Winter/Snow tyre discussion thread

[Veearrhsix 0]

Well the laced snow has become more than a confident blanket now, and so have my driving conditions I'm happy to say. Found a threshold my new tyres will handle as pottered about on some fresh stuff in my works car park in the early hours after a shift, and grips very well, while my colleagues struggled on there 'whatever tyres'. Doesn't feel good when overtaking someone (within the law btw), as you feel they think you're a loon... but would rather be on my way than to be stuck behind a car that's on their limit of control and driving confidence...

[Jim 1]

Really wishing I had those winter tyres now.. we've just had a real dumping of snow.. probably an inch or two. Not liking the prospect of getting to work on Monday :|

[Supercharged 2]

Much that I hate public transport and paying for taxis I still reckon it's far cheaper to do this for a week or so every year than to buy snow tyres, plus your not risking damage to the corrado and getting it covered in salt etc - not had to so far but just cleaned mine and tempted to bus to work this week, especially with all the Xmas party's etc

[Ben-B 0]

Much that I hate public transport and paying for taxis I still reckon it's far cheaper to do this for a week or so every year than to buy snow tyres, plus your not risking damage to the corrado and getting it covered in salt etc - not had to so far but just cleaned mine and tempted to bus to work this week, especially with all the Xmas party's etc

 

THEY'RE WINTER TYRES NOT SNOW TYRES.

 

 

They are designed FOR ALL WEATHER CONDITIONS WHERE THE TEMPERATURE IS BELOW 7 degrees C.

 

They vastly improve grip in WET WEATHER CONDITIONS AT ANY TEMPERATURE.

 

 

 

The number of people who I hear saying "well it only snows a few days of the year" or "it's never deep enough for us to need them" just annoys me and makes me want to beat them with something

[Skills 0]

Was really considering getting some winter tyres this year and regretted not getting round to it at work today when the snow came down. Must say though that my Conti Sports Contact 2's were great getting home. Couple of big hills on the way and many other cars were really struggling and slipping up and down but I don't think I lost traction once. Lot's of fun watching all the RWD BMW's sliding all over the place then cruising past without any bother! :D

[colinstubbs 0]

I love mine, shame so many other people were on 'whatever sh!te' tyres and impeded my progress slipping all over!! Gonna be evil tomorrow morning methinks.

 

Worst case was prob the elderly chap trying to drive in a straight line with his handbrake on - I was complelled to knock on his window and suggest it was frozen or he'd left it on, :cuckoo: :cuckoo: - he apologised to me :camp:

[Wullie 1]

I love mine, shame so many other people were on 'whatever sh!te' tyres and impeded my progress slipping all over!! Gonna be evil tomorrow morning methinks.

 

Not particularly aimed at Colin but the above phrase is becoming frequent in this topic. Not everyone can just pop out at the beginning of winter and chuck on a set of winter tyres. It is just not a financial viability for a lot of people. And I'm sure someone will correct me but it only seems a couple of years ago that winter tyres were a novelty subject on the forum.

 

By all means buy winter tyres if it is within your budget but don't demean other drivers just for not having them, unless of course you have irrufutable proof that the can, but refuse to buy them and deliberately go out of their way to get in front of you.

 

Pleaqse also note I have been stuck in bed with flu and a chest infection all bleedin week and I'm grumpy and felt like sticking up for the little man in his shite tyred car.

[colinstubbs 0]

no probs Wullie but the difference they make is pretty bloody amazing. I'm so glad i'm not still trying to use my tired Eagle F1s - I'd have no chance, but then they do market them as summer tyres saying they're sh!te on snow!!

 

It isn't all tyres though. There's plenty of totally useless technique out there ..........as well as pr!icks that won't clean their windows, roofs, and/or lights and don't use any lights or just sidelights so that the snow builds up on them again because they generate no heat and then can't be seen :cuckoo:

 

 

Get well soon ol' chap :wave: :salute:

[Ben-B 0]

By all means buy winter tyres if it is within your budget but don't demean other drivers just for not having them, unless of course you have irrufutable proof that the can, but refuse to buy them and deliberately go out of their way to get in front of you.

