Should I fit Snow Tyres??
Discussion
I know it's a bit early in the year.
SWIMBO has a Fiat Grande Punto with a mighty 59 bhp. She averages less than 5,000 miles a year, mainly school runs, her commute and shopping.
The front tyres are down to the limit, so I can replace with direct OEM (Bridgestones) @ £70 each. They'll last 4 maybe 5 years at current mileage / wear, almost certainly beyond the point we'll sell the car.
Alternatively I can fit a pair of snow tyres for £60 each. I'd then stick the barely worn rears on the front for the summer / autumn, letting the snow tyres carry the shopping / pram.
Come the winter, it'll either snow or not. If it does, I can stick the snow tyres on the front and go anywhere. Admitedly there is a risk the back end could break away, not having snow tyres on it, but SWIMBO doesn't drive THAT fast, especially in snow.
The only other factor to factor in is my car is crap in the snow, 225/40R18's all round and a front spoiler that doubles up as a snow plough meant it spent weeks parked up last winter!
So, do I buy snow tyres on the 1st of August?
SWIMBO has a Fiat Grande Punto with a mighty 59 bhp. She averages less than 5,000 miles a year, mainly school runs, her commute and shopping.
The front tyres are down to the limit, so I can replace with direct OEM (Bridgestones) @ £70 each. They'll last 4 maybe 5 years at current mileage / wear, almost certainly beyond the point we'll sell the car.
Alternatively I can fit a pair of snow tyres for £60 each. I'd then stick the barely worn rears on the front for the summer / autumn, letting the snow tyres carry the shopping / pram.
Come the winter, it'll either snow or not. If it does, I can stick the snow tyres on the front and go anywhere. Admitedly there is a risk the back end could break away, not having snow tyres on it, but SWIMBO doesn't drive THAT fast, especially in snow.
The only other factor to factor in is my car is crap in the snow, 225/40R18's all round and a front spoiler that doubles up as a snow plough meant it spent weeks parked up last winter!
So, do I buy snow tyres on the 1st of August?
I have a Merc and some Merc owners run winter tyres year round and they don't wear any faster than summer tyres.
I'd be dubious if the car was used on long fast runs but around town it should be fine.
What size is it on - £70 seems quite dear for what I would expect would be small tyres?
You could us all-season tyres if you can get them in the right size, like Kleber Quadraxer - and they even have the full winter marking 3-peak mountain on them - http://www.event-tyres.co.uk/news/new-kleber-quadr...
I'd be dubious if the car was used on long fast runs but around town it should be fine.
What size is it on - £70 seems quite dear for what I would expect would be small tyres?
You could us all-season tyres if you can get them in the right size, like Kleber Quadraxer - and they even have the full winter marking 3-peak mountain on them - http://www.event-tyres.co.uk/news/new-kleber-quadr...
I imagine the general consensus will be to be fit winters on all 4 corners or don't bother - otherwise you risk the car 'snapping' (for lack of a better word) and your OH causing an accident by facing backwards.
See this video from 1:27
edited for speeling
See this video from 1:27
edited for speeling
Edited by Xavier259 on Sunday 31st July 16:32
as has been said, you definitely don't want to be mixing all weather tyres with winters. i believe doing that may also affect the validity of your insurance. certainly check with your insurer first.
we got a set of conti winter contacts for our golf last winter and they were absolutely superb. By April when i finally got them switched around again it was already too warm for them and they felt very 'squirmy'. there's no way i'd be putting them on my car at this time of year.
we got a set of conti winter contacts for our golf last winter and they were absolutely superb. By April when i finally got them switched around again it was already too warm for them and they felt very 'squirmy'. there's no way i'd be putting them on my car at this time of year.
GTDNB said:
there's no way i'd be putting them on my car at this time of year.
Conversley, I've been running on winter tyres since November, (Merc Vito van) they aren't wearing too much and handle a lot better than the crap that was fitted to it before.OP, if you think you would benifit from winter (rather than snow) tyres, then no reason why not to get them, and use them as you suggest.
There is obviously some potential issues with mixing tyre types back-front, but for low speed town driving it shouldn't be an issue.
Wouldn't running winter/snow tyres in the current temperatures ruin them? It would be something like 15-20 degrees above their optimum operating temperatures. Won't that "bake" them in a way, and ruin the compound (kinda like in F1 when they run intermediate tyres for too long when it's dry)?
Fit them now!!!!
You never know when it might dip below 7C for a couple of minutes and you'll spin uncontrollably off the road and die in a fireball!
M
You never know when it might dip below 7C for a couple of minutes and you'll spin uncontrollably off the road and die in a fireball!
mrmr96 said:
Don't fit winter tyres to the front only. Else when you brake hard the front with bite and the rear will skid out and the car will spin.
Rubbish! If you drive appropriately to the conditions it'll be fine. If you drive like an arse, the snow tyres won't save you!M
dvance said:
Wouldn't running winter/snow tyres in the current temperatures ruin them?
30 years ago, maybe. Modern winters are fine. Hell, I had to put my snows (Dunlop Graspic which are a snow/ice tyre, not a high performance Winter) during the heatwave in April/May and they didn't melt and fall off. They didn't wear either.doogz said:
And saying your winter tyres were fine in the warm weather, and didn't wear?
It's one or the other. Either, they were fine, or they didn't wear. They can't have managed both.
I think the surprising thing to some people is that winter tyres used in the summer wear no more than summer tyres. They do need at least 4mm of tread depth to work as winter tyres though, so, depending on your mileage it could work out fine to fit a set alte in the year, run them for 12mths (or maybe 24mths is your milage is low) and then fit a new set the following winter.It's one or the other. Either, they were fine, or they didn't wear. They can't have managed both.
kambites said:
If there was no disadvantage to running winter tyres in the summer, why would summer or all-season tyres exist?
I suppose that, logically, All-Season tyres must always be a compromise - interesting that All Season's are common in the US and they often come with very high milage wear guarantees.At extremes, then the right tyre must be best, but most everyday users are a long way from the limits of their tyre's capabilities.
Indeed, but full winter tyres are a very long way from what they're designed to do best in even a British summer.
The tyre manufacturers always seem to say that the crossover in grip levels between winter and summer tyres is at 7 degrees centigrade and I see no reason not to believe them. That means that above seven degrees, summer tyres have more grip.
The tyre manufacturers always seem to say that the crossover in grip levels between winter and summer tyres is at 7 degrees centigrade and I see no reason not to believe them. That means that above seven degrees, summer tyres have more grip.
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