 Poster: A snowHead
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Just got a side wall puncture on the car we're driving to Avoriaz first thing Friday morning!
The car is now running 3 winter tyres and the standard spare.
I'm guessing it'll be difficult to get a replacement winter tyre tomorrow so here's the dilemma - do I run the mixed set up (the spare is brand new with lots of tread) or get the standard set of wheels out of storage - the forecast is for warm weather so I doubt I'd actually need the winters.
Plan A has to be to get a new winter - any tips where I might get one in Bristol or Bath area?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@simonbaddeley, I don't know the answer yo your question, but I would have thought that a replacement winter tyre would be easy enough to get tomorrow, if you have time. Really shouldn't be a problem at all, unless you have weird sizes.
If you can't replace it, then I'd be inclined to run one spare and three winters. Ideally put the spare on the rear/right if FWD or front left if RWD.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@simonbaddeley, I don't know the answer yo your question, but I would have thought that a replacement winter tyre would be easy enough to get tomorrow, if you have time. Really shouldn't be a problem at all, unless you have weird sizes.
If you can't replace it, then I'd be inclined to run one spare and three winters. Ideally put the spare on the rear/right if FWD or front left if RWD.
One final thought for you, depending upon timings you might see whether a detour to Micheldever Tyres is worthwhile. They are down by Basingstoke and the biggest tyre place in Europe. They should certainly have something winterish for you.
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You should be able to get a replacement easy enough. If not, just make sure the driving wheels have the winter's on. Conditions are warm & sunny so to be honest, winter tyres are not really needed at the moment.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Maybe I need more faith in the tyre fitters - in the past they've always had to order winters in for me.
Will see what can be sorted in the morning.
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I think you shouldnt run a mix of tyres, so if you can't get a replacement winter then change to summers all round.
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@simonbaddeley, I agree that in the past it took a bit more effort to get winter tyres but they seem much more readily available nowadays. And sadly looking at the forecast I think you will be fine driving to Avoriaz in any case, but who knows what next week might bring.
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The GFS today looked like the weather - currently very warm and melty - could change fairly dramatically from about 8 April.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Depending on forecast I'd be tempted to run two winter on the driving axle and normal on the other. Think that they generally advise against splitting the type of tyre on the same axle.
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| marcellus wrote: |
| I think you shouldnt run a mix of tyres, so if you can't get a replacement winter then change to summers all round. |
+1
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I think the advice against mixing tyre types dates from and is a poor hangover from not mixing cross-plys and radials but not many people round here will know what I'm talking about...
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| SnoodyMcFlude wrote: |
| Depending on forecast I'd be tempted to run two winter on the driving axle and normal on the other. Think that they generally advise against splitting the type of tyre on the same axle. |
This would neither be good if you have to drive on a snow/ice covered roads nor on wet/dry roads due to different aquaplaning or breaking properties of different tyres.
If no winter replacement is found, better run summer tyres on all 4, although the risk of actuallu encountering wintery conditions is entirely up to you... But if you do go for a ski hols, you expect some snow, right?
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Are y'all living in the Dark Ages...
Just call one of the big national tire dealers.
If no Winters, just refit the Summers.
It is gonna be tropical in the Alps in the next few days. Any old boots will do.
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You know it makes sense.
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| mooney058 wrote: |
| SnoodyMcFlude wrote: |
| Depending on forecast I'd be tempted to run two winter on the driving axle and normal on the other. Think that they generally advise against splitting the type of tyre on the same axle. |
This would neither be good if you have to drive on a snow/ice covered roads nor on wet/dry roads due to different aquaplaning or breaking properties of different tyres.
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I'd have thought it would be better than having one odd wheel though, at least by going for the 2/2 split it's a bit more predictable in how the front and rear of the car will act.
