Up until i swapped my winter wheels onto my car it was forecast to snow loads in Leeds. Almost as soon as I put them on, the forecast changed to hardly any snow.
I reckon Leeds Council owe me a fortune.
Well, whatever anyone thinks, I'm happier that my Wife and Daughter will be heading off to work tomorrow morning on winter tyres.
That's my bottom line.
I once needed a car for a couple of months while mine was off the road and bought a Skoda Estelle 130L from a colleague. I always found it disturbing that it was his wife's car, in which she used to transport their daughter, and it was only being sold (for £50) because they were getting divorced and part of that was she insisted on him buying her a much better and safer car.
On the plus side the Skoda was superb fun that winter, albeit blooming cold. I genuinely wish I still had it. RWD, 1.3-litre engine out the back, 800kg, huge fun.
In answer to someone else's post, tyre life is measured by age, not tread levels (although stupidly in law it's the other way round) so you should really be changing your tyres every five or so years. By using winter tyres four months of the year you're prolonging the life of the tread on your rest-of-year tyres but not stopping the grip from deteriorating.
But that shouldn't be an argument against having winter tyres!
"A man of little significance"
Here around Leicester there has been plenty of snow over the weekend. The winter tyres on my Skoda have been great even on compacted snow and ice roads, only a couple of slips but probably more to do with me putting too much power at once. I took it on a quiet road, braked sharply and yanked the steering wheel around the car was quite stable with only the very slightest slide - was pretty impressed. All in all well worth the small hassle for the much improved safety and grip.
Last edited by vulcangascompany; 11th December 2017 at 07:56.
Umm up to a point surely? I mean 3 year old tyres down to the canvas/kevlar are patently not safe so it is a combination of factors I should think. Obv if there is cracking in the side walls and the tyres are rigid through age then old then that is equally dangerous or more so.
I was already a convert, but yesterday totally justified my fitment of winter tyres. I had to make a journey on Saturday and the weather bomb as dramatically entitled by the press had well and truly hit. I was able to safely drive around trouble free exercising a bit of caution but completely unfazed. I hit upon a few issues of getting stuck behind others completely stuck; either , blocking the roads or generally floundering around, there were countless BMW's and Merc's (basically anything RWD) abandoned at junctions and the side of roads. We came to one hill and there were several cars in front of me, none of which could get even half way up the hill, once some of these got pushed out of the way and did three point turns the Land Rover Defender 90 immediately in front of me duly scampered up the hill. I gave him a head start in case he too ground to a halt; but of course he didn't. I then stuck my wife's fully laden Honda Civic Tourer into drive and casually drove up the hill like it was nothing. I'd imagine the Land Rover driver had quite a shock when he looked in his rear view mirror to see he was being caught by a Honda Civic.
Having driven in ski resorts on many occasions I can 100% vouch for winter tyres and where safety is concerned; of yourself, other road users and most of all, your family, I cannot understand why anyone wouldn't fit them. Even if I only ever fitted one type of tyre for all year round use, I would opt for Cold Weather tyres over Summer tyres. But I prefer to swap to get the best of both world.
Money well spent. Would not be without winter tyres.
I'm a huge fan of winter tyres, but me having control doesn't help much when most other road users are pirouetting down the road into us.
This is very true. Whenever the weather turns snowy or icy here the sheer incompetence of UK drivers becomes obvious. Admittedly we don't get much bad weather but people have no idea how to drive in it anyway. When I learned most cars were horrible things with awful brakes, suspension, tyres etc but we had to learn to drive them. Modern vehicles are so well made and safe you would think it difficult to get it wrong.
Well yes and no I guess - when I bought my car it was almost 3 years old and therefore had 2nd hand summer tyres on it - I replaced them with new tyres when they wore out, but it didn't bother me were 2nd hand per se. Likewise the winters when they wore out, I bought new ones (October 2015).
Although when I put the wheels back on the car for this winter I was fitting 2nd hand tyres at that point too ?
Buying anything 2nd hand is a gamble of course but I am not afraid of buying something that has previously been used with some due diligence.
I wouldn't buy an odd worn tyre, but a matched set without damage is another prospect. There have been several sets of tyres & wheels sold on here and frequently sold on car forums so some people are prepared to risk it.
Last edited by MB2; 11th December 2017 at 12:19.
My set of wheels shod with Winter tyres are......................in the garage! I've recently returned from 3 weeks holiday and haven't had the opportunity to change them. This made this morning's journey back up the uncleared country lane I live on quite a challenge, even in a 4WD Audi!
This afternoon's job...........changing the wheels in the garage!
