Winter/Snow tyre discussion thread

[herisites 0]

Yeah they're a right PITA to get hold of, which is ridiculous really considering the chaos caused by last winter, you'd think they'd be readily available!

 

AFAIK Vredestein Wintrac/Snowtrac are supposed to be pretty good. Would be good to get some solid reviews though other than on the uber expensive new ones which you can't seem to get anywhere!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

kumho are the best buy at moment,would be prepared to supply at cost but only for collection from depot in north wales

 

You mean the Kumho KW23? Available in 205 or 215/40/17?

 

Prices?

[herisites 0]

kumho are the best buy at moment,would be prepared to supply at cost but only for collection from depot in north wales

 

You mean the Kumho KW23? Available in 205 or 215/40/17?

 

Prices?

 

Also available in 195/50/15 for Speedies and only £32.70 from Camskill 8) 195's would be ok on speedies wouldn't they?

[mr lobitos 0]

yeah,would be kw23, can't see them listed in them sizes will make enquiries tomorrow cause that's my sizes aswell,fair does that's a good price on the 195s

[The_Dude 0]

kumho are the best buy at moment,would be prepared to supply at cost but only for collection from depot in north wales

 

You mean the Kumho KW23? Available in 205 or 215/40/17?

 

Prices?

 

Also available in 195/50/15 for Speedies and only £32.70 from Camskill 8) 195's would be ok on speedies wouldn't they?

 

Yeah, you only lose 10mm of width and 5 mm of sidewall. Given how much 205's bulge it might not be a bad thing either. The speedo will read slightly out however, but I found mine to be wildly inaccurate at higher speeds on standard tyres anyway. You'll be going a little slower than it reads so there's no chance of you accidentally speeding.

[dukest 0]

narrow is normally better in snow from what i understand as they dig in better. i'm certainly going to be buying 195s next time after the insurance people said they were fine with it. half the price of 205s and no ugly bulge as said, whats not to like!

[V-Dubstar 0]

Would these KW23's be suitable for normal dry driving conditions? As in for example, if I had them put on because they need replacing anyways, and wouldn't be able to afford another set come the 'dry season' again?

 

Without actually trying to sound naive, what's the difference between winter tyres? Is it more tread, tread patterns?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Would these KW23's be suitable for normal dry driving conditions? As in for example, if I had them put on because they need replacing anyways, and wouldn't be able to afford another set come the 'dry season' again?

 

Without actually trying to sound naive, what's the difference between winter tyres? Is it more tread, tread patterns?

 

According to the info in the Evo snow tyre test, experts recommend using them between November & February, or when ever ambient temps are below 8 deg C IIRC.

 

Apparently they don't last as long as summer tyres in dry only conditions though as the rubber's a lot softer, so it's a judgement call really.

 

The difference is mainly the tread compound, it's softer, more pliable and the treads are also specially cut and shaped to maximise surface area and traction. I think the theory is summer tyres become too hard in severe cold and just slip off the surface of snow and ice like flat soled shoes. The much softer tread of snow tyres bends and squidges itself to the surface, thereby maximising adhesion and therefore traction :D

[V-Dubstar 0]

Would these KW23's be suitable for normal dry driving conditions? As in for example, if I had them put on because they need replacing anyways, and wouldn't be able to afford another set come the 'dry season' again?

 

Without actually trying to sound naive, what's the difference between winter tyres? Is it more tread, tread patterns?

 

According to the info in the Evo snow tyre test, experts recommend using them between November & February, or when ever ambient temps are below 8 deg C IIRC.

 

Apparently they don't last as long as summer tyres in dry only conditions though as the rubber's a lot softer, so it's a judgement call really.

 

The difference is mainly the tread compound, it's softer, more pliable and the treads are also specially cut and shaped to maximise surface area and traction. I think the theory is summer tyres become too hard in severe cold and just slip off the surface of snow and ice like flat soled shoes. The much softer tread of snow tyres bends and squidges itself to the surface, thereby maximising adhesion and therefore traction :D

 

Ah ok - makes sense!! Nice one bud :D

[mr lobitos 0]

couldn't of put it better myself,the british public really do need educating about tyres,i know a lot of it is about money but buying quality really does save lives and i'm not just saying that cause i make my living from them.just try them from mid october on and you will be amazed,just my tuppence on the subject.

