THE Winter Tyres Thread

Housey

Housey

Housey

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My wife has said she wants to put winter tyres on her MX5 this year and I know nothing about what's good and what's bad. So I thought I should start a thread as we move into winter for those who have anything to add as I know we get lots of discussions about these things. MX5 runs 205/45R17 so does anyone have a view? Thinking a second set of wheels with tyres added, thoughts?
 
When my girlfriend wanted to waste everyones time banging on about winter tyres whilst labouring under the misapprehension we actually live in Austria, I went for Goodyear Ultra Grip 8 and fitted them to a set of OEM 15" alloys. The tyres were about 50 quid each.

They performed admirably through last winter and she never once got stuck. Mind you it never actually snowed either (cos we live in England, innit) or was ever any sort of weather that needed them, so it was a total waste of time, but it kept her quiet.

Assuming that appealing to rational thinking and reminding her we live in England doesn't work, then consider the Goodyear, I think they've just released Ultragrip 9.

I wanted some ContiWinterContact TS830P but they didnt do them in her size.
 
She did get stuck a couple of times in the past, a combination of living in the countryside with un-gritted surrounding roads and a light RWD car that can make it a little more challenging. She drives 40 miles each way to work too and a few times had to leave early to avoid getting stuck so for peace of mind I am ok with it really, though if it were me I would not worry about it. Also 4 tyres for an MX5 are somewhat cheaper than 4 for a F10!
 
I caved in and ordered 4 Nokian WR A3s for my F10. I was due a tyre change anyway so the only hassle will be changing them again in the summer.

For just over £100 a corner fitted (ordered from Tyreleader) its no big deal if they're pointless. Even the Conti 830s were only £120 in 17".

My man logic was defeated by lots of late night driving and impending baby in early Feb which might need a quick dash to Peterborough hospital.
 
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I run avon ice touring on my mgb during the winter for the last two years and they have been spot on.

I do all my driving on country roads and they have been superb in cold, damp conditions as well as icy mornings etc. They even got used in the snow.
 
What are people's views on winter tyres in summer? My neighbor has run winter tyres on her Polo all year. Do they turn to jelly above 7c?
 
Skeeter said:
What are people's views on winter tyres in summer? My neighbor has run winter tyres on her Polo all year. Do they turn to jelly above 7c?
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The wear quicker and do not perform as well. It's an odd thing to do really - the very fact you've bought them suggests you are bothered about tyre performance, otherwise you'd just stick with normal tyres like most other people, so to then compromise your tyre performance for the remaining 8 months of the year seems weird.

People who can't be bothered to change but want winter tyres should use All Seasons.
 
i picked up a used set of pirelli snow control, i was more than happy with them last winter
 
Clarkey said:
Winters in the summer is not nearly as bad as summers in winter conditions though. Tyre manufacturers actually recommend it.
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Only because a winter tyre in the summer will move fine whereas a summer tyre in snow is going nowhere. There isn't really anything 'bad' about a decent 'summer' tyre in typical winter conditions, its only when gets snowy and slushy that you get significant issues.

My own personal view is still that the best tyre for a typical English winter for people who don't live on the moors etc is something with excellent wet weather performance, because traditionally our winters are wet and mild not snowy and very cold - 2009-2012 was something of an anomaly which we saw returning to normal in 2013.

This is why before 2009 you heard almost nothing about winter tyres outside of circles of people who genuinelly used them, and why manufacturers such as BMW steadfastly refused to bring the xDrive models to the UK.

Whereas 4 winters of OMG SNOW and suddenly everyone wants a 3 Series xDrive on winters.

That said I do hope we get a nice harsh winter because a) it's fun and b) I'd actually love to really test the Ultragrip 8's we bought last year.
 
Another thing you can do is go down a wheel size assuming that's ok with the brake callipers 205/50/16 will let you get conti winter contact TS850 or Michelin Alpin A4 @£100 a corner, ive got the 850s on my civic and the Alpins on the 350z and they were both excellent last year.

Hawker
 
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Skeeter said:
What are people's views on winter tyres in summer? My neighbor has run winter tyres on her Polo all year. Do they turn to jelly above 7c?
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Nope, not jelly, but of course you've got to use your noggin and just be aware you're best not hammering them when it's hot since the compound is softer than a summer tyre. Grip whether hot or cold is progressive anyway so they're quite predictable.

On my 2003 Focus wear levels are also ok again as long as you're fairly considerate in the way you drive. I did 37k miles on my last set with no issues. That distance covered 3 winters (if memory serves 1 was pretty bad, the second was better and the last winter was very mild) the only attention they needed was swapping front to back if the fronts were more worn than the rears. Ice and snow performance was understandable exemplary but I also found wet performance to be excellent too. Especially when running through deeper wet roads and standing water.

TBH I chose to run them year round initially as an experiment to simply see how they compared. Besides that it also meant I didn't have extra costs like buying additional summer tyres and matching rims plus the inconvenience/expense of storing them.

Another factor I began to consider whilst using them was one that Clarkey highlights in his post above. I discovered I'd rather be on winter tyres in the summer than summer tyres in the winter. It's a much more predictable and assured performance averaged across the changing seasons of the year.

My only final point (and one that I've made before) is that on larger cars I would say wear is naturally increased and I can only imagine the perceived summer performance may also decrease. It likely varies with cars though so it's very difficult to absolutely rule out a car just because it's large.

For example: A friend of mine had a 2003 Mondeo 2.0l TDCI which absolutely ate his winter tyres over a couple of winters (no summer driving) and yet his new 2010 Avensus estate has been on winter Nokians all year and delivered really great wear levels. His father also put similar on his Skoda Octavia Scout and with year round use managed around 35k miles.
 
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