Thinking of getting a set of proper winter tyres on my van so when all the pipes start bursting when its cold i can get to the call outs

Anyone used them and are they worth it......

 

I fitted a set of dunlop winters on our works van on thursday, dunno what there like yet though.

 

Used them in the czech republic last year. So impressed I have bought a set for my cmax this year. When using them in CZ it never went above -4C during the day with a lot of snow and was reguarly -10C/ -15C on my way back from work. Never had an issue with starting and stopping. Even with no snow and just low temps they gave very good feedback and grip.
Will wait and see how they perform over here. Kwik fit were cheapest at the moment 25% off. I just paid Ł413 for 4 goodyear ultragrip 8 205/55/16 fully fitted and tracked ( was a bit of discount as well) online Ł107 each fitted

 

https://passionford.com/forum/wheels...ter-tyres.html

Just put mine on today, done about three miles on them in the dry so far, so can't help you much

 

Really worth while if you are doing a good few miles.
Fit them every winter and you can defo tell the difference, be passing people on hills that are stuck and i just toodle by.
I drive between Thurso near John O Groats to Aberdeen and i have never been stuck in a winter up there yet with traction loss.
I use Gislaved Nordfrosts, usually fit them between Nov until Apr each year and get roughly 12k out a front set on my astra van.
They are also quite good as a wet tyre.
Once you have tried winter tyres you will honestly think to your self why hadn't i done this before, peace of mind if you have a bad spell.

 

Been using winter tyres every winter for over 20 years ,laugh every winter at the amount of people still not using them,running michelins at the moment and they are fantastic ,these tyres are even good in heavy standing water ,no aqua planing at all ,travel all over europe skiing etc and have no problems ,got them on a set of 16" alloys, just swop from the 18" wheels in mid nov and swop back in april

 

fuck that..

you need this bad boy

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover...item2ec3de9fa2

 

This story shows how effective they are ,popped to berkshire a few years back when we had some heavy snow ,picked up a car part in a housing estate that was quite badly snowed in (we drove straight in ) saw a guy digging out a focus st on the way in ,the guy we met said he had been there 2 days trying to get that st out ,on the way out he had moved it and got stuck further down ,i then pulled in near where he was digging out ,he looked as to say your getting stuck ,then we just pulled out no wheel spin or nothing ,his face was priceless

 

now that looks fun

 

I have used them the last couple of years, they give more confidence of stopping in the bad weather, I am about to swap mine over this weekend ready for the winter and will keep them on until about march.

 

Used them on my s2 turbo last year for the first time, really impressed, went up snow covered hill roads no problem, just put them back on today for this winter

Dunlop sp winter tyres

 

They are well worth it - will pay for themselves in the long run, can make an undrivable car in the snow sure footed, stick them on a 2nd set of rims if you can

 

Here it`s unlegal to use summer tyres on snow and ice conditions roads. Nokian and Continental are the ones to go for

 

So if you were in a fwd, would you just put the fronts on?

 

NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!..............VERY Dangerous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks like i will treat myself to a set for the van then i think

Any good makes or does it not make much difference really as any will be better than summer tyres...

 

If you do that the arse end will be all over the place!!! Fit 4 it will be the best thing you ever do

 

Absolutely not

 

The michelins i have at the moment are wearing hardly at all, done a full winter already, a trip to switzerland last march and the ring last weekend

 

ive got winters on my bmw they were on it during summer as well i find they give excellent grip even on dry roads they just tend to wear out quicker than normal tyres when used in normal conditions

 

One thing you don't want to do is run proper winter/snow tyres in anything but snow lol.

I had an evo 5 that came over from Japan with a set of snow tyres on. It seemed ok if a little squirmy in the dry. In the wet it was deadly, like driving on ice. My mrs text me one day saying the evo goes sideways really easily! I was like, jesus what's she up to..then I drove it in the rain.

I wish I could get some winter friendly tyres on my transit, my boss doesn't care for downtime on driving when it snows. That's all very well but it's not pleasant in a rwd max laden lwb van with tyres that resemble cut slicks lol. I dread the snow now, quite often I'll have a two hour drive to a job, throw in a bit of snow and it messes my day right up.

 

I also use snow tyres during peak winter months,Its just safer that way -you can cut costs on some things....on others you shouldnt..

 

Cheers for the info!

 

There are all different types of tyres -

Summer tyres - tyres designed to be used on tarmac above 7 degrees centigrade - may have very little grip in the wet or dry at low temps due to the compound and poor in slush/ snow or mud due to the tread pattern (especially when they are worn) may have reduced rolling resistance for better MPG

Winter tyres - tyres that are designed for tempratures under 7 degrees centigrade, may have a similar pattern to a summer tyre or may be "chunky-er" much better in the snow/ slush than a summer tyre but may also be better in the wet at low temps, some can be used all year round but expensive and higher rolling resistance than a summer tyre

snow tyre - extreme snow tyre that is exellent in the snow, may fip itself to bits on tarmac in the summer, may have poor grip in the wet, may have chunky tread with high rolling resistance

M+S (mud and snow) road- leagal off road tyre usually with big, chunky square grips/ shoulders used by land rovers etc, designed for mud/ off road mainly, but good in some types of snow, noisy/ uneconomical on the road, may be slippery in the wet, on slush or on tarmac at low temps (not actually a low temp tyre compound, even thogh it says "snow")

studded tyres - special tyres with steel spikes that bite into ice - rips up the tarmac and destroys themselves in summer! - really noisy - expensive

Winter tyres may need to be TUV approved to drive legally in winter on the continent

Tyres may be a mixture/ hybrid of those above depending on the manufacturer, or a compromise between different uses/ for different conditions

 

I honestly always thought what's the point.

