NickT Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Topic is a bit previous I know but this Christmas it has been decided that we're going to the in-laws in the middle of no where North Yorkshire dales (Great......... ) My Mrs has a big issue about being stuck in snow and so I suggested I get some second hand rims and stick some snow tyres on. I have got 2 second hand rims so far to put snow tyres on (they are straight but scratched a bit I don't care for this). Car is Vectra 3.0 cdti elite turbo with 215 50 17 95W tyres (Extra Load) with tyre pressures at 39psi all round. Trouble is, I can't find any info regarding Snow Tyres fitment on cars. i.e. Do you fit the snow tyres on the rear like new tyres on car? Do you have to have snow tyres on ALL 4 tyres (I know this is ideal but I only have 2 rims for now)? Is it bad to just have snow tyres on the front even if the car is front wheel drive? Looking for snow tyres, I can only find them in V rating and not W rating, even in the alternative tyre size of 225/45/17 95W I suppose if I can't find any tyres in the correct rating I can't fit them but I would find the information about snow tyres useful. I would still use one of the rims to replace the mini spacesaver spare tyre so it won't be a waste. Thanks in advance for any info. Nick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 You need to ask yourself would you put 2 wooden cart wheels on the back and 2 normal tyres on the front of your car? The difference a good snow tyre makes in cold / icy / snowy conditions is MASSIVE. If you are only going to put them on one end of the car you've a simple choice to make: If you want to see the tree you're about to hit put the snow tyres on the rear and understeer into the tree. If you don't want to see the tree, put the snow tyres on the front and oversteer into the tree. Alternatively buy another 2 and put them on your normal wheels if you have to. A winter tyre (which is what I expect you have instead of a true snow tyre) will usually out perform a normal road tyre in any condition cooler than a few degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcp Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 You need to ask yourself would you put 2 wooden cart wheels on the back and 2 normal tyres on the front of your car? The difference a good snow tyre makes in cold / icy / snowy conditions is MASSIVE. If you are only going to put them on one end of the car you've a simple choice to make: If you want to see the tree you're about to hit put the snow tyres on the rear and understeer into the tree. If you don't want to see the tree, put the snow tyres on the front and oversteer into the tree. Alternatively buy another 2 and put them on your normal wheels if you have to. A winter tyre (which is what I expect you have instead of a true snow tyre) will usually out perform a normal road tyre in any condition cooler than a few degrees. I want some in 225/45/17- My car will do 140 plus but I don't in view of a, the law and b, my desire to live a longer life. Can I use a winter tyre with "H" rating? What tyre should I use until March? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 We can now get winter tyres in a V rating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcp Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 Any chance of some- see my gold thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 Tony, what makes winter tyres different from summer/normal ones, a different compound or tread pattern? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sagitar Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 Tony, what makes winter tyres different from summer/normal ones, a different compound or tread pattern? Either or both - have a look here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 Tony, what makes winter tyres different from summer/normal ones, a different compound or tread pattern? Either or both - have a look here Interesting read that, I'm seriously thinking about doing this now and finding somewhere to store the spare set. Should be able to pick up some cheap 16's off ebay. According to that link winter tyres work best when the temperature drops to 7 degrees or below. So I assume you would use them from mid November to mid March? They do seem more expensive than summer tyres though but if you were only doing low mileage on them they should last 2 or 3 years depending on the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sagitar Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 Tony, what makes winter tyres different from summer/normal ones, a different compound or tread pattern? Either or both - have a look here Interesting read that, I'm seriously thinking about doing this now and finding somewhere to store the spare set. Should be able to pick up some cheap 16's off ebay. According to that link winter tyres work best when the temperature drops to 7 degrees or below. So I assume you would use them from mid November to mid March? They do seem more expensive than summer tyres though but if you were only doing low mileage on them they should last 2 or 3 years depending on the car. I wouldn't want to be seen to be trying to persuade anyone else to use them. I could understand a lot of people thinking that there are better things on which to spend their money. My reasons for using them myself are related to my age and my health and the willingness to spend money to make life as easy as possible and keep me mobile. I had a couple of really bad experiences with a Lexus last winter that persuaded me to go back to front wheel drive. Having spent a few thousand quid changing my car, it seemed silly not to spend the little extra necessary to give me the best chance possible when winter driving and there is a clear recommendation from Toyota