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Winter Tyres V Normal Tyres

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi, bit of advice needed please. Obviously in the snow/ice/cold the winter tyres will be great and well worth their money, but what are they like on a sunny dry day on dry tarmac? The reason im asking is im about to buy some Vredestein Wintrac Extreme Tyres 235/35/19 (are these any good) for my Focus which are part worn but have 7mm of tread left on them (8mm is brand new) I want them to be as good as my normal tyres when its not cold etc. Will they be as good or would i need to switch back onto "normal" tyres next spring? Basically i want the same amount of grip that i have now from a winter tyre. Will i get it or not and are winter tyres worth the money, or should i just buy some normal tyres?

Cheers
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
The Search function is your friend on this, lots of discussion.

I've left winter tyres on all year round and didn't notice much difference, although I never got in to a situation where I was testing the tyre's performance anywhere near its limit. Tyre wear didn't seem excessive, but lots of people say that winter tyres wear more quickly so I don't think it's a great idea to leave them on all year round as a matter of routine (I did just through laziness Embarassed). One thing I did notice when I (eventually) changed back to summer tyres was a noticeable reduction in tyre noise at motorway speeds.

The Vredstein WinTrac Extremes usually seem to get good marks in reviews (I have a set and have been happy with them).
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rob@rar, Cheers. As a driving instructor they will get plenty of wear and tear through the winter months. I will easily do 10,000 miles between now and April plus trips to Scotland a few times. In your opinion should i fork our the £400 for them or would you get normal tyres, i cant really afford both!
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Ricklovesthepowder, I put some winters on my scooby and that has been thrashed about a bit with no problems ovr the summer. Work better in mud too Laughing
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Ricklovesthepowder, I've run my winter tyres all summer too, same as rob@rar didn't get round to changing them over. Also I knew that I would be buying new winter tyres for the forthcoming winter and thought I may as well wear them out!

I think they do wear out faster than normal tyres so that's a factor to consider if you are planning to use them year round.

They are suppposed to perform better at anything below 7 deg IIRC, which in the UK is a fair part of the year Laughing

I didn't notice any performance issues using them year round but then would not have pushing them to their limits.

Winter tyres are definitely worth the money. The last two winters in the UK alone we have been able to go places we couldn't go on normal tyres.

I do think the ideal is two sets and swap them over on time.

£400 is cheap, I am looking at £800 for a new set Shocked
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Cheers Scarpa, Do you think £440 is a good price for 4 x Vredestein Wintrac Extreme Tyres 235/35/19 tyres part worn with 7mm of tread left on, fully fitted/balanced etc? I think i will go for them but just want there to be the same amount of grip etc.
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Ricklovesthepowder, Have you thought of getting a set of smaller steel rims ?
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rjs, Yes, but it works our more expensive for extra rims, and tyres, plus normal summer tyres so i will just stick the winter tyre son the 19" rims.
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Ricklovesthepowder, You won't get the same performance in Summer, but it'll be close. Do you use 100% of your summer tyre's performance currently? Depending on the manufacturer, you'll get probably 80-90% of an equivalent summer tyres performance from a winter tyre over 7C.
In winter the performance advantage of winter over summer tyres is far more dramatic.
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Ricklovesthepowder, have you checked and double checked all the online tyre suppliers?

My local tyre place quoted me £200 per corner today, online I am looking at £165.

tyremen, lovetyres, blackcircles, mytyres, clickontyres etc etc
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Spyderman, Yes i drive quite hard and push the tyres, which is why i want a good amount of grip from the winter tyres. I think i will go for them and get them fitted as next april i will need new summer tyres anyway.
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Ricklovesthepowder, one big downside to winter tyres is that most of them are only rated to 210Km/h. Problem.
OTOH I drove a set of winter tyres on a VW Golf all year round for 7 years. The accident that finally got me had nothing to do with winter tyres, and everything to do with the idiot behind... Never noticed any particular problems with excessive wear.
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Ricklovesthepowder, In my experience, theres a slight reduction in grip, but like Spyderman says, it'll be close.

Biggest differences I find other than the huge amount of extra grip in winter conditions is the extra road noise at speed and a vague, less connected feeling, sort of like using a higher profile tyre. But thats really only noticable when driving like a hooligan Evil or Very Mad

If for the most part your not driving at speed and heating up the tyre the wear shouldn't be drastically different although will probably be faster.

Seems like a fair price based on the retail. To add to sarah's list, try Camskill
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Alan R, Cheers. I've tried all the online tyre places and in my size, I'm looking at £200 per tyre so £440 fitted and balanced is pretty good, even though they are part worn and have 7mm left on them.
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i know a guy running winters in the winter and another set of winters through the rest of the year Shocked , on the basis he keeps his winter winters tippy top condition for the winter, and that the superior wet conditions grip you get year-round justifies having rest-of-year-winters an' all Laughing

I've got knobblies year round on the 4x4 (snow bow wave anyone? Shocked ), if i were ever to go back to a "car" then would run winters year round. Rubber compunds these days means you can do it without the traditionally expected wear rates. Maybe in the southeast where summer temps can get up there a bit more I might reconsider though.

regardless, the most important thing is to get em for winter - you'll not reach Glenshee without em on quite a few days!
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Rick

When I was looking for winter tyres (got some new Nokian's now) I remember reading that once the tyre gets to 4mm tread depth it loses it effectiveness in snow, also in some european countries 4mm would be a fail for winter tyres if stopped by the filf, so 7mm part worn will be perfect. AFAIK brand new winter tyres start with 10mm tread so 7mm is hardly worn at all Very Happy
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2planks, If 4mm is the working limit and they started at 10mm, then these tyres are approximately 50% worn.
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We get new winter tyres each year for our cars and minibuses (just in case). So thought I'd call in and ask yesterday as I was passing.

You “know” something is not right when the guy behind the counter looks embarrassed when he tells you the cost of something.

The main Ford dealer in Wigan just quoted me £360 EACH for some Dunlop snow tyres for our company mondeo.

Yep £1,800 for set Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing

Think he knew this was taking the p

Oh this price didn't incude fitting Hmmmm


Anyone in the trade selling winter tyres feel free to PM me with your contact details
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Wayne,
I think your supplier is taking the micky Sad
I got a set of Vredstein Wintrac extremes in 255/55R18 for £120 per tyre last October from tyremen.co.uk. Just checked their website and they are currently £140 each.
When I was in France last year most locals I spoke to were surprised at how cheap winter tyres are (were?) in the UK.

Back to the original post £440 fitted sounds a fair price for a 50% worn set, and I reckon they will probably last through the summer until the start of next Winter.
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Put winter tyres on my wife's car last year which we then used through the snow here in Newcastle. Most could not get out on to the roads, the new winter tyres were as if there was no snow. They were amazing. Mitchellin Alpin tyres from ATS for £380. Have not changed them over the summer and no change in performance. Does not look as though they have worn too badly as the car only does 10000 miles a year so it will be interesting to see if the performance is poorer if we get more snow this winter. I have a drive 30 miles to the office so use her car when it snows, and had no problems in the side roads of County Durham. Not sure what the price is for this year, think I got a decent price last year.
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Wayne, did you see this thread?

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=79554&highlight=
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nbt wrote:
Wayne, did you see this thread?

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=79554&highlight=


Excellent link -> link

Just order full set of these (£185 each fully fitted as they are only an hour up the road)

http://www.clickontyres.com/Vredestein/23540R18_Vredestein_Wintrac_xtreme_XL___95W
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GLad to be of help,. even if it's circuitous. Almost half price from your original quote, that's not a bad saving
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Sorry to drift the thread slightly, but I happen to have one of those heavier rear wheel drive cars, and was thinking about getting a set of winters this year, following some scary winter performance over the last two years. To those in the know, will winter tyres deliver reasonable winter performance on this type of car? Cheers
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leedssteve, will make a world of difference to you. You'll still be somewhat limited pushing a heavy front end from the other end rather than pulling it from right underneath, but winters will DEFINITELY help and significantly too
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leedssteve, I have a heavy rear wheel drive estate and use Vredestein Wintrac Xtremes - have done so for the last few years now. They are so impressive (as I am sure other brands are too) that I actually feel insecure driving in the winter without them when it is cold, wet, snowy or all three. They are cheaper than my summer tyres, and the only reason I rotate each season is because I have a spare set of alloys. Even now I am thinking of not bothering and just running them all year round. I live in a hilly area, I take great pleasure in passing stranded summer shod 4x4's on snowy inclines - sad, but little things excite me...
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Quote:

most of them are only rated to 210Km/h. Problem.