 

Pleaqse also note I have been stuck in bed with flu and a chest infection all bleedin week and I'm grumpy and felt like sticking up for the little man in his **** tyred car.

 

I'm sorry to the extremely small minority that this might involve... but every single car I have witnessed first hand as severely struggling in these conditions has failed to clear their front/rear windscreen or side windows and headlights of snow, obviously has summer tyres fitted, and drives far too fast and aggressively for the conditions.

 

For those people, I actually HOPE they write their cars off, but I really do fear that they may cause damage to mine/others cars, or even worse, injury to innocent drivers and pedestrians.

 

If they did not have "adequate" brakes fitted to their cars, considering the road conditions, would they still continue to drive?? I hope not... but why then do they drive in conditions that their tyres (the ONLY 4 points of contact between car and road) obviously cannot handle

[Wullie 1]

By all means buy winter tyres if it is within your budget but don't demean other drivers just for not having them, unless of course you have irrufutable proof that the can, but refuse to buy them and deliberately go out of their way to get in front of you.

 

I'm sorry to the extremely small minority that this might involve... but every single car I have witnessed first hand as severely struggling in these conditions has failed to clear their front/rear windscreen or side windows and headlights of snow, obviously has summer tyres fitted, and drives far too fast and aggressively for the conditions.

 

For those people, I actually HOPE they write their cars off, but I really do fear that they may cause damage to mine/others cars, or even worse, injury to innocent drivers and pedestrians.

 

If they did not have "adequate" brakes fitted to their cars, considering the road conditions, would they still continue to drive?? I hope not... but why then do they drive in conditions that their tyres (the ONLY 4 points of contact between car and road) obviously cannot handle

 

Oh dear, where to begin.

 

I'm sorry to the extremely small minority that this might involve... Errm, It's quite a bit larger than you seem to imagine, and set to become a lot larger.

 

but every single car I have witnessed first hand as severely struggling in these conditions has failed to clear their front/rear windscreen or side windows and headlights of snow, obviously has summer tyres fitted, and drives far too fast and aggressively for the conditions.

This is a pretty good description of bad driving in adverse conditions. I was unaware however that it was caused by the type of tyre fitted or that you could, indeed, identify tyre type from it.

 

Were you a bad driver last winter, when you didn't have winter tyres? If memory serves you only fitted them earlier this year

The major problem is that it is not a requirement of holding a driving licence to have had any training in winter driving therefore the only opportununity the majority have is when Mother Nature dumps winter with it's snow onour doorsteps. I drive on my sh!te non winter tyres on a daily basis and have only not driven on one day during the current winter weather when my street was blocked by a bin lorry that had become stuck and the blown his transmisssion trying to get out. I was trained to "DRIVE" by the Fire Brigade many years ago, and despite not having winter tyres I have never been at fault in an accident. Come to think of it I have only been involved in three accidents in 40-odd years of driving, the last taking place in the last hour of the last millenium when a woman rear ended me. I failed to take note of her tyres.

 

The remaining two paragraphs I will just ignore as they are not worthy of comment.

 

Winter tyres make it safer and easier to drive in winter conditions. Winter tyres will not make a bad driver any better, it may just take them longer to lose control. Recognising your own limitations and driving within them or indeed choosing not to drive is just as, if not more important than the type of tyre used.

 

Rant over

[greasegriff 0]

Well said that man. I especially like..."If memory serves you only fitted them earlier this year' as I had thought the same thing.

 

For the majority of people, the majority of the time, normal tyres suffice. I'm not saying winter tyres aren't better, they obviously are, but they're not essential to stop a car from toppling onto it's roof.

 

As Ben put it, you wouldn't drive around with inadequate brakes. However, many people modify their cars, increasing the power output etc etc without doing a whole load to their stoppers. It isn't the brakes that will get these people into trouble however, it is the fact that they drive too fast in the first place.

 

Normal tyres, used within their limitations, will do. Whether that is good enough is a matter of personal preference but again, don't tar everyone with the same brush of'If you have normal tyres, you are obviously a crap driver'. As Wullie said, only 6 weeks ago, you were a crap driver too.

