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Having used winter tyres for the first time last year I would never have a car now without them. I live 5 miles from the main road in a small village in the N Yorks Moors - there have been times I would not have got home with the standard low profile tyres on.
I put the winter tyres back on 2 weeks ago - the fronts have about 3 to 4mm left and I thought I would use them a bit before the real bad weather came back! They are certainly not as good as last year but still an improvement on the 'summer' ones.
I picked up some 15 inch wheels off ebay for the winter (16 inch are standard) and fitted narrower, higher profile winter tyres.
HTH
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If your current normal rubber is down to 3mm or less changing them for new normal rubber will make a huge difference - I have just experienced this with our Aygo which had four new boots today. The fronts were down to 2.5mm, the backs which were originally on the front were close to the tread wear indicator.
Before going I tried ascending a street near us which has quite a slope and covered in compacted snow. I managed about a third of the way up on the old tyres and got stuck. Returned from the fitter with 8mm on each corner and the car went up as if there was no snow on the road at all.
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I think to let any tyre to go down to 1.6 mm is asking for trouble in these snow conditions we have at the moment.
I went for a drive to the shops today our car has got Michelin tyres plenty of tread car handled ok driving very carefully.Diesel engine plenty of torgue.
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Many moons ago I had some winter tyres on my Volvo 340. I actually think that they were specifically for snow conditions and the tyre dealer in France put them on in spring as there was no more use for them. Dreadful handling. In the wet they locked up far far too easily. In the dry, you would spin your tyres at the drop of a hat and I got pulled by the OB for that, who on inspecting the tyres, found no problems. They had been on for about 10k miles at that stage and were still like new.
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You have said it many moons ago,technologie has moved on there are season weather tyres for sale now.It depends how much you want to pay and quality.Reading some of the reports the new type of all weather tyres use silicone in the tyre.I dont work or have any connection to this company but Vredestein produce a quality all season tyre desigend for winter condition and summer use.
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rsvtoddy and davidvilla what make of tyre do you use.
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Running all-weather Nokian WR-G2's on my Focus, which as per my previous post I put on a couple of months ago, suspecting we would have a winter like this one! As I regularly drive to Germany, it's mandated anyway.
For UK drivers, unless you have a 4wd and live somewhere really remote, I would go for all-weather but SNOW RATED tyres. That means that apart from the M&S (mud and snow) marking, they have the snowflake symbol, which means they have been tested for traction in snow (M&S really means not a lot on its own....). Again, in Germany, winter tyres have to have the snowflake symbol, also Austria.
Yes, they are not as good as dedicated winter tyres, but that is by comparison with really good (and expensive) makes.
From what I can find, the best all-weathers are:
Nokian WR G2
Vredestein QUATRAC 3
Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons
HJ is recommending some Bridgestones but my car engineers in Germany don't rate them! There are also some great Continentals available in the states, but they don't seem to have crossed the pond yet....
OK, so difference? In a word - huge. On non-snow/ice surfaces in the cold, grip is far better, ditto in heavy rain. On ice, they are not quite as good as a dedicated winter tyre, probably their main trade-off - but still miles better than a summer tyre!
On snow it's immense fun - lots of grip.
If you can afford 2 sets, winter tyres are better, but I would at least go for good all-weathers.....
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Agree arnold 2 well written It often boils down to what people can afford.My next set of tyres will be all weather.The Michelins I have at the moment are nearly new tyres and where I live there are no hills and we do most runs to the shops and back.
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The Nokian tyres are winter, not all weather tyres. see link
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Nokian/WRG2.htm
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Continental winter contact TS800 on mine
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As been said winter tyres are fab. Not used them in the UK, but have driven cars in Poland, Italy, Iceland and Finland fitted with them and it amazing how much grip they give although in Finland the tyres had studs in them too
Friend of mine who lives in an out of the way place, this year traded in his car for a Land Rover in anticipation of a bad winter, as he was unable to get home last winter on a couple of occasions
This winter he was still unable to get home as other vehicles blocked the road!
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>>>The Nokian tyres are winter, not all weather tyres. see link www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Nokian/WRG2.htm
I bought these after reading many test results and owner experiences and also because they are described elsewhere as suitable for all weather use. I fitted mine in late September and they immediately felt as good in normal driving as the Yokohamas all season M+S they replaced but are much much better in the wet. On snow they're excellent and in many tests score as good or better than dedicated winter tyres. I've done 6,000 miles on them and wear is negligible. I don't know how they'll hold up in the summer months but as they're not overly expensive, if a bit of extra wear is the only result I'll put up with that for the benefit of not having to swap tyres twice a year.
From their US website tinyurl.com/akf5zx.
The WR G2, Nokian Tyres’ third generation in the unique line of “All-Weather Plus” tires, offers the best performance in every season. The asymmetrical inside-out tread pattern allows our engineers to design different areas of the tread to focus on the different driving conditions you will encounter throughout the year. So while seasons may change, your choice of all-weather tires remains the same: Nokian WR G2.
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The WR G2 is a winter tyre, according to the global Nokian site, which doesn't even mention "all-weather" as an option. We have them on one car. The tyres are marked with the mountain/snowflake symbol to indicate use for severe conditions. I suspect its just a marketing thing to describe them, for the US market, as all-weather but its a bit odd. Unless, the thought has just occurred to me, the US WR G2 are a different compound to those sold in NW Europe, to take account of much higher US temperatures in summer?
Edited by nortones2 on 07/12/2010 at 09:55
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I've found out a little more - it seems the compund is the same. So the WR G2 don't really need to be taken off in spring, unless their grip is significantly affected by warm weather. We'll swap them over, even so, to even out the wear.
From the Nokian site "What does "All Weather" tire really mean?
Nokian invented the All Weather tire category with the introduction of the WR/WRG2. Designed as a winter tire first, this tire can be used year-round and still provides class leading winter grip. Further, unlike other winter tires it will not be damaged if driven during the summer months.
Are the Nokian WRG2/WRG2 SUVs Winter tires or All Season tires?
We refer to them as All Weather tires, not All Season tires. Whereas All Season tires are best suited for spring, summer, and fall and can handle some winter conditions, the WRG2 and WRG2 SUV are true winter tires that can also be used during the rest of the year. This differs from winter-specific tires that should not be driven in the warmer months due to excessive treadwear."
From www.nokiantires.com/faq
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