yeah, discount have gone a bit loopy

I only use apsley tyres now, down by shell in apsley. He's always beaten blackcircles and the like as well if you ask

I don't want to get into the type of discussion which I was involved in on Pistonheads about the use of two winter tyres on the front of an fwd car with summer tyres on the back but would comment that having done this last winter and it being the set up I have had for the last couple of weeks experience indicates it isn't a particular issue. In the typical conditions in the UK it seems OK. I have tried pushing pretty hard on roundabouts (when clear and as safe as it could be to do so), lifting off suddenly and can report that on the Coupe there has been no problem, I haven't managed to spin it and the back end doesn't feel loose even if I have been getting understeer and then lifting off.

Last winter when there was snow I did go into empty car parks and see what happened over the limits, yes the car oversteered but it didn't spin, and that was driving in a way to deliberately try silly things. With summer tyres I know I would just have gone straight on and not had much if anything in the way of brakes. In my opinion there was much more control and safety than with all summer tyres, although I am sure that all winter tyres would be even better.

To me the key thing is that in extreme weather I have traction, but if I drive knowing that there is snow and ice on the road and grip will be limited rather than thinking my winter tyres will make me invincible I will be a lot safer than with just summer tyres.

I have a spare set of wheels in the garage that really out to be kitted out for winter. Very few suppliers have them left in stock. Kwik Fit have Continental Winter Contact TS830s H-rated at £82 a corner - they even supply a bag to store them in over the summer!

Has anyone any experience of these tyres?

Tim

Andy, can you link me to the thread on pistonheads. Personally I think that 2 winter tyres should be better than none, but others have been confident this is not the case.

Would like to have a read of it as for £170 I could be tempted to take a pair of winter tyres.

Conti winter tyres are never worse than very good. Hard to go wrong with them. They were near the very top in this year's ADAC tests. Go for them

Neil,
thanks for the advice... very helpful,
Tim

They are the 55 side wall though, so 5 mm bigger than your std tyre. Are you buying 4 or 2?

Well spotted - just been out to check my (very old) Pirellis on the original wheels! Lots of other Coupe-related expense coming up, so no immediate plans. I might have to wait until the summer sales next year!

Slightly wrong, the profile number is a % of the width of the tyre, not mm

A good rule of thumb in the 200mm width or close to it, though... I now have the snoprox fitted all round, slightly more than I was originally quoted but not too bad. 205/50/16.

Haven't had the chance to play in snow yet, but they felt fine in sub-zero cold and dry.

MrCooper,

The PH thread is http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic...%20tyre%20users

Based on experience over the last few days driving quite a bit in/on snow (we have about 10 inches here) I can say that there hasn't been an occasion where I felt that I was in any danger due to the summer tyres on the rear. A couple of times the back has slid very slightly, but to refer to the correction as a dab of oppo would be an exaggeration as it really wasn't that bad. What I can also say is that I have got through things that would have been impossible with summer tyres - I was one of the first to leave the estate yesterday morning shortly before seven and there isn't a flat exit but I got through with no problem at all, getting up the slopes with no slippage at all.

I did find the limit of the car this morning, however. I couldn't get into my office car park due to a lack of ground clearance - the only way in was to follow in the ruts left by a few vans and my coupe bottomed out unfortunately - the mark from where the undertray stopped me was clearly visible in the snow!

All good with the winter tyres today. Most of my colleagues parked on the main road (with less snow), or attempted the small lanes near work then went off the road or gave up. I was able to give some a lift and had no problems. At least I got a space in the car park!

My biggest concern is what Anita will say when she discovers where I've stashed the summer tyres in the spare room...

....around your waist, or is that just your natural shape?


<grin, duck, run>

It's a good job I'm cuddling Maya and am therefore in a very good mood...

She probably thinks you are a bouncy castle!



<the safety of being out of range!>

oooooh, you! Why, I oughta...



p.s. can I have an [imggrandpop] tag please?

Okay, just received the tyresocks. Bit of a belt and braces, but let's see if I need them!

You are going to town there. Winter tyres and tyre socks!

Nah, going to town is chains as well

I don't want them to get cold!

And I'm planning midwinter journeys to Berlin, the Western Isles of Scotland, and the south-west...

You could take a look at the following rally tyres, all of which will work much better than 'ordinary' tyres in snow and slush. The "Alaska" tyres will work in snow and slush but will be better on icy roads due to the tread pattern.

