hanks for the comments gents.
Bit of a rushed post last night posing the question; so if I can clarify and put my views into the pot.
The response from the Car clinic (extremely inferior version of HJ's column) quoted Goodyear as the authoritative information source. One cynical comment of mine is that one of Goodyear's super duper top spec winter tyres is quoted as being effective in low temperatures because the compounds are still soft below +7C!! Excuse me I don't call +7C cold, -12C is getting a shade chilly, -24C is cold!!
I'd agree that for most of UK studded tyres are a total overkill and not economically viable; however the STimes letter writer lives in Scotland and frequently drives up into the highlands for skiing and walking. Put into that context it's imaginable that type of use could make it worth having a second set of winter tyres. The question was; could they be studded or not?
I know from personal experience that some of the rest of the answer which referred to use of winter tyres in Scandvinavia was utter utter tripe. That led me to question the "it's illegal for road use in UK" statement.
The response in the ST was suggesting that in Scandinavia the preferred solution is to use unstudded Goodyear Ultragrips which "are constructed of rubber which remains softer at low temperatures" That comment is so far from the truth of the situation it is almost worth a complaint to the ST.
Having driven many 1000's of km on both unstudded and studded winter tyres I would need a back to back test under reasonably controlled conditions in order to know if unstudded winter tyres were significantly better than normal road tyres ie summer version.
As soon as you get studs then the difference is marked on packed snow & ice; to the extent that any vehicle without studs can be a hazard as you have to travel much slower than the prevailing flow of traffic, and of course stopping distances are multiples of what other drivers and pedestrians expect.
Modern designs of tyre and stud do retain the spikes at quite high speeds (130kph+ not uncommon and fun, even if highly illegal ;-), plus don't wear out so fast on dry/wet tarmac when the snow has gone. The roads do suffer, though not as much as with the older designs.
Yes I'd agree that the ST driving section is a shadow of the Saturday DTelegraph supplement, though even that used to be better. More articles from the likes of Andrew English please. ST takes two pages for Jezza to wax lyrically, albeit funnily, on some off topic subject in order to give a couple of paras on the vehicle he is actually testing.
FiF
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Hi FiF,
I realise this does not answer your question that much but I saw a Toyota MR2 on studded tyres at one of the ski-resorts in Scotland in the late eighties.
I was having difficulty push-starting my Spitfire in the snow and ice covered car park and these guys came over to help [1]. They lived locally and used studded tyres for several months in the winter. I do not recall any mention of them being illegal.
He showed us just how good the tyres were in an empty section of the huge car park. Whilst everybody else's tyres were scrabbling for grip, his car accelerated pretty fast producing an impressive spray of crushed ice from the rear wheels. Braking and cornering was equally good considering it was quite a task to remain standing upright on one's two feet.
[1] eventually, we just pushed the Spitfire onto the main road, I sat in it and free-wheeled a mile or so downhill till there was some tarmac showing through and then it started.
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I concur. According to the ST it would appear to render wheelchains unlawful. Have a look at www.snowchains.co.uk
PS Are the roaming Goats any relation to the Sheep that safely grazed I used to sing about in school ?
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