Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect?

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Thu 2 Dec 2010 10:10
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - Smileyman

So the forecast is out, and it's going to be another cold winter.

I've seen the test results, and searched the web, now for the nitty gritty ... in practical terms exactly what can I expect with winter tyres? The tyre test results give useful info, but do not include a 'living with' report - for instance, will I be able to drive normally if driving on snowy road (OK perhaps not at 70 mph, say 40 - 50 mph). In some user posts I read of driveways that become usable again, but there is more to driving than setting out from home.

My enquiry is all about expectations - an experienced driver with new tools, not a tutorial on how to drive in winter.

All useful advice / comments welcome.

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Thu 2 Dec 2010 12:09
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - Ethan Edwards

My own experience is that fitting of winter tyres does not allow you to 'defy the laws of time, space, inertia, gravity or indeed physics'. It won't allow you to drive really fast on slippery ice (close behind the vehicle in front of you) and 'stop on a dime'.

But they will allow you to retain grip longer and get up hills where you'd otherwise flounder.

Cheers,

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Thu 2 Dec 2010 12:50
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - NARU

I found that (at the same speed) surfaces that would have triggered the ABS last year now allow me to come to a controlled stop. I was able to pull the UPS van up the hill from a standing start, so definately more grip.

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Thu 2 Dec 2010 13:46
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - Collos25

Good web site with some interesting info

http://www.tyretest.com/index.html

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Thu 2 Dec 2010 13:54
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - Honestjohn

Video of crossing Europe Innsbruck to Farnborough on winter tyres here:

www.honestjohn.co.uk/road-tests/bmw/bmw-x3-f25?sec...o

Though conditions were nothing like as bad as they currently a e in Northumberland.

HJ

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Thu 2 Dec 2010 14:54
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - David Villa

Winter tyres are amazing. The amount of traction, grip and braking they deliver compared to summer tyres is like night and day.

You still need to drive carefully and according to conditions, but putting winter tyres will allow you to have good control when on summer tyres you may have been slipping.

Especially noticeable on ice when braking and on slopes, with winter tyres you get so much more grip. May make the difference between getting up and hill or getting off a steep drive or not.

They are even grippier on cold and frosty mornings when there isn't any of the white stuff around.

I bought some for my daughter's small hatchback last year and was so amazed by them I ended up exclusively using her car during the worst of the weather with never a hint of ever getting stuck anywhere.

This year I bought some Dunlop winter tyres for my 3L Auto RWD saloon-not normally at home on the white stuff, but with winter tyres driving it has been transformed.They inspire great confidence,but you still need to procede with caution and not get overconfident.

Limitations: obviously include ground clearance-we are seeing deep snow in places, so unless your vehicle has sufficient ground clearance you're not going anywhere, whatever tyres you have. Also if you're stuck in a jam with other traffic you may struggle,although winter tyres give you the option of a detour along the more scenic route!

You may struggle to source winter tyres now-stocks are running out rapidly and choice in the UK is not great. I bought both sets from an internet supplier based in Germany.

I definitely give them the thumbs up. I need to stay mobile in my cars for work and using winter tyres has made it so much easier and safer for me in difficult conditions.

Edited by David Villa on 02/12/2010 at 15:01

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Thu 2 Dec 2010 15:26
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - Dutchie

Read a interesting article about wintertyres.

The ANWB similair to the AA and RAC use wintertyres twelve months of the year.Weather in the Netherlands about the same as the UK.According to a european test cheap or more expensive wintertyres perform both the same braking in snow.The only disadvantages regarding cheap wintertyres is braking in wet weather.The minimum tread on a wintertyre is 4mm.Wintertyres from new tread depht should be 8 to 9 mm.

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Thu 2 Dec 2010 16:01
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - Mike H

The minimum tread on a wintertyre is 4mm.Wintertyres from new tread depht should be 8 to 9 mm.

Just to avoid confusion, the winter tread depth of 4mm is not a legal minimum in the UK unlike countries like Austria and Germany where they are mandated. AFAIK the UK has no special tyre regulations for winter tyres, so the *legal* minimum is 1.8mm. The *sensible* minimum for use in snow is 4mm, but they will still be effective in the cold & wet below that in the UK.
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Thu 2 Dec 2010 16:13
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - bathtub tom

>> the *legal* minimum is 1.8mm.

