Winter/Snow tyre discussion thread

[Critical_Mass 10]

Good luck. They're a bugger to get off without bending them and new they are expensive. :(

[Guest]

Good luck. They're a bugger to get off without bending them and new they are expensive. :(

 

Got a tip from my bodyshop re taking them off. Don't pull them upwards but pull them off horizontaly away from the wing mirror end. They got mine off perfectly like that. (sorry to be off topic)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Refitted my summer wheels this weekend and the car is so much quicker, LOL!

 

Above 10 deg C, winter tyres kind of feel like driving through treacle!

[Critical_Mass 10]

Good luck. They're a bugger to get off without bending them and new they are expensive. :(

 

Got a tip from my bodyshop re taking them off. Don't pull them upwards but pull them off horizontaly away from the wing mirror end. They got mine off perfectly like that. (sorry to be off topic)

 

Nice tip Judith. Thanks.

[SamG40 0]

Just read a lot of people on this thread praising the Conti TS winters on this thread. I cant seem to find them anywhere, they arent even listed as out of stock. Is it too early for them yet? I've found some Hankook I*cept Evo W310 and some Toyo Snow Prox S953's for a decent price but cant find any reviews or opinions on whether they are any good anywhere.

[coullstar 0]

Its not too early, Ive been on the look out for some and I hate to say it but there are going to be no bargins at all this winter. Too many people saw the benefits last year.

[Grim1 1]

I know I'm slightly bias, but the Bridgestone A001 are really good. A couple of our engineers fitted them before we had all the snow last December, very grippy in the dry, awesome in the wet and pretty good in the snow. After 15k miles, they'd only worn about 2mm of tread. Removed in the April and keeping them to one side ready for the wet and cold weather this year. To be fair though, you do pay for what you get, cheap/budget tyres generally aren't that great.

 

Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk

[Grim1 1]

Oh, and I think we have good stock in most the sizes they come in.

 

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[P3rks 11]

Just to rebirth an old thread.

 

I'm looking at getting some Vredestein Snow trac 3's for the original VR Speedlines and for some reason the 195/45/15 profile is cheaper than 195/50. Any reason for this?

[tonytiger 0]

Not sure if the 45 profile will be suitable - there's a difference of 30mm in the overall tyre diameter against standard 205/50-15 - which is about 5%. The recommend max difference to original is usually 2 or 3% - I assume it's the same recommendation when fitting snow tyres, but not totally sure. 195/50-15 is less than 2% different to standard with just a 10mm difference in diameter.

 

195/45-15 might be cheaper simply from being more commonly used. I've looked for that size winter before as that's what my saxo uses, but couldn't find any. Time to have another look I think...

[P3rks 11]

Not sure if the 45 profile will be suitable - there's a difference of 30mm in the overall tyre diameter against standard 205/50-15 - which is about 5%. The recommend max difference to original is usually 2 or 3% - I assume it's the same recommendation when fitting snow tyres, but not totally sure. 195/50-15 is less than 2% different to standard with just a 10mm difference in diameter.

 

195/45-15 might be cheaper simply from being more commonly used. I've looked for that size winter before as that's what my saxo uses, but couldn't find any. Time to have another look I think...

 

Well, the only place I found who sold them is Camskill, but they are out of stock now; indefinitely. They only stocked one brand too so I'm guessing they aren't too common. At a guess the smaller profile would adversely affect winter tyres due to the sidewalls being less forgiving and stiffer. Plus i'd have to run that little bit lower meaning the car could beach out on the snow.

 

195/50 it is then.

 

On another note what time of year do people start fitting their winter tyres? Is it too early?

[Jim 2]

I'd probably stick them on the car around the start of November - that's when it generally seems to start turning grim!

 

Really want a set of winter rubber for the VR this year but have a lot of expenses coming up potentially.. hmm... 195/50's are cheap enough though at places like MyTyres (can pretty much get a set for about £210).

[Jon_vr6 1]

Whats generally the best rubber make to go for winter wise?

[P3rks 11]

Yeah, I was thinking November. So realistically in the next few weeks won't hurt? I need to get my Summer wheels off ASAP and one has a hairline crack.

 

 

 

As for good makes, Vredestein allegedly invented the winter tyre. Continentals have good reviews too! I'm looking at some Conti Winter Contacts TS 800 which are £58 each. Not bad.

[Jon_vr6 1]

Where are they that cheap mate?

[P3rks 11]

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m95b0s623p112290/Continental_Tyres_Winter_Snow_Car_Continental_ContiWinterContact_TS800_Continental_Conti_Winter_Contact_TS_800_-_195_50_R15_82T_FR_TL_Fuel_Eff_%3A_E_Wet_Grip%3A_C_NoiseClass%3A_2_Noise%3A_72dB

[Jim 2]

I had some Michelin Alpin A4's on the Octavia last year and they were very good.

 

Once you get over the realisation that the grip is nothing like what you expect it to be (I somehow stupidly assumed it'd be like driving on tarmac) you'll find you can pretty much go anywhere. Most impressive wasn't the traction on fresh snow but the packed snow and even sheet ice... I spent many hours last winter finding the most horrendous, sheet ice covered side roads and back country lanes I could and never even remotely came close to getting stuck - it was a revelation.

[mr lobitos 0]

uniroyal are the best price winters

they should be fitted when the temp drops to around 7 degrees