Red_bull

Hello guys,

Here in the Netherlands the first snow was there today. So time for wintertyres. My dad bought a 2008 Mondeo station and also bought some wintertyres for his car.

He told me he wanted to pay my wintertyres, because is was running without them now to save some money. I drive each day 100 km, so little bit supid!

Now what happend was that he told me to buy the most cheap wintertyres then and i told him that that is more dangerous then running my Dunlops SP9000's. He really thinks there is almost no difference in quality on wintertyres.

Wintertyres are wintertyres! is his arguement.


Now could you guys bring on some youtube movie's of comperison between a good quality and bad quality tyre?

I have tried to find someting like same car same conditions different tyres to show him the difference. But haven't managed to find something!

Red_bull

no one!?

jammerrs

my dads getting winter tyres on the yaris today so ill ask him how they perfrom, Ł46 continental somethings.

i agree with you, a expensive quality tyre will perform so much better, just look at the difference in wheelspin etc running on budgets compared to good tyres. not got any proof but its true

stevieturbo

I'd be interested too. Although TBH whilst snow tyres are snow tyres. It still baffles me as to how they could offer more grip on the slippery stuff !!

And as you ask, how much difference there would be between different brands.

jammerrs

they have smaller blocks of rubber so the weight of the car is more focused so will push through the soft snow to a hard surface to grip on below

and the difference between brands i would imagine is the same difference as 'normal' tyres

Red bull - my dad says they made quite a difference, but still need to drive right to get the most out of them

rs-tuner

iTrader: (1)

I have seen some which also have jagged (spelling) edges to the blocks.

Twins

iTrader: (18)

We have run snow tyres for years in the winter ,they have sarated cuts in the tread which digs in and gives you grip ,baffles me why more people dont use them ,fit them in october remove in april ,the only problem for us getting about is getting behind people that get stuck as they dont have them ,we use them for driving abroad to ski resorts that have a lot more snow and no problems at all ,pulled down a side road last year that people where digging out of for days ,pulled over in to the deep stuff parked ,then pulled straight out ,peoples faces were a picture lol

andyt

iTrader: (1)

the rubber in the winter tyres does not harden in the cold as much as normal tyre`s and as said the extra cuts dig in the snow much more, i all ways put winter tyre`s on my van for dec and jan because they work better fact! (imo)

neil andeRSon

iTrader: (3)

iirc they've got some kind of sillica compund in them to keep them softer in the cold weather. i run them all yr round on all the daily drive's i've had. you get pretty good mileage outta them.

i see no difference between vredestein or pirelli winter's. both are as good as the other.

G420 DEL

ive just got some autosock's...

they seem to be doin the job well

rallycross

winter tyres make a huge difference.
even budget winter tyres make a huge difference in snow.

We've been using winter tyres for the past 12+ years, various brands including budget ones they really make a huge difference in the snow.

Summer tyres, especfially low profiles, are useless in snow, there is no getting away from that fact.


get some winter tyres and you will be happy with the extra grip.

or ignore this advice and get stuck in the snow!

stevieturbo

So snow tyres really are that good ? what are they like on normal roads the rest of the time then ?

Ordered a couple of snow socks myself. Hope I wont need them, but I dont want to get stuck if I do ( like I did on sunday for an hour !! ) was ragin

neil andeRSon

iTrader: (3)

yup. the difference is unreal. as said above i run them all yr round. really good grip in the wet. i personally wouldn't use anything else now.

TWoods

His right to an extent even budget winter tyres better on snow than premium summers the difference is when conditions change frequently from snow to wet or dry this what catches people out; those cheapo can't multifunction across a wide window of changable conditions.

If roads you travel on 90% deep snow get budget winters, if roads are more varied with snow,ice, water with occasional dry spell and want them to last well into spring then a premium winter is a no brainer.

Below 4mm tread all tyres become useless in snow ice and any standing water, winters tend to start off with 12mm depth, summers around 8mm depth

lead_foot

iTrader: (1)

Winter tyres have a rubber compound that is very soft even at very low temps unlike summer tyres that are like hard plastic at low temps.

PeterRST

iTrader: (1)

Winter tyres are an absolute must here in southern Germany.

