Why the ballyheck do Brits not use winter tyres?
- Thread starter Mr Jack
- Start date
Everyone's situation is different and you make a decision based on your position.
I have a RWD BMW, I live in the north west, and I drive regularly over the pennines.
I have a set of UHP summer's and set of top end winters on a spare set of wheels. Whichever I'm not using live in my garage.
The cost difference is minimal, I'm just gradually wearing out 2 sets of tyres instead of 1.
The winters perform better in north west winter weather and the summer's perform better in summer. At "around 7 degrees" they both perform similarly.
This morning I drove my daughter to school with no issues, whilst my neighbour couldn't get his 3 series off his drive.
I have a RWD BMW, I live in the north west, and I drive regularly over the pennines.
I have a set of UHP summer's and set of top end winters on a spare set of wheels. Whichever I'm not using live in my garage.
The cost difference is minimal, I'm just gradually wearing out 2 sets of tyres instead of 1.
The winters perform better in north west winter weather and the summer's perform better in summer. At "around 7 degrees" they both perform similarly.
This morning I drove my daughter to school with no issues, whilst my neighbour couldn't get his 3 series off his drive.
Aye, depends on how low your car is, how low your jack goes. i.e. widow maker to raise the car enough to get the trolley under it. And if your a big fat lazy so and so like me, who needs to stop to smoke / vape in the middle, lol.
Pretty much this. When we had the really bad snow a few years back, my mapped 335d with winter tyres on was the only car to make it out the small hill at the end of our shared road. None of the little FWD ecoboxes could.
Pretty much this. When we had the really bad snow a few years back, my mapped 335d with winter tyres on was the only car to make it out the small hill at the end of our shared road. None of the little FWD ecoboxes could.
I bought some winter tyres (Uniroyal iirc) when I lived in Leek in the Staffordshire Moorlands, I tended to travel to work when the roads were quiet and usually quite tricky after a relatively mild dusting not to mention my house was on a steep hill and the only way out of Leek was up a very steep hill on the A53.
Only put them on the drive axle, they were fantastic, a neighbour with a Discovery couldn’t understand how I got my RWD up the hill we lived on yet his 4x4 couldn’t....
Never bothered since as like said, for the vast majority of the population they are not worth the bother.
It’s a shame we don’t insist on it though, the cost to the economy of today’s farce (it’s hardly been the beast from the east has it?) must be huge in and around Kent for example yet winter rubber has huge benefits in cold and wet weather.
People don’t have a clue how to drive in the first place, never mind on summer tyres in snow, at least winter tyres would help that a little, ultimately the average joe motorist would just assume winter tyres made them driving gods (much as 4x4 drivers do on days like this) and drive faster and still cause carnage!
TLDR Winter tyres are great, British drivers tend to be cretins ergo winter tyres would be pointless.
Only put them on the drive axle, they were fantastic, a neighbour with a Discovery couldn’t understand how I got my RWD up the hill we lived on yet his 4x4 couldn’t....
Never bothered since as like said, for the vast majority of the population they are not worth the bother.
It’s a shame we don’t insist on it though, the cost to the economy of today’s farce (it’s hardly been the beast from the east has it?) must be huge in and around Kent for example yet winter rubber has huge benefits in cold and wet weather.
People don’t have a clue how to drive in the first place, never mind on summer tyres in snow, at least winter tyres would help that a little, ultimately the average joe motorist would just assume winter tyres made them driving gods (much as 4x4 drivers do on days like this) and drive faster and still cause carnage!
TLDR Winter tyres are great, British drivers tend to be cretins ergo winter tyres would be pointless.
What really winds me up is people driving like lunatics with false confidence in their 4x4's with 20" Summer tyres on. Your 4wd might have got you moving but you're a passenger in >2 tons of sliding metal if you need to stop in the snow.
This with knobs on. In the last downfall I was taking it easy doing about 25mph in a 30 zone with a Discovery behind me. I'd been talking to my youngest about 4x4's being nutters in the snow. Sure enough, he gets right up behind me inspecting the contents of my boot for a few hundred line before booting it and overtaking. I half expected to find him in the ditch at the bottom of the road.
So it’s not a myth then?
You can get ice on uk roads for 4-5 months of the year. Seems reasonable to have a tyre with better performance in those situations than one that’s much worse in those situations, but slightly better if you’re really putting the power down on a windy B road.