No. The UK legal limit is 1.6mm across three quarters of the width of the tread for the entire circumference, with visible tread pattern on the remainder.

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Thu 2 Dec 2010 19:13
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - Mike H

>> the *legal* minimum is 1.8mm.

No. The UK legal limit is 1.6mm across three quarters of the width of the tread for the entire circumference, with visible tread pattern on the remainder.

I stand corrected again :-( Academic for me, I never let mine get so ludicrously low. But it doesn't negate the point I was making.

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Thu 2 Dec 2010 15:19
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - Collos25

You would have been at a standstill if you had have tried the same journey today.

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Thu 2 Dec 2010 16:10
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - Dutchie

The article i read mike is that wintertyres could be used the year round .I would't like to be driving on any tyre at 1.8 mm tyre depht tread.

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Thu 2 Dec 2010 16:34
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - Collos25

Recommended minimum 4mm for winter tyres in Germany under that you may as not bother.

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Thu 2 Dec 2010 19:17
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - Mike H

The article i read mike is that wintertyres could be used the year round .I would't like to be driving on any tyre at 1.8 mm tyre depht tread.

They could be certainly, but they are at their best below 7 degrees. Some of them don't perform well at summer temperatures. Certainly a lot of people here in Austria use them all year round, but they're the type whose idea of a major excursion is travelling 10 miles - and they are almost invariably the local equivalent of chinese ditch-finders.

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Thu 2 Dec 2010 16:37
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - rsvtoddy

Having used winter tyres for the first time last year I would never have a car now without them. I live 5 miles from the main road in a small village in the N Yorks Moors - there have been times I would not have got home with the standard low profile tyres on.

I put the winter tyres back on 2 weeks ago - the fronts have about 3 to 4mm left and I thought I would use them a bit before the real bad weather came back! They are certainly not as good as last year but still an improvement on the 'summer' ones.

I picked up some 15 inch wheels off ebay for the winter (16 inch are standard) and fitted narrower, higher profile winter tyres.

HTH

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Thu 2 Dec 2010 17:13
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - daveyjp
If your current normal rubber is down to 3mm or less changing them for new normal rubber will make a huge difference - I have just experienced this with our Aygo which had four new boots today. The fronts were down to 2.5mm, the backs which were originally on the front were close to the tread wear indicator.

Before going I tried ascending a street near us which has quite a slope and covered in compacted snow. I managed about a third of the way up on the old tyres and got stuck. Returned from the fitter with 8mm on each corner and the car went up as if there was no snow on the road at all.
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Thu 2 Dec 2010 20:59
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - Dutchie

I think to let any tyre to go down to 1.6 mm is asking for trouble in these snow conditions we have at the moment.

I went for a drive to the shops today our car has got Michelin tyres plenty of tread car handled ok driving very carefully.Diesel engine plenty of torgue.

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Fri 3 Dec 2010 02:35
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - rogue-trooper

Many moons ago I had some winter tyres on my Volvo 340. I actually think that they were specifically for snow conditions and the tyre dealer in France put them on in spring as there was no more use for them. Dreadful handling. In the wet they locked up far far too easily. In the dry, you would spin your tyres at the drop of a hat and I got pulled by the OB for that, who on inspecting the tyres, found no problems. They had been on for about 10k miles at that stage and were still like new.

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Fri 3 Dec 2010 08:41
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - Dutchie

You have said it many moons ago,technologie has moved on there are season weather tyres for sale now.It depends how much you want to pay and quality.Reading some of the reports the new type of all weather tyres use silicone in the tyre.I dont work or have any connection to this company but Vredestein produce a quality all season tyre desigend for winter condition and summer use.

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Fri 3 Dec 2010 19:40
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - turbo11

rsvtoddy and davidvilla what make of tyre do you use.

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Sat 4 Dec 2010 10:04
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - arnold2

Running all-weather Nokian WR-G2's on my Focus, which as per my previous post I put on a couple of months ago, suspecting we would have a winter like this one! As I regularly drive to Germany, it's mandated anyway.

For UK drivers, unless you have a 4wd and live somewhere really remote, I would go for all-weather but SNOW RATED tyres. That means that apart from the M&S (mud and snow) marking, they have the snowflake symbol, which means they have been tested for traction in snow (M&S really means not a lot on its own....). Again, in Germany, winter tyres have to have the snowflake symbol, also Austria.

