Winter Tyres

by **Fignon** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 12:17 pm

I have a set of steel rims with winter tyres fitted, swapped them over on Saturday.

I live in a hilly area so a little bit of snow means I won't be going anywhere. Had the winter tyres last year but there was hardly any snow to try them out. The tyres are meant to work a lot better than summer tyres when the temperature dips below 7 degrees.

Anyone here use winter tyres?

I get the impression more people are using them these days.

by **faboka** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 12:52 pm

You'll find a good few use winters or all season. I bought a set last winter but no decent snow to try them out

.

I left them on all over the summer. Seem to have worn well. Hopefully get to "use" them this winter.

by **Slink_Pink** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 2:20 pm

Yes and will swap them over, as soon as I get a spare few minutes...

by **Renny** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 2:02 pm

Slink_Pink wrote:Yes and will swap them over, as soon as I get a spare few minutes...

Me too.

Could be a job for Saturday morning if I don't go to a rally.

by **Slink_Pink** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 6:13 pm

Renny wrote:
Slink_Pink wrote:Yes and will swap them over, as soon as I get a spare few minutes...

Me too.

Could be a job for Saturday morning if I don't go to a rally.

Also just bought a torque wrench this year so I don't have to borrow one. If anyone is interested, I'll post my comments on it after the event.

by WS » Wed Oct 31, 2012 1:15 am

Fignon wrote:The tyres are meant to work a lot better than summer tyres when the temperature dips below 7 degrees.

Winter tyres work better than summer tyres only when driving in snow, slush or ice. In the dry or in the wet, even when the temperature is below zero, summer tyres will offer better performance, perhaps with the exception of extremely low temperatures, but that does not apply to the UK.

Of course the above is true for tyres of comparable quality / price level.

by **michael769** » Wed Oct 31, 2012 9:36 am

WS wrote:
Winter tyres work better than summer tyres only when driving in snow, slush or ice. In the dry or in the wet, even when the temperature is below zero, summer tyres will offer better performance, perhaps with the exception of extremely low temperatures, but that does not apply to the UK.

Actually that is not the case. Below approx 7c the rubber in summer compounds hardens significantly causing them to offer reduced grip. Winter (and all season) compounds remain soft at lower temperatures providing better grip (but not as good as a summer tyre in hot weather) even in dry conditions.

http://www.conti-online.com/generator/w ... on-en.html

It is true that in typical UK conditions all season tread patterns can offer better performance than true (M+S type) winter tyres which tend to be overkill.

by **Big Err** » Wed Oct 31, 2012 10:25 am

Slink_Pink wrote:Yes and will swap them over, as soon as I get a spare few minutes...

That'll be the wife's car fitted with the winter tyres. I'll slug it out with the summer tyres :lol:

by **trashbat** » Wed Oct 31, 2012 12:39 pm

I normally run Eagle F1s, which are pretty much a summer tyre, and have changed to Nokian WR A3s on the same wheels. Done it now as I can't predict the weather and want to run them in a bit first anyway.

Basically it feels and sounds the same; slightly less sure in the warm and dry, but never alarmingly so.

by WS » Thu Nov 01, 2012 12:01 am

michael769 wrote:Actually that is not the case. Below approx 7c the rubber in summer compounds hardens significantly causing them to offer reduced grip.

Yes it is the case. The fact that summer tyres harden around zero and below does not mean that their performance in the dry or in the wet becomes worse than that of winter tyres. Have a look at a couple of tyre tests, not only at manufacturers' marketing messages.

by **Renny** » Thu Nov 01, 2012 12:50 pm

trashbat wrote:I normally run Eagle F1s, which are pretty much a summer tyre, and have changed to Nokian WR A3s on the same wheels. Done it now as I can't predict the weather and want to run them in a bit first anyway.

Basically it feels and sounds the same; slightly less sure in the warm and dry, but never alarmingly so.

I like the Nokian's (WR2) that I have. Felt OK through the winter, until the day we had 19C (in March), then a bit squirmy, but still gripped. Decent wear rate also.

by **waremark** » Thu Nov 01, 2012 7:42 pm

What Mr WS says is very interesting. I have blindly believed the marketing story that winter tyres give better grip below 7 or 8 degrees C, but have been surprised how much grip I have on summer tyres at lower temps and on very wet roads. I have certainly concluded that I am happy on summer tyres except on actual snow or ice - when that is expected I use an old Honda CRV on all-season tyres, which does a magnificent job on snow. One day I do plan to put winter tyres on a higher performance car, so we don't have to become a one car household in bad weather.

by **Custom24** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 5:04 pm

WS wrote:
michael769 wrote:Actually that is not the case. Below approx 7c the rubber in summer compounds hardens significantly causing them to offer reduced grip.

Yes it is the case. The fact that summer tyres harden around zero and below does not mean that their performance in the dry or in the wet becomes worse than that of winter tyres. Have a look at a couple of tyre tests, not only at manufacturers' marketing messages.

Can you post a link? Google is not finding anything for me with those results at the moment.

by **Gumby** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 6:10 pm

Fitting some to my car this weekend.

My summer tyres have been getting twitchy in the cold weather now it's below 5 degree's when I go to work in the morning. Plus, being faily powerful + DSG I want to give it the best chance of sticking to the road in the cold, Ice and snow (if there is any).

I'd rather pay an amount of money for some tyres than loosing my no claims or having to pay out for repairs to my or someone else's vehicle if I were to slide off (and before someone says it...even if you are extreamly careful and dirve for the conditions, it still might happen or you may need to take avoiding action on snow or ice).

This is a good example of the differences and effectiveness of summer vs winter tyres:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elP_34ltdWI

by **jcochrane** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 6:39 pm

WS wrote:
michael769 wrote:Actually that is not the case. Below approx 7c the rubber in summer compounds hardens significantly causing them to offer reduced grip.

Yes it is the case. The fact that summer tyres harden around zero and below does not mean that their performance in the dry or in the wet becomes worse than that of winter tyres. Have a look at a couple of tyre tests, not only at manufacturers' marketing messages.

Not sure of the relevance but I have heard that at around 7c (ambient) the road surface can be down to Oc.

Winter Tyres

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