CumbrianFoz Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 As promised in my previous thread, my findings/opinions on these winter boots. I went for them on a hunch/rumours that they would have a better dry/wet performance than some other winter tyres, and was willing to sacrifice a bit of snow and ice capability for that as on average winters here are 60% wet 30% dry and 10% cold. Sorry it's been a long time coming, but I wanted to try them in a full range of winter road conditions before commenting, and reasonably deep soft fresh snow wasn't available until this morning. My car is a Subaru Forester Sti, tyres are 245/50 R17 (to get the same tread width as the summer rubber - but that's another story) Tested on various mountain roads around the Lake District and a few long trips "down country" 1) Dry road performance. Best I've had out of a winter tyre, braking is good, they hold a line well at speed, the steering response is positive - obviously not as good as a high performance summer tyre but you've got isolated tread blocks and a gazillion sipes rather than solid rings of hard rubber, so it's not going to be. Sidewalls are firm enough to stop the "falling into corners" feeling, they inspire confidence; and they can handle the power of the car easily, my previous Nokians squirmed worryingly when you went for it when overtaking. 2) Wet performance. general wet grip is good for a winter and there's very little aquaplaning until you're in deep (>8mm) standing water. They're a lot better in this area than previous winters I've run which felt downright dodgy in the wet. 3) Noise. Suprisingly quieter than the summers (Yokohama) I had on before, none of the high frequency thrash, and very little of the tread noise you often get with winters. 4) Snow/ice performance a) Black ice. Grip is pretty darn good, no problems getting up frozen hills, and you can even brake (albeit gently!!) downhill ice Fresh snow - no problems here, went up a 1 in 6 hill today with no wheel spin/wriggling whatsoever c) Frozen snow - superb, almost felt like driving on a normal road! d) Slush - this was on a lane that had recently been cleared by the snowplough leaving about 1" of compacted slush - evil stuff: this was probably the area they did worst at, you could feel the steering go light, but didn't have any problems getting through. All in all I'm impressed, they're as good as anything I've run before (Vredestein, Viking, Nokian) in most respects, and far better in some. Given the reasonable price and that they're made in the UK, I can't help but recommend them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 A comprehensive report that's for that. I can't say I'm over familiar with the WV7 and since unlike most things we buy test and approve the tyre actual feedback is valuable. Your approval strikes top end scores all round with tyre-V-conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CumbrianFoz Posted January 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 One thing I forgot to mention was the temperature response: these are "proper" winter tyres not "allweather" and at their best below about 8...10 deg C. Not a problem up here for most of the winter months (and I have them on a spare set of rims anyway) but I wouldn't want to suggest they'd be the best all year round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 They would feel very fluid above that temp i would think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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