 Poster: A snowHead
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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
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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  ). 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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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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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 
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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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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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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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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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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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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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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 
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.
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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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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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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 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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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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Wayne,
I think your supplier is taking the micky 
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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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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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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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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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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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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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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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| Quote: |
most of them are only rated to 210Km/h. Problem.
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Yes, catastrophic, I'd say. Not worth looking at, really.
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You know it makes sense.
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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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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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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
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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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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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 - 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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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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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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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RobW, Great find! Amazing that it will actually drive up a ski slope!
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FAQ
Not a worry for me in my diesel Skoda on its winter tyres though. 
