My wife has a Scenic, it has a very good tread and condition Firestone Firehawk 702 tyre 185/65/15. I do require another tyre to replace the older one. I had a look on mytyres.co.uk and this tyre is regarded as a Summer tyre rather than an all weather tyre. On the site you can select Summer, Winter or all for a search. Would you all believe that a Summer tyre is okay for all round use in the U.K. climate? or would you say that an all weather tyre must be selected, you will also see that there are Goodyear Summer tyres far cheaper as a Summer tyre than an all weather - is this due to only having to cater for the Summer climate of a country rather than tie in different climate conditions in one tyre.Is the U.K climate mild enough to use a Summer tyre than an all weather tyre.
Thank you
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Virtually all reputable tyres in this country are classified by Mytyres as Summer tyres. Don't worry.
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Hi Schuey, I think you'll find the Bridgestone 'soft' compound will be good for at least 20 laps at 50C road temperature, sorry, that's err, 20K miles warm-ish.
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Summer tyres are fine until the temp drops below 7C when the rubber then becomes hard.
The recommendation in Germany is when the daytime average temp. is below 7C then you should (you don't have to, it's all at your own risk) switch to W+S tyres.
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Thank you for your replies so far.
I have just spoken to Technical at Dunlop Goodyear tyres U.K. 0121 3066000. Amazing source of information, so I shall explain a little of what they said. In the U.K. by far the majority of vehicles are running on Summer tyres, all weather tyres are better than a Summer tyre in wet conditions for grip, however a Summer tyre is better for grip in dry conditions than an all weather tyre. Silica is used by tyre manufacturers, apparently it allows the tyre to be softer in the wet conditions for grip.
Also in some Euopean countries, vehicle drivers change their tyres with the change of Summer/Winter season, they will take their car into the tyre depot, where the depot will store the tyres until the change over. Insurance companies will void policies in Germany I was told, where the incorrect tyres are fited for the season, the seasons may well be more harsh over there and in other countries.
Technical at Dunlop Goodyear did mention that we cannot expect the tyres we drive on, to be that great in the snow, being as the tyres are not an all weather tyre, if we wish to have the grip in the snow and poor wet conditions, then it is down to oneself to make the decision to change the tyres on the vehicle. It is not the government whom make the decision to tell us, it is for us to understand and to fit what we see necessary.
I have never been asked at a tyre depot what season tyres to fit, neither have I enquired what season tyres to fit. I live in the Midlands, but perhaps those that live in Scotland for example, where the weather is more varied in terms of snow and rain.
Thank you to all that have replied, quite an interesting topic which I haven't considered before so much, although I have always chosen to fit a quality make of tyre.
Schuey
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Schuey, I think we need to re-think our weather perceptions these days. England had more snow than lowland Scotland last winter and you lot are certainly getting more rain. Never felt the need for winter tyres, even have fond memories of a previous boss getting stuck in snow years ago in his Sierra 2.9 4x4 whilst my bog standard Mini kept going - it's how you drive that counts for a lot.
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There was a bit of a push (mainly by tyre suppliers, I suppose) a few years ago to get people to switch to Winter tyres - apparently they're gaining popularity even in places like the Netherlands - but the mild winters seem to have killed it off here in the UK.
People that live in snowy bits of the US use proper Snow tyres and they tend to keep them on a spare set of steel wheels - so that snow chains don't damage their alloys, and it stops the alloys being attacked by salt, and getting kerb damage (when you can't see kerbs) etc.
I have a RWD car (Merc) and a fair number of Northern and Scottish MB forum posters seem to change their tyres. One thing that surprises me is that Winter tyres last longer than summer ones - I'd have imagined that they were softer, but not so, apparently.
It's worth bearing in mind the 7C point for summer tyres - so if you are out in colder weather make allowances for the reducing grip, even if it's not frosty.
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There was a bit of a push (mainly by tyre suppliers I suppose) a few years ago to get people to switch to Winter tyres - apparently they're gaining popularity even in places like the Netherlands -
My Dutch colleagues told me that most Dutch insurers now won't pay out for accident claims in snowy and icy conditions unless winter tyres are fitted.
Cheers
DP
--
04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
97 Ford Fiesta 1.4 16v Chicane (for sale)
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it's how you drive that counts for a lot.
That's a factor - some people are clueless. But I vividly remember a friends 4WD Sierra Ghia Estate being totally unable to move up a very slight slope off an open car park at work. My Fiesta was fine.
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A lot of tyre choice comes back to the same old subject " compromise".
No tyre is perfect for every condition and its about getting a balance between the items required. dry grip/wet grip/ snow grip/ temperature range / tarmac / concrete / rough surfaces etc etc. Also those wide low profile tyres that give such good summer high speed grip are virtually useless as soon as its heavy rain or snow when a taller narrower tyre comes into its own. So not just conditions but size matters too (sic).
Ideally we should all have 2 or maybe even 3 different sets for each car; not sure where they would all be stored though !
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Ideally we should all have 2 or maybe even 3 different sets for each car; not sure where they would all be stored though !
In the garage/shed/cupboard under the stairs on your wheeltree :
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ie=Artikel&noshow=6
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I have used Vredestein Quatrac 2 all weather M&S tyres for the last two tyre changes.
They feel OK to me gripwise in the dry and wet and in hot weather they do not appear to overheat. Very good grip in the occasional snowy days up in the Peak District.
Now 'trialling' some Interstate IST tyres which are much cheaper but also claim to be M&S.
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I can confirm that a 'summer' tyre is absolutely useless on Scottish snow....and my trip right through a Rhodedendron bush at a Scottish hotel a couple of years back proves it....witnessed by one of the guests from the drawing room, who thought it was hilarious, but did admit to tipping his Land Rover over the previous year.
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The amount of snow we get in the more temperate parts of the UK is too small to make winter tyres worthwhile. During the five years at our present abode (near the Lincolnshire coast) we've only seen one significant snowfall and that only lasted a day or so. And if I did have a set of winter tyres I'd want them to be permanently on a set of matching alloys and that would be expensive. I certainly wouldn't want to have tyres themselves changed at the start/end of winter.
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L\'escargot.
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The amount of snow we get in the more temperate parts of the UK is too small to make winter tyres worthwhile.
Once again, it's not snow (there are specific snow tyres) but winter tyres. Winter tyres are meant to be used when the temp is less tha 7C. To be fair, even that didn't happen much last winter.
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