@under a new name is right about the origins of it I think, but seem to remember someone sensible repeating it to me previously.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Winter tyres but no spare is folly. Just sayin'.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@simonbaddeley, Please do not take this the wrong way but the solution, apart from the ideal which is getting a same spec replacement, depends a bit on the skill, experience and confidence of the driver. The current general advice for modern cars, certainly "conventional front whel drive" is to have the best gripping tyres on the back as understeer, not getting round the corner quick enough but the car is less likely to spin, is less dangerous than oversteer, getting round the corner quick but having the risk of the back end sliding out and passing you  Obviously for climbing a mountain pass in snow the best grip on the front wheels would be ideal for traction and steering as long as you have enough feel to know when the back end is about to go, and/or enough skill to catch it if it does. If it was me I would probably put the summers on the back and be careful but that is just for me and I guess is subject to all the caveats about insurance companies etc. There is another school of thought that says putting one brand new tyre on one corner of a car, if all the others are a good way through their life, is worse than anything, but that is opening another can of worms.
Hope you get a tyre because that has got to be the best solution. Getting one organised for when you get there might be another option.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| spyderjon wrote: |
| Winter tyres but no spare is folly. Just sayin'. |
Good point. A spare is essential. I was just assuming he would take one of the summers as a spare, but that presupposes he has full wheel/tyre sets.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@skitow, Are you really suggesting putting the winters on the rear of a front wheel drive car? If so, surely he'd be better off with summers all round as he will bring to a halt at the first sign of winter conditions.
@simonbaddeley, The small tyre fitters order pretty much everything in. Find one of the big outfits. You might even try calling Micheldever, as they are also one of the big distributors, and ask for suggestions who the big boys in your area are.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thanks all for views. Time to start calling around, father is on standby to drive over my other set of wheels - my bad planning means they are still in a mates barn near back near our old house!
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| foxtrotzulu wrote: |
| spyderjon wrote: |
| Winter tyres but no spare is folly. Just sayin'. |
Good point. A spare is essential. I was just assuming he would take one of the summers as a spare, but that presupposes he has full wheel/tyre sets. |
No spare in many cars nowadays and some don't even have storage for one, mine included. Not ideal.
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Is it really that difficult to get hold of a winter tyre within 24 hours in UK?
Kind of agree with @spyderjon but then I guess its a learning curve for all of us 
There is not really a fundamental difference between set up and planning for either summer or winter tyres?
- If you are running a set of four winters you should include a winter spare.
- If you are running a space saver spare, you need to be aware that in the event of catastrophe you will need a dealer to provide a suitable replacement OR, in the event you are miles from said suitable dealer, you need to carry one.
- If you don't carry a spare @balernoStu, (normally where main set are run flats) then you need to be running winter run flats
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I have a spare but it's a summer. I had a puncture some weeks ago and changed it, so ran with 3 winters and a spare till I could get the puncture repaired and replace the spare. I drove rather carefully but more because of mistrust of my wheel changing skills. The weather was OK. I reckon having a proper spare wheel, even if the wrong type, has to be better than no spare or a stupid 'space saver". Driving cautiously with a mismatched spare must be better than sitting on the hard shoulder of the motorway in the dark waiting, possibly for hours, for a breakdown truck to do a 20 minute job. I felt very vulnerable between putting the spare wheel on and getting the puncture mended. The previous puncture I had to deal with meant the tyre was a write-off but thankfully it only cost me €30 to get my winter tyre mended and swapped back on.
Summer tyres and good chains which you can put on quickly if needed is a perfectly good option for an April holiday.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Check etyres, black circles etc, likely esp if you call them to be able to help.
I wouldn't run any kind of mix of winter and summer, and don't think legal on same axle.
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I'd be more worrying about my wet weather gear.
Sorry. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@andyman, I used to have a BMW 6 series. Pretty car, but bloody useless otherwise. It was fitted with run-flats when I bought it. I lasted about a month of discomfort before ditching them and swapping to 'real' tyres once again. As I then had no spare I carried a can of gunk and a very small compressor. Not ideal, but in five years I never had a puncture, thank goodness. I think in the OPs position I'd take that risk for the crucial part of the journey - if I had to.
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In case anyone is remotely interested, the flat tyre incidence rate for normal driving (i.e. not off-road) is somewhere around one per 100,000 miles.
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You know it makes sense.
