So who's preparing for winter this year?

Firestar_3x · 26 Sep 2011 at 12:36

What did you go for tyre wise?

Simon · 26 Sep 2011 at 12:45

When people go for winter tyres do they also get thinner ones.

275 winter tyres are still gonna be crap in the snow ?

Firestar_3x · 26 Sep 2011 at 12:54

I might just run on space savers

NathWraith · 26 Sep 2011 at 12:55

Velo Rapide said:
Because they are thick.

Nice insult.

DRZ · 26 Sep 2011 at 13:00

NathWraith said:
Nice insult.

Depends on the intent - In my view that is a statement of fact. Literate people do not make the mistake of mistaking ''ve' for 'of'.

Wicksta · 26 Sep 2011 at 13:01

Dandle said:
But its only you Fox that's so against them. No ones telling you to fit them but your trying to tell everyone else they are a waste of time in the UK. No one who's had them fitted have said they are a waste of time and there are people now who are even leaving them on over summer at BMWland. The market hasn't been created for no reason otherwise they would sell.

It's not just Fox, I agree totally with him and remember I lived 5 years in a place where winter tyres were mandatory. Car drivers in the UK can't wait to get winter tyres on, in my experience it's the complete opposite in countries where they are actually useful for more than two days a year. The fact that 99% of UK winter tyre users don't even do it properly with a small set of steelies tells me it is all about image over anything else. I guess 16 inch steel wheels doesn't look good listed in a forum signature unlike RUNNING ON WINTERS.

Firestar_3x · 26 Sep 2011 at 13:08

What if you can't run smaller wheels?

Wicksta · 26 Sep 2011 at 13:19

Nice strawman. I meant in general and obviously if you can't fit smaller wheels you wouldn't but this isn't the case with most cars. Try going to somewhere like Munich in the winter and see how many cars are on steels. While you're there ask them what they think about running winter tyres in the UK, make sure there is nothing sharp around that they don't hurt themselves while they are rolling about on the floor.

lordrobs · 26 Sep 2011 at 13:29

Firestar_3x said:
What did you go for tyre wise?

Marangoni Meteo HP for my car and Viking Snow-Tech II for the Punto.

I've heard of Marangoni but never heard of Viking but they both seemed to do ok in the couple of group tests that I found.

Dropped to 16's for my car (smallest that will fit over the front brakes) and dropped an inch to 15's on the GP.

Firestar_3x · 26 Sep 2011 at 13:42

Interesting to hear how you find the Marangoni's. I'm very close to ordering some Nokian WR A3's, i just need to read how they wear in the dry, currently coming in at £147 a corner which isn't the end of the world, i was going to go for something cheaper, HanKook Icebears or some Falken HS-439's but i've got 2 trips to the lakes end of oct and one over christmas and based on the last 3 years we will be snowed in again.

lordrobs · 26 Sep 2011 at 13:46

I very nearly went for the Falkens myself. Will see how I get on with these ones when I finally need to fit them

Hxc · 26 Sep 2011 at 13:52

lordrobs said:
The 500 yard sheet ice slalom between the cars parked on the road into the estate is worth the cost alone.

Ahahahaha, that road becomes a complete nightmare. Good old mulbarton.

DRZ · 26 Sep 2011 at 14:18

I have resigned myself to the fact that the S-Class will be going nowhere when it snows and I will have to use the MX-5 and freeze to death.

I have almost-new Kumho Ecstas on it, will I die or should I fit winter tyres and snow chains?

[TW]Fox · 26 Sep 2011 at 15:35

DRZ said:
I have resigned myself to the fact that the S-Class will be going nowhere when it snows and I will have to use the MX-5 and freeze to death.

I have almost-new Kumho Ecstas on it, will I die or should I fit winter tyres and snow chains?

Have you considered some ultra budget snow tyres from a brand you have never heard of?

DRZ · 26 Sep 2011 at 16:13

[TW]Fox;20156265 said:
Have you considered some ultra budget snow tyres from a brand you have never heard of?

On the Merc or the Mazda?

I've considered the overwhelming cost of 285/35/19 winter tyres and I will be leaving the Merc parked up if we get anything like the winter we had last year. I don't fancy my chances against the power of momentum when in a mega-wide-tyred 5 metre long 2 tonne battering ram.