A very interesting read never thought about it before always assumed they were for the Scandinavian climate
I started using winter tyres in my pre-children days when I ran rwd sports cars. Swop over each October and April. Ish. Now run a disco sport and still do the swop. Totally worth it for the safety aspect, and doesn't cost that much more.
Sent from my SM-G920F using TZ-UK mobile app
Didn't go out yesterday but I heard that the A41 southbound from Tring was closed due to abandoned vehicles - FFS!!
I sure many people overestimate their driving skills, plus many think as they are driving a "4x4" (read any modern crossover) they're unstoppable.
sent from TZ-UK mobile app
I assumed that was taken as read without me needing to point it out. My mother had some awful tyres on her old car, they were 15 or so years old, and it passed its MOT! I told her she must get them changed but because 'the man' told her they were fine she wasn't interested. I have perfectly legal 11-year-old tyres on my Healey and they must have about 20% of the grip of a new set. Which reminds me - that's on my to-do list this winter.
"A man of little significance"
That is true but there have been cases in the past where tyres removed because of damage have been repaired and sold on. It was more of a problem that tyres with a lot of tread left on them were subject to repairs and put back in the market. Used tyres were/maybe still are imported from the continent by the container load and after a brief visual inspection sold to the public.
I would rather buy a cheap new tyre than a secondhand premium brand I didn't know the history of.
Skimping on tyres in any way is crazy, it's the only thing keeping you and a tonne or two of metal on the road even vaguely safely.
It has just cost me a fortune to buy a set of winter tyres but I have a powerful car and if it helps me not to end up in a ditch then got to be worth it!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I haven’t had time to swap to the winters on my XC60 yet. I’m sure I could do with them tomorrow! Fortunately I’m in Hampshire which has avoided the bad weather and I only have a 4 mile drive on deserted rural roads at 6am to the train station. Will still go very carefully though as I know from experience of many drives in the Alps when we lived in France that AWD means nothing without the right tyres.
No matter what they tyres used are. A Muppet will always drive like a Muppet!
I've used them for the last 7 years and wouldn't be without them when the poor weather comes. Whatever the car (4WD or 2WD) it will benefit from having the appropriate tyres fitted!
Winter tyres are great!
I had a very tail happy CLS at once point, and figured in the snow I'd be going nowhere, so put some winters on it.
I ended up in the Yorkshire Dales in heavy snow, and the car didn't slip or slide once, there was no hill it could not climb, I was massively impressed and these were mid range Kumos (sp?)
I've now got an Audi A8, with 20" wheels which cost me £1500 to put winter tyres on a few years ago.
With the 4 wheel drive I don't feel it is such an issue, certainly not to the tune of £1500 (and they didn't wear very well, Dunlops), plus fitting and unfitting.
However, if more people used them and the price came down, I'd certainly be up for it on any car.
As a side note, in the Audi, the grip was so good that I could not intentionally make it slide in the snow for fun.
Driving home at 22.30 tonight in my 911 C2, was very slippy despite driving with that in mind, so some winters would have been very welcome :-)
Don’t see the point of winter tyres unless it becomes compulsory for all.
I can get out and about in my Quattro but other buggers are slipping and sliding all over the place.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Last edited by Volvomanuk; 12th December 2017 at 06:33.
Me too - my A6 Allroad doesn’t care
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
^^^ 100% agree with this. This is why I use premium winter tyres from November to March and the most highly rated premium summer tyres the rest of the time. What price do you put on the safety of yourself and your loved ones.
Braking distances can double on snow and 4WD isn't going to help you stop either.
These make for interesting watching: -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w31HNWBKjsc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfuE00qdhLA
Exbleedinactly. AWD will get you moving, but you’ll stop much better on winter tyres, irrespective of 2WD or AWD.
If we had more snow in this county, we’d not even be debating it (and those in cold climates must be reading this thread in depair - particularly the “I drive for the conditions” and “I’ve got 4WD” types).
As as I’ve said though, we get a lot of rain, and the improved stopping distance in the wet are good enough for me.
Last edited by Padders; 12th December 2017 at 10:34.
Obviously winter tyres are going to be the best for stopping, but drivers of lesser god like cars will never match the Quattro’s abilities in the snow, in order to stop you first have to move.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Funnily enough, I have been doing a fair bit of driving in the snow and ice since it arrived on Thursday. And even though I have an AWD XC90 with all weather tyres on, I still choose to take it easy (especially with the family aboard).... but can you guess which car make I've noticed keeps driving right up to my rear bumper in these treacherous conditions? Yep, Audi's....
I don't have cars driving that closely to me in normal conditions, but somehow certain drivers think they can 'encourage' you to go faster by driving too close? It has the reverse effect on my driving.