Only vehicle I use in the winter is my discovery and never had a problem.

 

Had them on the fiesta and they were great, ran them for about a year including the summer without issue

 

I should hope not, lol.....

 

These are what I fitted - Uniroyal Plus66 M+S winter tyres - http://www.uniroyal-tyres.com/genera...rsicht_en.html

 

 

I would have got Continentals or Dunlops if I could (my short list was ContiWinterContact's, Dunlop 3D's, Avon IceTour), but kept getting outbid on them (can't afford new) so when these Uniroyal's came up I thought fuck it and snapped them up - I've had Uniroyal's in the past (RainSport) and was very impressed with them - by far the best tyre I've ever used in the wet, so I'm hoping that these Plus66's will be as good in the cold wet roads as the RainSport's were, and that they'll get me out of my close and onto the main road in the snow and ice.

Only thing I'm not sure on is what tyre pressure to run them on. I've gone with 30psi for the time being (205/50/17), and I don't want to run them under pressure and wear them out prematurely...

 

we run our 205/55/16 at 32 psi

 

they are brilliant, especially on RWD vehicles which are otherwise absolutely uselesss in the snow. might seem expensive, but cheap compared to losing business or having an accident

 

Exactly my thoughts mate, put them on my Trafic van and will be able to get to any call outs that come in.....

 

I've got them on my BMfuckingW and they're awesome!!!! I've got Falken HS439's and they make my car driveable when it's snowy/slushy/icy. Otherwise I just go around in circles.....

 

Would going from a 205/65/16 tyre to a 205/60/16 tyre make a difference????

 

Will be fitting my ContiWinterContacts this week. They were ace last year, and gave loads of confidence. Felt really good in the wet too. Not tried them in deep snow, so hoping to this year!

I wouldn't fit cheap winter tyres, as in the dry they can be very poor.

 

I've just fitted a set of Vredestein Wintracs on my 330d, the only thing that i've struggled with so far has been black ice. However, short of studded tyres i'm not sure anything would have got traction on it! I find the handling in the dry is very noticably different, turns in absolutely fine but seems to squirm mid corner a lot more!

 

This year was the first year I've actually awaited snow - woke up this morn, on my day off, to find it had laid about an inch or two down where I live! Normally I'm all "ffs, hate snow" (cos it makes my job even more of a misery, and all the idiots can't drive in it) but straight away I got up, dressed, and out to the car to clear it off, so I could test the winter tyres I fitted last weekend

Where I live, the road out of the estate is block paving. Looks great, but a fucking nightmare with the snow. It compacts into sheet ice after a half dozen cars have driven over it, and it doesn't help it's on an incline to get out to the main road. Not to mention I have a 90deg turn to get on the incline, then another 90deg turn to get on the main road at the top. By the time I'd got out, two beemers and a merc had failed to get out; two had slid back down and abandoned their cars at the bottom, and the 1-series had pulled into the empty parking bay next to my car. So I warmed the car up, and gave it a try.

Fucking sailed out like there was nothing there No wheelspin, no slip, no TRC light, just gripped, pulled, and fucked off. Stopped at the end of the road, with no ABS kicking in, and then pulled out onto the main road with no fuss, and off I went I even diverted off the main road, and down some side roads that were just pure white ice, and it gripped no problem. Granted I didn't boot the fuck out of it, as that's not how you drive on ice, but even so, I gave it a bit more than I normally would have done, and no fuss. ABS kicked in a little on braking, but less so than I'd thought it would (and only when coming to halt with the clutch down).

Had a little bit of rear end tramping (if that's the right word) on black ice on the main road, when hooking up first gear. At first I thought the left rear was flat, as it felt the same. Checked it and it wasn't, so just put it down to the road being iced over and the left side is off camber. Once back on the regular ice and slush it hooked up fine and drive fine.

Then sat in traffic for an hour cos all the other cunts didn't wanna go over 5mph (that and a lorry jacknifed a couple miles away and old bill closed the road)

 

No brainer really.

GoodYear Pro Armor winters fitted last week. The vehicle is 4x4 so that helps.

The truck has 390mm rear discs so takes 18" rims only. Starting to get expensive.

 

Best mod you have ever done i bet !!!!!!!! bet your glad you have them now

 

To be fair, I've never driven my IS, or any other RWD car, in the snow, so I'm only going assuming it's gonna be as crap as the other beemers and mercs that get stuck where I live (unless they are particularly shite drivers, although my neighbour is from Hungary, and even he can't move his Merc in the snow - and being Hungarian he should know better!), but first impressions of the winter tyres on my Lex are very good!

Shame I didn't even need to go out this morning, and only did to see how they coped