 

Rant number two over.

[dukest 0]

lets end the tit-for-tat comments please. the thread is very informal for a sticky-topic already without it becoming argumentative.

[dannyboy 0]

im with ben on this one

 

would you drive with bald tyres in the rain?of course not,its the LAW.People would do it if it wasnt but what happens when you hit a puddle and the car your driving hits another car with kids in it and ....

bit extreme but its happened that many times and still happens.people only learn when its too late.you can drive the car but it its dangerous

having the right tyres for the conditions should be law.Tyres are the only part of a car that touches the ground,you can have the biggest brakes in the world but theyre only as good as the tyres youve got on the car

 

If someone smashes into your pride and joy because the the tyres they have on theyre car isnt suited for the conditions youll change your tune very quickly

ignorance is no excuse

 

Yes no amount of tyres for any condition will make a bad driver a better one.And the old 'itll never happen to me cause im a good driver' doesnt stop the clown with sh!te tyres writing your baby off

[dannyboy 0]

sorry didnt see last post dukest

 

My bad....

[greasegriff 0]

lets end the tit-for-tat comments please. the thread is very informal for a sticky-topic already without it becoming argumentative.

 

At the risk of upsetting a Mod, isn't the point of a 'discussion thread' to allow people to discuss? If not, wouldn't it be a 'statement of fact' thread?

 

Whilst I don't agree with what everyone on here says, surely it's everyones right to be able to say it?

 

I'll get my coat...

[Veearrhsix 0]

My 'whatever tyres' comment was aimed at my work colleagues who were dissin' me before I drove off effortlessly while they were near-stranded in their own pits of wheel spin.

[dukest 0]

lets end the tit-for-tat comments please. the thread is very informal for a sticky-topic already without it becoming argumentative.

 

At the risk of upsetting a Mod, isn't the point of a 'discussion thread' to allow people to discuss? If not, wouldn't it be a 'statement of fact' thread?

 

Whilst I don't agree with what everyone on here says, surely it's everyones right to be able to say it?

 

I'll get my coat...

i only said it because it was on the verge of becoming personal. of course I'm not saying dont post, but just be constructive thats all.

its a fair point about the title though - there is a difficult choice between keeping a thread to useful info that people dont complain about having to trawl through, and giving a place for everyone to voice their opinion or comment but which isnt ultimately useful for someone looking for easy-to-find information.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Well said that man. I especially like..."If memory serves you only fitted them earlier this year' as I had thought the same thing.

 

So what? He and others have tried them, liked them and are enthusing about them, just the same as anything else that works well on Corrados. We discussed / researched them for a year and put aside some money to buy them this winter, so what's the problem?

 

Seems to me Wullie has a some kind of bee in his bonnet about it because he can't afford them and you're just adding fuel to the fire. Neither of you run winter tyres, so why are you even in here? If it's just to say normal tyres work in snow, which they don't, we beg to differ thanks, hence why this thread exists in the first place.

Some people spend more on wax and cleaning products than we have tyres, so go and have a rant at them as well and tell them that for the majority of people, regular cheap wax works the majority of the time.

 

And lastly, some people choose to drive their Corrados every day and choose to fit appropriate tyres for the conditions, deal with it.

[leeeeshad 0]

Back on topic, I'm very impressed with mine, a merc Ml and and old jap 4x4 couldnt get up a steep hill, and others being pushed on friday and I just drove up, there were people at the top looking shocked to see a car driving past :lol:

[greasegriff 0]

Well said that man. I especially like..."If memory serves you only fitted them earlier this year' as I had thought the same thing.

 

So what? He and others have tried them, liked them and are enthusing about them, just the same as anything else that works well on Corrados. We discussed / researched them for a year and put aside some money to buy them this winter, so what's the problem?

 

Seems to me Wullie has a some kind of bee in his bonnet about it because he can't afford them and you're just adding fuel to the fire. Neither of you run winter tyres, so why are you even in here? If it's just to say normal tyres work in snow, which they don't, we beg to differ thanks, hence why this thread exists in the first place.