The comparatively narrow tyres on the MX-5 will be better should it snow but that is somewhat offset by the fact it has no weight to help grip down in the snow.

Either way, I have two RWD cars and I live on a hill where historically my FWD cars have struggled when it starts to get icy so I do need to consider my options...

Gaygle · 26 Sep 2011 at 16:13

Not sure if this has already been posted but this is quite interesting:

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/winter-tyres-tested/259257

Wet testing - The Continental Premium Contact 2 is the closest tyre there to being a proper UHP summer tyre. And in the wet, at 4c it stopped only FOUR METRES more than the BEST winter tyre tested. Now, assuming a proper, UHP tyre was tested such as the Goodyear Assymetric 2's or the Continetal Sport Contact 5P's, i have no doubt this gap would have been none existant.

Wet handling course - Now, in the wet handling course, at 5c, the Continental Premium Contact (which is only a mid range tyre remember) took the top spot. This gap would have been even bigger if a UHP had been used, such as those mentioned previously.

Dry testing at 5.5c - well, i don't think anything needs to be said. The best winter tyre took a staggering 7metres extra to stop over the midrange Continental Premium Contact 2 summer tyre. Remember, this would have been even more if a proper UHP was tested.

Aquaplaning test - they did an aquaplaning test too and guess what? The midrange CPC2 dry tyre got the exact same result as the best winter tyre tested.

EDIT: I know, before anyone says it - what a sensationalistic article! From the way they've written it i would not be surprised if they received some kind of monetary reward from tyre manufacturers for this article. I mean, lol, did they get someone from the Daily Mail to write it!?:

WhatCar said:
At an average of £500 for a set of winter tyres – plus storage costs during the summer if you don’t fancy the tyres eating up space in your garage – we recognise that they’re another hefty cost for Britain’s motorists. If you need them for only three or four months a year, though, you should get several seasons out of them.

Given the safety benefits, it’s a price worth paying. A set of winter tyres could be the difference between life and death this winter.

DRZ · 26 Sep 2011 at 16:23

I think those sort of stats really go to highlight the point Fox has been making for a long time.

For me, the choice to fit winter tyres or not comes entirely down to the fact that should we get 4-6 weeks of snow like last winter (you jokers on the south coast can shut it, it snowed hard up here and stayed snowy for ages) I cannot afford to not be able to get to site. Not on site = can't invoice the client.

I don't drive like an eejit when it is cold and wet so I don't feel the need to fit winter tyres, but the prospect of binning it at the bottom of my road trying to get to work makes me feel that it might just be worth it.

I have a 2nd set of wheels that I can use too.

Overlag · 26 Sep 2011 at 16:28

since fitting bigger brakes to my car, i need to buy a new spare wheel so it can fit over the calliper. Was looking at FocusRS (mk1) spares which are 16s, with some silly 125 width tyre on. Was thinking if i got two of these, and stuck some winter tyres on it, surely it would be great?... ignoring the rear wheels for now :eek:

Gaygle · 26 Sep 2011 at 16:33

DRZ said:
For me, the choice to fit winter tyres or not comes entirely down to the fact that should we get 4-6 weeks of snow like last winter (you jokers on the south coast can shut it, it snowed hard up here and stayed snowy for ages) I cannot afford to not be able to get to site. Not on site = can't invoice the client.

I agree. If you have roads covered in snow for 6 weeks of the year and you have a job where you will lose a significant amount of money if you can't get to work - then these tyres make sense.

However, if you're in the south and get a week of snow a year, and you can just work from home and the only reason you're planning on fitting winter tyres is because someone told you they are super awesome wikkid in anything under 7c - then you're a bit foolish IMO.

lordrobs · 26 Sep 2011 at 16:36

DRZ said:
I think those sort of stats really go to highlight the point Fox has been making for a long time.

It highlights that the blanket statement of "winter tyres are best below 7'C" is crap but it seems that people only talk about lol three days of snow wtf!!!1 or 5'C. Maybe I live in some kind of climate bubble but I remember for many weeks last winter freezing my knackers off scraping ice off my car at sub zero temperatures without a drop of snow on the ground with the road like an ice rink.

It is these conditions that I'm interested in improving grip, whether my "budget" winter tyres will achieve that we'll wait and see. From the experiences of a few people at work I should see a vast improvement over what I experienced last year.