And will get even worse once the temps drop below 7c. Out of interest why did you go from all seasons to summer (esp this time of year!). the point of all seasons is to run them all year round. With the weather we have in the UK, unless I had a performance car which i only used in summer, I would never bother with summer tyres in the UK or at least swap between summer tyres and winter/all season tyres.
**Unofficial Tyre Thread**
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And will get even worse once the temps drop below 7c. Out of interest why did you go from all seasons to summer (esp this time of year!). the point of all seasons is to run them all year round. With the weather we have in the UK, unless I had a performance car which i only used in summer, I would never bother with summer tyres in the UK or at least swap between summer tyres and winter/all season tyres.
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On our two cars I run:
Car A: Michelin Pilot Sport 4
Car B: Michelin Pilot Primacy 3 (April to October)/Continental WinterContact TS860P (November to March)
I have found it very difficult to justify my decision to run the two sets of tyres on the other car and I think some people think I'm a bit odd for doing so - I don't think they've ever genuinely helped except where we've gone out of our way to find some snow - but I mostly do it because it's cost neutral and interesting from a car enthusiast perspective.
I have never noticed this apparent drop-off in performance at 7c. In-fact, I'm fairly sure that the Pilot Sport 4 continues to be the best performing tyre at this point. It is only in freezing conditions that I have noticed performance differences. We are fortunate enough to not need to venture out early in the morning in mid January, perhaps I'd have noticed more often if we did that.
Pretty sure all summer tyres performance starts decreasing from below 7C as the rubber hardens, THe PS4 are so epic and so far ahead of the rest that they will still be performing as the best at that temp but will be starting to deteriorate.
Michelin themselves say that the PS4 is superior above 5c. Once it drops below 5c the all season beats it. 2:10 in
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Underboss
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That's why I use cross climates all year round , need them very early mornings, and I don't have space for 2 sets of wheels
It is very rear to snow apart from a few times it did in the Midlands. At worst I have less than a few hundred yards to treated road. If it gets bad I will not drive anywhere.
I remember buying winter tyres and then it did not snow and only a few days it was colder.
Winter tyres arent only just for snow though, its for low temps and ice as well. A lot depends where you live in the UK of course as well.
Where I live and where I work, even with a 4x4, unless is use all seasons or winter tyres I wouldn't be making it to work several weeks each year on summer tyres.
There is only once I didnt make it in the last 20 years after managing to get out of my village on none snow ploughed roads I cam across a tractor stuck on the road so decided if he's not going through no point me even trying anymore and turned around and went back home.
We dont get really bad winters anymore in the uk but where I live up North we can have lots of days with some snowfall, enough to cover the roads. Wouldnt be so bad if you saw a snow plough before 2pm.
I agree. Therefore winter tyres for most of UK is a bit of overkill. I would not be sure about Highlands as I have never been there in winter, but from what I was told even Aberdeen is getting rather wintry in summer.
The reason I changed them because they were getting low on tread. I try not to drive with bold tyres.
I assumed your old tyres were bald, just wondered why you would put summer tyres on now?
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I lived in Aberdeen for many years, and didn't feel the need for winter tyres. OK there are a few days per year where there's snow on the roads, and tailbacks during rush hour, but nothing too bad weatherwise.
However, when I moved to Aberdeenshire 15 years ago, things are a little bit different. Some of the rural roads may not see a gritter/snow plough for a few days after the initial fall, and some of the side streets are pretty much left to the residents to clear themselves. At the time, I had a spare set of wheels with worn out track day tyres so took the opportunity to try a set of winter tyres. Transformed the car in low temps/frosty mornings even without snow, as the car just felt so much more planted on the roads, even at low speeds. The nervousness on bumpy wet roads had gone and when the snow and ice did arrive, the difference in traction and braking were hard to believe. I've fitted winter tyres to both our cars every year since. A small price to pay for increased levels of safety, even if it means I can move out of the way of another car about to have an accident (like failing to stop at a downhill junction coming ontp the main road I'm on).
In recent years, tyre technology has moved on a lot, and all season tyres have pretty much closed the gap to winter tyre for the typical winter conditions we get, and don't turn to jelly above 10C on dry roads. Even newer summer tyre designs are much better than they used to be in colder temperatures, as long as they have decent tread depth.
