Winter tyres - impressed!
 

On my Volvo runaround I have 4 new Vredestein winter tyres and last night for the first time ever was able to drive up the hill (1 in 4) to my house on an inch of packed snow in blizzard conditions.... very few others managed to get up the same hill so was pretty impressed.

They slipped a little but kept on going and sure enough hauled me all the way to my driveway. Money well spent :thumb:

Agreed. They are great on my 330D BMW :thumb:

I rate Vredestein highly; the wet weather performance on a set of Sportrac I ran on a Scoob' was as good as a set of dedicated all-weathers I was running on another car at the time. Incredible how they keyed in to the road.

Under-rated in the UK, because it isn't mandatory to fit them in winter. People erronously believe they're noisier or can't be used above 5 degrees. Once you've used them, you won't use anything else. Another vote for Vredestein in particular.

Mine are very quiet on the road. MUCH quieter than the horrid run-flats. Got me out of trouble last year when it snowed. Neighbour has the same car & couldn't even get off the drive.

Vredestein in general make great tyres.
The Ultrac Sessanta in particular has fantastic grip wet and dry.

Apolo (an indian company) own vredestein, and i have a set of their winter tyres on my runaround, which i have been very impressed with, fantastic in the wet and dry.

Not tried them in the snow yet, but will be in about an hour as it just started snowing here and i need to go to the shop.

Had my Nokian WRG2s on the forester for the last 3 winters, brilliant

Considering a set of winter tyres at the moment, reading the reviews was surprised that the wet weather performance (stopping distance) was worse than summer tyres.

So seeing as we get more rain than snow, I'm having second thoughts.

Can you get a cheap steel wheel that fits over Brembos?

I have Ultrac Sessanta's and they are brilliant in the dry. It's getting colder now and I was driving late last night on -3 icy roads and they still gripped well.

I have a set of Contineltals on the van and they have been slipping as well but kept me moving. I overtook a couple of people as they were driving less than 5phm on a slush covered hill which I though was just too much safety :D

I've been offered Vred winter (Wintrac Extreme I think?!) at trade price for my 4Motion Camper (VW California) which comes with Dunlops Sports (eh?!!). Worth a go? Seems a bit silly having an AWD van on Sports rubber although it's actually been very good in mud and on wet grass so far. Not sure on snow or ice though!

I'm not bothering on the BM (got new fronts yesterday) because it's fundamentally so cr4p in snow, it's beyond help! Luckily snow is VERY rare down in these 'ere parts.

If you drive too fast and stopping distance is high on your list of priorities, possibly that's a valid consideration. In every other respect, it isn't.

presumably the posters who use winter rubber, have a spare set of wheels

sourced of Ebay or similiar

rather than change the tyre on the rim

a set of 4 wheels and tyres take up quite a bit room

I've got a set of steelies and Nokians on my FN2 and quite frankly, they're brilliant. Problem is, they're almost too brilliant, as they're inspiring a bit too much confidence in the snow and ice.

The alloys and summers are stacked in a corner of the conservatory :lol1: SWMBO hasn't complained much :), but that's because it's too cold in there to use it in winter anyway.

For 23 years running my normal tyres have to let me down.

Emporers new clothes.

EH? :confused: :confused:

I would have thought that stopping distance would have been on everybody’s list of priorities.

In the 2012 Auto Bild test the Vredestein Snowtrac 3 takes 8m longer to stop in the wet.....that's quite a difference. The worst tyre tested was 16m longer.

I’m not saying it’s the only factor to consider, just an interesting one.

Yet to hear of anyone who has tried winter tyres in properly cold conditions that hasn't been impressed.

Not really worth it in southern England, but its a different story north of say Yorkshire.

Yes they are, as it's not just the snow & ice they're for. It's also the low temperatures when they perform better than all season tyres. My friend fits a set to his Golf every year and the difference is staggering. With temperatures lower than around 7degC it's worth the extra grip from the softer rubber.

Meh, they can stay in the butlers dogs' butlers quarters dear boy ;)

Yep. 2 sets of wheels & tyres.

Summer's

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...psa0e57599.jpg

Winter's

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/IMG_2606.jpg

My Nokian's saved me on Thursday, did a three point turn on a one in ten slope in lying snow. Then down hill overtaking cars who were less able to make it back to town. Two hours later I got home and thank god I had winter tyres and a four wheel drive Impreza. If that was a reason to own one I can only say they are an awesome car in poor weather.

very nice

I see you are eschewing the winter rubber on steel wheels look!!

would you look to sell the winter set with the car, or will you replace it with a car that can use the winter set too

Your neighbour needs to cut their half.

Great summer tyres, wore out quick but were sticky as hell. I went for some Pro Star jobbies for winter, quite impressed with them.

I will more than likely buy another BMW when the time comes. If the wheels don't fit then I will sell the separately. I went for the alloys as I hate steel wheels with a passion. I much prefer aesthetics. :thumb:

Complete thread hijack, but has anyone ever used the 'autosock'?

A couple of years ago I got stranded and walked 15 miles at 1am to my house. That was not fun. I meant to buy a pair then but never got round to it.

They will give you more grip on snow but not as good as a winter tyre and you cannot run them on tarmac as they just shred so good for emergencies but that's about it.