, 12 journeys over 6 months?
Suspect I’ll manage, but appreciate your concern.
jon- said:
Lucas Ayde said:
AFAIK, technically speaking, Crossclimates are 'all weather' tyres, not 'all season '.
All Season are just the description that North Americans give to tyres that aren't high performance Summer optimised. ie. Marginally better than performance tyres in cold and snowy conditions, but still crap.
We don't really have the all weather term in the UK, it's either summer, all season or winter. All Season are just the description that North Americans give to tyres that aren't high performance Summer optimised. ie. Marginally better than performance tyres in cold and snowy conditions, but still crap.
Michelin don't want you calling the CrossClimate any of those either. They call it a "summer tyre with snow capability"
Weather has become mild once again here so much better suited to these than proper winters. I'm also of the opinion (as per Jon's review) that living darn darf, makes more sense for the CCs rather than my other (genuine all season) option of the Vred Quatracs.
As mentioned, given my location in the south of England it the default option would be regular summer tyres. However, owing to my work, it's important I get in even if there is snow so hopefully the CCs will be ideal for this application.
Edited by g3org3y on Monday 3rd December 23:02
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