[coullstar 0]

Im pretty sure the weather will be no where near as bad as last year but they do still perform v.well in cold damp conditions. Still got mine from last year, to annoy you I picked up basically brand new ones in 16in flavour for £120 for the 4. Avon's is what I have and there fine. TBH I think any of them will be better than the best of the normal tyres.

[Jim 2]

Definitely going to try and hunt out a set of winter tyres this year for the VR. Last winter I had a few hairy drives home in driving snow and roads which hadn't been gritted... why go through that for the sake of a few hundred quid?

[dukest 0]

As I'm currently clearing up the Tyre Discussion thread and there was some information there about winter tyres I thought maybe its worth adding it here and making this a general discussion thread about winter tyres as its a specialist area. Will add information that i find already existing on the forum to the first post but please add any new info you have here.

Cheers

John

[Jim 2]

mr lobitos - what sort of money are you talking for a set of standard VR6 size winter tyres? (205/50/15.. 130MPH+ speed rating would be fine!).

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Anyone bought / running Winter tyres yet?

 

I've spent the morning researching snow tyre sizing and availability and have found it to be bloody frustrating!! Much of the info is inconsistent or incorrect !

 

In this test - http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/20 ... e-Test.htm - the 'Sava' tyre did reasonably well and outperformed some premium brands. Kumho KW23, again, like the Evo summer tyre test, almost a flat last :lol:

 

Forget the premium brands, they're just not available in sensible sizes.

 

Anyway, the Sava is quite cheap and I reckon it's going to be better than any Summer tyre tbh. Available in 195/60 and 205/60 - 15". I know it's balloony, but from what I can see we have no choice.

 

http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... s721p62000

 

Has anyone else managed to find anything useful?

[coullstar 0]

Im getting some priced up at the moment for the new car. 225/45/17's so they aint going to be cheap. For size Id just stick to the normal size, narrow probably does help but I dont see it making a huge difference so long as the tread and compound as good. Most of the decent brands have sold out in the popular sizes now so you are having to look at obscure brands. I think I'll be getting some Hankooks.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Actually, forget the Savas, read some other reviews and they are ONLY good on snow. Crap everywhere else. Remember 'winter' tyres are for all conditions below 7 deg C.

 

Might ring round some tyre places, even Kwik-Fit, because the online info can't be trusted.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

OK, looks like 195/60/15 is the size to go for. All the top rated tyres are available in that size and at reasonable money.

 

Might look a bit whacky races but who cares.....

 

Just read in the local paper about 3 people sliding off the road already, and it's not even properly cold yet. Feckin morons.

[Purple Tom 0]

I've gone for 185/55R15 Vredestein SnowTrac3's. I got them about 6 weeks ago and paid just over £50 a corner from mytyres.co.uk (I reckon they'll have gone up considerably by now though :( )

 

I went for that size because I've got a set of 15x6 5x100 steels for my Corrado as I'm about to do a widetrack conversion. Only slightly bigger than the standard 195/50R15 tyres and they have very good reviews.

 

Should be a good size for standard Speedlines too...

 

Tom

[dragon green 4]

I`ve got a set of Kumho23s,bought them a few months ago and put them on my spare set of wheels,

Wasnt going to put them on until the gritter lorry appears !

Minus three this morning,wet roads,no gritter :censored:

[fla 9]

are camskill out of Kumhos?

[Ben-B 0]

Anybody (Kev) know what size is best for 17" wheels... I can't go smaller due to brake clearance.

 

I would look myself, but I've just got home from a mental day at work and I plain can't be arsed to do anything

[mr lobitos 0]

JIM - sorry i missed your question (30/9/10) as far as i'm aware there isn't a winter tyre avail in 205/50x15, 195/50x15 would be better option(narrower the better in winter conditions).can supply marshal kw15(marshal and kumho same company)@ £40.00 inc vat.would have to find out postage.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

JIM - sorry i missed your question (30/9/10) as far as i'm aware there isn't a winter tyre avail in 205/50x15, 195/50x15 would be better option(narrower the better in winter conditions).can supply marshal kw15(marshal and kumho same company)@ £40.00 inc vat.would have to find out postage.

 

Is there good stock of those? I could be interested in a set of 4 of those aswell.

 

They seem to do alright in this tyre test page - http://www.tyretest.com/pkw_winterreife ... index.html

[mr lobitos 0]

at the moment,yes but like i said in previous posts they are selling fast with nothing else coming through,i've actually sold more winter tyres this past month than in the whole of last winter