Yes, catastrophic, I'd say. Not worth looking at, really.
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pam w, black ice probably has a particularly low rolling resistance so I'd guess that given enough road to accelerate those spinning wheels, speeds in excess of 130 mph are potentially more attainable than if driving the same car on grippy, dry tarmac. Toofy Grin Not a worry for me in my diesel Skoda on its winter tyres though. wink
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Remember that tyres marked with M+S just have a 'blocky' tread pattern. If you want to guarantee at least 10% more grip in snowy conditions then you need to look for tyres with a 'mountain and snowflake' symbol too.

As specified by the Rubber Manufacturers' Association:
http://www.rma.org/getfile.cfm?ID=966&type=publication
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Ricklovesthepowder wrote:
Cheers Scarpa, Do you think £440 is a good price for 4 x Vredestein Wintrac Extreme Tyres 235/35/19 tyres part worn with 7mm of tread left on, fully fitted/balanced etc? I think i will go for them but just want there to be the same amount of grip etc.



I got Nokian WR G2s in 215/55's at the higher speed rating (149mph) for £100 per tyre new. Usually you can get higher speed ratings for no extra cost. In face Nokian do a
Did cost me a few more bob for fitting though... I just sold my old tyres with 7mm on for £123 part worn - when new at 8-9mm tread they would be about £200.

The G2's are an all season tyre but with the snowflake symbol to give full winter classification.


For interest - The new world record for fastest car on ice was set by Nokian Tyres' test driver Janne Laitinen who drove 331,610 km/h (206,05 mph) on the Gulf of Bothnia in Oulu, Finland. The record was broken on March 6th on a 14-kilometre ice track in freezing conditions. The world's leading winter tyre manufacturer equipped the record-breaking car with Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 studded tyres (255/35R20 97 T XL).
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
pam w wrote:
Quote:

most of them are only rated to 210Km/h. Problem.

Yes, catastrophic, I'd say. Not worth looking at, really.




Well the 240kph are better for cornering in the dry at speed, even at slightly lower speeds Laughing Twisted Evil
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barry, Tatty, Thanks both, that has made my decision for me, will try a set this season - as I have said, the two last winters in Yorkshire have been really tough, but I drive Scotland a fair bit with work - I was attempting Inverness last year about a week and half before Christmas, and had to turn back before Aviemore! It was carnage on the way back.
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leedssteve, I've got a RWD Merc estate. 2 winters ago, thought I was very clever because although I had no winter tyres, I had Spikes Spyders for the rears. First snowfall ahd ice underneath and I don't know how I got home (only 1.5 miles) and was then unable to move the car for about a fortnight.
Last winter, similar scenario but with winter tyres Very Happy - no real probs, didn't even use the Spikes Spyders.
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I have always been OK with nearly new UK tyres.

I have snow socks but have never had to use them.

My A6 is 4wd but it's stopping that your mind needs to be focussed on. I have always been fine.
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I had snow socks. Shredded them when I hit a small stretch of tarmac between the snow. Ok for an emergency but IMHO not suitable for on/off snow conditions.
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If you are leaving winter tyres on in the summer there will be a small amount of less grip in hot dry conditions. They do wear a little more but not really worth changing if not doing a high mileage.

However, check with your insurance company as they have been known to refuse claims.
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I've done over 20,000 on my last pair of winter tyres 2 winters in the alps and this summer. The fronts were on the limit when I changed them yesterday but the rears have some mileage left ion them.
Had four new ones put on ready for this winter. Travelling out in two weeks.
I've used several companies in the past but was recommended http://www.event-tyres.co.uk/ who came out and fitted them and were cheaper than anyone else I tried online (for the same tyres).
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There can be a big difference between summer tyres too. I changed my tyres last August, having hoped they'd last a month or two longer to get winters fitted. I'd used the old summer tyres the previous few winters without any issue, the car has quite narrow tyres for it's weight which helped (it's also been ridiculously light on tyre wear). Having just fitted new tyres, I left it too late to look for winters and just got laughed at, so gave up searching on the basis that the previous tyres were fine in winter and this ones had much better tread than the old ones had when taken off. However come the snow there was a very big difference in winter performance from the old tyres, for the worse! Sad

A lot also depends on the car and from my experience of my old heavy tank vs modern lighter cars, the lack of engine breaking in modern cars makes winters almost essential - I can practically stop my car on the gears coming down the Ski Road on CairnGorm, my fathers 2010 Toyota just gathers speed in any gear! Shocked
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Just found this:


http://youtube.com/v/a9OkURLNO2k

The slopes are missing a revenue stream if they don't start selling driving sessions to the public.
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RobW, Great find! Amazing that it will actually drive up a ski slope!
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