dpn

Afternoon,
I'm posting about my winter tyres. I have a Spec D and it has standard STi rims with Bridgestone Potenza's tyres on. About 5 weeks ago I was on the motorway on my way home in the heavy rain with everyone on the motorway going aroung 30-50 really F***ing me off. So I was in the outside lane the car in front moved into the middle and I put my foot 3/4 of the way down the accelerator to about 70 and thought I'm a bit close the the car that's moved out of my way. Then I realised I was aquaplaning corrected and narrowly missed the barrier on the outside. The next day I was on ScoobyNet researching what others on here have put on for winter as I know the Potenzas' don't work under 5 degrees and winter was clearly on its way. All I could find was some saying that Vredestein Sassantas' were great in the wet.
I spoke to my trusted tyre dealer (D Sheldons in Manchester) and asked about the Sessantas. Was told they are a really good performance tyre but not really a winter tyre. They recommended Kleber Quadraxer tyres to me. I was dubious at first as I did more research and couldn't find any reviews on these tyres as they are fairly new on the market. I took the plunge anyway and have had them on for about a month. In the last couple of weeks we've had some snow and ice on the roads so I can now give my opinion on them. They're brilliant, they really do grip in the snow and much better than normal tyres on the ice. They are an all weather tyre so can be used in the summer too. I'm putting my Potenzas' back on in the spring. I haven't driven too hard on the Klebers but I don't want to crash just to find out what they'll do. They were £115 a piece, fitted. In my opinion they're worth every penny.

M444GY

iTrader: (72)

pacenote

DisoDisp

iTrader: (1)

good luck with them, but cant help but think you might have been better served with a proper winter tire.

All season tires aren't good on any particular surface or weather, a sort of jack of all trades, and a massive compromise in every department.

European spec traction tires should be plenty for the UK, and still be better out and out in winter conditions. (Snow/Sludge) Without studs, all winter tires are virtually useless on ice.

i.e something like a ContiWinterContact TS 830(P or Sport), Pirelli Sottozero Serie 2,
Dunlop SP Wintersport 3D, Goodyear Ultragrip Performance 2.

Arctic spec traction tires like 99% of Nokian tires wouldnt be as much use, as your temperatures are warmer, and will likely see much more dry tarmac and wet tarmac than out and out snow and ice.

Just my 5 pence.

pacenote

Can't fault the conti wintercontact, have them on the car from november until march.. I find them not too bad on ice but a studded tyre would obviously be best, but as you rightly say not enough snow and ice in UK for those, although if the weather forecasts I am hearing are correct, may need them soon......

Frosticles

iTrader: (1)

Dunlop SP WinterSport 3D's here and love them.

arumdevil

I would normally agree with most of what DisoDisp said, however my nokian winter tyres (WRG2s) are marketed as 'all-season' tyres in canada and north america only, but everywhere else they are marketed as winter tyres. I use them as winter tyres only and they, like the klebers you have, feature the peak&snowflake symbol which means they meet or exceed the standards for proper winter tyres. So long as the speed rating is high enough (V for me) then you should be laughing.

My nokians are great even in dry, cold conditions but it's true most of the other nokian models are a bit more hardcore.

billyray911

iTrader: (4)

Nokians are rated quite highly.I'm running Vreddy wintrac extremes which are fantastic.Apparently,winter tyres take a few hundred miles to get rid of the release agents in the tyres-until then,they can be a bit dodgy...

DisoDisp

iTrader: (1)

I also run Nokian Hakkapeliitta tires, infact I swear by them, all my cars run them.

But they are made for our arctic conditions and are probably way ott for the uk.

Completely forgot abut the WRG2's as they are of virtually no use up here, but would rate them with the tires already listed as more of a european winter tire, as can be seen by the style of tread and sidewall stiffness.

I.e. WRG2s:

Hakkapeliitta RSi (Nordic Traction Tire)

arumdevil

So would you say those Hakkapeliitta's are overkill for UK winter use, along with regular trips to snowy alps and italian mountains?

I've had the WRG2s for 2 years now, two winters in deep snow on dartmoor and also in the alps and italy and they've been great. They're also V rated and great in the colder months on dry but particularly wet roads.

I did think about getting the Hakkapeliitta once these are worn (how much tread to they come with when new by the way?) but maybe that's a step too far for mainly uk use. what do you think?

SiPie

Fitted the Nokian wrg2's just over a month ago..., timely huh

Superb, feel totally planted in standing water, slush, powder, polished snow and totally acceptable in the dry.

However, that i's on my forester so obviously no idea how they'd behave on your car....

arumdevil

I'm not sure if that was in response to my question, or the OPs, but mine was specifically directed at DisoDisp as he's using Hakkapeliitta's. I already have WRG2s and have had them for 2 years now.

madscoob

iTrader: (3)

i wanted some in 215/40/17 or 215/45/17 but cant find then in stock anywhere wrg2s that is

DisoDisp

iTrader: (1)

It would depend a lot on use, the Hakka RSi's and newer Hakka R's are frankly terrible on wet tarmac, and just about bearable on dry tarmac. In the snow though they are fantastic.

I ran RSi's during one particularly rainy winter a few years ago, and will never do so again. They really are that bad on wet tarmac.

As for tread depth, 10mm is standard IIRC, and I would advise against running them at 4mm or under.
Also, they wear out fast in "warm" weather, i.e. Anything over around 5C.

To clarify I run studded tires on my daily driver, Hakkapeliitta 7s.
Different ballpark when it comes to Ice, a little worse on snow than the R's, but conversly much better in the wet.

fastboyslim

iTrader: (2)

I ordered WR g2's last month in 225x40x18 from Mytyres. A week later they tell me due to company policy they can not take my card payment and i need to transfer funds via bank. I did this the next day. A week after that i get an email saying the WR's are out of stock and they cant give me a delivery date. Fooking useless, have to shoot up to France on the 18th for a 3 week holiday with my child in the car. I can not find any in the UK. Am soooooo fooked off. I have no idea what i am going to do.

dsemuk

Has anyone managed to find Nokian WR G2s at anything like a reasonable cost? mytyrs.co.uk are quoting £223.30 supply only per corner!

pacenote

think its off to see rally finland next year and whilst there get a load organized and shipped back to UK

fastboyslim

iTrader: (2)

Mytyres are a bunch of ****'s!

dsemuk

Go for it... group buy?

I think as more people become aware of the benefits of winter tyres, sales will rise & hopefully costs become more competitive.

madscoob

iTrader: (3)

well for that money they can stick rm where the sun dont shine a week and a half ago the where 92.07per corner robbin *****

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

UK stocks of winter tyres are almost zero; with demand prices skyrocket. Sad fact of supply and demand I'm afraid.

We were struggling to get them in last month - which was well before the snow started!

MaDaSS

I bought 225/45/17's from MyTyres weeks ago and they have been superb. At that time I could not see any 215's and ended up paying £550. Not long after they were selling the 215's and they were only £420 (I think) for the set of 4.
As always, it is no good trying to buy once the snow is here as they will rip you off and run out of stock anyway as people start panic buying, etc.
Mine were on the car in November and had been nicely scrubbed before the snow hit us in the Midlands. I aint gone mad on them, have no intention of doing so either but have had no scary moments and so that is good enough for me! LOL
My 18" Sessantas will go back on next year.
EDIT: I forgot to add that my winter tyres are Nokian WR G2

arumdevil

thanks for that. I would never run them during the warmer months but it sounds like they would be overkill and not very good for me in the UK what with all the rain we get. What about the WR, have you ever used those? are they pretty much the same as the G2s or are they somewhere between those and what you have?