Winter tyres

Post by **James997** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 8:41 pm

I am seriously considering fitting a set to my car for the winter as I use my car for work. ( sticking with 19" so they can go on my existing rims ) Any recommendations from owners on here ? I found the EVO article in Feb extremely interesting where they fitted the Pirelli Sotto Zeros to their Jaguar XF . Has anyone fitted tyres to their car for a winter season?
Thanks
James

Post by **RSinclair** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:15 am

I have got some winter tyres to go on to my 19" rims going to put them on in a few weeks i think.

Continentals 275/30 r19 xl got a really good price on 4 tyres

Post by **James997** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:28 am

Hi ,
Thanks for the reply. Do you mind giving me the model number and an indication of the price you paid ? 275 is wide ! I didn't realise the standard 19" would take this .

Cheers
James

Post by **MB2** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 9:16 am

A lot of people run 275s as it provides a lot more rim protection than the 255s + is a more common size so tyres tend to be cheaper too - will definitely going to 275 when I change tyres, although does throw the speedo out slightly (couple of %).

Post by **crispy** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 9:43 am

I have fitted winter tyres to my car for the last 3 winters. The difference in grip levels in winter conditions is astonishing! The only problem I faced this winter was ground clearance, particularly when trying to get through snow drifts on the moors - they tended to lift the car

From nothing other than internet reviews, I picked the Dunlop Wintersport 3D.

At around £250 a corner when I bought them, they weren't particularly cheap. However I got significantly more mileage out of them compared to teh summer tyres. (Might be soemthign to do with driving slower in winter, but more likely, the huge tread depth when new)

Post by **steverobb1973** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 10:13 am

These were suggested to me on another forum. No 1st hand experience of them but the guys on the other forum swear by them...

http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... 1b0s2793p0

I plan on getting a set this year but was hoping to buy a spare set of rims to fit them on, rather than swapping tyres over...

Steve

Post by **adsgreen** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 10:41 am

Anyone tried the autosoc things?
Worked brilliantly on swmbo's mini cooper s with LSD.

Just a lot cheaper, no hassle swapping tyres and can keep them in the boot. Technicaly superior to winter tyres acording to German car mag testing.

Post by **James997** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 10:54 am

Chaps, thanks for the replies.

Crispy ,great picture ! Did you fit 275 /30 19 to your car . Fortunately I live about an hour from Micheldever who are competitive on pricing.

Post by **SR71** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:07 am

Snowsocks?

Yeah but you can't really use them for high speed action else they'll shred.

Here are mine on the A3 in Aviemore back in Jan.

They were on for about 3 days and suffered bad wear even in that time...probably never went above 30 with them on.

I had the Wessenfeld Klak & Go's in the boot for when the going got really tough.

That said, I've got a RRS now for the job.

Post by **RSinclair** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:23 am

James997 wrote:Hi ,
Thanks for the reply. Do you mind giving me the model number and an indication of the price you paid ? 275 is wide ! I didn't realise the standard 19" would take this .

Cheers
James

Cant remember the model number at the mo but i will check when i finish work.
I paid 750 euros for them which is about 600 sterling i think he has 2 sets left when i bought mine i did a post on here with his contact details.
Nice guy always sorts me out.

Post by **crispy** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:33 am

Chaps, thanks for the replies.

Crispy ,great picture ! Did you fit 275 /30 19 to your car . Fortunately I live about an hour from Micheldever who are competitive on pricing.

I run the standard 255/35/r19 winter tyres in winter and the 275/30/r19 Goodyears in the summer

I bought my winter tyres from mytyres.co.uk who have been excellent in terms of both price and delivery.

Post by **adsgreen** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:33 am

Yeah I agree - 30 is about the top whack.
But as a emergency get you home thing it would help. I got caught in the winter snow in jan and really struggled to get to 10mph let alone 30

Here's where I got mine from - http://www.roofbox.co.uk/car-snow-socks/

Highly recommended if you don't want to fit proper snow tyres on over winter.

Post by **Brooner** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:48 am

Here's a previous thread i found the wintrak extrems excelent in the snow
http://www.rs246.com/index.php?name=PNp ... highlight=

Post by **Phil3103** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:53 am

This may be a daft question to you guys, but do winter tyres also provide better grip in heavy rain (eg minimise aqua planing) or are they really for snow only. I've never thought about winter tyres before but after experience in Jan this year I'm seriously considering it this year. And presumably one set will last a few years as they'll only be on 4 months a year (ish).
Thanks

Post by **SR71** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 12:44 pm

I think the issue is that "normal" tyres don't perform optimally below a certain temperature...which can be as high as 7C Continental claim for some compounds.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/blogs/stillatt ... tyres.aspx for a mags experience.

Snowsocks aren't really a substitute for winter tyres....they're a cheap substitute for snowchains.

Anyone who has seen a Renault Twingo van go past you in the Alps at a rate of knots inspite of your fancy 4WD Quattro system will never need convincing of the benefits of winter tyres again.

In many European countries its mandatory during the winter season which ought to suggest something...

My $0.02.

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