bmw owners - anyone use winter tyres?

fadetoblack said:
Winter tyres are not just for snow ;)
I do use them in the UK and they do help.
Click to expand...

As i understand it this is a pretty fair point. Dont studless winter tyres give you improved performance in cold and wet conditions as well as in the snow? If you switch them on October / November ish, and leave them on until March you can run them for a good 6 months of the year and you effectively negate the cost as your summer tyres will then last twice as long.

If I'm wrong on this then fair enough, but if the winter tyres do offer an improvement in the colder months then I think its a pretty good option for those who think they made need it just for the few odd days of snow, as there actually getting a slight improvement for a good 6 months.
 
[TW]Fox;19170163 said:
Not really, we get a few weeks a year, tops.

Doesn't stop everyone whinging like crazy about it and tooling up for arctic expeditions, mind.
Click to expand...

YOU get 2 weeks tops! but not all of us live on the south coast , many of us live in the north or in higher places that are away from the salty sea air

however it was so icy here that i doubt winter tyres would have even done that much good
 
At the end of the day, it's pretty simple.

If you want to make absolutely certain that you won't get ****ed in the *** by the snow next season then just invest in winter tyres.
 
Last edited:
They do make a massive difference, but really I'm not sure they're required in england. I was in yorkshire for a lot of the time during "the big freeze", and there was a quite a bit of snow on the roads. Granted I was in a big 4x4, but the tyres on it were barely legal and it behaved just fine - I'm sure I could have got a lot of wheelspin if I kept stamping on the accelerator, but I drove gently and can honestly say I didn't slide once. Almost makes me wonder if it's worth you spending £500 on a ford explorer or similar and just keeping it for the winter and the occasional off-road jaunt - that's the same price as a decent set of winter tyres isn't it?
 
[TW]Fox;19170353 said:
I'm talking about England. It arrived in late November and was then pretty much gone never to be seen again by late December. Thats 4 weeks - even in the worst affected areas.
Click to expand...

It arrived in mid October here and ended some time in March. I know because it coincided with both my trips to Korea.
 
Dabbles said:
It arrived in mid October here and ended some time in March. I know because it coincided with both my trips to Korea.
Click to expand...

So you had 5 months of snow cover?

Really?

I appreciate that Newcastle took quite a battering compared to the rest of the UK but... 5 months?
 
[TW]Fox;19170592 said:
So you had 5 months of snow cover?

Really?

I appreciate that Newcastle took quite a battering compared to the rest of the UK but... 5 months?
Click to expand...

Yes, the (main) roads themselves weren't solid snow all winter, but there was a covering on all the fields for the best part of the 5 months. A lot of roads were covered for about 3 months due to the ineptitude of the council.
 
I live a matter of miles from Gateshead centre, we've had no snow here for months. In fact I honestly can't place the last time I saw snow it was so long ago.

I had some snow tyres fitted last November and they turned my Mondeo from a driveway ornament into a usable for of transport. They can't defy the laws of physics, but they make a huge impact.
 
neil-ste said:
I live a matter of miles from Gateshead centre, we've had no snow here for months. In fact I honestly can't place the last time I saw snow it was so long ago.

I had some snow tyres fitted last November and they turned my Mondeo from a driveway ornament into a usable for of transport. They can't defy the laws of physics, but they make a huge impact.
Click to expand...

It was 2 months ago, 3 at the most. :confused:
 
Dabbles said:
It was 2 months ago, 3 at the most. :confused:
Click to expand...

don't be daft.

Your confusing finding a small patch of grass in a corner somewhere with some snow on it, with the roads so totally snowed up that they are impassable.

The latter happened for less than 2 weeks, more like a week. The rest of the time the roads were just wet.
 
Lopéz said:
There are some weather situations where all the mad skillz in the world won't get you moving (or stopping) if you don't have suitable tyres (or chains)

Loads of cheap winter partworns on Ebay at the moment, probably the ideal time to pick a set up if you want them....
Click to expand...

Just spotted a set of good winter tyres with decent tread for a very reasonable price. SO tempted.

Do I, don't I?

Edit: Sod it, I bought them. :p I'm sure Fox will ridicule me as it's his 2 pet hates, part worns and winter tyres.
 
Last edited:
Shimmy said:
Just spotted a set of good winter tyres with decent tread for a very reasonable price. SO tempted.

Do I, don't I?

Edit: Sod it, I bought them. :p I'm sure Fox will ridicule me as it's his 2 pet hates, part worns and winter tyres.
Click to expand...

Are you planning on getting them changed on to your current rims come winter time or will you get another set of wheels to put the winter tyres on?
 
BinnsY said:
As i understand it this is a pretty fair point. Dont studless winter tyres give you improved performance in cold and wet conditions as well as in the snow? If you switch them on October / November ish, and leave them on until March you can run them for a good 6 months of the year and you effectively negate the cost as your summer tyres will then last twice as long.

If I'm wrong on this then fair enough, but if the winter tyres do offer an improvement in the colder months then I think its a pretty good option for those who think they made need it just for the few odd days of snow, as there actually getting a slight improvement for a good 6 months.
Click to expand...

Yep, I believe they start out performing normal/summer tyres from about 5-7 deg C and below - so as you say they can be used from about November until Feb depending on the weather.
 
I got caught in the really bad snow when they closed Heathrow. I managed the trip from Kensington to Sheffield without any major issues in my 330Ci.

Tyres were Vredestein Sessantas all round.

It's not a total disaster to be driving in snow in a RWD car.

As long as you take it steady and know how to drive and handle the car: when to keep it in gear, when to toggle DSC, when to brake and accelerate, how to steer when it starts to go sideways etc and most importantly don't panic.

I had two major problems

1) Other people being dim and braking sharply at the slightest hint of sliding causing lots of sideways action and them ending up in very deep snow on the verges. The lack of any visible road markings didn't help...

2) On every sliproad joining the carriageway and every incline on the motorway traffic slowed. Trying to regain momentum, especially uphill is quite difficult.

I spent a lot of the time traveling at an angle up M1 from North London to around Luton where it started to clear. Was quite fun :p

Had I had winter tyres fitted, things would probably have been better and the journey would have been smoother but it certainly wasn't impossible to do in normal tyres. I wouldn't bother changing tyres for the short time we have a chance of snow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom