 Poster: A snowHead
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Sort of, anyway. My normal tyres are 265/45/20 and I have been finding it tricky to get decent winter tyres (at a sensible price!) in this size. However, seem to be able to get 275/40/20 's a little easier with more choice. Would anyone know if a size up and a profile down fit would my wheels 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It depends on the size of the alloys and also the clearance between the tyre and the suspension components. Don't forget, changing the tyre size may also have a knock on effect with your chains.
I found it was more cost effective to buy a smaller set of alloys for my car, which allowed cheaper snow tyres. My standard wheels were 225/40/18 but I got a cheap set of 17" alloys on Ebay and 225/45/17 snow tyres for £60 a corner.
I'm guessing you have a big 4x4 (Range Rover, X5 ?), if it is smaller alloys are pennies to buy second hand.
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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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Changing the tyre size and/or rating is also likely to be frowned on by your insurance company. Check with them before committing to the purchase.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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There are comparison tables online for seeing what works. Can't remember the sites though
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
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landlockedpirate, Quite like the idea of that, sounds like it could be a cheeky solution. Will start searching eBay!
altis, Thanks for the link 
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monotokpoint, If you have X5, 17" is only size allowed by BMW to fit chains, Continental Winter Contact fabulous in snow and winter conditions, turns motorway wardrobe into 4X4.
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Cynic, I've got a Merc ML. I've just found a website that specialises in 4X4 tyres which looks quite good. Might go for some serious off road tyres just for the hell of it (although I will probably need a Land Rover to make proper use of them)!
http://www.tyresdirectuk.co.uk/index.htm
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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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monotokpoint, With a fast car rather than wheezy land rover I would check handling on massive treadblocks at speed on tarmac, you'll probably do a set on the autobahn and be black streaking on soft O/R variants in the twisty stuff. Horses for courses I say, and if yours doesn't run on red fuel go for a nice winter tyre.
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monotokpoint,
I would check the Merc ML range to see if a lesser spec model has smaller rims that would clear your brake calipers etc. and see what tyres (cheaper) are fitted to that. Then see if anybody has decided to put after market wheels on their Merc and sell the originals on Ebay. That is the way I did it, picked up 5 almost new alloy rims including transport to Spain for £230. I fitted 4 winter tyres to them, which I put on the Land Cruiser for the winter months.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Tyres have to be rated to handle the car's weight too (e.g. a lesser model with a smaller petrol engine will be much lighter than a big diesel).
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=79629
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=78426
There's a tyre selector in the above link (in German), if you put in the car's details it gives you a list of suitable winter tyres. There are over 30 different models of the Merc ML to choose from. I'd get Merc to confirm your tyre selection with one of their main European offices (e.g. Austria) as the wheel/tyre choices in Austria are printed on the cars paperwork.
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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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You know it makes sense.
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You need enough tread, even with winter tyres.
Ours are well within the limit that the tyre makers say are still suitable for snow, but this winter they are significantly less grippy than they were last winter when brand new.
Mind you I did leave them on the car (Subaru Legacy) all year and they have now done about 30,000 miles.....so please don't tell me that they wear out quickly in the summer as they are by no means worn out yet and at this rate will probably last until next autumn when I will replace 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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Police say Chains today at Bourg st M
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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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| Cynic wrote: |
| Police say Chains today at Bourg st M |
I left Les Arcs this morning a two hours earlier than planned as the snow was coming down so heavy. Roads as far as Chambery were quite a challenge and I spent a couple of hours being extremely pleased I'd made the decision to get winter tyres for the new car. It is days like today that chains on summer tyres are a nightmare as you have had to drive a very long way at very low speeds.
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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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monotokpoint, Unless you really want to take your ML off-road, in which case you'd better expect BIG bills for damage, plus have the phone number of a friendly Land Rover owner, I think you're making a big mistake buying those.
You'd be better off with these, they're all season, half decent in snow too, designed for SUV's and they're cheaper. Grabber UHP
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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255/55R18 is a common size, I've got that size on my Subaru, also standard fit on Discovery II, so plenty available. I have Michelin Latitude Alpin on mine, superb.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Spyderman wrote: |
| 255/55R18 is a common size |
That's what I have on my Kia. Bought the cheapest winter tyres I could find (Sonny Snowmaster, cost £90 a corner from Pneus Online) and in the last couple of weeks I've driven around the Alps in some very, very bad road conditions. The tyres worked brilliantly, with greta traction and not even close to needing chains. Can't see the point of buying those chunky off-road tyres if you're only buying them for driving on roads which might be snowed-up.
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Just got rid of my 18" alloys that had 255 55 18s and replaced them with 16" rims as there is a much better selection of winter and AT tyres available in 16".
monotokpoint, Good luck with the AT's. The tyre they replaced (the AT2) is great in the snow as a studable All terrain tyre. General dropped the AT2 in all sizes except 265 75 16
and 235 85 16.
If the AT is as good as the AT2 in the snow it'll be a great tyre and it'll allow you to get into some green lanes in the summer.
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Excellent tyre choice, I run General Grabber all terrains on my Range Rover. Up to this year they were the previous at2' s, fantastic grip in snow and even good on road but they were a tad noisy. Last week swopped to the new at's, can't comment on snow but road holding is even better and they are a lot quieter.
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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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Thats good to hear Dot., and landlockedpirate! Almost looking forward to trying them on snow now!
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| Dot. wrote: |
If the AT is as good as the AT2 in the snow it'll be a great tyre and it'll allow you to get into some green lanes in the summer. |
Green laning in an ML, are you serious?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Spyderman, Yeah, totally! I can watch a DVD and drink my Starbucks at the same time!
