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Anyone else getting their Winter tyres ready?

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Old Sep 23rd, 2011, 20:51   #21
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Originally Posted by Daim View Post
Do you know the difference in construction between Summer and Winter tyres? It has nothing to do with "elastic bands" or "low profile tyres".
Nope but I've been driving for 23 years and never needed them or felt that I need to spend circa £50 a corner for a set of tyres because the road is a bit slippy/wet/icy/snowy.
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Old Sep 23rd, 2011, 20:54   #22
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What a lot of people tend to forget, especially those with 4x4 or awd is that it might be ok for getting you going but when it comes to stoping you have just the same grip as a normal car on summer tyres. Your brakes are no different from any others.
Exactly. You MIGHT be able to move off, but when it comes to sliding, not even ABS or ESP will help. You'll just slide and possibly hit another car in front.

A winter tire has a totally different rubber mix. Made to be smooth and soft at lower temperatures (where as a Summer tire is then hard and even brittle!) thrus offering traction via little teeth in the tread.

Here a picture comparison...

Winter tire:


Summer tire:


The visible grooves are that, what make the Winter tire worth buying. Additionally, that have more tread depth (due to the days that the tires are used when warmer than speced).

Okay, people say "I never needed them before, I won't need them now" - yeah, really.

Saying goes: "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink"
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Old Sep 23rd, 2011, 21:02   #23
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I was watching that video above earlier and cringing! I dont follow that close in the rain never mind snow n ice! lol
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Old Sep 23rd, 2011, 21:04   #24
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What a lot of people tend to forget, especially those with 4x4 or awd is that it might be ok for getting you going but when it comes to stoping you have just the same grip as a normal car on summer tyres. Your brakes are no different from any others.
Exactly that when trying to explain to someone in the snow the end of last year. You might have 4 wheel drive, but EVERYONE has 4 wheel brake!
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Old Sep 23rd, 2011, 21:27   #25
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Exactly. You MIGHT be able to move off, but when it comes to sliding, not even ABS or ESP will help. You'll just slide and possibly hit another car in front.
So you'll never slide on a winter tyre eh?

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Originally Posted by Daim View Post
A winter tire has a totally different rubber mix. Made to be smooth and soft at lower temperatures (where as a Summer tire is then hard and even brittle!) thrus offering traction via little teeth in the tread.
So they're "smooth and soft" with little teeth that offer traction? Hmmm, smooth yet rough?


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Okay, people say "I never needed them before, I won't need them now" - yeah, really.
Not just me...According to Conti, they account for just 0.5 per cent of UK sales-Dec 2010.
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Old Sep 23rd, 2011, 21:39   #26
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I think they call those little teeth "Cutters" which do most the work while the blocky tread displaces and expels snow so the tread is clear for it's next contact with the ground.

These were my Avons


I took this photo in Argos carpark. The deep well cut in tracks were mine, The lighter, almost skimming over the surface tracks in front were from a Peugeot 307 on normal tyres, the wider ones going straight across were from a crewcab 4x4 type vehicle. All three were made in about 15 min of each other and there was no fresh snow falling to cover any sets of tracks.

They do cut in really well!
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Old Sep 23rd, 2011, 21:42   #27
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I was watching that video above earlier and cringing! I dont follow that close in the rain never mind snow n ice! lol
At the beginning the cars infront of me were only doing 25mph. Thats not a bad gap for those speeds. Later on I was doing 45-50mph.
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Old Sep 23rd, 2011, 21:59   #28
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So you'll never slide on a winter tyre eh?
You'll slide a littkle, but stand quicker as you have more grip than a Summer tire. Period. The little teeth grip into little grooves which can be found on ice and will "hook" into it and give you the desired traction/grip to stop/accelerate. The way you comment show, you've not once driven a car with Winter tyres in Winter conditions (I don't mean +4°C with drizzle, I mean -15°C on snow and ice). If you have, you would be writing turned by 180°. Basically PRO different tire.

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Originally Posted by caveman_returns View Post
So they're "smooth and soft" with little teeth that offer traction? Hmmm, smooth yet rough?
Smooth and soft wasn't refering to the tread pattern but to the material. A hard (cold) Summer tire isn't smooth and soft. Do your self a favor and feel a cold Summer tire in Winter... Totally different than when driven in warm temperatures.

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Not just me...According to Conti, they account for just 0.5 per cent of UK sales-Dec 2010.
In England, yeah, because probably nobody has actually tested them. In the Alps you drive on Winter tires because you need to. They have a law aswell, but the law (forcing them to become mandatory) was only after tests and other things being obvious enough, to convince people, to drive Winter tyres.

Continental recommends - no matter what brand - to drive on Winter tyres when temperatures drop below 7°C. Below that, and the rubber goes hard and has less grip. I've driven in Winter on Summer tyres - didn't have fun at all!

Even before the 2009 introduced Winter tire law, 90% of all people in Germany changed from Summer to Winter tyres... My grandad always says "I never had Winter tyres and will never need them. They cause more deaths than help". The same was also said about airbags (his car has now got 6) and about seat belts. ABS and ESP aswell... I give him one more Winter with snow and he'll be out buying them.

I stood last year in Harwich in their "snow storm" shortly before Christmas. I just got off the ferry from Hoek-Van-Holland and was stuck in a traffic jam, because a lorry couldn't get up those slight inclines. I stood 3 hours untill I had enough and in the end overtook about a 3 mile long queue of people not being able to drive in about 3 inches of snow due to having no appropriate tyres... I was on a dual carriage way (the A12) heading towards Ipswich and was the only car using the outside lane... Traffic on the inside lane was basically parked up. I was cruising IN SNOW at around 40 mph!

It wasn't unsafe... I've driven 120 km/h (~75 mph) in/on snow on an Autobahn with not one issue. Traffic flows (on Winter tyres!) as if it was Summer! At least here... The tyres have their limits and you can't trick physics with tyres but you can at least use the grip possible... If you hit a curve too fast, you won't stay on the road, you wouldn't do so in Summer either... But on Winter tyres you can NEARLY keep your normal warm weather speeds and cornering styles...

I prefer to spend my time MOVING rather than STANDING... And standing includes waiting behind other people, who - like you - don't see any sense in buying Winter tyres
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Old Sep 23rd, 2011, 22:20   #29
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Default Winter tyres...

Think winter tyres also help with braking grip due to the softer compound.

Just put a set of Quatrac 3 SUV all seasons on my XC90 (yes, these all-seasons DO have a winter rating)
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Old Sep 23rd, 2011, 22:27   #30
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Continental recommends - no matter what brand - to drive on Winter tyres when temperatures drop below 7°C.
I bet they do! Just like Nike reckon you'll run faster in their trainers!

I think I'll save my minimum of £200 tyre money + the money for a set of wheels to put them on and go on holiday to Spain for the week or 2 that we might have a bit of snow in the winter.
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