yeah but as soon as everyone buys winter tires and snow chains it will never snow again. Its is what happens here.
Sorry but on the subject of tyres, just what the hell.
People don't give a crap about what tyres they run or they wouldn't be fittin £30 buget tyres. If you hit ice, unless you have spikes or specialist (and I mean really specialised not just slightly more chunky tread), there will be no improvement.
People can make themselves more safe for more of the time by just spending more on some better tyres. Our climate doesn't need snow tyres and tbfh they're pointless anyway.
People don't give a crap about what tyres they run or they wouldn't be fittin £30 buget tyres. If you hit ice, unless you have spikes or specialist (and I mean really specialised not just slightly more chunky tread), there will be no improvement.
People can make themselves more safe for more of the time by just spending more on some better tyres. Our climate doesn't need snow tyres and tbfh they're pointless anyway.
Most places in the UK have to order in winter (not snow) tyres if you want them.
They are not pointless its just we brits are not used to seeing or driving on them.
IIRC they make a big difference in temps under about 5deg on all surfaces, due to the fact that normal "summer" tyres harden up in the cold even really soft ones, in some EU countrys like switzerland it may even be law to have them, but I'm not sure.
As Niall said its not really worth it with the amount of icy weather we get here in the UK its at the most a couple of months.
Snow chains are leagal to use in the UK as long as you don't get caught using them on a road without snow on it
SD.
They are not pointless its just we brits are not used to seeing or driving on them.
IIRC they make a big difference in temps under about 5deg on all surfaces, due to the fact that normal "summer" tyres harden up in the cold even really soft ones, in some EU countrys like switzerland it may even be law to have them, but I'm not sure.
As Niall said its not really worth it with the amount of icy weather we get here in the UK its at the most a couple of months.
Snow chains are leagal to use in the UK as long as you don't get caught using them on a road without snow on it
SD.
As Sparkydave said, winter tyres are less to do with cutting through snow with chunky tread and more to do with a softer compound that still flexes and gives grip in very cold temperatures.
In the UK, although we're getting lots of snow, the daytime temperature is only just under freezing and the nighttime around -5 (for the most part - a few places have recorded lows around -15). This isn't anywhere near the sustained -20 you get for weeks on end in Scandinavia and other countries for which snow tyres are mandatory.
In the UK, although we're getting lots of snow, the daytime temperature is only just under freezing and the nighttime around -5 (for the most part - a few places have recorded lows around -15). This isn't anywhere near the sustained -20 you get for weeks on end in Scandinavia and other countries for which snow tyres are mandatory.
It will snow al weekend long and Monday to 
Luckily I live in Canada where it doesn't snow.
Had a bit of snow last week.. was able to drive fine with my Jetta with summer tyres that coould use a change.
Had a bit of snow last week.. was able to drive fine with my Jetta with summer tyres that coould use a change.
You can simply run your tyre pressures a little lower which wouldn't affect safety especially if you're only driving at about 30-40mph.
And I agree with Crashgate, it's nowhere near cold enough to make winter tyres necessary.
And I agree with Crashgate, it's nowhere near cold enough to make winter tyres necessary.
I just drove with my tyres as is.. I just reduced my speed by about 50%.. It was slow driving, but I was more focussed on getting home in 1 piece.
You're only not allowed to use studded tyres and snow chains are not allowed to be used if you can see the road surface. Which rules them out for almost everywhere.
And it is always worth having a spare set of steelies (more so if you have alloys) that you wrap with some good winter tyres so when it gets cold you can throw on. The softer compound makes a lot of difference when it is so cold you could cut diamonds with your nipples. The current set on my van just will not switch on in the cold, unless I drive like a loon, which is stupid because the roads are cold and wet. So having a set of really soft tyres means they switch on much faster and I feel more confident leaning on the brakes.
I'm all for Winter tyres, even though it's never really cold enough to get maximum use out of them, but when it snows, the winter tyres would do absolutely nothing with the amount of snow we get, even a JCB and the bin lorry got stuck on my hill the other day.
S14, low tyre pressures are the opposite of what you want in the snow.
S14, low tyre pressures are the opposite of what you want in the snow.
post about winter tyres, and within 30 mins got an email from continental...
""
About 30cm snow here and its still falling, rain forcast for the weekend tho
Deko, winter tyres are not just for snow, they will grip better than "normal" tyres on any surface below 7°C
SD.
""
About 30cm snow here and its still falling, rain forcast for the weekend tho
Deko, winter tyres are not just for snow, they will grip better than "normal" tyres on any surface below 7°C
SD.
Round where I live it is regularly low single digit temps, so from about October through to March winter tyres would be perfect until the mercury starts to rise and we get double digit temps. You rarely get road tyres up to operating temperature in the summer so you have no chance in the winter.
that been proven to be bs time and again
summer tyres work better than winter tyres on dry sruface no matter how low the temperatures are
summer tyres work better than winter tyres on dry sruface no matter how low the temperatures are
I fail to see why we dont have the climate for winter tyres - they cost a little more than summer tyres, but you usually go for smaller wheels so they are cheaper overall.
Even if you only use them 1 month a year, thats still 1 months wear your not putting on your summer tyres... eventually it doesn't really cost any extra.
