Winter Tyres

[jont]

I used Paypal as advised so hopefully will be getting the set in a couple of weeks - will post how I get on if I remember.

According to their tracking info, the tyres I ordered on Tuesday arrived at the fitting centre this afternoon, so it might be sooner than you think.

[Zebedee]

Vredestein (both Wintrac full winter tyres and Quatrac all-season tyres) are generally well liked by their owners.

+1. I've used Vredestein Quatrac 3 tyres for year-round driving. They were great! Unless you're a regular track day driver, I reckon they are spot on for driving many cars in the British climate. As they are unavailable in my new tyre size, I'll be giving the new Nokian All Weather Plusa go:
www.nokiantyres.com/tyre?id=21638755&gr ... eather+%2B

Has anyone tried these new Nokians yet?

[Slink_Pink]

I used Paypal as advised so hopefully will be getting the set in a couple of weeks - will post how I get on if I remember.

According to their tracking info, the tyres I ordered on Tuesday arrived at the fitting centre this afternoon, so it might be sooner than you think.

Yes - they had a couple of delivery attempts last week (I was away) but 1 of 4 got delivered to a neighbour! Other 3 should be with me today I hope. I have no idea why they were shipped as 3+1.

[jcochrane]

I have my fingers crossed. I've ordered a set of winter tyres, through a major tyre fitting company and booked the date and time for the fitting. Just hope it all comes together. The company also have facilities to store your tyres for a small annual fee.

[Renny]

Yes - they had a couple of delivery attempts last week (I was away) but 1 of 4 got delivered to a neighbour! Other 3 should be with me today I hope. I have no idea why they were shipped as 3+1.

They send them as seperate consignments. I used the same supplier last winter and the courier attempted delivery when we were out, left a card, so on the following day (Saturday) I drove 10 miles to collect them, only to find the depot only had 3 of the 4 .
On checking the tracking email, i realised there were 4 tracking numbers = 4 consignments . Thankfully I was able to arrange delivery to my neighbour for the remaining whell & tyre which arrived on the Monday

[MGF]

Need/want to replace all four tyres on a Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 and have decided to go for all-season to avoid having to change them next year. The car has 185/55/R15s at the moment but can also use 155/80/R13s. I understand there is an advantage to skinnier tyres in the snow but how much of an advantage is there with all-season tyres compared with a proper winter tyre? And what would be the difference when there isn't any snow? The car is used for journeys of less than 10 miles generally and occasionally long journeys on DCs and motorways.

[Gareth]

The car has 185/55/R15s at the moment but can also use 155/80/R13s.

Is the 13" wheel the standard size? Do you have wheels that size available? Tyres in the smaller size are certainly a lot cheaper, although the range available seems quite limited in both. If you were buying from mytyres, for example, I would suggest considering Hankook Optimo 4S, Vredestein Quatrac 2, Vredestein Quatrac 3 or Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons from the ranges they currently have listed.

If you are looking for the wheel and tyre sizes supported by your car there is sometimes a sticker with pressures for different sizes inside a fuel filler cap, or maybe the same information will be in the handbook. The reason for mentioning this is that there might be a 14" tyre that is suitable as well.

I understand there is an advantage to skinnier tyres in the snow but how much of an advantage is there with all-season tyres compared with a proper winter tyre?

I understand the advantage of a narrower tread is primarily for accelerating and braking, which would be especially useful on compacted snow and ice, with the trade-off being less lateral grip which might be noticeable as greater susceptibility to cross-winds on motorways. Even the wider size is relatively narrow by todays standards.

A good winter tyre should be better than a good all season tyre in cold, wet, wintery conditions when both are the same size. However a good all season tyres should do almost as well in most of the wintery conditions we get in the UK. Similarly, it should do almost as well as a normal tyre in the warmer parts of the year. That's certainly the experience we've had on our cars.

And what would be the difference when there isn't any snow?

Our car with Vredestein Quatrac 3 tyres sounded a bit 'squidgy' when turning the wheel in the summer however we didn't notice any grip defficiency.

[Slink_Pink]

And what would be the difference when there isn't any snow?

