Snow/winter tyres

[AndrewSchofield]

Hi guys,

Can anyone advise if snow tyres are worth buying? Is the increase in peformance worth the extra cost of both buying the things and paying to have them swapped back in spring? (with the exception of the last week) is the weather not generally severe enough in England to merit the use of snow/winter tyres?

Is it ok to drive with two snow tyres on the front (front wheel drive car) and normal tyres on the back or should all four be the same?

We have a Peugeot 307 estate with wide tyres on and it is practically useless in the snow - we need a new tyre so we're wondering if its worth getting some snow tyres while we're at it?

Any adivce/views appreciated.

 

[AndrewSchofield]

would snow chains be a better solution?

 

[Burnerman]

Snow tyres are incredibly effective - you will get greatly improved traction due to the chunky treads. They will be much better than normal tyres on ice too, but there is a limit.
There is also a huge shortage of these tyres in the UK!
Even a normal 4wd car will have problems on snow if it has wide wheels and road tyres - in fact there could be no advantage over a normal fwd vehicle.
Its best to get a pair of s/h rims for your car, and keep the good treads for later on - snow tyres will wear heavily on normal tarmac at speed.
Chains are better still, but once you reach tarmac you need to take them off. In the good old days I had snow tyres and chains on an XR3i and it was nigh on impossible to make the wheels spin.
For normal tyres, reduce the pressures by about 4 psi. That helps a bit too.
John

 

[AndrewSchofield]

Hi John, thanks for the advice. We were told by our local tyre fitter that they are like gold-dust - but he has two in - that's why we're seriously thinking about getting some while he's got them. The problem is we live in a rural village and there are four possible routes out of the village, all of which involve fairly steep hills. We're not far from a main road which is usually pretty clear within an hour of it stopping snowing but its getting from our house to the main road which is the problem? If we'd need to take the chains off once we're out of the snow - would this mean taking them off and putting them back on all the time??

My dad used to keep snow tyres on spare rims to save having to have the tyres changed twice a year - will have to see about gettting some spare rims.

Is it ok to drive with two winter tyres on the driving wheels and two normal ones on the back - or should we really have the same kind of tyres on all four wheels?

We had a Freelander this time 2 years ago and i can't remember driving it in more than 2inches of snow - since we got rid of it we've had two significant snowfalls - proving to be a bad decision!!!

Just one query - when i posted earlier i spotted this thread //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=207596 about lowering tyre pressures and your advice on that thread seemed to say it wasn't a good idea??

 

[Burnerman]

Your area sounds very similar to ours really, so snow tyres on the front of a front wheel drive car would be good. They could be a little thinner in section than normal but as you'll be driving much slower they will be fine - as indeed will lowering the pressures a little.
Obviously, for motorway work the tyre temperature increases with speed, you you will need to take that into account.
If you use chains, you'll need to be changing them continuously - use them on tarmac and they will start to chew your tyres.
Now then - some people would argue that you shouldn't mix tyre sizes and I can't really argue with that due to health and safety opinions.
Thats fine - but I find it much safer to keep on the road and get home....its the peace of mind, really.
Go for the snow tyres, and keep the other ones for when the snow has gone.
A final comment - for permanent 4WD vehicles, you should replace all of the tyres at the same time to prevent possible transmission issues.
John

 

[AndrewSchofield]

Cheers John, looks like snow tyres are gonna be best - its the car the missus drives (my little fiesta is quite good in the snow as it is!) and I can't see her being happy to keep taking off and putting on snow chains all the time - she'll just end up never using them.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Burnerman]

Be safe, both of you, mate
John

 

[Richard C]

We live rural & the council grit lorry does a sharp right at a tee junction about a mile up the road from our village so we are always left to fend for ourselves – I’ve often wondered if I should I get a council tax reduction for it! Our trusty Freelander does make one hell of a difference & although many of the neighbour’s front wheel drives manage to get in & out when the snow isn’t too deep, the “rear wheelers” mostly stayed locked in the garages until this weekend, especially the autos! Winter tyres don’t seem to have caught on here generally so availability not good &, except in Scotland & across the Pennines, we don’t (normally) get the type of weather to warrant them; they are probably outlandishly expensive anyway! Reducing tyre pressures in snow & mud will help traction as it increases the footprint as stated but won’t do the tyres much good if you forget to re-inflate & do a motorway run!