Had the Crossclimate 2’s fitted yesterday, 205 45 17 XL 88V so same ratings as the stock tyres, primacy 4.
They need scrubbing in more before I can give an opinion on them I guess, but they are quieter for sure than the primacy, but that may change as they wear in.
Guaranteed now our winter will be dry and mild.
They need scrubbing in more before I can give an opinion on them I guess, but they are quieter for sure than the primacy, but that may change as they wear in.
Guaranteed now our winter will be dry and mild.
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Avaliable in the UK now?
They are. I've done around 500 miles since having them on, from <10C - 17C and so far they've been fine. I have a Fiesta so not a fast car, they feel the same accelerating/braking/cornering as the older Primacy 4s. They feel softer and have less feedback as to be expected and a lot less on centre feel, which I personally like on some of the really bad rural backroads round here, but more vague on the motorway, which isn't an issue for me.
Noise wise, after they have scrubbed in a bit, I honestly don't think they're louder, but my initial thought that they were quieter were incorrect. They have a different sound, more a very low rumble on some surfaces. On freshly re done motorway surfaces, they sound just the same as the summer tyres. It's not an issue for me, but it's going to be a personal thing I imagine and some people may hear it more.
Works really well on a muddy/clay track though! So that's another benefit
Thanks for your opinion on the Cross Climate 2 @VaderDSL. I'm pretty much decided on downsizing the wheels of my 640d from 20" to 18" for the winter and the CC2's look to be the best all-rounder. Kwik-Fit have an offer at the moment of 10% off 2 or 15% off 4 so I just need to sort out some 18" wheels.
After reading a bit and watching a few videos (particular the one below) I've gone against my original plan of a set of summer and a set of winter tyres and instead decided on a set a of summer tyres (20") and a set of all season tyres (18") for the appropriate time of the year. My existing rears (summer tyres) are just over 3mm so the time to replace them is now and I can't in my right mind put summer tyres on when the temperature up here in the north of Scotland is 6c and will only get lower as winter progresses. I got stuck in the snow in February earlier this year so hopefully the all season tyres will help if it snows this winter.
It's an informative video but jump to the 10 minute mark for the conclusion.
After reading a bit and watching a few videos (particular the one below) I've gone against my original plan of a set of summer and a set of winter tyres and instead decided on a set a of summer tyres (20") and a set of all season tyres (18") for the appropriate time of the year. My existing rears (summer tyres) are just over 3mm so the time to replace them is now and I can't in my right mind put summer tyres on when the temperature up here in the north of Scotland is 6c and will only get lower as winter progresses. I got stuck in the snow in February earlier this year so hopefully the all season tyres will help if it snows this winter.
It's an informative video but jump to the 10 minute mark for the conclusion.
If you're going to the effort of swapping twice a year why all season?
got to use up the summer tyres which came with the car somehow haven’t I?
That's not what I said. I thought I was fairly clear, perhaps not.
If you are going to run summer tyres in summer and different tyres in winter then why all season?
I'll put my reasoning forward.
From my research, all season tyres are okay in the snow but are better in the dry/cold and similar to better in the wet/cold when compared with winter tyres. Winter tyres are designed with snow more in mind which adversely affects other factors to some degree. Watch the video I posted above.
Going by last winter I'll see more cold/dry and cold/wet roads with the chance of a week or two of snow. I don't want to be stranded in snow like I was in February (with summer tyres).
It's actually cheaper to buy four new 18" alloys and all season tyres than it is to buy just four 20" winter tyres. Strangely, choice is really limited for all seasons in 275/30 R20.
I agree but in this country if you are bothering to run two sets of tyres per year then you are likely looking for snow and ice ability or you'd likely just run the same tyres all year?
I'm in the Scottish Highlands so the weather can be a lot colder than down south, with more chance of snow. But it doesn't snow all the time so dedicated snow tyres would be a waste. It snowed the winter past and I got stuck, the winter before that it didn't snow and I got away with running on summer tyres.
I'm planning on running the 18" all seasons from November to April then switching to 20" summer tyres from April to October. I can change and store the wheels myself so it's no hassle.
I'm planning on running the 18" all seasons from November to April then switching to 20" summer tyres from April to October. I can change and store the wheels myself so it's no hassle.