 Poster: A snowHead
|
Sorry - been done to death I know, and yes I have searched and read various threads already.
I am looking for some winter (preferably) or all weather (possibly) tyres. I have come across mytyres.co.uk which have some really cheap (Sunny) and some relatively OK (Nankang). Does anyone have any knowledge of these brands? Also of mytres delivery times? They say 4 business days... just about gives me time. Also - should I get them delivered to my house or direct to a tyre place?
Thanks in advance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
stevo_the_saddler, I got an online quote (I think from Mytyres) which I thought looked good for a set of Vredestein Wintrack 4 Xtreme XL. It was about £580 AFAICR and then I needed them fitted. When I called my local independent tyre place to arrange a fitting they wanted to compete and came up with an all in price of under £540... in other words around a £80-£90 off. So, online isn't always best.
I have never heard of the tyres you mention. Everyone I speak to recommends Vredestein and I cannot speak highly enough of them. All through the serious snow of a few weeks back and while out in Austria a month back, I was able to just drive around fairly normally. They are rated to 130 mph as well - not that I would do such a thing of course 
There's a place in the Lakes called Catskill that do cheap deals on Vredestein if you want the hassle of going to get them fitted. I say it's worth looking up your local Vredestein dealer and haggle.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
I bought 4 tyres for our trip to Austria next week from Camskill in the Lake District. They had what I needed in stock, dispatched the next working day and I got them the day after. Great service and well priced. The main tyre outlets can get them but they dont stock them so will take longer. I then got charged £50 for Kwik Fit to fit and they used Nitrogen to fill the tyre as the moisture in normal air can freeze in cold temperatures and affect the handling of the car. www.camskill.co.uk - hope that helps.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Bode Swiller, essjay2730, thanks both... will have a look later.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Another vote for Camskill from me - and for Verdesteins. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
stevo_the_saddler, I've used My-Tyres about 6 times. Their delivery is fast. I've always had delivery straight to the tyre fitter and used their online pricing. Use the trade reviews on each tyre's page to pick which one is best.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Bode Swiller wrote: |
| Vredestein Wintrack 4 Xtreme |
Been running these for a year now in Summer and Winter. Coped excellent in recent snow in France and UK, can't fault. Done 23k miles in them and expect to get another 15k. 38k miles out of a set ain't bad
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
thefatcontroller, cool. I was wondering whether to leave them on all year round. Think I might now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
thefatcontroller, To what depth tread are you going to run them down to?
I've found a noticeable drop off in performance on snow now they're a bit worn.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Bode Swiller wrote: |
| thefatcontroller, cool. I was wondering whether to leave them on all year round. Think I might now. |
rob@rar ran his Winter Tyres all through last Summer(what there was of it)
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
Spyderman, maybe I'll just buy that Aston for summer use. I dunno, choices, choices, choices.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| Bode Swiller wrote: |
| thefatcontroller, cool. I was wondering whether to leave them on all year round. Think I might now. |
Unless rich can't see why you would bother with 2 sets of tyres. Leave on all year
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Spyderman wrote: |
thefatcontroller, To what depth tread are you going to run them down to?
I've found a noticeable drop off in performance on snow now they're a bit worn. |
Vredesteins come with 9mm so that they have had 5-6mm when we went to the Alps. 5mm is the recommended limit for snow? They have a node on them at 3mm and this I would expect to hit around June and then will replace so they should be 6mm+ by the time I take them across next year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
We bought Vredesteins this time round - not from mytyres but someone else OH found on the internet that came out cheaper. Delivered to us and he ran them down the road in the car to local garage who fitted them. He can't speak too highly of them, we now have a Berlingo (not my cup of tea to look at, but an economical car with huge amount of space inside so I am alright once inside it) which is not 4WD but with the Vredesteins we have had no probs so far this year and there is a particular bit of hill just near us in Les Gets that catches a lot of people out.
When we get back at the end of April we need to find another set of rims so that we (he) just changes those over himself without involving the garage.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
| Quote: |
Unless rich can't see why you would bother with 2 sets of tyres. Leave on all year
|
you don't have to be rich, just have a bit of storage space in the garage. Yes, Camskill and Vredesteins but we get them changed at the local independent tyre place. we generally seem to need wheel balancing etc too - I think bashing around in the snow and on some slightly dodgy surfaces can mess up the tracking a bit. We change for ordinary tyres at the end of the season, though this time I have some old snow tyres with enough tread to be legal, but not enough to be effective in the snow, so we'll use them this coming summer. They do need loads of tread to be really effective.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
stevo_the_saddler, You could also try http://www.tyremen.co.uk/winter-tyres.html I've recently bought some Vredesteins for swmbo's car, next day delivery. They were a couple of £ more expensive per tyre, but they had them in stock whereas Mytyres and Camskills did not.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
| Quote: |
So you get 4 tyres for free
|
Well, the really, really, clever thing is, you see, that (believe it or not) 8 tyres last twice as long as 4 (or rather more than twice as long as snowtyres do wear rather quicker in summer temperatures).
And I reckon that the twice yearly check on balancing and tracking probably gives me quite a bit of extra mileage on each tyre, too. Simples. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
pam w, but as Vredesteins are perfectly acceptable for Summer driving why would I change? I did read up on the point about Summer tyre thread wear for Winter tyres and yes if you live in Greece then that could be an issue but in the UK its not of concern..what Summer 
The Vredesteins I have on will last longer that the non Winter tyres I had on before. Safer and better value in the end. Also my car does not have a temporary type spare wheel its full size so I need to have 5 of the same set of tyres.
