Snow tyres for STi7
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Just had major off road event when my STi7 slid down a long icy hill with zero braking, no ABS, no steering and no engine braking, no handbrake all I think due to the standard tyres. Leapt over low wall, broke down fence and landed in field about 10m from road and then drove out with only barbed wire rash to the RH lamp cover and minor damage to the lower spoiler. Phew, Lucky I guess!!!!!!
As I'm living in Aberdeenshire I'm thinking about fitting snow tyres. Any experience or recommendations in snow tyres? Do I need to think about other wheels? I've got a set of STi5 16" but no good on the Sti7 due to brakes. Any help gratefully received?
As I'm living in Aberdeenshire I'm thinking about fitting snow tyres. Any experience or recommendations in snow tyres? Do I need to think about other wheels? I've got a set of STi5 16" but no good on the Sti7 due to brakes. Any help gratefully received?
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From: French side of the border at Geneva, Switzerland
Hi Worley, Astenhouse,
With the snowline getting closer all the time to where I am, I'm seriously thinking of picking up a set of Michelin Alpine 225/45/17's as these are what colleagues who are living a bit higher up recommend.
Someone has said that with my car being so new and the tread hardly worn that I might be okay with the summer tyres but...I don't think this is good advice !
In the past (i.e. pre-Scoob days) I relied on snow chains (Trax) which were excellent (even on my FWD car which supposedly wouldn't need them even in slight snowfalls - dead wrong!) and I'm thinking of getting another set of those just in case of really heavy snowfalls.
With the snowline getting closer all the time to where I am, I'm seriously thinking of picking up a set of Michelin Alpine 225/45/17's as these are what colleagues who are living a bit higher up recommend.
Someone has said that with my car being so new and the tread hardly worn that I might be okay with the summer tyres but...I don't think this is good advice !
In the past (i.e. pre-Scoob days) I relied on snow chains (Trax) which were excellent (even on my FWD car which supposedly wouldn't need them even in slight snowfalls - dead wrong!) and I'm thinking of getting another set of those just in case of really heavy snowfalls.
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Have an MY99 with Tek3 custom re-map. i.e. better power / weight than std Sti7 
Fitted Michelin Pilot Alpins 205/50 16-H a month-back and have no regrets other than top speed now limited to 130mph!
Roads here were a little icy this morning owing to local authority not gritting or salting roads. Did not lose grip or traction at any point - though others were not so happy
Be careful out there.
Suresh
Fitted Michelin Pilot Alpins 205/50 16-H a month-back and have no regrets other than top speed now limited to 130mph!
Roads here were a little icy this morning owing to local authority not gritting or salting roads. Did not lose grip or traction at any point - though others were not so happy
Be careful out there.
Suresh
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Check out mytyres.net for winter tyres.
No connection but I just bought some 17" Pirelli Snowsports for approx £120 per corner. I am sure that you could get some lesser known brands for a fair bit under £100 each.
These days, winter tyres can be the same width and speed rating as your summer ones but they have a higher silica content and the propaganda tells you that below 7degC a regular summer tyre could begin to freeze up like an ice hocky puck and this can increase your stopping distances ***on dry roads*** by more than 25%!
No connection but I just bought some 17" Pirelli Snowsports for approx £120 per corner. I am sure that you could get some lesser known brands for a fair bit under £100 each.
These days, winter tyres can be the same width and speed rating as your summer ones but they have a higher silica content and the propaganda tells you that below 7degC a regular summer tyre could begin to freeze up like an ice hocky puck and this can increase your stopping distances ***on dry roads*** by more than 25%!
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Astenhouse,
it's something I've been thinking of as well, and have been for the past few months. With the snow and ice we've had recently, driving conditions have become rather interesting.
Glad to hear that your car only has minimal damage!
I've found the ABS works better on the STi, than previous Imprezas I've owned, seems to be faster pulsing. Might be worth having a quick read of the "driving in snow and ice" thing I wrote a few years ago : http://bbs.sidc.co.uk/messageview.cf...&threadid=2788. There's also a good article in the current issue of True Grip about winter tyres.
The ones I'm thinking of getting are: http://www.nokiantyres.com/nokian_wr_en.html which are available in 225/45x17, and should be available locally. I know quite a few other STi owners in the Aberdeen area (see http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/threa...hreadid=163864 for the STi's in the snow photos), so we might be able to get a group buy sorted out if anyone of the others were interested ?
John
it's something I've been thinking of as well, and have been for the past few months. With the snow and ice we've had recently, driving conditions have become rather interesting.
Glad to hear that your car only has minimal damage!
I've found the ABS works better on the STi, than previous Imprezas I've owned, seems to be faster pulsing. Might be worth having a quick read of the "driving in snow and ice" thing I wrote a few years ago : http://bbs.sidc.co.uk/messageview.cf...&threadid=2788. There's also a good article in the current issue of True Grip about winter tyres.
The ones I'm thinking of getting are: http://www.nokiantyres.com/nokian_wr_en.html which are available in 225/45x17, and should be available locally. I know quite a few other STi owners in the Aberdeen area (see http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/threa...hreadid=163864 for the STi's in the snow photos), so we might be able to get a group buy sorted out if anyone of the others were interested ?
John
Colway unfortunately don't do winter tyres in a 17 inch low profile fitting though 
Toyo do their Snowprox S950 (see www.toyo.co.uk in a 225/45x17, or even a narrower 205/50x17 (same rolling radius) which would be auitable.
It's true these tyres would only be needed for 2 - 3 months of the year at most (mostly low speed driving), and a set should last 3 - 4 winters without problem. At about £100 - £130 each, spread over 4 years, the cost is negligible, especially compared to the excess on your insurance premium!