At the end of the day, all cars have four wheel braking!
I've driven every winter for nearly 40 years without incident (or winter tyres)...snow, ice, and never yet skidded or had an accident but a lot of Audi drivers are like idiots behind the wheel. I was on the A1 going to Newcastle the other week, blizzard conditions and nearly every other car driving too fast for the conditions was an Audi. I just think 'let them get on with it'... prats.
Yes, the false sense of security traction gives you. Back in the 90s it used to be the Imprezza Turbo drivers. You'd be on a drenched motorway, with some idiot driving right up your arse, completely unaware that his stopping ability nowhere near matched his ability to accelerate. It's just there's a lot more AWD cars around these days, and in fairness, it's SUV drivers as well as Audis. (I guess you could also add the idiot with the winter tyres who thinks he's invincible!).
It’s quattro by the way, with a small q, not Quattro... Torsen or Haldex versions, still a small q for Audi. It bothers me every time I see it, not sure why! Maybe it’s Apple auto-correct, always seems to want to give it a big Q.
To be fair, by sticking to standard rubber in the winter, you’re not making the most of your excellent quattro system. Traction is still impaired compared to winters, and you’re missing out on the far far better braking and lateral grip that more appropriate tyres would give you.
As long as you drive appropriately though, you’re still less likely to get stranded than a 2WD car, even on ‘summer’ tyres.
... provided the 2WD is also on summer tyres
http://youtube.com/watch?v=STaximkaQxo
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
To be honest, in the absence of legislation, the most likely factor to influence change will be the insurance companies. The first year I moved to Germany I didn't have winter tyres but I was sufficiently nervous of my winter driving abilities that I just switched to public transport when it snowed heavily. At the time I wasn't breaking the law but my tyres would have been factored into any insurance considerations; in short I would have been screwed if I'd had an accident. I now believe it's a no-brainer.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
I was looking at the new Ferrari 812 superfast yesterday as a friend is lucky enough to have a build slot. I had to smile when I saw a large warning sticker on the door jam as it was to take care when driving on winter tyres. Now that would be a REAL test for winter tyres.
winter tyres are compulsory in these parts of world between 1.12 and 31.03. if you get caught without them you get a fine from police, but if you have an accident, then there is pretty good chance you don't get anything from insurance, because of you had unsuitable tyres. it doesn't even matter who was guilty side.
I didn't mean to imply that all Audi drivers are bad, but a high proportion of bad drivers do seem to have Audi's. Maybe it's just a percentage thing. i.e. Audi's are so popular these days, maybe it is just more likely that all drivers will be driving them (which then includes a higher proportion of plonkers).
I used to drive an A4 and an A6 and have an old Audi Cabriolet (as well) at the moment, yet somehow I manage to drive at a decent distance.
I've also owned BMW's where the indicators get used, too ;-)
I had to attend a (ahem...) 'Speed Awareness Course' some years ago having managed to get caught just over the limit, by a camera I used to pass every day on my commute! (don't ask especially in earshot of the supreme one!).
It was actually really helpful advice in the main on how to stay out of all sorts of troubles on the road, not just about speed.
One piece of advice was the closer someone got behind you, to leave a correspondingly larger gap between you and the vehicle in front. This allows you to brake more gently if someone has to stop in front of you and hopefully Mr Hurryup behind won't crash into the back of you. Seems simple and obvious but I see a lot of people who don't do it.
I know if the guy hits you from behind it's most likely him that will be at fault but with so many uninsured/illegal drivers is it worth risking it?
It’s definite a numbers thing, the more popular the car, the more chance there will be some idiot driving it badly. Audi, BMW and Mercedes sell such huge numbers of vehicles now that there’s bound to be someone doing something stupid in one.
If you spend much time of the motorways, it’s the “weapon of choice” for bored/aggressive company car drivers that will be conspicuously badly driven. Back in the late 80s/early 90s it was the Cavalier 1.8i, then for quite a while BMW 318s, now they’re probably equally likely to have A4 2.0Ds. If it’s around towns, it’s harassed mothers in 4x4s.
[Huge generalisations]
Two anecdotes from me;
I have just bought a Quattro car with summer tyres and prefer to use my daughters Fiesta with Winter tyres in snow or ice as the traction is better.
I had a BMW 650 for a while which was totally un-drivable in the snow. I left it at home one morning and took my wife's Honda Jazz (on summer tyres) which was amazing in the snow, then a 3 series lost control driving down a hill and shunted into the back of me!
Winter tyres are a revelation to anyone who has tried them and I have also experienced how bad some cars are in poor conditions, even driven carefully.