Even the cheapest winter tyre will usually perform a lot better in snow, than a summer tyre. But most of the chinese stuff is absolutely useless if not downright dangerous in normal wet conditions. Sometimes the braking distance for instance is increased by 30 - 50%

stevieturbo

I still find it hard to believe they're really that good !

Neil@FastFord

My mate JHS took me out in Norway when it was frozen and i was amazed by how good winter tyres were. Genuinley impressed!

Can accelerate, brake and turn with total control, they do get ripped up if your not driving on snow and ice though because they are so soft in warmer temps.

Great stuff though

tabetha

Use them years ago, some Vredesteins, wish I had a spare set of wheels the difference is like night and day, just find yourself having to watch the rear view mirror more as you can stop so much quicker than the person behind you can!!
The difference really is immense, I'd bet even the crap winter tyres would still be better than the best summer tyre on snow by a long way.
tabetha

phil_focus

what make/model tyre do you use?

Twins

iTrader: (18)

i have toyo snoprox on at the moment ,and was using michelin alpins last year ,cant tell any difference ,have also used some uniroyal ones years ago ,if you go for a good branded one you cant go wrong

Twins

iTrader: (18)

trust me they are ,put it this way no one else in our estate can get out unless in a 4x4 jeep, and we are out in our mondeo ,in and out all the time ,had to pick a guy up for work the other day ,stuck on his drive cant move ,we drive up to where he is stuck, collect him and drive off

Twins

iTrader: (18)

I will post up some pics of the tyres soon

Paynee

are they equally as good in ice as snow? all the side roads by me have thanwed a little, compacted and then froze again overnight in the last week or so so most of them are just sheer ice! was looking at snow socks and the like last night but i have never had the same car 2 winters running and they all seem to be tyre size specific

Jim S

Like night and day, I've been using Toyo Snowprox for thye last eight winters on a 4wd Audi S2 and they are great. Got a pair last winter put on front of my wife's Fiat 500 and she's never missed getting to work since.

You still have to drive carefully on ice but they are still better than normal tyres.

And they are cheaper than forking out for a repair shop to fix your bodywork and suspension damage.

I got six winters out of my 1st set

snOOpy86

iTrader: (1)

Where is the cheapest place to get some? I need them in 18's

Allyc85

BMW winter tyre video..

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-video/b...-winter-tyres/

Enough said!

Jim S

At the moment I would have said it's not "where is the cheapest place" but 'Where can I actually get some' I've heard of some big queues at tyre shops this week.

Jim S

That about sums the difference up.

.Ross.

iTrader: (2)

Winter tyres are great.

I ran them for a while and they make 110% difference ... Although they cost around 500 - 600 quid for a decent set.

Its a tight rope thou! Is it worth buying them in the UK? They only last a few K on tarmac.

I ran Norkian Studded tyres and they destroy the snow proper.

Antti O

I am pretty sure all so called "winter tyres" which you have seen all crap.

Here is PROPER winter tyres for you..



Nokia Hakkapelitta 7, studded.
In Finland we have snow & ice 5 months year so we have to use proper and real winter tyres. People often laugh here for so called middle europe winter tyres, they are really crap. All.

stevieturbo

Yes, but how do they perform on tarmac ?

Antti O

Little bit noisy because of studs. Of course summer tyres are sharper and harder to drive. But imo if you have ice in the road no matter what you have if you dont have studs there is simply no traction at all. In Finland we also have winter tyre policy so we have to use from 1. december to end of the may but most people do change winter tyres in end of october..

stevieturbo

I ordered snow socks on Sunday. And now, 4 days later the retards email me to confirm the size I need, despite this being very clear at the time of order.

How fucking hard is it to get any decent service these days !!!!!!

I may as well just have ordered bloody snow tyres instead

phil_focus

now thats what i call a winter tyre!!

bet they'd be fucking dear to get over here though!!!

James

having watched the video and read all the above i still don't see how they can make that much difference. i think i'm just gonna have to try it......

stevieturbo

The difference in the video is quite dramatic.


Problem now, is finding somewhere that actually has some in stock !!!

lead_foot

iTrader: (1)

I think studded tyres are illegal to use on UK roads.

phil_focus

didn't you notice the winter tyred car cornered tighter and the back end didnt step out like the summer tyred car???

Antti O

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXHGl...eature=related

This video shows normal winter driving conditions in Finland.
I think here with summer tyres you make suicide.