**Unofficial Tyre Thread**

[MrRockliffe]

Downside with the Qashqai, unless you have one of the older ones with it, lack of 4x4 and snow/off-road mode which is a shame, gonna be driving my 4x4 more if weather turns. One of the reasons I've leaned more to the Tiguan in the past.

4x4 is kinda irrelevant in snow and super wet.

Traction is generally limited by the tyres you use.


A RWD car with good all seasons or winters will be considerably better with traction than a 4x4 on summers.


Point being - tyres are key

 

[kona786]

Would be tempted to go for decent all seasons, since you're based in the North West.

Vector 4 All Season Gen 3 are typically the best in the wet and will do decent in icy/snowy conditions.


Rear tyres are the most important in a car, irrespective of whether it's front or rear wheel drive, since it's the back end which can slide out Not sure if these are in budget though?

Amazing price at the moment

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[Rroff]

4x4 is kinda irrelevant in snow and super wet.

Traction is generally limited by the tyres you use.


A RWD car with good all seasons or winters will be considerably better with traction than a 4x4 on summers.


Point being - tyres are key

Tyres will make a difference to a point, you need to have traction on at least one point, but when the going gets tough 4x4 is invaluable.

 

[ChrisD.]

4x4 is kinda irrelevant in snow and super wet.

Traction is generally limited by the tyres you use.


A RWD car with good all seasons or winters will be considerably better with traction than a 4x4 on summers.


Point being - tyres are key

Our 4 Motion Tiguan on OEM Pirelli summer tyres was perfectly fine in the snow last winter. Loads of abandoned cars everywhere and we just motored through without any issue. It properly surprised me how good it was.

 

[Berger]

Tyres will make a difference to a point, you need to have traction on at least one point, but when the going gets tough 4x4 is invaluable.

When the going is so tough you need winter tyres and 4wd, you shouldn’t be out on the road. You’ll also need diff locks or you’ll just spin up one wheel, and not sure how you plan to stop if it’s that slippy .

Besides, you live in the flat lands and have never seen snow anyway?

Managed great with all seasons here and we have had 5-10 days snow every year for the past 5 years.

New car has summer tyres on. If the weathers that crap I will be parking up!

You can spend too long overthinking and over complicating things.

For most people if it was that drastic you’d have a solution already to the problem winter tyres, 4wd.

 

[Rroff]

When the going is so tough you need winter tyres and 4wd, you shouldn’t be out on the road. You’ll also need diff locks or you’ll just spin up one wheel, and not sure how you plan to stop if it’s that slippy .

Besides, you live in the flat lands and have never seen snow anyway?

Managed great with all seasons here and we have had 5-10 days snow every year for the past 5 years.

New car has summer tyres on. If the weathers that crap I will be parking up!

You can spend too long overthinking and over complicating things.

For most people if it was that drastic you’d have a solution already to the problem winter tyres, 4wd.

Sure it ain't the highlands but this is what it is like around where I live:

I wouldn't go out if it was bad for the fun of it but with my job and other stuff I do it isn't always that simple, especially if I'm already out when the weather turns and can't just drop everything immediately. Fortunately the odd years recently when it has snowed so far I've managed to dodge the worst of it but another year might not be so lucky.

You’ll also need diff locks or you’ll just spin up one wheel, and not sure how you plan to stop if it’s that slippy .

On this point, within the normal range of winter (snow) conditions in the UK, a lot depends on the vehicle's electronics and your ability to work ESC/TC on/off as required, as above the Tiguan with 4Motion can actually do surprisingly well, the Qashqai (2WD) on the other hand not so much. There are a couple of videos on YouTube demonstrating it actually featuring a Tiguan managing to stay composed while other drivers lose it (unfortunately in one they become a casualty anyhow due to another vehicle) - but I can't link due to swearing hah.

 

[Vanquish-Storm]

Is the Goodyear 215/55 R18 Efficientgrip 2 Suv any good then?

 

[Armageus]

Is the Goodyear 215/55 R18 Efficientgrip 2 Suv any good then?