Maxsport RB1 185/65/15
Maxsport RB1 175/70/15
Maxsport RB3 185/65/15
Maxsport RB3 175/70/15
Maxsport Alaska 185/65/15
Maxsport Alaska 195/55/15
Maxsport Alaska 195/65/15
Maxsport Alaska 2 195/55/15
Maxsport Alaska 3 205/55/16
Maxsport Alaska 3 195/60/15
Maxsport Alaska 3 195/65/15
Maxsport Alaska 3 205/65/15
Hankook R201 185/60/15
Hankook R201 195/65/15
Kumho Ecsta R700 185/60/15
Kumho Ecsta R700 195/65/15
Kumho Ecsta R700 205/60/15

Maxsport are remoulds but are top quality and regularly used in competitive rallying. Some are available in soft compounds for still better grip. Maxsport make the only 16" tyre in the above list.

If you want a new, branded tyre then there are the offerings from Hankook and Kumho, but neither offer a 16" tyre (in these tread patterns) so, like many of the Maxsports, these would only work if 15" rims will fit over your brakes etc.

I use 'winter' tyres (rally remoulds, soft compound) on only the front wheels on two front wheel drive cars and, unless you are trying to drive like a lunatic rather than just trying to get from A to B safely, the combination has no ill effects, as all the traction and most of the braking effort is through the front wheels.

Expect to replace winter tyres after a couple of winters, as the rubber is so important to grip and loses most of it's important low temperature characteristics very quickly. So buying cheap and often is better than buying expensive and expecting them to last you for five or six years.

Maybe in year three you could stick the old fronts on the rear if you'd like the same tyres all round and have enough spare rims.

p.s. narrow tyres offer more grip in snow, slush and ice than wider tyres!

You sound like you know what you are talking about but I'm afraid you will get panned on here for suggesting only 2 winter tyres. There are lots of people on here who, although they have never owned a winter tyre, are convinced that leaving "marbles" on the back is a sure-fire shortcut to the morgue!

It's also nice to see a member who has joined in the last 6 months and who is not hopeless when it comes to punctuation.

I agree with all of the above.

I've put my winter tyres on just the front two, as they are the driving wheels.

I also went for narrower tyres and bought 195/55/16's, rather than replacing them with the 205/50/16's.

The narrow tyres are better in the snow, etc and work out cheaper to buy too.

Mine cost me £78 for the pair.

I'd rather a pair of cheap winter tyres on the front, than none at all.

Can't argue. New tyres on the back are for avoidance of aquaplaning; unlikely in snow.

But I'm paranoid about tyres and very much prefer to have similar tyres at each corner. Had I been able to get only two, they'd be on the front.

Equally, I'm not planning on occasional days in the snow. I have several thousand miles planned in the depths of winter; I want the best chance I can get.

If there is snow everywhere, summer tyres get coated in snow and increase the chance of the rear coming round when you least need it to - just like aquaplaning in the wet. It won't happen when you are expecting it and looking for it, but when something unexpected happens, you will suddenly lift off or brake hard and spin.

In the UK, the amount of snow has usually been little and roads mainly cleaned, so you have a chance of getting away with it, but it is not the configuration that should be recommended.

I would say that anyone braking hard on ice and snow is an idiot and deserves what comes next - let's hope no-one else is involved in your accident.

Driving on public roads in winter is not the place to exercise your dream to be Hannu Mikkola.

Unless you are braking whilst cornering, the backend is very unlikely to come round. You shouldn't even do that in the dry. Most winter accidents in front wheel drive cars are caused by people going straight on in corners (understeering) due to lack of front grip.

I'm not suggesting don't have four 'winter' tyres all round if you want/can afford them - but you can safely go from A to B with just front tyres if you drive accordingly and not like a nutter.

If, as above, you are planning to drive several thousand miles in winter conditions, then I would agree that four winter tyres would be preferable. However, if all you have is a 20 mile commute each day, or just need to get out for food and other supplies to survive, then two will be much better than none and can be perfectly safe if you drive sensibly.

We have snow every winter here and I have not had any accidents yet in 15 years I'm actually a very careful driver and have no intention of pretending to be a rally driver. It does not take much snow, nor much speed to slide and it can happen to anyone.

When you have the wrong tyres, you will understeer first, but if you have grippy tyres on the front, you make the back comparatively unstable.

Winters in the UK seem to be getting worse and if you compare the price of tyres to the price of petrol that people seem very happy to burn, or cool but almost pointless accessories, I would much rather drive slowly on the right tyres than anywhere on the wrong ones.

Driving with such mixed tyres will sooner or later demand the skills of a Hannu Mikkola ...