My 330d isn't just crap in the snow, if it does manage to move (which is highly unlikely) it is plain and simply downright dangerous on the summer rubber!
I bought a winter set of rims which admittedly are have way less grip than the summers and have a nervous squashy feel. It never snowed last year in these parts so I'm yet to see if it will move in the white stuff!

 

Yep, guess your right but as a few posts have highlighted some folks just don't know a fig about them so surely need educating

 

They turned my 335d into a death trap.

 

My 330d loves em

Some winters tyres are shocking (just like some summer ones are) - and will try to kill you at every chance.

They do have a longer break in period - circa 2-400 miles before they work properly.

I run Falken HS449 which are middle of the road price wise & offer good all-round performance (including wet). The cheaper Chinese brands ONLY work on snow / ice, and are downright dangerous in wet conditions.

Buyer beware.

What do you run Matteeboy?

 

Thought we'd had this conversation before.

 

I used Nokian WR and they were fantastic and I now have Pirelli Sottozero on my Scoob and they are also fantastic.

I don't undersstand all the comments about them being dangerous or spongy or squishy, mine are solid and you know what the car is doing but then again I have an MY 2000 15 yr old Classic which was **** hot anyway.

 

Maybe it depends on the car/tyre combo. I have Vredestein Wintracs on the Volvo and if anything it feels more surefooted than on the 'summer' tyres.

I do also wonder if there is an element of not wanting winters to work as obviously anyone who uses winter tyres is a wuss and loses their Stigness overnight

 

It was a 335d on Yoko Winters.

My M135i isn't going near any Winters.

 

I have the same Yokos as Mattee had. They did feel terrible and i felt like i was often skating on ice. I adjusted the pressures to 6psi above the OE RFT's and they felt way better but still not as good as i would like.
When they are done i will try the Pirrellis or Vredestein as mentioned above.

 

Isn't a blocker to people using winter tyres the fact that you have to store them somewhere - all year round

And they are quite bulky

 

I would assume most car enthusiasts who run winter tyres don't mind storing them in little space or have a shed and/or garage anyway. Unfortunatly it's your average Joe and his wife who would probably throw a fit at the sight of 4 wheels inside the house or taking up "valuable junk" space in the garage

 

Strange with over 20yrs of using winter tyres here and in canada/USA the only time I had a squishy ride was when I let the tyre pressures down way low to go glacier driving, maybe you guys just have crap tyres to choose from

As for grip nokian/Bridgestone friction tyres normally test better than standard summer tyres in the wet

 

Everyday and er everyday in winter

 

If it snows, we have the choice of a 14 plate Defender 90 or a 54 plate Landcruiser Amazon to use.
So bo77ocks to trying them again!

I am tempted by "all weathers" on the 4WD camper though.

 

The Contis I ran for 3 winters on my Merc improved things massively. Through a couple of winters I had no issues in snow or icy weather. It was quite frankly crap without them.

I got some for the 335d last year and whilst it didn't snow they worked well in the cold weather .... The 335d is 4wd but I need a car that will get my around if it's poor weather.

Bar the cost of extra wheels the tyres are nil cost really as it saves wear on the summers.

 

My missus run Bridgestone A001's on her c-max (doing 4k miles per year).

Not a bad compromise.

 

My dealer stores my wheels and swaps them over. Not a problem

 

Get the same 'debate' every year on the jag forum and the stdrivers forum.

Generally speaking those that have used winters tyres wouldn't be without them, those that have never used them cant see the point of them.

As an aside I have driven for over 30 years now and like many have always managed with whatever was fitted as long as they have decent tread depth. So I was mulling over what has changed. My X-type is the first car I have owned with tyres having a 'sports' tread pattern as in Conti SC3, you know the type, a few radial grooves and not much else. Most of the sports tyres are very similar and they are bloody useless in the snow. So bad that my car was unusable in those bad winters a couple of years back, couldn't even get it back up the driveway.

Gave up trying to manage, spare set of rims and winter boots = revelation. Would never want to 'manage' again.
I'll keep swapping twice a year and having the best rubber for the conditions thanks very much

 

What ever happeened to "true" all season tyres on performance cars?

These days it's summer or winter. Unless you have Chinese budgets which almost always have 'M+S' stamped them regardless of the compound or tread, which Are almost always useless because they are poor quality tyres.

I still have the OEM tyres off my 1982 Jag; The tread pattern on these is comparable to a tyre geared for wetter colder climates...lots of sipes. The Car was used all year round..and even as a child I never recalled it getting stuck and I pretty sure it snowed in the 80's...and back then the car was used daily

The only tyres I see today have no sipes, unless they are winters....so IMO tyres in general have become too focused for use in Mediterranean climates meaning they are now no longer any good once the temps drop.

 

Hasn't the general trend to enormous fat low profile tyres on just about anything exacerbated the problem in recent years

 

Aah yes, sipes. Love that word.

 

Girlfriend said that the roads today on her 8 mile journey to work were awful simply because of fog and frost. I honestly can't believe the roads almost come to a standstill with the sight of 1mm of frost for a while. People must be stupid. God help us when we get our first misting of snow! I think I'll be putting my winters on this evening as I reckon it's about time now.

 

Well they made my 335d unsafe.

No way I'm putting any on the M135i.

 

The Yoko's don't do that well in the tyre reviews tbh, plenty which out perform them. Looks like they wasn't a good choice for the 335 Mat. I appreciate you haven't had a good experience with winter tyres, but you are in the minority. Most wouldn't be without them once they have used them.

A good all season tyre is the Vredestein Quatrac 3, I have some on the van and they keep me mobile all year round whatever the weather throws my way

 

Annoyingly it was the Vreds I was after but they had none in the system and I needed them fairly urgently - just my luck to find "premium (ish) priced tyres with below budget brand performance.

Rarely snows here but if it does, the AWD van will be our choice of vehicle.

 

I have noticed a big increase in roll and squeal on my Dunlop Winter Sport 3D but they are 19 vs 21" and 235 vs 265 section, 50 vs 40 profile... they are playful but that isn't the reason I fitted them. Hope they are good when it gets cold. Previously I kept the same size, width & profile summer and winter and could barely tell the difference.

 

My summers are 225/45/17 I went for 205/55/16 for the winters. The difference in price of the tyres just about paid for the rims.

Another advantage is when it comes to tyre renewal time, I take loose wheels, which means the knuckle dragger tyre fitter doesn't bend my sills with his jack nor whack up the wheel nuts with his windy gun to a bazzilion FT/Lbs torque

 

I put mine on yesterday; Michelin Alpin 5. Usually I have studded tyres but the last couple of Winters haven't been bad enough to warrant them.

Here is the latest test the Swedish version of the AA/RAC did on Winter tyres:
https://www.motormannen.se/nyheter/n...ackstest-2014/

For stud-free tyres, the top three were:
Goodyear UltraGrip Ice 2, Continental Conti-Viking-Contact 6, Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2

 

It amazed me when I was in Finland how they all drive on snow and ice with ease. Winter tyres are ok but if your not used to the conditions then its driver ability that causes problems.

 

Finland is the country who has produced the highest number of WRC drivers...

Could there be a connection