Anyone getting winter tyres?

N

Niallman

Registered User
Messages
157
Hi,

with the winter on the way, I'm trying to decide whether or not to buy a pair of winter tyres for the drive wheels in the event that the snow comes back for another round. Any opinions on whether its worth it or not? Did anyone have them on last winter and notice a difference?

Thanks.
 
I am looking at getting some, but i wouldn't just put winter tyres on the drive wheels - all advice points to getting 4 winter tyres on the car for safety.

I am thinking of getting some new wheels to put the tyres on and then just swapping the entire set over come winter months. Check online, there are some very good prices around. I look at [broken link removed] www.blackcircles.co.uk and [broken link removed]
 
I got a set for the front last year (Front wheel drive car) and the difference was amazing. I live on a steep enough hill and went from getting stuck 1/10th. the way up to being able to drive up to the top and back down.

I had an old pair of steel rims so I got the tyres fitted to them altogether, saved messing about with the alloys.

Stardard rules apply though ... keep her crawling no matter what! (excepting pedestrians etc) Also no harm to remember when braking that the person behind you probably doesn't have snow tyres
 
Chap in work bought some last year. Didn't make a whole lot of difference however when he checked more info on them it seems these tyres were imports from Asia. Not a bit suitable for our winters giving what last year was like. he went back to the supplier and after a lot of haggaling and solicitors threatened, he got a new set with the Euro "E" mark. He saw a huge difference in these "Euro" tyres. Hope this helps. Not cheap though. Also, all 4 tyres need to changed.
 
WicklowMan said:
Not necessarily. I only did the fronts on my car and while ideally all 4 should be substituted for snow tires, just the two were fantastic.
Click to expand...

All advice out there recommends changing all 4 tyres not just the drive ones,

[broken link removed]
 
I've driven with 'summer' tyres, with two winter tyres, and with 4 winter tyres (the last two in a country with proper winter) and the difference is huge. And the difference between 2 and 4 tyres is also significant. With only 2 (presuming front wheel drive) you will get a lot of rear wheel skid... and if you're as lucky as I am you'll hit black ice at high speed and do a 360 into a snowbank. But for the short amount of time you need them (and if you're only low speed city driving in bad weather) then you could be ok with just 2.

I tried to convince my husband on all-season tyres when we had to get them replaced last summer. He thought we'd be laughed out of the shop
 
Correct, if you drive too fast in the first place the non - driven wheels will break away without snow tyres. The solution is to take it handy. 2 snow tyres are better than none is the point I was making ... and as pointed out more than once ... not based on a report but rather real World experience.
 
Yachtie, you'd want to check that your insurance covers you with those on though. One of my colleagues was told by her insurance last winter that she wouldn't be covered if she was driving with the snow socks on.

As far as I know, they're only really for getting you out of a situation where you're stuck, then you take them off. Feel free to correct me though, I'm just going by hear-say.
 
I have decided not to get any. I have 19' wide alloys which in themselves are difficult to find winter tryes for. Plus ideally you should have 17' "narrow" type of wheels. So I would be looking at getting 4 new wheels and tyres.

Add in that the car is a fairly powerful, back-wheel drive automatic then I will work from home or stay in a hotel if I am stranded in town.
 
I live in a remote area and have been snowed in the last two winters. Unfortunately it didn't stop my boss being able to drive up in his 4x4 and get me for work tho!

My husband has asked me to get quotes for all four tyres and to put new wheels on as well. In summer we'll put the nice alloys back with the summer tyres. I went to one of our local tyre places and he said he won't be getting them in until it snows as he might get stuck with them. Not very handy because I'll probably get snowed in and not be able to get to him!!

Personally, I'm quite happy getting snowed in but living where we do with children I'd be happier knowing we've a chance of getting out if we need to.
 
That thread on boards has lots of options on suppliers.

If I was living in a hilly or country area I'd say getting 4 tyres is well worthwhile.
 
I got snow socks last year and they are great. Brilliant in fact. But they do need snow to work. When the road gets to that half snow half melted stage they will rip in about 10 miles. They aren't very durable and if they rip when your travelling at some speed (30mph or more) you'll hear a big bang when they tear. They are easy to put on dry bu when they are wet they are almost impossible to take off.
 
The tyres need to be left to cool down before taking snow socks off ... otherwise they simply won't come off (tyres warm up with driving, rubber expands)
 
Thanks Wicklow man. But once they have ripped they flap about hitting the underside/outside of your wheel arch. And potentially damaging your bodywork. My point is if they rip on the road, which is partly covered in snow, they will be impossible to take off when wet. Of course you could sit and wait there for the sun to come out and dry the socks and take them off. You might be waiting for summer though!!!!!
 
if you use winter tyres then 4 of them, not two - two is just dangerous (and probably illegal / or an issue with insurance)

Winter tyres perform 'better' than summer tyres at temperatures below 5-7 degrees centigrade, as they rubber tends to be a bit softer; so it is not just because of more grip due to profile in snow. Which means with the weather here there's no harm putting them on from now till paddy's day. In my experience, winter tyres are as durable as the normal ones, so makes no difference regarding mileage (however, if profile is below 4mm the tyres are less effective).

I used Michelin (Alpin A4) winter tyres when living in the Alps, as well as Goodyear Ultragrip. Both are excellent, but would be around 150+ euro a piece (depends on size of course)
As I live in Dublin city now I will not bother with winter tyres - main reason is that because of the suboptimal road clearance here you end up with ice anyway and even wintertyres are of no use then. (but I can use public transport or walk and have 10+ years of driving experience in all sorts of snow).
 
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