Winter or all year tyres

[paw]

When we had the really bad winter here - 2010 according to my iPhone photos - we had a BMW 3 series and couldn’t get out of our drive. We live in a totally flat area but the car wouldn’t move where he pointed it, at one point it was going sideways up next doors drive!

He swopped cars that year to a Mercedes - no idea which one but it was very nice and big, and bought a set of winter tyres. He did swop them when the temperature dropped low enough but some years didn’t use them at all. They were great in bad weather, never skidded or got stuck. However, it wasn’t cheap to swop them and when we changed car again we didn’t buy another set. Since he retired he has run his last two cars Mercedes B Class and BMW X1 on all year tyres, with snow socks in the boot for emergencies, and doesn’t worry about the weather. He says now he’s retired he doesn’t have to go out when it’s bad! That’s what I’ve said for years: bad weather and my car doesn’t move off the drive.

[fluff48]

We ran Vrdestein quatrac 4 all season on a focus and current on a corsa. We have vrdestein winter tyres on steel rims (bought new from Peugeot) on a peugeot 3008. OH had cross climates on company car and said as good as quatracs.

We only got the winters for going skiing at Aviemore. All seasons cope very well with good grip in snow and no noticeable extra road noise.

Winters are ok to swap at home but make sure you check with insurer. Direct line were initially want to charge a modification fee to swap onto the steels for winter. It was a hassle to get them to realise this was a safer option and the steels cost less than the alloys.

We’ve had the winters on for 6 years from November to March covering 200 mls/week for work plus personal miles and there is still good tread on them. Alloys also in great condition.

If you change your car ever 3-4 years,I would go with all season tyres.

Good luck choosing

[fredflintstone]

I would agree cross-climates are a summer tyre. You do not notice the loss of grip as it gets warmer, but you do with a winter tyre. They are a great tyre and I have them on all of the family cars.

The problem is it is still an all season tyre and compromises are made, although it only seems to be with the winter part. I found they are like a winter tyre going up the hills, but more towards a summer tyre when going down the hill when snowing! I live in a hilly area, so notice a bit more their limitation over winter. I feel safe with an all winter, but not so much with the cross climate, as they can struggle under breaking going down and are not as sure or fast at stopping when snowing. Still better than summer though. Next winter I will probably buy some winters, even though we do not get much snow, as they are great for cold morning, there main purpose (Hence winter not snow tyre in the name). In the end they do not cost anything as the 2 sets of tyres last twice as long.

I've even had winter tyres on all summer before (They say if you can only afford 1 set of tyres, winter are the better option). As the temp drops you can feel the grip increasing (and for a lot of the UK morning and evening rush hours are in this temp range for a lot of the year).
I used to go down country lanes on icy morning with winter tyres, but wouldn't want to do it on cross-climates.

If you have both, then getting some cheap wheels off ebay will save you money. Most places want £15-20 to change a tyre on a wheel and with 4 wheels that adds up twice a year. I've always get a set of 4 identical alloys off ebay and use them, as I want the car to look like normal when using them. 1-2 seasons and they pay for themselves, wait your time and you always get some going cheap.

[SimonB]

Originally Posted by fredflintstone

I would agree cross-climates are a summer tyre. You do not notice the loss of grip as it gets warmer, but you do with a winter tyre. They are a great tyre and I have them on all of the family cars.

The problem is it is still an all season tyre and compromises are made, although it only seems to be with the winter part. I found they are like a winter tyre going up the hills, but more towards a summer tyre when going down the hill when snowing! I live in a hilly area, so notice a bit more their limitation over winter. I feel safe with an all winter, but not so much with the cross climate, as they can struggle under breaking going down and are not as sure or fast at stopping when snowing. Still better than summer though. Next winter I will probably buy some winters, even though we do not get much snow, as they are great for cold morning, there main purpose (Hence winter not snow tyre in the name). In the end they do not cost anything as the 2 sets of tyres last twice as long.

I've even had winter tyres on all summer before (They say if you can only afford 1 set of tyres, winter are the better option). As the temp drops you can feel the grip increasing (and for a lot of the UK morning and evening rush hours are in this temp range for a lot of the year).
I used to go down country lanes on icy morning with winter tyres, but wouldn't want to do it on cross-climates.

If you have both, then getting some cheap wheels off ebay will save you money. Most places want £15-20 to change a tyre on a wheel and with 4 wheels that adds up twice a year. I've always get a set of 4 identical alloys off ebay and use them, as I want the car to look like normal when using them. 1-2 seasons and they pay for themselves, wait your time and you always get some going cheap.

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That gives food for thought just after I’d decided to go all weather tyre Problem I have is that I’m currently on a set of great brand new summer tyres so this winter need to make a decision. Someone says I’m best sorting getting the kit over summer (if I go spare wheels and Winter tyres) as no one else is thinking about it so better deals are to be had.

[scouser]

i do 22k a year, in a vw golf blue motion all motorway miles and have been doing this mileage for over 15 years i have gone through plenty of manufacturers when it comes to tyres. i now only buy michelins and average 40k to 50k per set, brilliant wear and great grip in the winter like the old saying goes you gets what you pay for.

[SimonB]

Originally Posted by scouser

i do 22k a year, in a vw golf blue motion all motorway miles and have been doing this mileage for over 15 years i have gone through plenty of manufacturers when it comes to tyres. i now only buy michelins and average 40k to 50k per set, brilliant wear and great grip in the winter like the old saying goes you gets what you pay for.

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Agree about get what you pay for especially when they are the thing between your car and the road.

[sunseeker100]

I know next to nothing about tyres but my old driving instructor was an ex traffic cop and he said winter tyres are a must have. We don’t live in the back of beyond but he always said they help with various cold weather conditions, even frost/ice. This was recent too as just passed my test in April.

[Pino_Spetzberg]

Originally Posted by SimonB

Currently I’m running on Continental summer tyres which are rubbish in the Winter.

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We live near the top of a steep hill.
It's probably five years or so, 2013 maybe, since we had enough snow/ice to make it difficult to drive up without spinning wheels.
We have Volvo V70 front wheel drive estates and Volvo XC70 all wheel drive estates of various ages as we keep them in the family instead of trading them in as they get older.
Have tried various makes of tyres on the same cars, driving the same roads.
When new they typically have Pirelli, Michelin, Continental, which last really well, have good grip in all weathers, and are comfortable.
The older cars have 17", newer 18", 235/245, we were offered 'budget' options, makes we never heard of, from Korea, Thailand, or Serbia. We always use the same place for tyres and exhausts so they know us.
Tbh in terms of grip the cheaper tyres are OK, but they don't wear evenly, and feel like sidewalls are made of wood.
A V70 on Michelin winter tyres climbs our hill better on snow/ice than an XC70 on summer tyres. Sounds unbelievable until you try it.
We visit building sites which can be thick mud. An XC70 on Michelin or Pirelli tyres works really well, never been stuck, albeit it's not a Land Rover.

[billabong]

We live at the bottom of a bank in North East so I put winter tyres on , I got a set from Mr Winter wheels complete with tyres, You can feel the difference, When Temp starts dropping around 7 Deg The summer tyres go hard but the winters stay softer so better grip. I have a friend who went to scrap yard and got 4 wheels and fitted winter tyres,