Trying on my winter shoes...

[WhatNext?]

@ Haldex (love the wheels BTW - thinking of getting mine powder coated too)
@ MaDProFF


I ran Dunlop Winters on my C Class for the last few years, they performed admirably well with the snow during the beast from the east and they did not wear off any quicker than the previous continental summers. In fact I drove over 35 000 miles on then and they still had plenty of tread on then when I sold the car last week


I am not expecting the Cross Climate to be better than proper winters. With a greater ground clearance and AWD, it should be good enough to get me through

I am aware the Cross climate are a summer tyre with a snow friendly tread pattern.

I guess we'll know the score in a few months time



Anyone wants to buy the factory fitted tyres off me - not driven on? (Continental EcoContact 5 - 235x60 R18)

[Deman77]

Originally Posted by MaDProFF

@deman77 considering they turning point is 7ºc in general for Winter tyres, they perform better than Summers, I really am surprised you quoted 12ºc maybe try some other winter tyres, Nokians are high performance winter tyres, and for me certainly are not inferior at 12ºc.

I like them on in the winter, not because of snow, it is black ice, great grip in rain, less aquaplaning, and just the stopping power on ice and snow, could be the difference between you in the hedge or not, (in my case I drive a lot at night and early morning).

I picked conti 850 because they are a benchmark for winter (some beat it for snow or ice or comfort or noise or wear or fuel use but they are a king broad spectrum winter performance). My main reason is for how well they do in higher temperatures in the wet which is majority of our winter. The problem with any winters though even something like conti which beats most winters for its summer skills, the problem is dry road - dry road offers too much traction to the soft compound and little heat dissipation, it overheats the compound and you get unstable handling. It may be minimal on a saloon. On a two plus ton lump this is very pronounced. It depends on your driving style - if you drive relaxed and anticipate and lift you will have no problems, but we are talking coping with wrong tyre here. I like to feel mine around and in correct conditions for the tyres I struggle to reach limits of grip both on summers and winters - xc90 starts rolling too much before it loses grip - need to really lean into the corner before it gives and with breaking I find breaks are the weaker point not the tyre at the limit. With winters on dry I can really feel the performance drop in breaking from the winter tyre. I would not dare take it in fast Landon a dry motorway for fear of rear ending someone. With cross climates I will probably drop to mediocre for snow but still not terrible, it’s very good in slush, cold wet, black ice (and everyone is careful in those conditions anyway) but I will gain safety in the dry which is when we pay less attention. I think south of Yorkshire it’s the right choice. I have to wait another year though to happily write off my current two sets because of age.

[molsal]

Originally Posted by MaDProFF

@deman77 considering they turning point is 7ºc in general for Winter tyres, they perform better than Summers, I really am surprised you quoted 12ºc maybe try some other winter tyres, Nokians are high performance winter tyres, and for me certainly are not inferior at 12ºc.

I like them on in the winter, not because of snow, it is black ice, great grip in rain, less aquaplaning, and just the stopping power on ice and snow, could be the difference between you in the hedge or not, (in my case I drive a lot at night and early morning).

The only tyres which will allow traction or braking on ice are studded ones! no winter tyre will help on ice, snow is a different story of course.

[Haldex]

Michelin CrossClimate vs. Conti WinterContact 850 on packed snow:

https://youtu.be/CC_UvZZSfAY

[MaDProFF]

Originally Posted by molsal

The only tyres which will allow traction or braking on ice are studded ones! no winter tyre will help on ice, snow is a different story of course.

Sorry that's absolute rubbish, I have tested the tyres, so I know exactly what they can do.

It is all about the compound.

Everyone to their opinion I guess. Mine is only my experience, as seems some others, odd we get such a different opinion

I did say I ran Winter Nokians on my Vito Van as well, (250 BHP RWD)same as my other cars, even with it fully loaded so I would say far more weight than an XC90 and still I would not really notice much difference in the summer.

oh and yes I do not drive that slow either.

[Haldex]

To be fair, here's a test showing excellent results on dry/wet tarmac:

https://youtu.be/vrwPyV51Ckg

My personal opinion- anyone seldomly venturing into proper snow conditions (packed snow/ice, deep powder, etc..) should be perfectly fine with these.

[MaDProFF]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5nDpFS9tVo

XC 60 video in snow

[MaDProFF]

Deman77 I assume the tyres you are talking about are XL rated?

[Deman77]

Originally Posted by MaDProFF

Deman77 I assume the tyres you are talking about are XL rated?

Yes. You can’t put saloon tyres on these heavy things. First pothole and you are out

[Deman77]

Originally Posted by Haldex

Michelin CrossClimate vs. Conti WinterContact 850 on packed snow:

https://youtu.be/CC_UvZZSfAY

That’s terrible. I expected a lot closer based on reviews I read. I would assign this a small probability that it is faked by CrossClimate haters but if this is true then they are not acceptable for winter - black ice is the biggest threat on rural road early in the morning can really catch you out. I will poke around some more but if that’s the difference I will be sticking to split sets.