One thing I've noted recently as we been supplying and fitting alot of winter tyres. Most have been budget brands like Nankang , kumho and Triangle.

This got me thinking. Knowing that typically the summer versions of these brands are piss poor for grip. Would the winter version (often rated as C or D on the rating sticker) be no better or worse than a good brand tyre made for wet climate? I have a suspicion that their winters are probably a load of poo too!

Personally I never let a budget brand near any of my cars or anyone I care about be it winter or not.

My wife had Nankang winters on her old Volvo C30 (was all she could get during winter 2010/11) and they were surprisingly good. They were given a 4 star rating on most review sites too, so I guess there are exceptions

Have a set in the back of the Smart, not used them yet, but as above should be useful in emergencies.

They come in different sizes, but the one set does cover lots of different cars.

At what temperature ?

All the tests I read showed the winters stopping better at temperatures below about 7 degrees.

I've got Vredestein Wintracs on a Range Rover and Bridgestone Blizzaks on a Mini - both work well and better than the summer tyres once it cools down - Michelin Diamaris on the RR & Dunlops on the Mini.

We've taken the Range Rovers to various ski resorts and in some heavy snow over the last 10 years and never needed chanis (legally still have to carry them though) :thumb:

Agree with the above.

Anyone who has proper experience of using winter tyres understands how good they are.

Good review here (watch the video)

How long do they last over normal tyres.

I bought 4 brand new alloys with nokian wg2 on from Norman and I'm about to fit them, he'd only done a 1000 in them they look brand new.

I'm thinking of just keeping them on perm. Views ?

WRG2s will run fine all year but will wear significantly faster in summer and will then be next to useless come the next winter.
You want your winter tyres to have as close to 8mm tread as possible.
Pindie on the Forester forum ran his WRG2s all year round before he sold his XT but in my opinion they are too squirmy in warm temps and its a false economy IMHO. You pay more for the winter rubber generally, so why waste the important tree depth in summer when not needed.

Mine always come off early April.

Auto Bild don't say at what temperature they tested at, although your link is at 25c on a low grip surface. They would appear to have completely opposing views on wet weather performance.

I bought Vredestein sportrac 3 for my scoob, really impressed, feel a lot safer in wet & cold/icy weather. Even far better for big puddles that sneak up on you over the falkens i had (summer tyres i know) but the difference is night & day.