Toyo do their Snowprox S950 (see www.toyo.co.uk in a 225/45x17, or even a narrower 205/50x17 (same rolling radius) which would be auitable.
It's true these tyres would only be needed for 2 - 3 months of the year at most (mostly low speed driving), and a set should last 3 - 4 winters without problem. At about £100 - £130 each, spread over 4 years, the cost is negligible, especially compared to the excess on your insurance premium!
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Thanks for the info guys. Am currently looking around for best prices which seem to be about £130/tyre.
Note comment on use of Colway tyres which I have used before on a rally car and will try them but not sure if their M & S are all road legal.
Getting car tracked on wednesday just to make sure all is OK
Note comment on use of Colway tyres which I have used before on a rally car and will try them but not sure if their M & S are all road legal.
Getting car tracked on wednesday just to make sure all is OK
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I drove our Forester fitted with Toyo Snowprox S950's across the worst bit of snowy France on Saturday and they performed extremely well. On the un-plowed motorways I maintained a steady 50 mph and had breaking/traction each time I tested for it. Normally the car is shod with Proxies and having used them in snow I wouldn't have driven above 10mph in those conditions.
Faced with a 10 mile tailback we left the motorway and headed on the N/B roads to Reims. Lots of snow, drifts and windswept icy patches. Watched several cars slide off or get stuck but we just motored on. Car slid three times but took the power off and caught it easily. All in all the tyres performed well and I didn't once consider putting the chains on.
Regards Obi
ps: visited a large empty snowy carpark at Reims and played silly bug*ers for 20 mins. Knowing how badly the SO2's on my car would have coped, I was impressed how the Toyo's regained/maintained their grip.
Faced with a 10 mile tailback we left the motorway and headed on the N/B roads to Reims. Lots of snow, drifts and windswept icy patches. Watched several cars slide off or get stuck but we just motored on. Car slid three times but took the power off and caught it easily. All in all the tyres performed well and I didn't once consider putting the chains on.
Regards Obi
ps: visited a large empty snowy carpark at Reims and played silly bug*ers for 20 mins. Knowing how badly the SO2's on my car would have coped, I was impressed how the Toyo's regained/maintained their grip.
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I have driven quite a few different winter tyres on EU spec Impreza gt and I can recommend Continental Wintercontact TS790 or Pirelli Snowsport, though Continental was a bit slower in steering response in the wet and dry. Also good performed Nokian Hakkapellita WR but on wet and dry tarmac we got a bit more understeer (which we don't like in 4WD cars) compared with the first two. Close behind are Dunlops Wintersport M3 which performed very well on snow, but were less convincing on wet and dry tarmac especially on braking. Toyo's are in the second league, but comparing with summer tyres they perform exceptionally well, but so does every winter tyre!
If you intend to have a bit of fun (on the safe side) in winter(even if it is just for 2 months), then winter tyres are must. The difference is enormous and can't be described in letters.
Reg.
Kristijan
If you intend to have a bit of fun (on the safe side) in winter(even if it is just for 2 months), then winter tyres are must. The difference is enormous and can't be described in letters.
Reg.
Kristijan
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Kristijan
I'm surprised that you put the Toyo's in the 'second league'.Previous to the Toyo's I used Wintercontact 790V's and whilst they handled slightly better (felt stiffer and squirmed less when cornering)in the cold dry/very wet, the Toyo is a better snow tyre. I feel they are equal, just slightly biased towards different conditions.
I'm surprised that you put the Toyo's in the 'second league'.Previous to the Toyo's I used Wintercontact 790V's and whilst they handled slightly better (felt stiffer and squirmed less when cornering)in the cold dry/very wet, the Toyo is a better snow tyre. I feel they are equal, just slightly biased towards different conditions.
Black Circles have got back to me with a price of £112 (inc VAT) for some Toyo 950s which they have in stock. THey are contacting me later today with prices for other makes etc.
John
John
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Obi,
Tyres we tested were all H rated (size 205/50 16). Maybe there is the difference? Toyo's were the first Snowprox950 series and they were all spongy and soft with sudden loss of grip (when cornering (quite fast)car first understeered heavily then oversteered even worse). It was still better than many others though(let's say Michelin Pilot Alpine).
I'm not saying that Toyo's are not good winter tyres (from standing start traction is still good). I was just pointing out what we discovered during our testing.
Reg.
Kristijan
Tyres we tested were all H rated (size 205/50 16). Maybe there is the difference? Toyo's were the first Snowprox950 series and they were all spongy and soft with sudden loss of grip (when cornering (quite fast)car first understeered heavily then oversteered even worse). It was still better than many others though(let's say Michelin Pilot Alpine).
I'm not saying that Toyo's are not good winter tyres (from standing start traction is still good). I was just pointing out what we discovered during our testing.
Reg.
Kristijan
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From: Medway, Kent
As part of a rally crew we quite often need to worry about tyre fitment and I would suggest that if you are only going to use the tyres for the winter months i.e. not too often. Then the better bet would be some Colway Mud & Snow tyres, although rated a lot lower than pirellis etc.., they do the job.
Contact Colway at www.colwaytyres.co.uk - They also do winter tyres and will be a lot more reasonably priced than Michelin/Pirellis.
Also for icy conditions a thiner tyre is preferable.
[Edited by Scooby 1998S - 1/6/2003 1:34:17 PM]
Contact Colway at www.colwaytyres.co.uk - They also do winter tyres and will be a lot more reasonably priced than Michelin/Pirellis.
Also for icy conditions a thiner tyre is preferable.
[Edited by Scooby 1998S - 1/6/2003 1:34:17 PM]
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