So who's preparing for winter this year?

[Fuzz]

These arrived today.

Or are you going to carry on in true British fashion and not bother.

 

[Fuzz]

Although I haven't actually seen the invoice yet I think they are going to come in at £140 for all four

 

[Fuzz]

Yup - I didn't get stuck last year so I doubt I'll get stuck this year.

I didn't get stuck either it's about being safer in poorer road conditions.
It's not just about the snow capabilities although I do remember sailing past at least one right turn I wanted to take.
Luckily the road was quiet and I could reverse up and turn in a little more gently and there have been numerous hills that would have also been somewhat less dicey with the right tyres on.
cold weather and water logged roads all play a part in how your summer tyres degrade in performance.
Also there is the fact that fitting winter tyres will allow your summer tyres to last longer.

 

[Fuzz]

I had to go back and read my post and I did it too, I should have noticed and edited it

Did you just...

 

[Fuzz]

Where do you all change your tyres ?

Most place I'v approached tend to charge 10 pounds onwards, forgot how much I paid for my last 2 but im fairly sure the savings were very minimal compared to tyre shoopers etc...

If you buy your winter tyres and have them put on an older set of steelies you'll only have to pay for that once. (until they wear out of course)


Me... I fit them myself

 

[Fuzz]

I see the continued assumption these are just for "The snows"
Yes of course they do make a damn sight better job of travelling over the white stuff than normal summer tyres, but the UK seem uneducated to the fact that in the ****y cold weather these winter tyres are much better than your current summer ones.
Everyone bangs on about getting the best grip possible in the summer and massive debates ensue over which is the current "leader"...

Why is this not the same in winter?
Why are you not slathering over the differences in the same way?
It's just as relevant now as it is when it's fine, warm and dry surely?

 

[Fuzz]

Please prove this.

And by 'prove' I don't mean post a nondescript graph with 'Summer Tyre' on it. I want you to prove to me that winter tyres are much better than my current summer ones when it's not snowing and is merely wet and cold.

2011 Winter Tyre Buying Guide
Due to two unusually harsh winters, interest in winter, or cold weather tyres has never been higher in the UK. The benefits are now being understood - while winter tyres naturally work wonders in snow, they also work extremely well any time the average temperature is below 7c, often out performing summer tyres even in the dry. During early morning commutes, where the road temperature is around freezing they can offer noticeable more grip than a summer tyre in the same conditions, allowing you to make progress safely, and can stop over 5 meters shorter than the equivalent summer tyre from 62mph.

Tirerack tested the Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 winter tyre against the Bridgestone RE050A ultra high performance summer tyre in icy conditions. From just 10mph the winter tyre stopped in 6.4 metres, while the summer tyre needed more than twice the distance to stop at over 14 metres.

For the UK climate a winter tyres wet performance is more important than the snow performance, with wet braking being the top priority.

At near freezing temperatures the Dunlop and Continental winter tyres out performed the summer tyre during the wet braking test.

Proving once again that winter tyres aren't noisy fuel guzzlers, four of the six winter tyres had a lower rolling resistance than the summer tyre while two of the winter tyres were actually quieter than the summer counter part.

Auto Express have done a great job highlighting the importance of winter tyres to the UK public. Auto Express thoroughly recommend winter tyres for the UK climate thanks to the increased safety they bring.

when the temperature fell to 5 °C the performance of the summer tyre fell off markebly – much more than the winter tyre. Although it still retained an edge over the winter tyre on dry roads it performed much worse on wet roads. The conclusion is that when it is cold and wet, but not necessarily icy, winter tyres perform better.

 

[Fuzz]

Yes, clearly making the car effectively have less grip is really going to help