In the bad winter a couple of years ago I was driving down quiet roads (as in not gritted) on the way to work every day where the snow had melted to slush then refroze into solid ice with no issues on my vredenstein snowtrac 3's.
Best winter tyres?
- Thread starter Ant84
- Start date
In the bad winter a couple of years ago I was driving down quiet roads (as in not gritted) on the way to work every day where the snow had melted to slush then refroze into solid ice with no issues on my vredenstein snowtrac 3's.
I've not died yet (Highlands) and we've had some awful snow. Infact I wasn't here for it last year but the year before I had Toyo T1Rs (I think) and I didn't die.
I did get stuck a few times mind, but I doubt even snow tyres would've helped with that. Careful driving, patience and forward thinking. Saying that I remember driving home once, being scared ******** I wanted snow tyres then.
Saying that I'm not looking forward to the drive to work in the Vauxhall Movano this year!
Winter tyres do give you grip on ice, you can skid with them on ice but they will get grip back very quickly. TS850 would be my choice, we've run TS830 since last Oct on my wife's car and they have been good all year.
There's a difference between compacted snow and ice - I've used them on both and yes on compacted snow they are really quite good, on a particularly icy road they are only as good as an all season or possibly even summer tyre.
I've used all seasons in the snow and got by fine with them, noticabky better than summer but not quite as good as winter tyres, the benefit being when it warms up a bit they still aren't bad whereas the winters really struggle. Its also easier to get all seasons (size wise) than some winters.
I dont think either are a particularly bad idea tbh but the all seasons are good enough for the op's use imo
I've used all seasons in the snow and got by fine with them, noticabky better than summer but not quite as good as winter tyres, the benefit being when it warms up a bit they still aren't bad whereas the winters really struggle. Its also easier to get all seasons (size wise) than some winters.
I dont think either are a particularly bad idea tbh but the all seasons are good enough for the op's use imo
Definitely - I agree they're impressive on snow and compacted snow along with cold frosty mornings but on proper sheet ice nothing short of studs is going to provide substantially more grip. I live in central scotland and having experienced both all season and winters I feel all season tyres are good enough for our winters, thats from when I was driving substantial distances every week from aberdeen way down to blackpool sort of area - though to be fair I dont use anything other than good quality summer tyres at the moment.
If the op feels the tyres will be done come february / march time he should just buy whatever is the lower priced (good quality) tyre in his size, all season or winter
If the op feels the tyres will be done come february / march time he should just buy whatever is the lower priced (good quality) tyre in his size, all season or winter
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That's not been my experience at all. The tyres I have a used have all been able to do emergency stops on ice. You can over power the grip but they regain it very quickly and stop in an incredibly short time considering they are on ice.
Winter tyres are better on snow, compacted snow and ice; wet weather performance is also much better.
The difference between a summer and winter tyre on ice is that with the summer tyre you will slide off any iced over road with an angle even when stationary, with a winter tyre you get at least some form of grip and you can drive....carefully. I remember driving in Germany to Uni on the Autobahn covered with black ice (as I said slowly); all cars with summer tyres didn't stay the motorway and skidded of on the hard shoulder sometimes with all wheels in braking lock.
When temperatures drop below 7C winter tyres normally perform better. My company doesn't provide Winter tyres with company cars which I find paradox considering how "anal" H&S issues are normally treated here in the UK.
The cost argumentation is more a cash flow discussion as you will not use more sets of tyres over the lifetime of you car, you just pre-pay the second set early.
I hate driving without them (as I'm was so used them) and maybe I'll bite the bullet and pay for a set privately...
The difference between a summer and winter tyre on ice is that with the summer tyre you will slide off any iced over road with an angle even when stationary, with a winter tyre you get at least some form of grip and you can drive....carefully. I remember driving in Germany to Uni on the Autobahn covered with black ice (as I said slowly); all cars with summer tyres didn't stay the motorway and skidded of on the hard shoulder sometimes with all wheels in braking lock.
When temperatures drop below 7C winter tyres normally perform better. My company doesn't provide Winter tyres with company cars which I find paradox considering how "anal" H&S issues are normally treated here in the UK.
The cost argumentation is more a cash flow discussion as you will not use more sets of tyres over the lifetime of you car, you just pre-pay the second set early.
I hate driving without them (as I'm was so used them) and maybe I'll bite the bullet and pay for a set privately...
Tyre manufacturers seem to have the definition wrong too then because they all seem to be under the impression their winter tyres work well on ice too.