Winter tyres.

[AndrewLincs]

I think you should change your Forum name to 'RETYRED' Colin!

Dohhhh...
o

Very interesting. I had never given the subject a second thought before this thread. When I asked about a downside to winter tyres, I was wondering why we don't use them all year.

Now I know Lincolnshire has a reputation for bring flat. And although that is true in some places, the Wolds certainly have a few lumps and bumps.

I work as a plumber, and during the cold spell I was working all hours and all over the county, fixing burst pipes, and getting dead heating running, life would have been far more pleasent with a little extra grip.

I will certainly investigate winter tyres, both for my work and family vehicle.

Regards

Andrew

[beam me up schottky]

Using winter tyres all year is not advised, they will wear much quicker at higher temperatures and drier conditions, and, I think I may be right in saying, that their speed rating is lower, so high speed use on motorways could be a problem.
After trying mine I realised I'd missed an obvious reason for using them when I had previously considered winter tyres, that is, in motor-sport it is normal practice to change tyres to suit conditions, particularly in Rallying !!

[Retired]

I think that if I was in your circumstances Col, I would definitely consider fitting them. The peace of mind they would offer would surely make their fitting worth it.

I think you should change your Forum name to 'RETYRED' Col! :D

Regards,
Roger.

Hi,

Many thanks Roger "RETYRED" would indeed fit me very well.

Thanks for your comments BMUS; I did mention winter tyres wear more quickly but would agree that I think they should be used as intended this being for winter use only but only on the grounds that they do wear more quickly. I've just been checking the web for details and I believe my winter tyres are 75T rated meaning our Toyota Aygo could be used at up to a maximum of 118MPH.

Having run these Avon winter tyres in both bad and good driving conditions I found they were vastly superior in winter conditions giving much improved confidence on ice and snow and I could relax knowing I would arrive home in the car. In good dry road conditions I also found the Avon winter tyres out performed the standard tyres supplied with the car from new; with the standard tyres fitted it is quite easy to spin one of the front driving wheels due to energetic acceleration whereas the winter tyres give improved traction.

I'm far from being a tyre expert and for correct answers to questions I would suggest contacting the tyre manufacturers; I can only add my own non technical impression after running these Avon winter tyres for one winter but for what it's worth my opinion is that apart from the increased wear these tyres out perform the standard tyres supplied as original equipment fitted to our then new Aygo. The Avon tyres do feel different whilst driving; they are quieter and the car feels more stable; I've run them at up to 80MPH feeling completely happy with them. I was not quoted tyre pressure to use so used the standard 32psi pressure and this worked fine.

I had never spoken to anyone regarding winter tyres before buying mine because everyone I knew was doing the same as me and struggling through winter with standard tyres fitted. I thought it worthwhile sharing my experiences having now tried winter tyres and I'll never go back to using standard tyres in winter as the difference has to be tried to be believed.

http://www.kwik-fit.com/writing-on-my-tyres.asp


Kind regards. Col.

[glowinganode]

I've got a Freelander
Alan

I've got low ratio :P
Rob.

[AlanBeckett]

I'm not sure that's an advantage as it just gives you more torque to spin the wheels.
Alan

[glowinganode]

It's not, just an excuse to poke my tongue out at you .
Having spent years driving fully loaded Transit vans round muddy sites, I know skill and control is more useful than four wheel drive per se.
Remember, don't get yourself into anything you can't get out of.
Rob.

[AlanBeckett]

.... and my son - he's a Geologist - spent many a long year towing fully loaded vans and so-called 4x4s out of muddy sites with his Landrover. A 3CX is better but tends to pull bits off if you're not careful.
Unfortunately these days most drivers simply rely on modern car's grip, which is after all normally way above anything they'll ever need, so they never get any practice at 'skill and control'. Then it get's icy and they haven't a clue. Fortunately most stay at home, including the owners of plastic 4x4s.
Alan

[glowinganode]

Not last Christmas but the one before, when we had similar weather, I was one of the last few people to make it up the A41 heading uphill just before Chesham. A car transporter had lost traction in the outside lane, I had the sense to stay to the inside, where there's a grassy verge to drive on if necessary. The driver in the BMW in front of me was spinning his wheels and snaking about, I was idling along in second and catching up with him. It was very close, but I was not going to stop for anything, and would have bumped him if necessary. It took me about half a mile to get up to 20mph, easily losing traction in third.
Keep rolling, however slowly and keep it gentle, dropping the tyre pressures 5 - 10 psi helps to increase the contact patch helps.
Rob.

Rob.

[AlanBeckett]

Well done Sir
I bet he would have been most unchuffed if you had given him a gentle push.
Alan

[wave solder]

I have just got a new set of 9.00 x 16's for my little Landrover, all ready for if we get the 2+ feet of snow again this year.