Our car with Vredestein Quatrac 3 tyres sounded a bit 'squidgy' when turning the wheel in the summer however we didn't notice any grip defficiency.

Having just fitted my Snowtrac 3s, the only perceptible difference at this stage is a small increase in road noise at 60mph+. I hope that they should perform well in when the temperatures drop and/or the monsoon season continues.

[Gareth]

Having just fitted my Snowtrac 3s [...] I hope that they should perform well in when the temperatures drop and/or the monsoon season continues.

They did over the last two winters on our other car.

[MGF]

The car has 185/55/R15s at the moment but can also use 155/80/R13s.

Is the 13" wheel the standard size? Do you have wheels that size available? Tyres in the smaller size are certainly a lot cheaper, although the range available seems quite limited in both. If you were buying from mytyres, for example, I would suggest considering Hankook Optimo 4S, Vredestein Quatrac 2, Vredestein Quatrac 3 or Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons from the ranges they currently have listed.

Thanks. 14" doesn't really improve my options. 13" with wheels with quatrac 2s inc. delivery is only £10 ea less than fitted 15" quatrac 3s tyres only. So will go for the latter unless I can persuade myself to go for the cheaper - £40 ea - 'star performers'. From the reviews there doesn't appear to be a huge difference in performance but they wear out much more quickly.

The tyres on my MG are 5 years old and still have 5 mm of tread left and my thinking is that if I have an irreparable puncture or other damage then I will have lost much less remaining mileage with a cheaper tyre.

[Gareth]

unless I can persuade myself to go for the cheaper - £40 ea - 'star performers'. From the reviews there doesn't appear to be a huge difference in performance but they wear out much more quickly.

The reviews for these tyres seem to be of the personal experience type rather than from independent testing, which rather suggests they might not be good enough to be included.

The only reference I've seen for this brand was in a report on a 2010 winter tyre test - see the footnote about them being the only tyre to get a negative score ...

Should bear in mind this was a winter tyre test that also included a couple of all season tyres. Just found another: http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/winter-tyres-tested/254606.

[MGF]

I had read that but it refers to the winter tyre rather than the all-season although it isn't re-assuring. Mytyres also appears to list the same tyre under both winter and all-season so I am more confused. It appears these terms are labels rather than comparable terms such as the M+S and mountain signs.

[michael769]

It appears these terms are labels rather than comparable terms such as the M+S and mountain signs.

This seems to be the case. The term "winter tyre" seems to be used interchangeability with both snow and all season tyres (mountain/M+S). Not unreasonably as the mountain/M+S types are usually suitable for use in countries that require winter tyres.

And indeed all season is often misused as a label for summer tyres, I feel that it is best to consult the manufacturers websites to work out which tyres are which.

[Slink_Pink]

It appears these terms are labels rather than comparable terms such as the M+S and mountain signs.

This seems to be the case. The term "winter tyre" seems to be used interchangeability with both snow and all season tyres (mountain/M+S). Not unreasonably as the mountain/M+S types are usually suitable for use in countries that require winter tyres.

And indeed all season is often misused as a label for summer tyres, I feel that it is best to consult the manufacturers websites to work out which tyres are which.

Yes - definitely check the manufacturer's website...

Nokian tyres WRG2 [...] These are All-Season rated

Appear to be described as such for US and Canada only. Elsewhere described as winter tyres, (see Nokian websites). Possibly slightly different products in different markets? Possibly related to how tyres are commonly used in different markets? Who knows?

Interestingly, on the Global (English) website there is a new "AllWeather +" tyre that appears to have a very similar tread pattern to that of the WR G2 (.pdf), but is clearly a different tyre since both are mentioned on the same page.

...also consider looking at different national versions to make sure that they are actually winter tyres and not just winter tyres for the UK market but all season for others.

As for reviews, I searched in vain for independent reviews of tyres. It seems that only user reviews exist for the majority which, I suppose, is better than nothing.

[Gareth]

I searched in vain for independent reviews of tyres. It seems that only user reviews exist for the majority which, I suppose, is better than nothing.

The TyreReviews website has links to independent reviews of normal, all season and winter tyres.