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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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Spyderman, Just saw your earlier post RE: the Grabber USP. I haven't had the AT's fitted yet but you may be right about the USP's for what I need them for. I've seen very good reviews for both, on road and in snow. I am going to spend my time on road (I won't be doing any green laning, I couldn't possibly get my car dirty!) but don't want to be in a scenario where the tyres are 'a bit better' in snow than road tyres but much crappier on road. And I thought I had made my mind up...
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monotokpoint, Buy some Continental Winter Contacts save on wheels, damage to plastic wing liners from the stone pick up etc. Or sell it and buy a Range Rover sport. 
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You know it makes sense.
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| monotokpoint wrote: |
Spyderman, Just saw your earlier post RE: the Grabber USP.
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boredsurfing uses the Grabber UHP tyres on his ML, drives to his chateau regularly and rates them highly. I think the all terrains that you looked at although good, are not the right tyre for what you want them for. If you're not going to get a full winter set, the UHP's are the next best thing.
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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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Spyderman, I can't take a 40 profile tyre seriously as off road suitable 
monotokpoint, If you see a Silver Spanish reg Land Cruiser on snow covered roads please give yourself plenty of room to stop! You were asking about winter tyres, why?
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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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Just got pirelli scorpion snow and ice, anyone had them or know of
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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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| phillip33 wrote: |
| Just got pirelli scorpion snow and ice, anyone had them or know of |
I've got a set of "Pirelli Ice & Snow" tyres fitted to a set of Discovery steel wheels for my Land Rover for when and if the snow ever comes.
They performed very well last winter, nothing I couldn't rescue using them.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Tyre threads on here are always great 
I am a big believer in winter tyres, I run them on my work car, but you cant compare a set of winter tyres to all terrains. Winter tyres are better on snow than summer tyres, but M&S rated all terrains are even better. (This is for SUV's or 4x4 tyres, not car tyres)
My wife has run a Honda CRV from new for the past 6 years and its now done 130k and gone through 5 sets of tyres, including road tyres, M&S tyres, winter tyres and all terrains, here are some thoughts on different tyres we have used.
BF Goodrich LONG TRAIL T/A
Original Fitment.These are supposed to be all season, gave a very quiet ride on road, good handling in dry or wet road, but useless on anything else. Car would not move on snow and even got stuck on a moist slipway trying to pull a small RIB out of the water. Fantastic fuel consumption.
Bridgestone Blizzack Winter Tyre
Good all round tyre, left on through the whole year, very little road noise and good handling. Worked well in a couple of inches of snow but struggled when fully loaded uphill in resort.
Goodyear Wrangler HP (All Weather)
Excellent all year round tyre, couldnt fault it on road and decent in snow (better then the Blizzacks). They wore quite quickly and developed a really bad vibration at 5mm.
Michelin Synchrone
A well balanced tyre, quiet and economical but with enough grip to drive over a sportsfield or up a slipway. I used these as summer tyres for the last 2 years.
General Grabber AT2's
Unstoppable in any conditions you might take an SUV, even on roads I never found the grip limit when driving quickly. On snow and mud they were just fantastic, and because they start off with about 12mm of tread they last for ever (Still had 4mm at 40k miles). But they are not perfect, they were noisy and they hit fuel consumption by about 3-5mpg.
The at2's have now been discontinued due to EU rules, new at's are definately quieter (No idea about fuel consumption cos I'm too scared to calculate it on my Rangie ) but they do look slightly less agressive, I'm going to run these through the winter and see how they perform.
Honda on General Grabber All Terrains
I dont know the original posters driving habits, none of us do, but the choice of General Grabber all terrains is good, if he only does very limited 'off road' then the UHP's may be better (I have no direct experience of them, but they look fairly chunky' ). If he doesnt like them, he can always sell them on Ebay for very little loss.
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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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Dypcdiver, I give most Spanish reg drivers plenty of room
Think I am going to stick with the AT's for now and see how I get on. If I don't like them, I'll eBay them and try something else
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Spyderman,
Thanks
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| Spyderman wrote: |
| Dot. wrote: |
If the AT is as good as the AT2 in the snow it'll be a great tyre and it'll allow you to get into some green lanes in the summer. |
Green laning in an ML, are you serious? |
Totally, I'm not a fan of MLs but I've got around many green lanes in 2WD in my L200. Wouldn't take a ML off roading but I've seen older reg MLs on green lanes.
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Dot., Of course there are Green Lanes and Green Lanes, some you could drive a Smart Car down, lanes around here tend to be of the closer to the off roading variety. Whilst the basic ML 4WD system is good, I was thinking more about the cost of repairs after damaging it. Better to keep it on the tarmac and buy an old Disco or Defender for the muddy stuff.
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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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landlockedpirate, good news is they're still making the AT2s in 265 75 16s (my size  ) and 235 85 16s for a while longer at least.
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| landlockedpirate wrote: |
Tyre threads on here are always great
I am a big believer in winter tyres, I run them on my work car, but you cant compare a set of winter tyres to all terrains. Winter tyres are better on snow than summer tyres, but M&S rated all terrains are even better. (This is for SUV's or 4x4 tyres, not car tyres) |
Yes all terrain tyres are great in mud and fresh snow but in winter that isn't the problem - compacted snow / ice is. The snowplough often doesn't get right down to the road and it leaves a thin layer of compacted snow / ice. All terrain tyres don't have the small sipes that give better grip on ice - this hampers traction on ice and affects braking distances.
http://www.etyres.co.uk/consumer-information/tyre-sipes-siping.htm
The OP asked for winter tyres but for some reason it looks like he has gone for M&S all terrain. I hope he leaves a shed load of room beteen him and the car infront when conditions are icy.
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