Winter Tyres - Advice Please

[Ed...]

yeah mate 8mm tread depth summer winter or whatever they give u hurendous amounts of grip

 

[Troopy]

Now you've got me doubting winter tyres...damn you woody! lol

Think i'll still get some becuase I can't afford to keep buying new tyres each year so surely even with lower tread (when the winter ones wear that is) they should out perform normal tyres!

Think that makes sense in my head...haha.

 

[Matt197]

Don't mean to start a war and point out the obvious, but summer tyres for summer and winter tyres for winter, simples.

Winter tyres are not just for snow but for ice and to be used in the winter month, a summer tyre will start to loose its effectiveness below 7c and will not stick to road as well because the tyre is that much stiffer and is designed for a different purpose.

If it was just a simple case of putting a new summer tyre on then places such as Germany and other EU countries would not have such strict laws. But the reality is that with a winter tyre you have far grater braking performance and driving control, this is why when we get a bit of snow or ice our country comes to a standstill yet people moan that they were stuck in their cars or unable to get to work!

Up to you guys what you put on your own cars, just don't moan when you sit on your drive spinning or end up sliding towards a curb, if it was up to me it would be law.

 

[Ed...]

well how do all weather tyres work then?

 

[Matt197]

Its all to do with the compound that's used for the tyre and the different tread patterns. They are much better than summer tyres in winter but are not as good as a dedicated summer or winter tyre as they are a compromise tyre, "jack of all trades, master of none" springs to mind.

But I would much rather have a set of good quality summer and winter tyres, after all they are the most important part of the car and are what stops you from going home in a box.

If you look at that video I posted you can see the difference it makes.

Another good video

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ncga6UxlHM[/YOUTUBE]

Here is another good link http://www.insideline.com/features/tire-test-all-season-vs-snow-vs-summer.html

 

[Roy]

very interesting:thumbsup:

 

[jon-]

Its all to do with the compound that's used for the tyre and the different tread patterns. They are much better than summer tyres in winter but are not as good as a dedicated summer or winter tyre as they are a compromise tyre, "jack of all trades, master of none" springs to mind.

But I would much rather have a set of good quality summer and winter tyres, after all they are the most important part of the car and are what stops you from going home in a box.

If you look at that video I posted you can see the difference it makes.

Another good video

snip

Here is another good link http://www.insideline.com/features/tire-test-all-season-vs-snow-vs-summer.html

That's a great article and I'd totally agree with you regarding all season tyres... well, I did until about a week ago when I read:

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2010-European-Winter-Tyre-Test_2.htm

The Goodyear Vector 4Seaons placed 8th overall (of 12) in a test where the results were extremely snow performance bias, which isn't bad.

That said the line between "all season" and "winter" now has gotten so blurred due to no standard it's silly. Something like the Nokian WRG2 is a "winter" tyre but probably offers better dry performance and worse snow performance than certain "all season" tyres.

 

[Ed...]

i watched the video and thought. . . .. . when do i drive down a waterfall lol

 

[skny]

WOODY the brand new summer tyre will never outperform even a half used winter tyre in cold or snow, the compound used and the thread pattern with a lot of small cuts which open when the tire meets the surface and close as it goes off just bites into the snow, they are also a lot better in the cold with no snow, summer tyre needs a higher temperature to provide the grip you need, the winter tire pretty much works well from cold, so even when there's no snow the winter tire will give you better performance, an example, check the monte carlo rally tyres, even when there's no snow they never use typical soft slick's nor intermediates, they use the winter compound with winter thread, back in 2004 I was running a Polish rallying 2nd league, a rally run in march, 70 km of special stages, temperature around zero C, there was no snow on the road, the tarmac was cold though, I was running bridgestone potenza's RE720 175/50/13 in my seicento gr. N, the class winner was running fulda winter tyres 155/65/13 and they were unstoppable, the reason to this, a summer tire will never warm up to its operating temperature to provide the grip it is designed to provide, so yes, all our classmates running on summer tyres got beaten by a few smart people with the winter tires on.

I recommend getting the snow tires, you will be able to have some fun in the snow as well! the 197 is really nice in the snow! but you need the tires!