Again IMO 2 sets of tyres for UK based people is a waste of money.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
thanks for eveyones help
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| Quote: |
Also my car does not have a temporary type spare wheel its full size so I need to have 5 of the same set of tyres.
|
no, mine doesn't either. I actually have a snow tyre spare (more than legal, but no longer an effective snow tyre). If I have a puncture I can change the wheel, but it doesn't happen much - I'm not bothering with a separate spare.
The deep-treaded snow tyres are a little more expensive, so I like to save them for best. And it's always a thrill when you get them on for the winter. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
pam w, What surprised me when looking into Winter tyres was the perception of cost, the Vredesteins are actually cheaper than the standard tyre recommended for my car.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| stevo_the_saddler wrote: |
| thanks for eveyones help |
He says that as though people will stop... 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Got the Wintrac Xtremes and one problem I never clicked to until the 5 of them went off to be fitted is that they are directional, so if you have a puncture there is a 50/50 chance you will be fitting the spare on with the tyre rotating in the wrong direction. I still stick with having the matched tyre as a spare though as even fitted backwards it will run/work at moderate speeds to get you to a fitter, and at least when you arrive at said fitter you have the matched tyre with you to be remounted instead of waiting for one to be ordered in (if the punctured tyre is cactus that is).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| thefatcontroller wrote: |
| pam w, What surprised me when looking into Winter tyres was the perception of cost, the Vredesteins are actually cheaper than the standard tyre recommended for my car. |
That is surprising.
And true for mine too - I just checked at the Tyremen site, and Vredestein Wintrac XL are £101, while Michelin Primacy HP (The last tyre I had that they do) are £112 per tyre. (255/55/16)
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
When I had a car with large wheels and low profile tyres I changed my winter tyres for summer tyres not because I'm rich (I'am stupendously of course  ) but because the summer tyres were quieter and the handling of the car was better than when on the winter vredsteins.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
thefatcontroller,
| Quote: |
| Boredsurfing, Sounds like a shoite car not tyres |
no, well known fact that we all are aware of here. I notice it straight away when I make the switch twice a year. Winter tyres are considerably noisier due to the harder compounds. Driving on them in summer is not recommended as they wear down very quickly due to the higher road temperatures. BTW, that is irrelevant as to which car, I've had a Volvo, a Renault and a Toyota and they are/were all workshop maintained. The noise levels are immediately apparent both after the changes in Autumn and in late Spring.
I asked about the need to change and everyone (workshop, tyre companies, police and insurance company) said that the tyres should be appropriate to the prevailing weather conditions. Just as winter tyres work best in the winter, the softer summer compounds are best for the higher temperatures both on the roads and the tyres in summer. It only costs us around 25 Euros maximum to switch and lots of garages have a storage option. My garage charges me 52 Euros a year for the storage of my summer tyres in winter and my winter tyres in summer. They wash, inspect and store the tyres correctly I just have to book the changeover dates.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
| Spyderman wrote: |
| Bode Swiller wrote: |
| thefatcontroller, cool. I was wondering whether to leave them on all year round. Think I might now. |
rob@rar ran his Winter Tyres all through last Summer(what there was of it) |
I did, through laziness rather than any other reason. They are also the Vredstein Wintraks. Didn't notice any excessive wear on them during the summer, and in the recent snow they kept me moving in a car not particularly well suited to snowy roads.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Samerberg Sue, you're confusing the effect of compound and tread pattern. Winter tyres are traditionally noisier due to the way the tread blocks are designed to flex (and so shed snow) and the pattern is more open (to shed snow/channel water). It's not true to say winter tyres have a hard compound and summer a soft, it's no where near that simple, but if it were, it would be closer to the truth to say the opposite (certainly when compared at 0 celsius).
Modern 'performance' winter tyres claim to have stopped the noise differentials, but it's all relative, different all weather tyres have different noise characteristics. Modern winter tyres (not hard core super soft full snow tyres) also have a higher tolerence to running in warmer conditions without starting to break up, when my Wintracs are down on tread I'll run them through the UK summer to use them up, but I wouldn't like to do that if I lived in the south of Spain.
IMO, I know nothing etc blah blah blah
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sun 31-01-10 10:37; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
My sister in norway uses continental winter tyres.
Also used Nokian
cheers
bob
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
midgetbiker, I am aware of the different tread patterns. I was trying to keep things simple for the sake of those not so knowledgeable as some "experts" here. I am no expert, just a punter who hates to spend money unnecessarily.
thefatcontroller, of course you won't notice a difference if you keep them on all the time! I was just saying that the phenomena is well known in places where they regularly change between summer and winter tyres. It was your rather facetious comment about the poster's car which was wrong.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| Samerberg Sue wrote: |
| I am no expert, just a punter who hates to spend money unnecessarily |
Then why are you suggesting people buy 2 sets of tyres unnecessarily?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
stevo_the_saddler, Nankang and Sunny are both budget level tyres and most budget tyres in the UK tend to be marked M+S. Nankang aren't too terrible if you'can't afford anything else, but the Sunny's are crap. I wouldn't choose either as winter tyres if I could help it.
thefatcontroller, Yes, winter tyres will survive in the summer. If that is your argument it's the same as those saying "why bother with winter tyres, I've never have before". Once the temps get above 7-10'c (our spring temps) then your stopping distance will be greater on winter tyres than summer ones. As for cost; 2 sets bought now will cost less than one bought now and another set bought later.
adrian
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
agt, What is a UK Summer tyre? One that copes well in rain or sun?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
thefatcontroller, you have your views and I have mine - let's leave it at that shall we.
However I'm sure you will wish to have the last word - it's your speciality I believe! Me - I'm going skiing as the sun has decided to come out and it has stopped snowing for a while! After all isn't that why we are all here?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
