Winter Tyres

[Nemesis]

Originally Posted by Volvo6

They do exist on ebay, just expect to pay quite high prices. Kwik Fit will happily fit them for you I think as long as the tyres are brand new if you bring them into them.

yea, just thought it was strange though if you can actually get them yet Kwik-Fit dont sell them.

Im actually thinking about picking up some steel wheels or old alloys and fitting them out

[faffi]

Originally Posted by bigmike52

Make sure you inform your insurance company if you put on snow tryes. you will incur an additional premium as they class them as a modification to the car.
My mate informed ESUre and it cost him another £27.00

What kind of weird snots run the insurance business over at your little island Cannot have much understanding of safety when it comes to this issue, that's for sure. They should give you a discount for using winter tyres on winter roads! BTW, in Norway, if you end up in an accident without the approriate tyres for the conditions you risk getting the blame even if you weren't to blame. Also, if you should get caught driving on snow on summer tyres, they would deny you to drive any further and you'd even risk losing your permit.

[Thunderdarts]

Hi all - Our wee 2.0D S40 is a nervous, slippy girl in the current snow & ice. We live in northern Ireland and it seems any/all winter tyres are either unavailable or else 10 prices!!

I was just wondering if it would be completely crazy to try a couple of space saver spare tyres on the front - it would have to improve grip - and speeds in this weather never exceed 35-40mph anyway.

Thoughts?

[Thunderdarts]

Originally Posted by Thunderdarts

Hi all - Our wee 2.0D S40 is a nervous, slippy girl in the current snow & ice. We live in northern Ireland and it seems any/all winter tyres are either unavailable or else 10 prices!!

I was just wondering if it would be completely crazy to try a couple of space saver spare tyres on the front - it would have to improve grip - and speeds in this weather never exceed 35-40mph anyway.

Thoughts?

And by the way, in case I do find suitable tyres, I'm after cheap 'steelies' to stick them on - Does anyone know the PCD and Offset for our S40? All I know is they're 5 stud and my current tyres are BF Goodrich 215/45 ZR 17" 91W - Great in temperate climate, baaaaad in snow & ice.

Any help appreciated.

Greg.

[stephanhughson]

Originally Posted by Thunderdarts

I was just wondering if it would be completely crazy to try a couple of space saver spare tyres on the front - it would have to improve grip - and speeds in this weather never exceed 35-40mph anyway.

Thoughts?

Even if that works, it sounds like something that insurers and the police would not be very happy with. If you were stopped or had a serious accident, I don't think you'd be able to explain it in a way that would satisfy them!

Most articles online warning of the dangers of running on the spare concentrate on the issue being that one wheel is different to the other, decreasing handling, messing with ABS / anti-skid systems etc, increasing stopping times and increasing the risk of blow-outs when a slightly different size is used.

Having two on the front is slightly different, but still, these tyres are meant to get you home in an emergency and aren't designed to be used for long distances. It sounds like it could be quite dangerous, probably best to steer clear of this one I would say.

If it did work, perhaps manufacturers of Winter tyres would already have made a thinner tyre? I can see the theory of cutting down through the snow to find grip, but that's a very long way to cut down when it's heavy and compacted snow. I don't think it would work, even if it is safe and would prefer the extra surface area from a normal (or Winter tyre) with decent tread.

No problem though, because there are Winter tyres for that! Just maybe not this year as everyone wants them.