Winter tyres

[GainfulShrimp]

I take it people are buying online? Mytyres seems to be best for the 225/40/18.

I got mine from mytyres.co.uk, yup. It's a shame their 5% off winters offer finished yesterday though...

Anyway, camskill.co.uk are generally a bit cheaper I think, but their range is severely limited. Worth a look though.

You're almost forced to buy online as most tyre workshops don't bother stocking or even ordering in winter tyres. I think mytyres.co.uk offer to deliver to an a local fitting station but I'd double-check this with the fitting station before completing your order, if you're going down that route. I didn't need to bother as I ordered mine pre-fitted to steelies.

 

[Husbandofstinky]

I take it people are buying online? Mytyres seems to be best for the 225/40/18.

Aye. Mein Kampf tyres have the best range by far for winters.

For summers I tend to use Camskill as they are generally cheaper (marginal) even with Quidco cash back than My Tyres.

Assuming you haven't already got a Quidco account, get one set up and save 3% using them.

 

[Donnyboy]

Thanks guys. I'll prob be going with mytyres, as I have a quidco account and a mate can fit them for me.

 

[predo]

I got used winter tyres from ebay - 1/3 of the price of new ones and I'm sure they will last one winter no bother. Dunlop Winter Sport M3
I'll just swap them over on the current alloys and come summer I'll put back two old summer tyres and two new (as my current summer front tyres are just about on border line)

 

[GainfulShrimp]

Hmm... not sure I'd be happy using used tyres of any type from ebay (or anywhere probably). The 'brand new' stuff is quite bad enough!

Was there a good reason given for the sale?

 

[predo]

Its the company importing these from Germany or somewhere - all tyres have 4-5 mm of thread - obviously not new but they're not run down either. If you search "winter tyres" most results come back from this one seller.

May not be as efficient as brand new tyre but certainly they only cost 1/3 of the price and will be ready for me to put on in case we get snow like last year. And I'm sure they will still be better than my Summer Bridgestones.... I don't want to be buying new tyres/rims because I'm not sure if I will have the same car next year... so maybe before next winter I'll just get another set of second hand's for £130...

 

[rllmuk]

Winter tyres lose they're effectiveness at 4mm, hence why they come off cars at that time in central Europe.

 

[predo]

That may as well be correct - thats why I only plan to use these 1 season for 3/4 months maximum with medium/low risk of heavy snow hitting us.

Even if snow would arrive, I'll feel more confident on these tyres than my summer tyre - Its not just thread depth - rubber softness, operating temp etc.

Trade off I guess, between efficiency and price... simple as that.

Found a nice comparison as well:
Tyre type and tread depth Traction Braking
A) Winter tyre with 8 mm tread
- new 100 % 100 %
B) Winter tyre with 6 mm tread
- 2 mm of tread wear 78 % 94 %
C) Winter tyre with 4 mm tread
- 4 mm of tread wear 72 % 82 %
D) Winter tyre with 2 mm tread
- 6 mm of tread wear 66 % 70 %
E) Summer tyre with 8 mm tread
- new 44 % 53 %

 

[C_ED_99]

Its the company importing these from Germany or somewhere - all tyres have 4-5 mm of thread - obviously not new but they're not run down either. If you search "winter tyres" most results come back from this one seller.

May not be as efficient as brand new tyre but certainly they only cost 1/3 of the price and will be ready for me to put on in case we get snow like last year. And I'm sure they will still be better than my Summer Bridgestones.... I don't want to be buying new tyres/rims because I'm not sure if I will have the same car next year... so maybe before next winter I'll just get another set of second hand's for £130...

4 to 5 mm is the minimum you want on a winter tyre, that is probably why they are getting rid of them

For safe winter driving, the required groove depth is between 4 and 5 millimetres.The snowflake symbol remains visible until the groove depth is four millimetres. Once the snowflake symbol wears off, the driver should buy new winter tyres to ensure adequate safety.

Nokian Tyres

 

[predo]

4 to 5 mm is the minimum you want on a winter tyre, that is probably why they are getting rid of them

Look I'm not going to get drawn into argument or anything. Nokian will tell you anything to get you to buy new tyres from them - if next year they say that Winter tyres become useless with 6mm of thread will you be replacing them at 6mm?

I've posted test results above which show that used winter tyre still performs better than new summer tyre. Is that something you do not agree with? Don't know why I'm getting thumps down...

 

[GainfulShrimp]

I agree with predo's argument that worn winter tyres will be more effective than worn summer tyres.