I spent some time working in Iceland in the 90’s & they drive on spiked tyres in the winter months. I’d never even seen them before & my first experience of them was from the airport when our taxi driver come down a hill into Reykjavik & the lights changed; we weren’t exactly hanging about & I thought there was no way we were ever going to stop but it was all very undramatic, more or less like driving on tarmac instead of pack ice! Spikes are incredibly effective but only allowed during the winter months as they rip the tarmac to shreds when the thaw arrives!

 

[stuartturbo]

I have 2 on order
It is recommended that a full set is used as it can make the rear end "lively"
But I'm just going for the fronts Grip and traction.

I have gone for winter tyres with the mud and snow markings

Read the continental reviews rather than UK. As one tyre was rated really good over here but all the continent rated them so poor
Camskill.co.uk have a load listed.

I went for a slightly different size 185/65/15 rather than the 185/60/15 fitted due to more options. There are loads of tyre calculation guides about so you can do the same ( providing not a AWD different sizes not make too much off and issue)

I went for INFINITY copy of the Falkens

 

[stuartturbo]

Winter tyres are not just for snow they are also more beneficial when it gets below 7degC

 

[gregers]

BEAWARE as reported in last weeks auto express,YOU will have to inform your insurance company that you have changed rubber,I KID YOU NOT a vast ammount of them are increasing the premiums even though it is proven they help in the ice/snow.AS in there eyes it is non standard rubber.
yet another way the good ole motorist is getting screwed.

 

[AndrewSchofield]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Richard - sounds similar to where we are - there's a clear hierarchy when it comes to clearing and gritting the roads - the trunk roads are pretty much kept clear when it isn't actually snowing, then they clear the main bus routes and then anything else. It hasn't snowed here now since last Thursday night and the main road through our village is down to single track with half the road still covered in snow. To further hinder our ability to get out in bad weather, we live on a road owned jointly by all the residents that live on it, not the council and so they don't clear our road ever. I spent 4 hours digging my car our last friday!! As I said - probably the worst decision we've ever made getting rid of the Freelander!!

And as for the cost of snow tyres - our local type place said they're about £15 more than normal tyres for our car so not too bad??

Gregers - thanks for the advice re. the insurance - would never have even thought about telling them we'd fitted different tyres!! Not surprised they want to screw more money out of us for that though!!

 

[stuartturbo]

Do double check but none of mine have ever worried. so long as they meet standard spec of load rating never worried about speed rating as they are all good for 100MPH PLUS ( only 3 rating's less than 100mph)
On a technicality they could say if the the factory with goodyear GSD3 and you then fit Pirrelli p6000 or even to Goodyear GSD2

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

I lived in Bavaria for a while where winter tyres are mandatory, so new cars come with a second set of wheels (usually steelies) shod with these tyres.

My car’s second set were actually smaller wheels than those already fitted and I suspected the dealer had provided the wrong size. The dealer explained that this was intended, as the profile of the winter tyres was higher than that of the standard wheels – this extra height of tyre allows for a little more suppleness. They were also narrower. I cannot remember for sure but I believe the standard tyre size was 205/60 R15 and that the winter tyre was 185/75 R14. I also remember there being a speed limitation on the tyre of 120km/h on the winter types. They were superb for driving in the cold weather generally and particularly so when visiting ski resorts.

 

[PJF220]

Winter tyres will be a major improvement, but you're too late to be buying them now. Most places have sold out, those who have them like one well known online tyre company have actually doubled their prices in the last few days because of supply and demand. I was looking at a set of Goodyear Ultra grip 7+. £65 last week, £105 now.

Some companies will actually store your tyres to save you space and a second set of wheels. However, with the width of your wheels, I'd highly recommend buying a cheap set of steel or alloy wheels in a narrower width. This will give you better control in slippery conditions. Also note that wheels fit a range of tyre sizes so you can actually go narrower than the current width on the same alloy. You can find out the width range for your wheels online. You would also need to alter the tyrewall height if going narrower to keep the rolling radius the same and the speedo accurate.