to run the Prius with winter tyres when the weather turns cold. I plan to keep them on until average temperatures get above 7 Celsius again and the risk of snow is clearly gone; something to do at Easter maybe? Actually, it strikes me now that for a Prius used for limited mileage, it could make sense to keep winter tyres on all year round. They would wear more quickly but could make economic sense compared with buying and storing a second set of wheels and tyres. The OEM 17" Michelins on the Prius are a good deal more expensive than the 15" Continental winter tyres that Tony recommended. My annual mileage is relatively low (about 8,000 miles) so I expect to re-use them in later years. I believe that there is an absolute limit on winter tyre elastomer life of about six years, but it is recommended to change winter tyres with less tread wear than for summer tyres so three years might be a sensible limit. In any case, at my age, there is a good chance that I will expire before they do . . . . I can't make any suggestion about storage based upon experience. I have put packing cases into storage in the past so you might try that, but I have no idea what it would cost. I am lucky enough to have a double garage with only one car since my wife gave up driving, so storage is not a problem. I hope it works out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hms Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 Are chains an option? h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMARTLY Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 You can get stockings os it socks now for the tyres in the snow: Found them: http://www.autosock.co.uk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Well I tried moving the car about 10 minutes ago from where I left it Thursday night and all I was doing was wheel spinning, had no traction at all The missus old man said it's my 'silly tyres', which are 215/45/17 but his are 205/60/15 and he's not had a problem in his Astra diesel. My tyres at the front are Falken 452 (rears are toyo) and TBH I won't be buying them again as I've noticed their performance has dropped alot in the wet as well since they've got down to around 4mm, they're now on 2mm. I've noticed on most cars that aren't having problems they have symmetrical tread patterns, mine are directional so does this have an affect as well? The missus will have to drive me to work tomorrow and I'm praying we get no more I wouldn't want to be seen to be trying to persuade anyone else to use them. I could understand a lot of people thinking that there are better things on which to spend their money. My reasons for using them myself are related to my age and my health and the willingness to spend money to make life as easy as possible and keep me mobile. I had a couple of really bad experiences with a Lexus last winter that persuaded me to go back to front wheel drive. Having spent a few thousand quid changing my car, it seemed silly not to spend the little extra necessary to give me the best chance possible when winter driving and there is a clear recommendation from Toyota to run the Prius with winter tyres when the weather turns cold. I plan to keep them on until average temperatures get above 7 Celsius again and the risk of snow is clearly gone; something to do at Easter maybe? Actually, it strikes me now that for a Prius used for limited mileage, it could make sense to keep winter tyres on all year round. They would wear more quickly but could make economic sense compared with buying and storing a second set of wheels and tyres. The OEM 17" Michelins on the Prius are a good deal more expensive than the 15" Continental winter tyres that Tony recommended. My annual mileage is relatively low (about 8,000 miles) so I expect to re-use them in later years. I believe that there is an absolute limit on winter tyre elastomer life of about six years, but it is recommended to change winter tyres with less tread wear than for summer tyres so three years might be a sensible limit. In any case, at my age, there is a good chance that I will expire before they do . . . . I can't make any suggestion about storage based upon experience. I have put packing cases into storage in the past so you might try that, but I have no idea what it would cost. I am lucky enough to have a double garage with only one car since my wife gave up driving, so storage is not a problem. I hope it works out for you. I can understand why you've gone for them if your health is bad, last thing you need is getting stuck in the snow I am seriously thinking about getting some now. I could probably store a set at my parents in Essex and just swap them over when the time comes. It's either that or change my wheels to smaller ones. I don't think the pug will need winter tyres as they're 185/65/14 and they were fine today...driving uphill, downhill and into town. You can get stockings os it socks now for the tyres in the snow: Found them: http://www.autosock.co.uk/ How good would those be though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMARTLY Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 How good would those be though? read a review last year and it reckoned they were pretty good. I think easy to fix and you can drive with them on roads where the snow has cleared ( low speeds still ). We still have had no snow up here, but -6 last night and the corner I live on is an incline both ways and is hazardous. Went to the bit grin last night to prepare it and it was empty - so result is many stuck / slipping cars this morning. As it's a T Junction cars are meant to stop as they come up the hill and then they spin the wheels as they try and pull away. Some idiots today My son has just gone out for his first drive on ice, they don't teach that on the test ........