Snow tires

buachille

buachille

buachille

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Joined
28 Dec 2004
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757
Any of you sick of getting stuck in the snow, or having to drive really slow on snowy roads?

I drive a work van and it was unbelievable for getting stuck on snow or mud. Basically, unless it was on tarmac, it would get stuck, and it was driving me mad. With the weather up here in Scotland getting pretty snowy recently I was getting stuck a LOT!

So did some googling and discovered that you can get snow tires. They have a different rubber compound that doesn't respond to cold temperatures the way a summer tyre does, and they have a chunky cross tread. Everything I read said they were very good, but I was sceptical.

Went to our local tyre fitter and they showed me a set and told me they do work. I decided to take a chance and had them fitted.

They are unbelievable. The difference on snow is night and day. I can now drive onto snowy / icy areas that I would not have gone near before, and I've never been stuck yet. Also, I notice that when everybody else is crawling up a snowy road at 20 - 30 mph I can overtake (safely) and drive much faster.

I was in a housing estate the other day that had not been gritted. All the cars could not drive up a hill and were having to reverse down and go out another way. I drove up the hill no problem :)

Also, they seem to be just as good as my old summer road tires on dry tarmac.

I'm posting this in case it helps anyone else who is having the same problem. They are so effective that I just wanted to pass it on.
 
I had Continental Wintercontact TS810 Sport tyres on my old A3 a few years ago. They were superb and gave loads of grip in really icy conditions. One of the big misconceptions about winter tyres is that they are for snow, they are designed for any conditions below 7 degrees snow or not. Thats the temp at which normal rubber in all season/summer tyres starts to rapidly harden and performance starts to really drop off. The downside with them is the price and storing a set of tyres for summer as once temps start to rise winter tyres wear out really fast.
 
TS810s are awesome. expensive, but very very good.
they are designed for german winters (ie) relatively mild ones, rather than the extreme scandinavian ones, whilst also being available in larger tyre sizes, and rated up to silly speeds

there is a difference between M+S tyres and proper winter tyres. the former just had a deeper tread that cuts into the snow, but winter/snow tyres also have softer compounds which provide more grip at lower temperatures.

having said that, TS810s are one of the best on the market. cheap winter tyres also exist, which are probably great in snow, but atrocious in normal conditions, much like cheap summer tyres.
so if you're on cheap winter tyres, don't be surprised if you suddenly start aquaplaning due to them not being able to dissipate the water adequatley
 
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Janesy B,

I'm keeping them on permanently now. There are loads of times in summer when I need to go off road, but couldn't before. These will allow me to do so.

If they wear out quick, that is definitely a downside, but I need the extra traction.
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Dandle,

Now that you mention 7 degrees being the temperature at which summer tires start to become a bit useless, I remember reading this. You are right enough.
 
As great as snow tyres are do not let them get you all overconfident. Nothing will help you on sheet ice bar studs/spikes. Even snow tyres cannot overcome the laws of physics!

Stay safe!
 
buachille said:
Janesy B,

I'm keeping them on permanently now. There are loads of times in summer when I need to go off road, but couldn't before. These will allow me to do so.

If they wear out quick, that is definitely a downside, but I need the extra traction.
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winter tyres are not off road tyres :confused:
they are not designed for summer use either. there's a reason why they're called winter tyres. not sure why you'd want to keep them on all year round..

please don't. worn winter tyres are probably as good as nankangs.
what tyres are they anyway?
 
Wow, got over-reaction? A few days of snow and you rush out and have your tyres replaced with snow tyres?

Great in the snow but pretty crap when it isnt snowing, ie, the other 350 days a year in this country. If you wanted snow tyres its best to have them on a spare set of wheels and fit them in adverse weather.

You will have a considerable performance deficiency when the snow goes away - even countries that get proper snow all the time take them off in the summer.
 
[TW]Fox;15631103 said:
Great in the snow but pretty crap when it isnt snowing, ie, the other 350 days a year in this country. If you wanted snow tyres its best to have them on a spare set of wheels and fit them in adverse weather.

You will have a considerable performance deficiency when the snow goes away - even countries that get proper snow all the time take them off in the summer.
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They are designed for any driving in temps below 7 degrees not just for when its snowing.
 
[TW]Fox;15631212 said:
How often is it below 7c in this country? For 50% of the year it is above this.
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i assume he has a works van as he needs it to work and earn a wage. if snow tyres are a way to let him do thisthen he needs some tbh

and a few days of snow ? its been icy for 2 weeks here and the worst of it is supposed to come over the next few days. i dont see how its an over reaction at all. its not like theyre stuck on there forever, he can take them off and use them again other years.
 
It's ok as he probably wont make it to summer if it continues to snow:

Also, I notice that when everybody else is crawling up a snowy road at 20 - 30 mph I can overtake (safely) and drive much faster.
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Snow tyres - for making you invincible!
 
[TW]Fox;15631212 said:
How often is it below 7c in this country? For 50% of the year it is above this.
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The road surface is below 7 degrees for a fair few months. Im not saying everybody should buy them just that they are useful for more than the 15 days a year.
 
buachille said:
Also, I notice that when everybody else is crawling up a snowy road at 20 - 30 mph I can overtake (safely) and drive much faster.
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You could always learn to drive in a manner suitable to the conditions, carry a shovel & some rock salt & if things get really bad, stay off the roads until conditions improve.

Infact, given your quote, just stay off the roads eh?
 
A number of countries have made it a legal requirement to have a set of winter tyres. However it will be very daft to use them when its not cold - they will overheat and wear our in no time at all.

You'd be much better having two sets of wheels and just swapping them over when the climate goes frosty. That way you'll have a nice set of winter tyres ready for the next time the weather goes bad.
 
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