To consider winter tyres?

[DuchessDandelion]

Very little spare cash (emergencies only really) but given that I want to update my tyres this month I'm thinking about having winter ones fitted...

Anyone familiar with pros and cons?

And can I leave them on all year?

A good idea if you live high up as part of a motoring strategy, but really should be fitted about end October rather than as a knee jerk reaction to a bit of snow.

They are a lot better in colder (not just snow and ice) temperatures and for me a 2WD car fitted with winter tyres is better than a 4x4 on normal. They will wear out faster than normal tyres if you run them at high temps, so not a great strategy if you are short on cash to use them all year round.

Personally I think that the government should make it mandatory for company cars (usually high mileage) to fit them over the winter.

Remember that it doesn't matter how great your tyres are, the road can still be completely jammed by that person revving their engine and half in a ditch on normal tyres. If the weather is bad its best not to drive at all.

"Remember that it doesn't matter how great your tyres are, the road can still be completely jammed by that person revving their engine and half in a ditch on normal tyres. If the weather is bad its best not to drive at all."

Oh yes, so true. It drives me mad that there's always one thinking it'll be OK to drive in ice and snow with summer tyres, and then blocks half the city.

If your tyres are legal, they will grip the road if you drive according to the conditions.

Maybe try a set of Michelin Cup 2s or some Toyo R888Rs in the snow then come back and let us know how you get on (if you survive) 😁

I didn't think I needed to qualify my statement that I meant normal, everyday tyres, not ones designed for track days.

I'm in Germany and most people have winter tyres (not actually the law, i think, yet but insurance pay outs are affected if you don't have appropriate tyres) from around October to Easter.

They have a deeper profile so while they aren't perfect, they are better in winter conditions. They do affect your fuel confumption though. I change them back to summer tyres around easter time (depending what the weather is like) and the garage store them for me (but you can change them yourself and keep them in your garage if you have space/inclination) and you get a good few years out of them (depending on mileage)

my DH has all weather tyres because he doesn't drive much at all. They're also fine but again the profile does mean fuel consumption is affected.

What i do notice, though, is some people get the winter tyres on and drive as though they don't have a care in the world. They are not the cure to icy roads, so be warned, you still have to be careful.

Me. I’ve been trying to get winter Continentals and have had to wait. I’m getting them changed on Thursday. I will drive on them till March then change back to the all seasons. I’m changing to snow tyres because I had a crash on the all seasons in snow last winter, despite my car being all-wheel drive, so I don’t trust it now.
I will do two winters on these then sell them when I change my car in early 2024.

Great consensus on All Seasons, thank you, I shall get them fitted :)

@JudithHarper it's great that you feel so confident in your driving, but some of us believe in increasing the safety of our vehicles in harsh conditions. Even good drivers can't control everything (other drivers for example) and I'd rather embrace a little humility in order to further decrease the potential risk of destroying lives.

Interesting points about fuel consumption though and will take a look at the yt video too - thanks.

@Remainiac I hope your crash wasn't too serious?

Crash happened at walking pace thankfully but I was surprised at how little traction I had in the new snow. We will be driving to the Alps for skiing so need them on to be legal, otherwise might have just gone for the all-seasons.

Some all-seasons are legal for the Alps. The ones I have are.

I agree, it's total bollocks. I use winter tyres every year, and the difference is enormous. A 2 wheel drive with winter tyres fitted will do better on ice than a 4x4.

Winter tyres are superior in winter.
Summer tyres superior in summer.
All seasons are medicore in both.

I am in the west coast of Scotland and change to winter tyres every year now since getting my ford focus. It makes a huge difference that you can actually feel when driving, before getting them I couldnt get up the hill to work on snowy/icy days.

All seasons are medicore in both.

I used to believe this too until I actually used all seasons. Unless you are pushing a vehicle to its extremes, you won’t notice the difference.

Presumably people have garages to store their spare tyres in when not in use and also the strength to put them in the garage after either changing them yourself or coming back from the tyre changers with your spares?

You just need to roll them into the garage or shed so not much strength required.

You can also make removal easier with a breaker bar.

Just don't forget the torque wrench but many garages will change wheels for you.

It depends on how you feel when driving your car. I never had a problem with driving in snow or ice until I got my current car. The first winter I had it was a nightmare. I got winter tyres after that and changed them every year (the local tyre place swapped them for me each year and kept my other tyres in storage).

I haven't got them on this year but that's because they got too old and I don't have to drive so much anymore. If I was still needing to go out every day, I'd definitely get some more.

Just get some all year ones which are well rated for the wet.

Absolute game changer, I can get everywhere I need to be in my little 2WD van with my winter tyres 🙌

I've got some all-season tyres but with the snowflake/mountain symbol on them. They are, in theory, ok for mud and snow. We'll see how I cope with them this year. We only got the car in April and I currently don't have the money to get a new set of winter tyres. When we moved here with my old car, which then still had all-season tyres, it was a nightmare in the winter.
We are a bit out in the sticks, up a steep hill. Our road doesn't get gritted, either.
If you've got the money, get winter tyres. They are usually for temperatures below about 9 degrees. (We get -20 round here.) Even when we still lived in the UK, I had winter tyres on my car from about October half term. We were on the coast...but, again, very rural.

Michelin cross climate. Have a look on youtube. Other brands prob available

Caveated by saying I don't drive a lot, maybe 5000 miles/year, and most of my routine commuting is public transport or by bicycle.

I had winter tyres+wheels I ended up using year round because I wasn't getting enough wear out of them in winter alone. I ordered what was supposed to be good ones for a Fiat 500... they didn't seem to make my car grip the road much better in low temps/snow/ice. I never paid anyone to change over, myself swapped wheels in first few summers, so was good to learn how to do that (had never changed a wheel before).

The rock salt seriously corroded the fitting bolts & possibly brake ... disks? too. More than if I had left the alloy wheels+year round tyres on year round which at least protected the bolts. On balance I think I slightly regret the winter tyres. Didn't feel safer, and ended up adding to corrosion.