CHUCKblue

Hi folks,

I'm in Scotland near Glasgow and it feels a bit colder now.

Is it cold enough for my winter tyres to go on yet?

Dan x

Hawkeye D

Yeah why not, you won't get caught out then, and gives the tryes a chance to run in and open up a bit for the season.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

They normally say if the temps are constantly below 11 deg C then it's time to fit winter tyres.

rossyboy

iTrader: (8)

Definitely in Scotland. I've had them on my daily drive for 3 weeks now. I don't think it's been over 7c on the morning commute in that time. -4c here this morning.

blackvenom

Fitted mine this week, But Its not as cold here. First time I drove with them for a while and got a 4 wheel slid when pulling out of a juction, they aren't as sticky as my yoko's

burbling1

iTrader: (1)

I'm now running about in a vectra cdti 150 which I've had mapped to about 195 and mahoosive amounts of torque.
Previously when running the scoob over winter I would fit snow tyres as I live in the middle of nowhere on top of a hill so I thought I would get some snow tyres for the vectra.
As its only a vectra I got 2 sunny sn 3830 from mytyres.com they were only £56 each for 215/50/17 so thought why not.
Never again, on a dry they are average but a wet road they are dogger, the previous Avons used to grip ok and only a couple of times did they ever loose traction in 2nd gear, now with these if I plant it in 3rd on a wet road it just sits and spins, I've even crossed a pot hole in forth and the traction control light flickered.
Now as I said these are fitted to a ****ty vectra and they can't cope so unless your want to wheelspin everywhere and quite possible be off at the first wet corner keep these away from your scoob.
Cheap but not so cheerful.

_Viktor

I'll ref' you to a thread here which I replied to.

Chinese tyres

rgds
Vik

The Tog

iTrader: (1)

I'm near Glasgow too and thinking the same. I have them for my Beemer as well as Subaru. It is starting to get cold, reckon they're going on this week.

As to the poster who has an issue, they aren't snow tyres they are winter tyres. They are designed for under 7 degrees. Cheap winters will be useless in the wet or dry, don't buy cheap tyres. It's a huge false economy and can be dangerous. You only have 4 points of contact with the road, madness to scrimp in that area...

Richy P1984

Must be winter tyres all year round then

vance1

iTrader: (3)

Any recomendations for winter tyres, can't choose between Conti/Dunlop/Goodyear/Michelin?
Thanks

CADpaul

I fitted a set of Toyo Snowproxes last week, but my gearbox went on Monday so haven't tested them yet

cobra_mark

Anyone tried Coopers CS6 Zeons in the snow?

DT-SPD

iTrader: (7)

Pirelli Sotto Zero get my vote but any decent winter tyre would be better than a summer tyre in the cold and wet.

The Tog

iTrader: (1)

Definetly the Contis, although expensive. They came out top in the recent Auto Express winter tyre review.

F1 CJE UK

iTrader: (8)

As above, fitted mine last year to my vrs. Very safe in the dry or wet at any temp!

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

I keep a set of spare wheels with Bridgestone Blizzak LM25 tyres on. I'm not sure it's quite cold enough to need them here just yet, but they'll probably be going back on my P1 in a couple of weeks' time.

They did a great job last year, no nasty moments in the ice and snow.

pacenote

I've used Conti Wintercontacts and had 5 winters out of them. Now need replacing so looking at Conti's again ( TS830p) and also Nokian WR A3. The Nokians are quite abit cheaper than the Contis and come out well in tests.

Best get them soon as if we have much frost/snow prices are sure to rocket.

Streetracersti

They won't be . Wait till temp drop down below zero then your yoko won't be as sticky as winter one

Have a safe winter

vance1

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the advice, they arent half dear for a decent set! Quite keen on the Dunlops after doing some research on the internet and comparing prices.

hedgecutter

iTrader: (5)

Nokians

bighead

iTrader: (1)

had mine pirelli soto zeroes on for a month now !!

Dave T-S

Put a set of Conti WinterContact 810 Sport on my 330R hatch last week. Initial impressions (after taking the almost bald P Zero Rosso's off) is that a huge amount of grip has returned

Markyscoob

MY Pirrelli Soto Zero II set from last but one Winter went on last weekend again. I must say when they were new they were very quiet but got noisier after a month. Wear was even and very light having run them for 3,000miles from November till April 2010 and the same this last Winter. They look like new and gave that quiet new feeling when they went back on. Helps to have a spare set of wheels.

I should get at least four years out of these. Driving like Miss Daisy when it's dry and a bit warmer helps!!

I do 5-6,000 a year so the RE070s should also last a good 4 years at this rate. 2016 will be an expensive year!

Mrs H's Grande Espace got hers from last Winter back on too. For such a tank, the South Korean Experia XGrips have lasted very well indeed. Should get at least 5 years from them and oodles of grip as well.

It's been 7-8' for weeks here on the Island.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

I bought a set of Apollo Acelere for my Rover 25 and got to say i'm quite impressed with them, all round grip wet and dry is fantastic, temps out here in croatia can drop quite a bit over the winter months, especially at night and in the morning even though daytime temps where i am are still high, 15/18 at the min, it can be freezing down in the town i go to for shopping.

Anyhow so impressed was i that i did a bit of a search on them and discovered Apollo are an Indian company and they own Vredestein, so just a bit of a heads up for anyone considering them because at £200 for a set they are very good value, they also get good reviews.

CADpaul

I have now fully tested the Toyo Snowproxes and in the snow and ice they are incredible compared to normal tyres, grip is outstanding, they give you more confidence (that doesn't mean you can be stupid) I haven't been stuck or lost traction (unless I wanted to)
I will be using winter tyres every winter from now on
At 130 quid a corner they aren't cheap, but they are worth every penny

_Viktor

good man, another convert.
Honestly since leaving the UK and driving in winters over here, I dont know why more people in the UK dont use them or why insurance companies dont give a discount to winter tyre users, it must make financial sense to the insurers with lower risk.

Anybody thinking that they dont need winter tyres out on the ice and their 4x4 system will sort it out is kidding themselves n dont understand how a car works n should go back to driving school.

its not about the go in winter,
its about the stop!

terzo98

iTrader: (1)

I fitted these CONTINENTAL WINTER CONTACT TS830P TYREs to a STI hatch and they are fantastic. Especially in snow but are good in bothe wet and dry providing the temperature is below 7 deg C.

However they can actually cause you to be hit up the back end if you are not carefull and aware of what others are doing around you. Your grip is so much better that you stop in plenty of time but the car behind you with not so much grip runs right in to the back of you.

Mal

mikeyw

I've had Michelin pilot Aplins on my legacy and they have made so much difference - living in a rural area where the gritters don't reach they have been superb. Decided to leave the cs400 on the drive !!!

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Winter tyres are fantastic IMO, just not necessary for some of the driving Gods in the Winter Tyres thread in NSR though