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They will wear out quicker, due to being a softer compound. The siping is greater for water dispersal so heat build up will increase if the tyres are pushed in performance making wear more rapid and also could feel a bit skittish with all the blocks of rubber moving about
I'd be more inclined towards an all-season tyre. I run Nokian Weatherproofs on my Ibiza daily and they performed brilliantly in the recent snow. Wear rate would seem to be acceptable and they're great in the wet.
you might laugh n scoff but nexen winguard sports on mine last 4 years gone fromm 8mm new to 4.5mm this year, went through snow over the front mount intercooler . in the wet they are v/good in the dry they only squeel a bit on very smooth tarmac, oh and they were only £46 for 215/40/17
The main issue with winters is wear rate and wet grip.
Wear rate is inferior and winters don't work in winter below 4mm as all the sipes/grooves have worn off! So if keeping a winter on all year round, by next winter you need to ensure it still has enough tread to actually work.
Second, wet grip. Now, this only is of concern if comparing brands like for like; Summers can also have appalling wet grip abilities, so a top brand winter vs a budget summer (or top brand sports tyre, say Bridgestone RE040s or Prielli Rosso which are quite poor on cold damp roads) so could be better in the wet. Whilst a top brand summer geared for damp climates vs a budget winter would probably see the Summer being far superior.
Fuel economy and steering feel/handling are other considerations as the tread and softness of a winter does drag a bit more and squirm about during hard cornering. I do find they generally seem to a give more comfy ride though.
Cross-climates are an option. These are good in cold temps and damp climates and superior to some "sporty" or budget summers that are orientated to dry warm climates. But when tested they have been found to be pretty rubbish in ice and snow. So again it depends how often there is snow and ice and the need to drive, worth considering if you only see snow for three days a year and you can always bung on some snow socks on for when it does snow heavily.
Michelin's cross climate is the only cross climate tyre to be winter rated, but tests showed it was no better than any other cross climate in snow of which in turn are not as good as branded winter tyres.
During the bad spells this winter I ran on summers (Pilot sport 3 ), ok I have AWD, and I nearly got stuck. But the main issue I had was ground clearance! My front bumper and undertray has took a right battering. Maybe next time I should run with springs and shocks off a Skoda Yeti! (or Audi RSQ3 suspension if I had money to burn)
I’ve ran winters on a scoob for 2 years in Scotland. I wouldnt recommend it, like has been said they’ll wear faster during summer, so wont be as effective when the snow hits. Also you’ll have compromised handling and longer braking distances for the wamer part of the year. It worked ok as i only did little mileage over the summer but if the car does a lot of driving in the summer i say two sets of wheels is the way forward.
I have the all season Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen2 on the Honda CRV and performed faultlessly in the Alps in Feb when there was shed loads of snow. Also have crappy Rockstone Ice Plus S210 winter tyres on the Beemer and they're good in the snow but absolutely sh!te, boarderline dangerous, everywhere especially in the wet. Will need to put the summer wheels back on when I can be bothered!
This has been the first year in awhile i have not ran winters (nokians). Iv,e had no problems with the Eagle f1 even driving the auto.
What i did find with the winters was as the weather got better, cornering got a bit hairy and could and nearly did put me into the curb, (as said softer rubber/block tread). So you have to change your driving style, get them off as soon as !!
What i have found over the years is tyres will get you out of trouble, but you have to give them a chance. No mixed match cheap tyres with 2,3,mm tread with incorrect air pressures.
A good make tyre with a decent tread will in my opinion suffice in most cases.
Recovering cars in the winter months, was a joke when you took a look at what people were risking their lives on, just to save a few quid.
My XC70 AWD came with Good Year Efficientgrip, which are OK in general normal driving and had enough tread to not want/need me to buy something better. Ten days ago in Wales it snowed and wouldn't even get up a slight incline to the main road. With 500 miles to drive that day to Ireland, I left it parked up and took my RRS, which has General Grabber AT3s. Obviously the difference in just being able to get off the drive was instant but getting off the hills to the main road, was totally sure footed. Roads were thick with snow from Llandovery for the next 50 miles but again, no drama as can be seen from the video
The issue I then had, on damp cold wiggly roads in Scotland/Ireland is that the TCS was kicking in on even mild corners around 45/50 mph and that is likely down to their construction. Whereas coming back on the same roads at 12 degrees a week later and I was able to continue at NSL instead with no drama. Tyre pressures, tyre wear and tracking might also be playing a part in the understeer correction, though pressures seem to be within tolerance.
My XC70 AWD came with Good Year Efficientgrip, which are OK in general normal driving and had enough tread to not want/need me to buy something better. Ten days ago in Wales it snowed and wouldn't even get up a slight incline to the main road. With 500 miles to drive that day to Ireland, I left it parked up and took my RRS, which has General Grabber AT3s. Obviously the difference in just being able to get off the drive was instant but getting off the hills to the main road, was totally sure footed. Roads were thick with snow from Llandovery for the next 50 miles but again, no drama as can be seen from the video
The issue I then had, on damp cold wiggly roads in Scotland/Ireland is that the TCS was kicking in on even mild corners around 45/50 mph and that is likely down to their construction. Whereas coming back on the same roads at 12 degrees a week later and I was able to continue at NSL instead with no drama. Tyre pressures, tyre wear and tracking might also be playing a part in the understeer correction, though pressures seem to be within tolerance.
IIRC EfficientGrips have the centre blocks cut with sipes of only approx 2 to 3mm into the overall usable tread depth that means they disappear pretty quick leaving just the main grooves.
The Altea is parked outside and has lightly worn EfficientGrips (albeit knackered as they have structural issues), So I'll pop out and remind myself.
Point being more sipes allows more tread block flex and maybe just maybe that little extra ability to flex in cold conditions. If those are worn away you are basically running cut slicks, that could make the difference to moving (albeit with difficulty) and not moving at all.
Yeah...looks good, but on close inspection I have less that 1mm until the sipes are gone...they've already worn away completely on the inner-most blocks.
I've got a vid somewhere of the run-out these things have developed, they'll be binned before the next long trip regardless of the ample tread depth.
I used to run Pirelli Scorpion STR M&S on my old XC70, which lasted 40-50k miles and were fantastic in the snow (pulled a stuck VW Passat up a steep hill in thick snow np) or GG AT3s come in the right size but I've had problems with them on the RRS in 40/50 mph corners when its both cold & wet (u/steer & TCS kicks in).
I've been running Nokian Weatherproof for the last 2 years, all year round, on my old Forester SF, now in the hands of my daughter in Wales. They're great in the cold and wet and in the mud, and superb in the snow. The car is driven comparatively sedately though, so they're wearing quite well. Having been badly caught out in the recent snows with my XT 2.5 on fairly new Rainsports, I'm going to get a set of Weatherproofs for some spare 16" wheels I have, and run them as winters on the XT. They'd be no good for me in the summer - I'd wear them out in a month.
24 March 2018, 08:30 AM
Winter tyres all year round?
but been asked and I’ve never ran winter tyres lol! As my impreza doesn’t go out in rain never mind ice/snow 