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Winters are good for temps >7c - Get the summers on as the winters will melt!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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I know there is the technical advice then there is the reality. If it was me I'd go winters on the drive axle and summer/all weather on the other. & Not drive like an idiot when it is snowy, icy, wet etc. This got me through a winter in Canada driving in a lot of fairly major winter weather when I couldn't really afford four new boots on a banger that was basically used to drive up the hill every day.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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if it were me i'd be packing and not giving what tyres I have a second thought. I might drop into Halfords for a can of emergency glue if I got a spare minute but that's probably as far as i'd go 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Hi-Q and Bath MOT Centre could both get one in the same day, so fingers crossed will be sorted later today.
Around our way there are lots of untreated lanes and water running out of the fields often freezes on the road which makes winter tyres very useful and sometimes necessary if you actually want to get somewhere. Will be the first time we've driven, does having a minor disaster before we leave mean the rest of the journey will be a breeze?
@eddiethebus, packing later, got to get a days work done first!
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| Winters are good for temps >7c - Get the summers on as the winters will melt! |
Winters are better for temps <7 deg C..... 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| eddiethebus wrote: |
| if it were me i'd be packing and not giving what tyres I have a second thought. I might drop into Halfords for a can of emergency glue if I got a spare minute but that's probably as far as i'd go |
ignorance can kill you ... the OP said he has a damaged sidewall - this is the most dangerious part of a tyre you can damage. Sidewall damages although repairable are strongly adviced against for a good reason. Tyres are more important than an engine - you engine stops working so the car simply stops and that is it. When a tyre fails at a speed - many sad options are on offer.
Mixing tyres is not a good solution, for April you are indeed better off with a summer setup and then maybe chains (could be bought on spot or on a way if need be).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| mooney058 wrote: |
| eddiethebus wrote: |
| if it were me i'd be packing and not giving what tyres I have a second thought. I might drop into Halfords for a can of emergency glue if I got a spare minute but that's probably as far as i'd go |
ignorance can kill you ... the OP said he has a damaged sidewall - this is the most dangerious part of a tyre you can damage. Sidewall damages although repairable are strongly adviced against for a good reason. Tyres are more important than an engine - you engine stops working so the car simply stops and that is it. When a tyre fails at a speed - many sad options are on offer.
Mixing tyres is not a good solution, for April you are indeed better off with a summer setup and then maybe chains (could be bought on spot or on a way if need be). |
To be fair the OP said that he had a sidewall puncture and so was now running 3 winter and 1 summer tyre which was the spare.
I would doubt that driving it as is (taking current conditions into account) would be as dangerous as you suggest.
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@eddiethebus, Would the current conditions apply for the whole duration of a journey - to and from the resort? Is there a possibility of a snowfall when already in the Alps? If it does snow 3+1 setup is a call for dissaster. If it rains while traveling at motorway speads, aquaplaning and different aquaplaning properties of 3+1 are danerious. AEmergency breaking even on dry surfaces - 3+1 setup will affect performance. If it is all dry and smooth - this setup is possible, but not advisable. And who can predict weather with certainty when seasons change? How many people get killed on the roads in the UK/EU every day? circa 25.000 a year on average or 60-70 daily(http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/specialist/statistics/index_en.htm)
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@andyman, I put my spare wheel on in order to drive the slow. 40 minute drive into Albertville to get the puncture fixed. Personally I find that an effective solution and a damn sight safer than those flakey runflats or even flakier toytown spacesavers. 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I don't know mooney. I was merely stating what I would do, I wasn't looking to convince anyone it was correct, or handing it out as advice.
thanks for taking the time to convince me that my choices are wrong though, its nice to know you care x
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@eddiethebus, I have self-interest in this: I do not know if like driving or skiing more (I'm a petrolhead). And although I care for road safety, I care for my familly too as they suffer from my swearing at ignorant drivers who either drive like mad or are not fit/equiped to drive on roads (highways, mountain roads, parking etc). I read your post as it is OK not to pay attention to what condition your car tyres are when you take a long trip. With a possibility facing different weather and road conditions etc tyres are important and attention should be paid to it. My favourite weather forecast website shows varying conditions for the next week for Avoriaz - http://www.yr.no/place/France/Rhône-Alpes/Avoriaz/long.html - driving with 3+1 could be an issue if these forecast play out as predicted. And Meteo france shows rainy condition for Friday morning too. Thus people should take informed decisions, not simply rely on chance (or face me angree face when we meet on a road
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