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Hi all,
Anyone else running winters? If so, what do you think of the handling?
I thought mine where great until it has warmed up a bit (10c) and the car has become a little unpredictable. Great when it's 5-6c but once it gets warmer the car feels flighty.

What brand/type are they? I have Pirelli Sottozero W240's on my S8 and have no problems on warmer days.

Remember winter tyres are generally (always?) lower rated than summer ones so don't expect them to work perfectly when pushed to the limits.

HPsauce wrote:What brand/type are they? I have Pirelli Sottozero W240's on my S8 and have no problems on warmer days.

Remember winter tyres are generally (always?) lower rated than summer ones so don't expect them to work perfectly when pushed to the limits.

Hi HP,
They are Dunlop winter sport 4d. I know they are rated a little lower, but this is more when you are getting the power down. I wouldn't say I was push to hard. It was definitely noticeable that the car was squirming.

Yes, my experience of Winter tyres matched in with your viewpoint.

When the day time temps regularly start hitting double figures, I then look to put my summer wheels on.

Surrey Sam wrote:Yes, my experience of Winter tyres matched in with your viewpoint.

When the day time temps regularly start hitting double figures, I then look to put my summer wheels on.

Hi Sam,
Good to hear it's not just me. I'm going to give it until April then change back to summer wheels.

I used to leave it quite late some years, well into April, but most of my journeys were early morning or evening when it was colder. Less so now.

The odd daytime journey with temperatures of 15C or more isn't going to do any harm, just slightly increased wear. But when you're regularly seeing 20C it's probably time to swap.

HPsauce wrote:I used to leave it quite late some years, well into April, but most of my journeys were early morning or evening when it was colder. Less so now.

The odd daytime journey with temperatures of 15C or more isn't going to do any harm, just slightly increased wear. But when you're regularly seeing 20C it's probably time to swap.

LOL, if you wait until you regularly see 20C you might never get your summer tyres on in the UK.

The same rule to put winter tyres on the car in the first place should be used for taking the off the car. So if the temperature is above +7 degrees, you are better off having summer tyres on.
Winter tyre are normally classified for max 170, 190, 210 or 240 km/h. The once we normally get a hold of (outside the Nordics) is classified for 240 km/h. It has to do with the rubber compound. Softer compound = better traction in snow and ice, but less stable in high speed and big power outputs.

Whit that said, the week after putting my winter wheels on the car, I drove to Sweden to celebrate Christmas. It was +15 degrees almost the entire way and felt like a wast of time having then on. The highest I drove on Autobahn was 269 km/h, and the car didn't feel squirmy or unsafe in any way. I am running Continental TS830p.

Regards,
Niclas

This is the thing -winter tyres work best at 7c and below. It's all about the compound. If it starts getting warmer 10c and above the compound is getting to soft - hence the weird feel of the car. Tyres will also wear quicker in higher temperature.
It's still quite cold(especially in the morning) so I'd keep them on for another 2-4 weeks

V!per wrote:This is the thing -winter tyres work best at 7c and below. It's all about the compound. If it starts getting warmer 10c and above the compound is getting to soft - hence the weird feel of the car. Tyres will also wear quicker in higher temperature.
It's still quite cold(especially in the morning) so I'd keep them on for another 2-4 weeks

Agreed, most of my miles at the moment are going to and from work so it's below 7. One the temps edge up a bit in the next few weeks I'll swap over.

As stated when the temps get in to double figures the grip is a bit squirrly bug up here in Jocklandshire I leave it until April as we can still have frost and snow April to May