Winter tyres

[Willie]

Sorry bud but to get the best you are better to have two sets of tyres.
Summer tyres like GYE F1 Asymmetrics @ £110 per corner
Winter tyres like Michelin PA2's @ £175 per corner

At these prices you don't want to use them in the wrong season, especially the winter tyres as they are bound to wear out quicker in the summer.

 

[coggie]

I'm guessing people have full sets of winter tyres? There's no benefit to just having them on the fronts?

 

[Willie]

There would be benefit to having just the fronts but it depends on your driving skills and who else drives the car.
Loosing the back end in snow or ice is not easy to regain when you have winter tyres on let alone summer tyres with the treads full of snow.
I was just going to fit fronts but when it snows and you REALLY need to use your car you'll be very glad you spend that bit extra on a full set.

 

[rllmuk]

It's very dangerous to install on one axle. Don't even contemplate it.

 

[HotHatchSteve]

I'm guessing people have full sets of winter tyres? There's no benefit to just having them on the fronts?

Think about it ! every time you turn a corner the front will grip way more than the back creating bad oversteer.

 

[Haddock]

But on pure ice it makes no difference what you have fitted, you start sliding or spinning your in deep ####. Only spikes will help here and these are bannned in Britian.

I used to think this, but there's a good video on U-tube, where they test Summer V Winter V All season tyres - there's a lot of difference, I'll try and find the link.

 

[Willie]

On pure ice when your sliding the different tyres make a difference without spikes??

I'd be surprised, especially with a 1,356 Kgs car

 

[Haddock]

On pure ice when your sliding the different tyres make a difference without spikes??

I'd be surprised, especially with a 1,356 Kgs car

I'll try and find the link tonight, its a "professional" test done on an Ice rink - but its only acceleration and stopping - no cornering...

Plus in real life an icy road is usually broken up with slush/snow etc...

Still wouldnt fancy hitting sheet ice mid corner though

 

[Haddock]

This was the video I was thinking of:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlYEMH10Z4s

 

[Willie]

Can anyone suggest some other web sites to buy winter tyres on.
I still have my 225-40-18 Michelin PA2's going strong on the LCR but need some 235-40-18's for the A4.
The only web sites I can find with any winter tyres are
www.mytyres.co.uk - good selection but not that cheap
www.camskill.co.uk- rubbish selection but seemingly good prices
www.event-tyres.co.uk - don't cover my area
www.blackcircles.co.uk - no winter tyres
www.dattyres.co.uk - very confused web site that doesn't list ANY 235-40-18's
www.jettyes.co.uk - no winter tyres
Costco - cannot get the info online about these

 

[RobT]

Funny you should post this - I was only looking at them yesterday for my A4! 235/40/18

They seem very expensive in this size - I have always found Camskill to be the cheapest but they dont always have the best selection (toyo snowprox and vredestein wintrac at £135) - mytyres have an outstanding selection but the prices are higher - £115 for some crappy Falkens, Nokian WRs and then upwards - the Dunlop 3Ds and the Mich PA3 are £176!

Cannot justify them at this price - tyrerack in the US has the PA3 ahead of the Dunlop now in the performance reviews although looking at it, I think the Dunlop is more suited to the UK winter conditions where we have a lot of rain - tread looks better designed for shedding water to me than the PA3

If you find either the PA3 or the Dunlop cheaper let me know, maybe we can negotiate a better price for 2 sets - my A4 is a quattro so I'm dying to see how it deals with snow with some decent rubber on

 

[Willie]

Okay

I'm in Holland just now so will see if I can get these cheaper here or in Germany.
Mine has the RS6 wheels thats why mine are stupidly big.
I'll let you know how I get on.
I've just seen the weather and theres a cold spell coming over europe so now is the time to get these before the first snows

 

[rllmuk]

Mytyres prices have rocketed thanks to the euro being so strong. I was contemplating buying the Winter Sport 3D at £145 a corner a couple of months back!

 

[Willie]

Yup dam the Euro!!
Gotta be done though as far as I'm concerned its a cost that is well justified.
Offset against the cost of fixing a cars panels or loosing your family members

 

[RobT]

I think if more people actually experienced a car with winter tyres fitted, more folks would buy them and prices would come down to that of regular tyres - chicken and egg situation sadly

 

[rllmuk]

Sterling is tipped to weaken further tomorrow - tempted to buy now. Problem is the Continental WinterContact TS 830P comes in at £700. Ouch. Cheaper than the Dunlops though.

Edit: Although they'll last me for over 2 years, so not that bad I suppose.

 

[Willie]

My Michelin PA2's have lasted 2 year and hope they will last 2 more so I'll be going for the Michelin PA3's, even though they are a bit more expensive

 

[rllmuk]

Only an extra £16 on a set. Hmm. Not enough reviews on the TS830P at the moment either...

 

[GainfulShrimp]

I'm interested in getting some winter tyres - and thus wheels - for my FR.

The prices at mytyres inc 16" steel wheels seem not-too-bad... but I fear they'd look awful. I like to think I'm not too vain, however, so I'd be happy enough with the plastic covers on these, assuming they'd fit OK. I don't think I'm bothered about proper alloys unless they're only marginally pricier than steel wheels and/or there are other advantages to alloys that I haven't thought of (apart from good looks).

Thus my questions are:

- Do you think 16" is the correct size for 'winter wheels', or doesn't it matter?
- Can you buy Seat wheel trims/covers, which look reasonable, from a dealer for not very much?
- Would "Dunlop SP WINTER SPORT 3D 205/55 R16 94H with rim protection" be a suitable tyre?
- Any other suggestions?

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread.

 

[Willie]

Not an old thread and well worth using instead of starting a new ons.
TBH mate most of your questions will b better answered in the model section for your car (regarding sizes etc).

I don't think there is a right size for winter tyres, smaller is cheaper
Any winter spec tyres are better than summer tyres in the winter, cannot comment on the above ones as I have only used Michelin PA2's