Yes, they are not as good as dedicated winter tyres, but that is by comparison with really good (and expensive) makes.

From what I can find, the best all-weathers are:
Nokian WR G2
Vredestein QUATRAC 3
Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons

HJ is recommending some Bridgestones but my car engineers in Germany don't rate them! There are also some great Continentals available in the states, but they don't seem to have crossed the pond yet....

OK, so difference? In a word - huge. On non-snow/ice surfaces in the cold, grip is far better, ditto in heavy rain. On ice, they are not quite as good as a dedicated winter tyre, probably their main trade-off - but still miles better than a summer tyre!

On snow it's immense fun - lots of grip.

If you can afford 2 sets, winter tyres are better, but I would at least go for good all-weathers.....

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Sat 4 Dec 2010 10:52
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - Dutchie

Agree arnold 2 well written It often boils down to what people can afford.My next set of tyres will be all weather.The Michelins I have at the moment are nearly new tyres and where I live there are no hills and we do most runs to the shops and back.

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Sat 4 Dec 2010 22:18
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - Smileyman

The Nokian tyres are winter, not all weather tyres. see link

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Nokian/WRG2.htm

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Sun 5 Dec 2010 19:15
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - rsvtoddy

Continental winter contact TS800 on mine

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Mon 6 Dec 2010 00:58
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - julie page
As been said winter tyres are fab. Not used them in the UK, but have driven cars in Poland, Italy, Iceland and Finland fitted with them and it amazing how much grip they give although in Finland the tyres had studs in them too

Friend of mine who lives in an out of the way place, this year traded in his car for a Land Rover in anticipation of a bad winter, as he was unable to get home last winter on a couple of occasions

This winter he was still unable to get home as other vehicles blocked the road!

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Tue 7 Dec 2010 09:18
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - oldtoffee

>>>The Nokian tyres are winter, not all weather tyres. see link www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Nokian/WRG2.htm

I bought these after reading many test results and owner experiences and also because they are described elsewhere as suitable for all weather use. I fitted mine in late September and they immediately felt as good in normal driving as the Yokohamas all season M+S they replaced but are much much better in the wet. On snow they're excellent and in many tests score as good or better than dedicated winter tyres. I've done 6,000 miles on them and wear is negligible. I don't know how they'll hold up in the summer months but as they're not overly expensive, if a bit of extra wear is the only result I'll put up with that for the benefit of not having to swap tyres twice a year.

From their US website tinyurl.com/akf5zx.

The WR G2, Nokian Tyres’ third generation in the unique line of “All-Weather Plus” tires, offers the best performance in every season. The asymmetrical inside-out tread pattern allows our engineers to design different areas of the tread to focus on the different driving conditions you will encounter throughout the year. So while seasons may change, your choice of all-weather tires remains the same: Nokian WR G2.

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Tue 7 Dec 2010 09:54
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - nortones2

The WR G2 is a winter tyre, according to the global Nokian site, which doesn't even mention "all-weather" as an option. We have them on one car. The tyres are marked with the mountain/snowflake symbol to indicate use for severe conditions. I suspect its just a marketing thing to describe them, for the US market, as all-weather but its a bit odd. Unless, the thought has just occurred to me, the US WR G2 are a different compound to those sold in NW Europe, to take account of much higher US temperatures in summer?

Edited by nortones2 on 07/12/2010 at 09:55

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Tue 7 Dec 2010 10:15
Any - Driving on winter tyres - what to expect? - nortones2

I've found out a little more - it seems the compund is the same. So the WR G2 don't really need to be taken off in spring, unless their grip is significantly affected by warm weather. We'll swap them over, even so, to even out the wear.

From the Nokian site "What does "All Weather" tire really mean?
Nokian invented the All Weather tire category with the introduction of the WR/WRG2. Designed as a winter tire first, this tire can be used year-round and still provides class leading winter grip. Further, unlike other winter tires it will not be damaged if driven during the summer months.

Are the Nokian WRG2/WRG2 SUVs Winter tires or All Season tires?
We refer to them as All Weather tires, not All Season tires. Whereas All Season tires are best suited for spring, summer, and fall and can handle some winter conditions, the WRG2 and WRG2 SUV are true winter tires that can also be used during the rest of the year. This differs from winter-specific tires that should not be driven in the warmer months due to excessive treadwear."

From www.nokiantires.com/faq

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