Depends what else is available in that size/load rating?
(Otherwise it's a perfectly reasonable tyre for an "suv" type vehicle)

 

[Berger]

Sure it ain't the highlands but this is what it is like around where I live:

I wouldn't go out if it was bad for the fun of it but with my job and other stuff I do it isn't always that simple, especially if I'm already out when the weather turns and can't just drop everything immediately. Fortunately the odd years recently when it has snowed so far I've managed to dodge the worst of it but another year might not be so lucky.



On this point, within the normal range of winter (snow) conditions in the UK, a lot depends on the vehicle's electronics and your ability to work ESC/TC on/off as required, as above the Tiguan with 4Motion can actually do surprisingly well, the Qashqai (2WD) on the other hand not so much. There are a couple of videos on YouTube demonstrating it actually featuring a Tiguan managing to stay composed while other drivers lose it (unfortunately in one they become a casualty anyhow due to another vehicle) - but I can't link due to swearing hah.

You’ve shown a typical English country road in the winter and are basing your snow experience entirely on YouTube?

You don’t need winter tyres or 4wd for the conditions you’ve shown, you’d just be spending money for the sake of it and may actually be performing worse than a summer tyre.

 

[MrRockliffe]

Our 4 Motion Tiguan on OEM Pirelli summer tyres was perfectly fine in the snow last winter. Loads of abandoned cars everywhere and we just motored through without any issue. It properly surprised me how good it was.

That's great, but 4 wheel drive will do nothing when you have to brake - hence why having the right tyres for the conditions is key

Tyres will make a difference to a point, you need to have traction on at least one point, but when the going gets tough 4x4 is invaluable.

4x4 only helps when you're trying to drive the tyres. If steering/braking, it won't help as much/at all.

 

[Rroff]

You’ve shown a typical English country road in the winter and are basing your snow experience entirely on YouTube?

You don’t need winter tyres or 4wd for the conditions you’ve shown, you’d just be spending money for the sake of it and may actually be performing worse than a summer tyre.

I wasn't posting that video for the conditions - unfortunately I didn't copy off any footage of when it has been properly wintery - just saying those are the kind of roads I'm dealing with - which don't take much to produce challenging conditions if it is bad, even if it ain't the highlands.

You seem to be assuming a lot about me based on knowing very little at all.

4x4 only helps when you're trying to drive the tyres. If steering/braking, it won't help as much/at all.

It doesn't help much under braking, but if you work with it 4x4 goes a long way towards staying in control in the first place steering wise.

I had an interesting experience with the Navara on the Turanza t005 with light snow and ice on a loose surface - 2WD was spinning up the tyres a lot - I suspect due to lack of weight in the back, steering and stopping wasn't great either but in 4H it was perfectly fine.

 

[MrRockliffe]

It doesn't help much under braking, but if you work with it 4x4 goes a long way towards staying in control in the first place steering wise.

I had an interesting experience with the Navara on the Turanza t005 with light snow and ice on a loose surface - 2WD was spinning up the tyres a lot - I suspect due to lack of weight in the back, steering and stopping wasn't great either but in 4H it was perfectly fine.

4x4 doesn't help at all in braking.

I'd still rather have the right tyres in a RWD than the wrong tyres in a 4x4.

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4WD VS Winter Tyres - Do you need winter tyres if you have 4WD?

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[ChrisD.]

Whether it was the 4 motion or not I don't know, but braking was fine.

Given the choice of my M3 on winter tyres or the Tiguan on summer tyres, I'd choose the Tiguan as I've driven it on snow and mud and it's perfectly fine.

I'm not driving up ski slopes though, just to the shops.

 

[Rroff]

4x4 doesn't help at all in braking.

I'd still rather have the right tyres in a RWD than the wrong tyres in a 4x4.

I think people have missed the implication of what I'm saying.

4x4 can go a long way towards getting you going and maintaining control in the first place, yes once you are sliding if the tyres have given up that is another thing again.