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 How good would those be though? read a review last year and it reckoned they were pretty good. I think easy to fix and you can drive with them on roads where the snow has cleared ( low speeds still ). We still have had no snow up here, but -6 last night and the corner I live on is an incline both ways and is hazardous. Went to the bit grin last night to prepare it and it was empty - so result is many stuck / slipping cars this morning. As it's a T Junction cars are meant to stop as they come up the hill and then they spin the wheels as they try and pull away. Some idiots today My son has just gone out for his first drive on ice, they don't teach that on the test ........ So roads that have no snow/ice you can't use them? They seem to be more ideal for when you drive on snow all the time, the same as using chains I suppose? Yep some right idiots on the road, someone came down the road last night doing at least 30 mph. He must've hit a patch of ice as the back end stepped out and he ended up on the other side of the road. Good job there were no cars coming the other way. Driving on snow/ice/rain should be included in the test IMO, at least people will know the correct way to drive in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMARTLY Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 You can use snow socks where there is no snow but not snow chains. I believe this is correct. Just been looking at the skid pan gift certificates, was thinking of getting my son one of them, but already got him a few things and the skid is £100 ish. He'll need it though as he is probably moving to Helsinki in April and it's -22 over there at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 You can use snow socks where there is no snow but not snow chains. I believe this is correct. Just been looking at the skid pan gift certificates, was thinking of getting my son one of them, but already got him a few things and the skid is £100 ish. He'll need it though as he is probably moving to Helsinki in April and it's -22 over there at the moment I think I'll look into them some more...main question is can you get them on without jacking the wheels up?! -22 is a tad chilly! I'd imagine winter tyres are required by law over there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 My son has just gone out for his first drive on ice, they don't teach that on the test ........ they dont teach anything on your test I had the joys of learning to drive over winter, my instructor turned up one day in thick snow, gleefully stating this would be the best lesson i would have !! I believe now that it was, but at the time I was crapping myself ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Ah..... Reads like the fuse to your future adventures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Writing a bit of an idiots guide to winter tyres. Any other suggestions before i make it live? http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/reaso...inter-tyres.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Driving on snow/ice/rain should be included in the test IMO, at least people will know the correct way to drive in it. I lived & in Norway for a couple of years and one of the conditions laid down by my Company was that I had to go through skid pan training before I was allowed to drive there, The skid pan training is mandatory for Norwegians in getting a driving license. and most of the bigger towns have their own skid pan facility. Where I lived the skid pan also had a remote controlled boom with 'pedestrians' hanging from it that were put in your way. As you got on opposite lock and steered to avoid hitting one of the dummies, the instructor would move it into your path. Very educational, and great fun Winter tyres are legally required between October and March and must have a minimum of 3mm of tread. Snow chains are important if you are travelling in the country, even with winter tyres, and are legally required to be carried by all vehicles weighing 3.5 tons or more. Studded tyres used to be used a lot, but not so much nowadays. In some areas of Norway the timing and duration of the winter/studded tyre requirement varies, In the area I was in there was extra tax to pay on studded tyres to compensate for the damage they do to the roads (especially in tunnels!!). Winter tyres in this country are a good idea, but unless you live in the middle of nowhere others on the road without benefit of winter rubber are still going to make getting around pretty difficult and even risky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedyChic Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Have you tried www.etyres.co.uk helped me with winter tyres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Their not very interactive though are they? Good prices i'll give them that but the interest level is lacking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 There seems to be a bit of a shortage on at the moment. I know from my site interest in winter tyres has shot through the roof! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Have you tried www.etyres.co.uk helped me with winter tyres. Do you work for them...sign up today and your first post is a link to a rival site!! I don't think Tony needs to be worried of the competition anyway Edit - Looking at your email yes you do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Have you tried www.etyres.co.uk helped me with winter tyres. Do you work for them...sign up today and your first post is a link to a rival site!! I don't think Tony needs to be worried of the competition anyway Edit - Looking at your email yes you do! Nicely spotted! The marketing department must be doing the rounds!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.