Whos using them?
Are they much better in the cold/rain/snow?
What brands do you recommend?

Thanks

 

my bro uses them on his mk4 golf and does a lots of driving in Europe so has to have them anyway.
He swares by them and says they are worth having.

 

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)

(I'm running 205/50/17 Uniroyal 'Plus 66')

 

I have Kumhos on my golf too, but as yet haven't driven in conditions that enable to really put them to the test...

Everything i read suggested they make the world of difference, and that you should avoid anything S/H with less than 4mm of tread too.

There are some vids on the tube showing them in action vs normal tyres...

Tom

 

^ Someone, on here, mentioned that places like eBay are flooded with part worn winter tyres from Germany, all with about 4mm tread on them. That says to me that the Germans change their winter tyres at about 4mm, and if they do that, that suggests that at 4mm and under, they aren't as effective. Which makes sense since most winter tyres come with 9/10mm of tread, so you're only getting 50-ish % of the grip with 4/5mm ones.

Mine are second hand, because I can't afford new, but have about 7mm on them (been run for only a couple thousand miles). So long as you take them off before the ambient temp gets to 7deg again, then you shouldn't prematurely wear them out (they will wear quicker in the warmer temps (7+deg) and dry spring roads. I'm gonna keep mine on till Feb probably, unless we get a particularly mild winter.

 

Yeah i know they are legally required on the continent. Ive seen a few vids online too and they certainly look good.
What are they like when the roads are just cold... Ie completely dry, but 1-2c and under? I dont wanna constantly be swapping tyres

 

GoodYear Pro Armor winter rated.

Pretty good but not as affective as studs.

 

From what I've read, they work perfectly fine in the dry, so long as it's cold. The reason being is the silica rubber compound used in them is softer than that of normal summer tyres, meaning they stay more supple, and thus more grip, in lower temps (ie, under 7 deg). So they'll be fine to run on dry roads over winter, but just change back to summer/normal tyres when the temp begins to warm up, and definitely before it gets to 7deg (to avoid premature wear)

 

No need, below 7C winter tyres definitely work better, above 7C summer tyres "usually" work better. Needs to be a lot hotter for serious wear.
Been using them for a few years now, they work very well.
Typically put them on in November (at first forecast of cold weather) and off again around March/April.

I have a complete spare set of wheels (cheap tatty alloys as it happens) including spare, so it's a quick and easy swap. On both cars.

 

Sorry, I worded that badly - I missed an "over" out of it, so it should have read "and definitely before it gets OVER 7deg"

I mentioned in an earlier post that winter tyres work better at temps under 7deg, so it's fine to use them in the dry when it's lower than 7deg, but change back to normal tyres when it's higher than 7deg.

I've done the same as you - got a tatty/scabby set of spare alloys, with the winter tyres fitted, and just jack up the car and swap them over. It's quicker and easier, and also means you only have to pay for the tyre fitting once, rather than fork out twice a year to get the tyres swapped on the rims (and also, I think it's better to store tyres when they are at pressure, than store them off the rims? Could be wrong, sure I read that somewhere though)

 

I'm lazy so I get a mobile tyre fitter to do it; much easier with all his power tools, air jacks, torque spanners etc. Quick & cheap.

There's usually something that needs attention and obviously he checks condition, pressures and (if I ask) balance too.

My winter wheels (both cars) are actually 1" smaller rims (though in both cases I found very similar-looking alloys to the summer ones) with deeper profile tyres. Works very well.
One has 15" winters and 16" summers, the other 17" winters and 18" summers.

 

Mine are both on 17's, but I was going to go one size lower for the winters - 215/45/17 for summer, and 205/55/16 for winter, but couldn't get a set of 16" rims for a low enough price, so in the end I just went for an identical set of 17's, just a scabby set to keep the cost down. Shame, because the RX300 'Harrier' had a set of 16's that weren't too dissimilar to my standard 17's, which look really good. but most sets I found were £300 +

In the summer I might try sanding them down and painting them, just to make them look a little nicer

 

Used them for 20 odd years now ,as we go skiing and need them in europe ,BEST winter mod you will ever do ,even spot on in standing water no aqua planing ,and good in dry conditions aswell ,we have michelins at the moment and they are great have them on a set of 16" alloys 205/55/16 so we just swop off the 18" wheels 225/40/18 for the winter nov till april

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvA5P...ature=youtu.be

 

I have put them on my fiesta and have only had to use them on ice this morning and admit there was no loss of traction from the front wheels under sensible driving, i am using general tires, same brand as 4x4 general grabbers, will wait till proper snow till they can prove themselves!, colleaugues swear by them though!

 

Sounds like im going to have to invest, thanks guys!

 

Whatever you do, just be sure to fit FOUR winter tyres, and not just TWO;

 

it's better to generally go a fair bit narrower than your summer tyres as well for better 'pressure' into the snow/ice/water, so same size alloys are not ideal for that

 

Ive just ordered a set the other day. Uniroyal +66 winter tyres. Got them for £175 for a set of 4 delivered to my door in 195 65 15 profile

 

Jammy fucker, I paid £250 for mine delivered!

 

Not a bad price. Think I paid about £60 a wheel for Falken HS439 195/60/15 at a local tyre depot fully fitted.

 

Where from????

 

http://www.tyretraders.com/tyresearc...l&tyreType=All

 

Got myself a set of Hankook WR06 Winters for my Renault Trafic.... specific for light vans......

 

yip, bmw deffo need them

summer i run 265/30/19 and 235/35/19 Conti

Winter 225/45/17 all around Dunlop 3D

Good makes

Dunlop 3D / 4D
Michelin Apline
Nokian (finnish)
Conti Ts810 i think they are

 

Well. I left my house at 7 am this morning @ -2 and drove from mablethorpe to lincoln. Roads were white and saw quite a few cars slipping but My uniroyal winter tyres woulnt budge. Some very steep hill between lincoln and wragby and it didnt struggle once at all. Im impressed

 

I was impressed with mine (same Plus 66's as yours) when we had snow down here on Wednesday - and I didn't even need to go anywhere; I just went out to see if they were any good! The only issue I had with them was black ice on the main roads (traffic was moving enough to have turned it from white, but slowly enough that it was re-freezing to the glossy, glass-like ice), on which that even very gently bringing the throttle in, crawling along in stop/start traffic, would see the N/S rear tyre spin a little making the back end tramp a touch before it gripped and went forward. I think though that's down to two things; 1) you can't change the laws of physics, and 2) the Torsen LSD that's in the back of my IS isn't the best type of LSD for slippery surfaces (something to do with them needing some traction to "fight back" effectively. Torsen is good by being virtually bulletproof, but on slippery conditions (snow, icetrack) it will not perform like a cluch-type LSD. If you jack up the rear of a car with a Torsen LSD, and turn one of the wheels by hand, the two wheels will spin opposite directions, unlike a clutch-type LSD that both spin the same way)

Either way, it was still way more driveable than I'd expect it to be with regular summer tyres on, as proved by pulling out of my parking space and up the ice-clad hill/slope to the main road like there was nothing there, while Beemers and Merc's were dropping like flies

 

I've got vredestein snowtrac 3 all round on my 320d and have no worries about snow with them.

 

Dunlops on our works van, it feels very sure footed on the icy rds.