Winter Tyres

Does anyone run these on their coupe? If so which brand?

Is it enough to only have them on the front or is it necessary to also have them on the rears?

Those Uniroyal Rainsports are supposed to be pretty damn good. And with the amount of rain we seem to get they might not be a bad suggestion.

In the UK (espeshially dahn sarf) I doubt if you need winter tyres
Seriously though we have about two days a year where snow actually sticks so I don't really see the point


14

Edinburgh

Well, it's not just about the handling in the snow.

Winter tyres are soft(er) compound compared to summer or all-year ones, so in the cold weather (below 10°C) don't harden and loose traction. Obviously, if you use them in hotter weather, they become too soft and wear out quickly...

Thanks Marko. Do they need to be fitted all round or could I get away with only having them on the front?

Winter tyres are the same as summer tyre, in that the better pair should be on the back. So, in the snow, having great winter tyres on the front and a pair of marbles on the back is not a good idea unless you want to be able to "spin" it round on a sixpence

Good tyres on all 4 corners please!

It's a legal requirement to have "suitable tyres for the conditions" in Germany isn't it?

What do you run on your coupe? Does it make a difference?

I never knew that. It is getting colder here in the UK so there might come a time when we have to fit these. I still don't think it gets cold enough for long enough to neccesitate it yet though.

It is not absolutely compulsary to have winter tyres in Germany during certain months (as commonly claimed), although you can get fines if you drive without winter tyres in snow or on ice. And there ARE fines then. However, the law is pretty vague: it says your car should be adapted to the conditions on the road. Depending on the cop you are faced with, he may say "it's winter, you should have winter tyres". So that's why it's not a bad move to have winter tyres at least during the winter months.

As KJ has summarised, the German law is a bit vague, but you should have "appropriate" tyres. So, if you are caught blocking the road on an icy slope with spinning summer tyres, that will be 80 Euros or whatever, thank you very much. Worse though, as expected, it is a way for insurance companies not to pay out if you have an "off" in winter.

I've found that most good winter tyres are fine. The FIAT is actually on a pair of Dunlops and a pair of Contis (after a puncture that could not be repaired and the Contis were no longer available, nearest equivalent was the Dunlop). I should probably get a new set (due to age) but I'm not sure that I want to keep the car much longer, but that is another story.

The Subaru's on new Michelins - very refined for a winter tyre. As with other tyres, the major makes produce good enough products and it is hard to go wrong as long as they are the latest designs. The Jaguar is on Pirelli Snowsports and they are noisy! But they are really old so should go in the skip. Then again, they are only for emergencies and avoiding the sumer tyres going out of shape as the Jaguar winters indoors.

The ADAC test is not a bad place to start for a shortlist. Any of the recommended tyres will be absolutely fine, so I would get the cheapest, or the quietest, or the one with the best life, or whichever secondary characteristic is most important to you.

Top 3 this year were:

Michelin Alpin A4
Continental ContiWinterContact TS830P
Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D

http://www.adac.de/infotestrat/tests/rei...rcePageId=31821

I have michelin primacy alpin on, very comfortable ride, quiet enough. Good grip on frosty wet mornings.

Put them on all 4 wheels, if you only put them on the front the extra grip you'll get in the wet will make you tail happy and if you only put them on the back you'll be going nowhere if it snows!

I have a spare set of wheels with Uniroyal MS Plus 66 winter tyres on. All winter tyres provide better grip below 7 degrees C. You do need to fit 4. If you search I posted pics of mine.

it's not true about 7 degrees - in slovenian car magazine there was a compaison between winter and summer tires and summer were better also on low temperatures, winter were better only in snow - here is link to this article, it is in slovenian language, maybe google translate will help comparison - Avto magazin
i recommend tires Sava - this is Slovenian brand in the Goodyear concern and their tires are really good and not so expensive - here is link to their winter tires Eskimo hp, this is a new model this year and they are really good - it is in english: Sava Eskimo hp
i'm sorry abot my bad english

Auto Express did a comparison last week between winter, all season and summer tires. Winter tires were far better in the snow, but the results were more variable in other conditions.

This may settle it. It costs a bomb and the results are inconclusive. I guess I have managed fine for the last thirteen years

Just for the record, when I purchased my Coop, there were some el cheapo tyres on the front. In saying that, my Coop handled quite well in the winter conditions full stop. I certainly wasnt hanging around, but I certainly wasnt driving like a Nun either.

Obviously its going to be more beneficial in having the correct tyres for the conditions, its entirely up to the driver what he/she prefers. Personally even up here I go for tyres that perform well in the wet, as this is the conditions that I come across the most.

BF Goodrich g-FORCE Winter, 195/55/R15, four of them.

My 16v NA had ultimate stability in cold and heavy snow conditions. I've driven without problems with 60 kmh on snow-on-top-of-ice without a flinch, where other cars were gasping for grip at about 40 kmh.

I fitted Toyo Snowprox this winter and performance in ice/snow was fantastic compared to normal tyres. Watched other cars skid/spin while it felt like I was driving on tarmac.

Not so great in dry/warmer conditions, Barnacle did a good review here recently.

Interestingly, I changed back to summer Prox T1-R... and a month later, the left hand front wishbone bush failed; I felt it go on the motorway and my word it's an interesting feeling. When Joe and I pulled the wishbone, the front bush slid off.

How much of my concerns about the Snowproxes was down to that bush failing is unknown, but I can't help feeling there was some input from it. So I may have been imputing a worse effect to them than was due - I won't be able to test until next winter, of course.

They definitely struggle for grip on a fast pull away with a dry road compared to Falken 452's. I had similar experience to yours on the steering but am now awaiting delivery of two new rear wheel bearings so maybe the tyres are innocent here too.



Not fun, that was my first ever coupe fault. Mechanic denied there was a problem, I even got him to check the wishbone again and earned a 'sad idiot look' for my trouble. Got the spanners out and replaced it myself, bush was literally gone.