Can we NOT have endless winter tyre questions on the forum. Access the old threads.
are you safer if you have them?
YES - look at the youtube vids - 30% better stopping distance in the cold and winter wet
if you are doing one trip do you need them?
YES - at easter you may get away with it. Dec-Feb no contest - winter tyres - try driving right through France when it snows hard (2010 and 2011) snow tyres possible - chains not.
do you need four?
YES - look at the Youtube vids. Anyone who argues anything else is talking &*)&)*&&
best supplier?
SIMPLE - mytyres germany - steel rims from ebay
best model?
can change from year to year - I've had many different makes - best for last few years - pirelli snow control 120
Now.....can we pls get on with discussing other things like WHEN IS IT GOING TO SNOW.....
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
valais2, You forgot..put the chains on the back of a 4x4.
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?
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
valais2, +205, 60, 16
After all it is free
After all it is free
And can I really leave them on all year round. And what about studding them - is it worthwhile (or legal)?
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.
deerman, Will wear out over plus 8 degrees, studded tyres illegal in UK, tricky on dry roads. But if vehicle lives in resort only use it in Winter then studs a possibility.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
TechHead,Ooh, that wot I got.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Here in the NW Highlands of Scotland my none scientific findings are that about 34% of people use summer tyres all year, 33% use winter tyres all year and 33% swap between the 2...
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.
Over here people drive around on 44" studded winter tyres all year round. YMMV.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
valais2, if nobody talked about stuff that had been talked about plenty of times before, there'd be very little left.
and everybody is permitted to skip threads that frustrate them.
Plenty, and plenty, and plenty, of UK drivers go through France without winter tyres in January and February. So do plenty of French ones. That's why northern France can come to a standstill just as readily as southern Britain.
On the mountain roads I drive on, where there aren't that many Brits, the vast majority of the cars you see stuck in annoying places because they haven't put their chains on in time are French (some Belgians....). I once had to try to explain/demonstrate to a French couple who'd were trying to get up the road how to put chains on, as my OH and brother in law were taking ours off, on the downhill side of the road. It's also invariably French drivers who go off a slightly tricky downhill bend near us, into the pine forest, and get pulled expensively out by the garage 300 metres away. And the driver of the Porsche 4 x 4 we towed out of a snowdrift (I had to put chains on the winter tyres to have enough traction for that) was also French. And grateful.
You may wish that everybody had winter tyres, but the reality is that they don't. And a good careful driver in a Ford Focus with summer tyres and chains at the ready is less alarming than a plonker in a Cayenne.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
If i hire a car in Geneva swiss side does it come with snow tyres and breathalyzers
OR
If I hire French side of Geneva do i Get snow tyres at all and what abut hi viz jackets and breathalyzers
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
valais2, As bad as should I buy a pair of skis....ad nauseum?
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Cynic wrote:
valais2, As bad as should I buy a pair of skis....ad nauseum?
Do I need a helmet
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Some of us aren't allowed winter tyres - we have company cars and the hire company says no even if we buy them ourselves.
However they have no objection to helmets
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?
valais2 wrote:
best supplier?
SIMPLE - mytyres germany - steel rims from ebay
It's really not that simple. Pneus Online are very often cheaper, and their customer service is far, far better IME.
Pneus Online were the cheapest I could find last November. Very quick delivery, also from Germany?
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
rob@rar, the set that turned up here yesterday (ordered on Monday) were dispatched from Germany, but my payment went to Switzerland and I think the company is actually French.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
musher, you can make them fatter by putting much much more air in them
After all it is free
After all it is free
boredsurfin, Or will a boot fitter make me ski better
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.
Cynic,
What about a tyre fitter?
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
kevindonkleywood wrote:
musher, you can make them fatter by putting much much more air in them
Wouldn't Nitrogen be better below -8.5C?
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
ALQ,
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.
Do I need a spare winter tyre?
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
valais2
I have been told by the health and safety dept that I need one of these.
Which areas of the EU are these a legal requirement.
Are different colour tracks available
With these, do I still need to carry snow chains in France
Do I need to carry a spare
Can you advise please
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
We fitted Goodyear Vector 4seasons tyres to our S-max, supplied and fitted by the local independant guy, no waiting in for a delivery or then having to pay again to have them fitted, with a horse trailer to tow off wet grassy fields in the summer we left them on and they do not appear to affect the cars handling nor do they seem to have worn out quicker. In the tiny amount of snow they saw in the winter, they did seem to grip much better than the usual tyres
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Wayne,
Where do you keep the breathalyzer?
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
tangowaggon wrote:
We fitted Goodyear Vector 4seasons tyres to our S-max, supplied and fitted by the local independant guy, no waiting in for a delivery or then having to pay again to have them fitted...
+1 for trying a local independent tyre dealer: in my case 4 x 16" Hankook winter tyres supplied and fitted for £306 (2010 price).
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
musher wrote:
Should I buy fatter tyres?
Thinner tyres are better for grip in most icy/snowy conditions. In snow, the tyres will cut through to the road and compress the snow meaning more grip. In really deep snow, wide tyres are better as they allow the vehicle to float above the snow rather than get stuck.
On ice, thinner tyres excel as there is a smaller contact patch on each wheel, meaning that the weight of the vehicle is pushing down on a smaller area which generates a larger amount of grip than wider tyres which spread the load. This helps acceleration and braking.
Plus, thinner tyres are cheaper!
kevindonkleywood wrote:
musher, you can make them fatter by putting much much more air in them
Putting more air in them? Surely letting air out means the tyre has a larger footprint as parts of the sidewall of the tyre come into contact with the snow. More air means that the tyre will bulge in the centre of the tread meaning a smaller contact patch. Unless you were being sarcastic, in which case I apologise.
Also, it might be worth looking at Blackcircles.com. They has some good deals on winter tyres last summer but of course it depends on the size of the tyre. Ebay also isn't such a bad bet for some slightly worn sets.
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?
Just bought a set of rims and winter tyres from pneus online - excellent speed of service. When I looked for these I also looked at tyre reviews and some of the cheaper winter tyres get dreadful reviews for performance - virtually no better than summer tyres in some cases - so take a degree of care.
don't forget your gun in case you come across an alpine hit squad
following up what Pam said, most people in the French alpine towns don't fit winter tires, incl. Geneva. In fact a lot don't even have chains. Chains will get you around when it snows. Generally the motorways are snow free and it is only the roads up to resort that get blocked and then generally above 600-800 meters in the French alps.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Wayne, ....now you're just being silly....
can we please be sensible on SH.....what the EU is considering as a requirement for all us travelling in and to the alps are these:
you at least have a choice of different models although they all seem to come in yellow....start saving now...and put the breathalyzers in the glove box.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Winter tyres are for people who cannot drive.
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.
Whitegold, no, they are for people who live in Austria and need to abide by the law, and for anyone travelling in Switzerland (foreign or local) who, in the case of an accident, do not want to automatically be blamed as being 'at fault' for the accident from nov-april.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
This should be a Sticky!