Some people spend more on wax and cleaning products than we have tyres, so go and have a rant at them as well and tell them that for the majority of people, regular cheap wax works the majority of the time.

 

And lastly, some people choose to drive their Corrados every day and choose to fit appropriate tyres for the conditions, deal with it.

 

Dealt with it!

[dannyboy 0]

ive got 'cheapy' winter tyres on and they make a big difference.you can still slide but they help massively.

 

not a big fan of remoulded tyres but they have been tuv tested and theyre quite good.

Does anyone else get wheel wobble when snow builds up on the inside of the wheels?

[Wullie 1]

So what? He and others have tried them, liked them and are enthusing about them, just the same as anything else that works well on Corrados. We discussed / researched them for a year and put aside some money to buy them this winter, so what's the problem?

 

Seems to me Wullie has a some kind of bee in his bonnet about it because he can't afford them and you're just adding fuel to the fire. Neither of you run winter tyres, so why are you even in here? If it's just to say normal tyres work in snow, which they don't, we beg to differ thanks, hence why this thread exists in the first place.

Some people spend more on wax and cleaning products than we have tyres, so go and have a rant at them as well and tell them that for the majority of people, regular cheap wax works the majority of the time.

 

And lastly, some people choose to drive their Corrados every day and choose to fit appropriate tyres for the conditions, deal with it.

Wullie doesn't have a bee in his bonnet about not being able to afford them. I was commenting on the rising tide of comments suggesting that not having them turned you into some kind of idiot driver who should not be allowed on the road and was a danger to all and sundry.

 

Why am I even in here? Well, it was to learn about winter tyres strangely enough, and I did not say at any point normal tyres work well in snow. Grant me a little common sense at least. It's the same reason I look at all the other topics about turbo's, superchargers, larger brakes etc. oh and the detailing section. Not necessarily because I'm going to do it all, but because it is interesting and informative.

 

I drive my car daily, now having taken it over 190,000 miles and maintain it in a roadworthy condition. In the last four or five years it has passed it's MOT first time, never with more than a couple of advisories. If winter tyres were a requirement for that then in normal circumstances they would be fitted. My current financial climate is pretty dire which is not really your business so I'm afraid that if winter tyres were legally required the Corrado would be SORN'd for the required period this year.

 

So I will "deal with it" by driving when it is safe to do so with skill and consideration for other road users.

 

My apologies for having one more reply to this as I was letting it go, but felt this response required my response. I'm going away now.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Wullie doesn't have a bee in his bonnet about not being able to afford them. I was commenting on the rising tide of comments suggesting that not having them turned you into some kind of idiot driver who should not be allowed on the road and was a danger to all and sundry.

 

I can't say I noticed anyone calling people idiots for not having winter tyres but that's a fair comment. I don't think it was intended to come across that way, but rather some of us have seen silly people doing silly things on the roads, but you get that with all aspects of life, not just winter driving.

 

Further back in the thread, I did mention that winter tyres don't make you a hero, but the levels of grip they offer compared to summer tyres is simply staggering, which is why those of us using them are so enthusiastic about them.

 

Over the weekend I saw so many cars abandoned at the sides of the roads, which for what ever reason, is quite an embarrassment to this country imo. And this is just the flat lands of East Anglia, god only knows what it's like up North!

If people don't feel comfortable driving in snow and are happy to abandon their journey and their car, why are they even out in the first place?

 

As has been mentioned before, this country can't keep caving in to the weather every year and it will get to the stage where via insurance or legality, winter tyres will be a requirement.

 

Anyway, I don't know about other people but I actually enjoy driving on snow and ice, on summers or winters :D

[Jim 1]

Went out in some pretty horrid conditions on my normal all season tyres today and the old VR was pretty sure footed actually. Only really span up the tyres when provoked. Did have a near sideways moment on a roundabout though - wasn't quite as good a surface as I thought it was.. made me realise I was probably driving a bit quickly for the conditions so settled down a bit.

[davidwort 0]

how about letting 1/3 of the pressure out of your rgular tyres, should provide slightly more grip, not suggesting you do 80 on the M-way with less than 20psi in them, but to get out of trouble or on snowy roads?

any thoughts?