It takes less than an hour every 6 months to fit a new set of tyres, quicker if you’ve got small car tyres.
I'm sure it does only take an hour if you're familiar with changing tyres & wheels over and have the tools to do it. However I imagine 95% of the general public either can't do it or couldn't be bothered.
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Why isn't it?
Most people will encounter actual ice on the road perhaps a handful of days a year at the very most, otherwise it would be absolute carnage out there rather than pretty much the safest roads on the planet.
Winter tyres are absolutely fantastic in snow and the benefits are clear and obvious but the whole '7c' thing doesn't seem to be borne out by reality, the closest you get are generic charts showing the performance of the latest UHP Super Amazing Ultra Winter tyre against unnamed and generic 'Summer tyre', as if all tyres perform the same..
I've no axe to grind here - I've bought a set of winter wheels! But the reality is that they are simply unnecessary for most people in England.
We suffer flooding more often than we suffer snow, should all cars be forced to carry mandatory inflation rafts?
..because last winter there were two frosts in Nottingham the whole winter and we had a couple of days where it was a barmy (and crazy) 18C.. There is a rarely a need for snow tyres in the UK. Hence why bother.
Same for airports. Why invest in megabucks of gear like the Scandanavians do when it might not snow again for four years? That's why they keep the bare minimum.
Same for airports. Why invest in megabucks of gear like the Scandanavians do when it might not snow again for four years? That's why they keep the bare minimum.
Soldato
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What a load of ignorant rubbish.
FYI the UK has the safest roads of ANY major developed nations (the only developed nations that do better than us are far smaller and with lower population density and with arguably far less congestion)
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2015/GSRRS2015_data/en/
Table A2 shows as only behind Sweden and Norway and far above Germany for example.
We don't change the tyres because, as the evidence shows, we don't need to if, as this thread has demonstrated, we are comparing our road safety to other nations.
EDIT: My personal opinion is that Winter tyres WOULD provide a benefit but that the need in this country for winter tyres is far less than the need in many other nations.
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It's not that we need winter tyres, people actually need to use GOOD tyres instead of sticking ditch finders on. They are bad enough in good conditions, but budgets+winter conditions is just dangerous.
I have winters on my gt86 at the moment. There's a very noticeable difference when it's icy or cold and wet. But in snow it goes from undrivable to being quite controllable (and fun). It's funny watching people in their alleged "off-road" 4x4 SUVs struggling in snow on the wrong tyres and the confused look when you cruise by in a RWD sports car.
As long as you store them properly they will last years. It will take longer to wear 2 sets out as well so it's not like it actually costs more.
I have winters on my gt86 at the moment. There's a very noticeable difference when it's icy or cold and wet. But in snow it goes from undrivable to being quite controllable (and fun). It's funny watching people in their alleged "off-road" 4x4 SUVs struggling in snow on the wrong tyres and the confused look when you cruise by in a RWD sports car.
As long as you store them properly they will last years. It will take longer to wear 2 sets out as well so it's not like it actually costs more.
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And Sweden only got better after it copied the UK on road design and light sequences. Germany's roads are awful compared to the UK, occasional fun on the autobahns not withstanding.
Exactly.
All my colleagues reckon "you'll be alright, you've got 4 wheel drive". Sure, but it doesn't help one bit when trying to turn or stop, plus it doesn't help avoid the morons that block the road or slam into me because they can't drive in snow.
Soldato
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Very well said.
Just irks me when people denigrate our country constantly and based on ignorance. We have a great need to improve in many areas but we are good at many things.
Pretty sure most cars come with the means to change a wheel. Even nowadays with the advent of RFT's and the like.
Can't be hooped is probably a more likely reason here for not doing it, but how much would a garage actually charge to change over a set of wheels? £20? I dunno really, but can't imagine it being much more than that if you can get the tyres changed for £40. I'll find out in the next few days, since my new wheels will be getting re-balanced, so I'll likely just get the garage to change the wheels over too.
They're only rarely needed, even here in NE Scotland. You just have to know how to drive properly and how to judge the conditions. Sadly, too few people do.
Soldato
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And how many people live somewhere they can store a spare set of wheels+tyres? Modern housing is getting less and less suited to such requirements, unless you're loaded.