Having said that, my Falken FK452's are performing surprisingly well considering their 225 / 45 / 18, although they very nearly made me end up in the back of a Mondeo at work the other day...
Even if you only use them 1 month a year, thats still 1 months wear your not putting on your summer tyres... eventually it doesn't really cost any extra.
Having said that, my Falken FK452's are performing surprisingly well considering their 225 / 45 / 18, although they very nearly made me end up in the back of a Mondeo at work the other day...
Explained simply by the fact that the silica polymer bond of a good winter tyre, designed to "sand" off the inferior layer (and yes, that includes a film of water) on the surface, will prevent the rubber compound from establishing smooth contact. Or put bluntly, a winter tyre is not designed for dry surfaces. The average winter tyre out-performs the average summer tyre on a wet surface at temperatures as "high" as 8°C, and naturally on snow and ice at any given temperature.
Anyway, winter tyres are mandatory here in Austria (and as far as I'm aware, also in Germany), as is advanced driver safety training where, at this time of the year, you get to experience the difference between summer and winter tyres first hand with your own vehicle.
On the "cold snow" (that's not quite ice, it's somewhat rough) surface at the local driving camp, it took me 69m to get to a standstill from 48kph, at 50 I got off at the other end of the strip. Kumho Ecsta 235/45 fronts, 255/45 rear, these are good summer tyres and they're in good condition, but the fact is everyone else that day managed to stop in under 30m, except those without ABS who did even worse than me. I was the only one with summer tyres in the group and I really don't recommend it, not only because the limits are low, but also because the margin for error is ridiculously small and it's a snappy loss of grip. However, that really was a simulated snow surface, not a cold tarmac road.
How? Very little braking bias goes to the rear of your average road car. I often brake hard to try get a feel for the grip, the fronts always lock well before the rear.
The only "issue" I have running around with snow tyres on the front is at speed if I turn hard going through junctions or roundabouts I get a wee bit of a drift on. But usually forced by myself on deserted roads. However at traffic speeds it's more than fine, traffic is going at no more than 40mph.
Well you obviously don't live in apart of the UK that gets badly affected by snow... Even the main roads out my way are bad enough, yet alone the country roads that I have to use. There are loads of cars here stuck and abandoned. My Mum's car has decent tyres on it, two brand new fronts just over a month ago and it's firmly stuck in the snow in our drive. Yet in the same snow I'm managing to get about with winter tyres. Also considering we're getting temps down as low as -12c I think that alone justifies winter tyres.
Lower tyre pressures = larger contact patch = good.
In Finland aswell. Should be in every scandinavian country though, right?
Not in snow, large contact area means they sit on the snow rather than cut through it.
You watch too much Top Gear. Why do you think Rally cars use skinny tyres in snow? You want to cut through the light powder and dig into the grippy surface under it (if you're lucky the tarmac, else the compact snow). They were driving on a surface made mostly of salt water which you want a wide contact patch to get most grip from the surface.
Which will have you sliding all over the place with no grip. Comical, but not practical. You want to cut through the snow, do you not wonder why rally cars have skinny tyres in the snow?
If you're thinking about the Top Gear arctic program, they were special snow tyres with massive grooves in them to get a grip, not your average road tyre.
Edit: seems P5ychom4n and Gav made the point already.
yaaaaaay... about 2 hours of going-sideways-in-every-corner-action and almost all other rwd or awd cars which i saw are doing the same, even the ambulance van was going sideways lol :heartbeat 
lmao @ police, they stopped us with 2 other cars, because we were going sideways on roundabout, about 3 full circles. best thing is that they cant do anything, just give us a verbal warning and nothing more
lmao @ police, they stopped us with 2 other cars, because we were going sideways on roundabout, about 3 full circles. best thing is that they cant do anything, just give us a verbal warning and nothing more
*shrug* Driving sensibly makes more difference than winter tyres. This isn't a perfect world, and i'm not blowing money on winter tyres and swapping them around all the time for our changeable climate. I make do with what I have - by not being an idiot.
Except to pull the ocassional handbrake turn or powerslide of course. I parked my brother into his office sideways yesterday with him screeming as we came to a tidy stop ... his reaction was absolutely worth any risk to my car versus a wall
On the open road however just dont drive like an idiot - let tailgaters and people driving too fast for the conditions go past and if the snow gets too heavy just don't do the journey ... not because you can't, but because the person who crashes into you can't.
*shrug* it's not rocket science, and it certainly doesn't require me to invest money in a product I don't need and can't afford.
Except to pull the ocassional handbrake turn or powerslide of course. I parked my brother into his office sideways yesterday with him screeming as we came to a tidy stop ... his reaction was absolutely worth any risk to my car versus a wall
On the open road however just dont drive like an idiot - let tailgaters and people driving too fast for the conditions go past and if the snow gets too heavy just don't do the journey ... not because you can't, but because the person who crashes into you can't.
*shrug* it's not rocket science, and it certainly doesn't require me to invest money in a product I don't need and can't afford.
So basically you say the law to have winter tyres on from November 1st on bad conditions in our country is useless?
Another one of what it's like at my parent's house. The white blob next to my mum is a Fiesta.
They say send helicopters as the village shop has run out of food
They say send helicopters as the village shop has run out of food
Snooooowww
(2156 posts, started )
FGED GREDG RDFGDR GSFDG