And my understanding is that the reason they require 4-5mm is because the extra siping is effective at or above that level, and that some tyres have a special winter compound above that level, with a more traditional compound underneath (the more snow-biased Blizzaks are such a tyre). So using winter tyres past that level of wear will be less effective than a new winter tyre will be on snow/ice, but should still give benefits for normal driving in the cold wet/dry over summer tyres especially at low temperatures.

I'm still going to replace my Michelins when the snowflake indicators are reached though.

 

[rllmuk]

Look I'm not going to get drawn into argument or anything. Nokian will tell you anything to get you to buy new tyres from them - if next year they say that Winter tyres become useless with 6mm of thread will you be replacing them at 6mm?

I've posted test results above which show that used winter tyre still performs better than new summer tyre. Is that something you do not agree with? Don't know why I'm getting thumps down...

Totally agree they'll outperform standard tyres at that level - also the 4mm thing has more to do with snow than they cold weather performance we normally buy them for.

 

[Husbandofstinky]

As a matter of interest, someone on ebay is selling a set of pre facelift LC 16's with snowtrac 2's on them in Derbyshire.

2 x 7mms and 2 x 4.5mms.

Just thought they might be helpful to someone as the talk of winter tyres starts.

Just to confirm they are nothing to do with me and are miles away if I were even interested in them!

 

[C_ED_99]

Look I'm not going to get drawn into argument or anything. Nokian will tell you anything to get you to buy new tyres from them - if next year they say that Winter tyres become useless with 6mm of thread will you be replacing them at 6mm?

I've posted test results above which show that used winter tyre still performs better than new summer tyre. Is that something you do not agree with? Don't know why I'm getting thumps down...

I wasn't trying to argue either.

As far as I am aware in places like Germany you need 4mm to pass the inspection on winter tyres which are legally required, hence why a supplier is getting rid (and probably making a nice profit on "recycling" fees too, although maybe I'm too cynical...).

The thumb down was as near as the smilies let me get to what I wanted... although I can't remember what that was...

Also test results- hadn't seen them, they were after the post I was referencing (could you tell us where they came from so we can independently assess the quality? Thanks).

 

[flyeon]

My first winter with a) The Leon and b) A DSG gearbox. Unlike other autos it does not have a 'winter' mode - so am I right in assuming the DSG will be hopeless in the snow/ice unless I put some winter tyres on?

 

[rllmuk]

It's hard to move off in 2nd, as it doesn't really let you do it. In snow with summer tyres I just couldn't get started at all up a slight incline.

With winters, you'll have no issues at all. Get them bought

 

[GainfulShrimp]

My first winter with a) The Leon and b) A DSG gearbox. Unlike other autos it does not have a 'winter' mode - so am I right in assuming the DSG will be hopeless in the snow/ice unless I put some winter tyres on?

Pretty much, yup, at least some of the time. I had an FR DSG with winter tyres last year and the tyres still scrambled a bit sometimes when it was snowy, especially on hill-starts because the DSG was a bit too 'enthusiastic'... would have been a lot less fun with summer tyres.

 

[l.e.star]

with all the snow we had at the start of last year( and a lot skidding and near misses i thought i would be smart and get my new tyres before the snow kicked in again as my eagles f1s were on there last legs after a lot of studying and comparing i decided to go with a set of avons as compared to the leading brands avons had a very good rating. when i got to the tyre shop i was told the tyres i were after were no longer available as avon had released there new zv3's wich were just as good so i got myself a set and 2 months later when it snowed my car decided to leave the road at just over 10 mph and chase a lampost. i dont blame the tyre as they have done a better job then the f1s but once you hit black ice there is no tyre that is going to stop your car .

 

[GainfulShrimp]

... but you stand much better chance on ice, snow or just very cold conditions generally if you have winter tyres on. Those Avons are in the "economy high performance summer" category, so I'd expect them to he pretty abysmal in snow.

 

[rllmuk]

with all the snow we had at the start of last year( and a lot skidding and near misses i thought i would be smart and get my new tyres before the snow kicked in again as my eagles f1s were on there last legs after a lot of studying and comparing i decided to go with a set of avons as compared to the leading brands avons had a very good rating. when i got to the tyre shop i was told the tyres i were after were no longer available as avon had released there new zv3's wich were just as good so i got myself a set and 2 months later when it snowed my car decided to leave the road at just over 10 mph and chase a lampost. i dont blame the tyre as they have done a better job then the f1s but once you hit black ice there is no tyre that is going to stop your car .

So you're saying summer tyres are rubbish in winter. I hadn't realised.