EDIT: And personally I've not been that impressed by the 2WD Qashqai vs the Tiguan with 4Motion irrespective of the tyres in terms of how confident they feel in less than ideal conditions and this is something I do have experience of. (I don't think the steering helps - the Qashqai steering is just weird with a big dead zone, then about a quarter turn where steering input feels more like a hint, about a quarter where it feels like normal steering and then after that it quickly cuts power assistance - probably to stop people turning them over :s though apparently they've significantly improved that in the new model).

Spoiler

 

[ChrisD.]

Decent savings at F1 Autocentres at the minute, booked in this Friday for Continental SC7. My Pilot Super Sports are between 3-4mm and I'm using the car every week so could do something to deal with wet weather a bit better, will chuck the current tyres in the garage for next year.

I did ring them to ask about the fronts not being XL, but apparently they are, it's just not listed for whatever reason.

 

[Vanquish-Storm]

I think people have missed the implication of what I'm saying.

4x4 can go a long way towards getting you going and maintaining control in the first place, yes once you are sliding if the tyres have given up that is another thing again.

EDIT: And personally I've not been that impressed by the 2WD Qashqai vs the Tiguan with 4Motion irrespective of the tyres in terms of how confident they feel in less than ideal conditions and this is something I do have experience of. (I don't think the steering helps - the Qashqai steering is just weird with a big dead zone, then about a quarter turn where steering input feels more like a hint, about a quarter where it feels like normal steering and then after that it quickly cuts power assistance - probably to stop people turning them over :s though apparently they've significantly improved that in the new model).

Spoiler

I would rather have a Tiguan than a Qashqai but I dont think its a bad car. Its a 2 wheel drive, its never been good in the snow its a heavy lump.

I bet the Tiguan has better MPG too.

I went with some Goodyear tyres in the end thanks all!

 

[Rroff]

I bet the Tiguan has better MPG too.

About the same really, low 40s real MPG for the older 2.0L Tiguan and 2017 1.6L Qashqai unless doing a lot of motorway driving where 50s is possible, though I don't have a perfect comparison use wise.

I actually find the Qashqai more practical surprisingly and prefer Nissan's approach to controls - though if you enjoy driving the steering feel will make you die inside, but living where I do the Tiguan with 4Motion is a far better choice for all year around driving. I'm actually having a bit of a quandary what to do car wise at the moment.

 

[ChrisD.]

CSC7 fitted late afternoon at F1. I knew something was up as they had the car inside for nearly two hours. Upon closer inspection I spotted a mark on two wheels. To be fair, the manager was good about it, said get them done and they'll pay for it, but to check the other two wheels in daylight tomorrow and let him know. They were pristine, and are also coated so that will need redoing, and it's faff I could do without. Now I'm worried about colour match but they are only around 2cm so I guess that they can be smart repaired. They've also pumped the tyres up to 38 PSI! There's a reason I normally choose my local independent (albeit more expensive) place as they've never marked an alloy in the ten years I've been using them.

Not much to say about the tyres, it was dark when they finished and it's only around 12 miles home, the front end was really light but that's more than likely to be a combination of the release compound and the fact that they are 38 PSI.

 

[Mikey]

Decent savings at F1 Autocentres at the minute, booked in this Friday for Continental SC7. My Pilot Super Sports are between 3-4mm and I'm using the car every week so could do something to deal with wet weather a bit better, will chuck the current tyres in the garage for next year.

I did ring them to ask about the fronts not being XL, but apparently they are, it's just not listed for whatever reason.

I’m on PSS too and had enough. If I fit my 437m alloys, SC7 is top of the list.

Currently on PsS / 513m 18s as stock suspension *****. Goodyear in that size 255/40/18 / 275/40/18

PSS traction has always been rubbish

I daily my 2 series in a **** M frock

 

[DRZ]

I remember the days when EVERYONE on here thought MPSS was the second coming of Jesus.

I have them on the M2C. They aren't as good as the CSC7 but they are better in the dry than PS4Ss are, albeit they need a bit of heat in them first else they are a bit... binary. The sidewalls are *so* good compared to the PS4S. Damp conditions are another story, definitely not as good as either tyre in soggy conditions and of course the CSC7 all round is better.

Biggest drawback I find is the noise - ridiculously loud compared to the newer stuff.