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[jerry]

have checked out a few prices for winter tyres (mine are 225/55/16s) and the falken 439s are £389 a set fitted, nanking winter plus are £291 . As pennies are in very short supply Id have to go for the nankings. The questions are 1)are the falkens significantly better (tyre reviews suggest not, though braking awarded a "star" more for the falken) and 2)will winter tyres really make a significant difference given the cost (yeh, i know you have to build in cost of excess if you are unlucky enough to have a shunt)? just want to feel safer and more confident this year. Any further advice welcome. cheers guys and girls

[Snake Pliskin]

I'm over in Germany with the Forces at moment. German law basically says we have to have suitable tyres for weather (e.g snow...winter tyres). They make a hell of a difference in snow. Have you tried Ebay.de (German ebay) as they sometimes have wheels with winter tyres fitted? i got mine for 300 Euros (omega alloys with winter tyres only 1000 miles on them). Postage to England, probably in region of 40 to 50 Euros

[mrgreen]

I'm over in Germany with the Forces at moment. German law basically says we have to have suitable tyres for weather (e.g snow...winter tyres). They make a hell of a difference in snow. Have you tried Ebay.de (German ebay) as they sometimes have wheels with winter tyres fitted? i got mine for 300 Euros (omega alloys with winter tyres only 1000 miles on them). Postage to England, probably in region of 40 to 50 Euros

yes you will probably find complete sets on ebay with tyres  and rims cheap only have to consider the cost of postage, as of 1st of november we must have winter tyres on it's law and you can't mix and match they must all be winter tyres, the difference in price is usually stopping distances i just put on my Fulda's yesterday and notice the difference in noise but apart from that they handle well in normal conditions

[Lazydocker]

With the amount of snow we get in this country, all season tyres should be sufficient with a little preparation. Last year, when the snow was forecast I just filled both fuel tanks, put a shovel, some dishwasher salt and some sacking in the boot. The only issue I had was the depth of snow... It was over the bottom of the bumper! Once moving I had no problems at all. Got slightly stuck 3 times, all of which I was trying to reverse up an incline.

All I did was as above, and adjusted my driving style to suit the conditions. TBH, instead of spending £300+ on a set of winter tyres, I'd spend £100 or so on a set of snow chains (or 2 if you want them on the front too) and the other stuff... Put some weight in the boot (tools/couple of bags of grit) and crack on!

Admittedly though, it's not particularly hilly around where I live but I didn't have any issues when I went up to Yorkshire either 

[Kevin Wood]

... The only issue I had was the depth of snow... It was over the bottom of the bumper! Once moving I had no problems at all. Got slightly stuck 3 times, all of which I was trying to reverse up an incline.

Same here. The problem areas were where the roads hadn't been touched (including our road, so game over ).

It wasn't a case of needing winter tyres. The Omega simply didn't have enough ground clearance to go anywhere!

Once out and about pretty much anything was passable on reduced tyre pressures, plenty of weight in the boot and a bit of care. I got stuck a couple of times and wished I had some snow chains but a bit of shovelling got me going again. No way would that experience be worth a couple of hundred quid's worth of tyres and a spare set of wheels cluttering up the place!

I may well invest in some snow chains before the rush this year.

Another tip - get a couple of sacks of water softener granules to weigh down the boot. They come in handy if you get stuck too!

.. and having 8mm of tread on your tyres will make a big difference to tyres down on the wear indicators. If your tyres are getting low, change them before the really bad weather sets in.

Kevin

[jerry]

understand what youre saying guys, last year I did all that-loaded some weight in the boot/lowered the psi/made sure i carried a shovel etc as well as (more importantly) taking it slow and steady-but whilst I avoided any shunts I did have more than a few "tricky" moments, especially on ungritted inclines. As my faith in the councils ability to better maintain the roads this year than last is quite low, I just need to feel more confident and actually be safer this year. Just wish money were not such a problem! Guess there's little point in going for the budget option as for 20 quid more you can get a significantly better product like falken or nockian. Also have to factor in excess costs that you might avoid by having them as well as the fact that you should get 3 seasons worth of useage out of them.

[cem_devecioglu]

on a dry road you may save a few bucks with an average tire and careful driving..

but a snowy road is completely a different beast..

you have the snow tires or not..an all weather tire lacks the necessary soft compound and all surface channels designed for snow..

I'll definitely recommend these

goodyear ultragrip7+


goodyear performance 2  (a bit expensive though)


goodyear ultragrip extreme (without studs)


we have used all models (I or my friends) on snow and ice..they are great tires..

[Lazydocker]

... I did have more than a few "tricky" moments, especially on ungritted inclines. As my faith in the councils ability to better maintain the roads this year than last is quite low, I just need to feel more confident and actually be safer this year.

...  the fact that you should get 3 seasons worth of useage out of them.

Confidence is a big thing... I may have been driving only 15 years but have done well in excess of 1 million miles in that time in all conditions in various sizes and types of vehicle. I also worked in recovery and had no choice but to go out and drive in the bad conditions

As for getting 3 seasons use... Unless you're buying spare wheels, don't forget to factor in the cost of 2 changes per year. I expect 3 years is ambitious though, bearing in mind that most of the winter will be on dry/damp roads

[jerry]

yep, youre right about the 2 tyre changes , thats got to be around £40 with balancing a go I guess. From what I read, 2-3 seasons use doesnt seem too far fetched for the mid-priced ones though. But youre def right about the confidence thing 

[mrgreen]

get a cheap set of rims throw them on there from nov till january and you will certainly get 3 years out of them what kills winter tyres is heat (soft rubber) so it's a one off buy but think you aint using your summer tyres in that time either and when they get down to 5mm you use them for a season as summer tyres and i would say cheap winter tyres are better than summer tyres any winter day of the year purely for their way that they disperse the snow from under your wheels, i've driven on summer tyres in snow and to say it was scary was an understatement and these are good summer tyres but may as well have been slicks in the snow

[Lazydocker]

get a cheap set of rims throw them on there from nov till january and you will certainly get 3 years out of them what kills winter tyres is heat (soft rubber) so it's a one off buy but think you aint using your summer tyres in that time either and when they get down to 5mm you use them for a season as summer tyres and i would say cheap winter tyres are better than summer tyres any winter day of the year purely for their way that they disperse the snow from under your wheels, i've driven on summer tyres in snow and to say it was scary was an understatement and these are good summer tyres but may as well have been slicks in the snow

Yep... But you get real snow over there, not just a few inches for a couple of days like we get here

TBH, as I stated earlier, tyres would have made no difference to me last winter as it was the depth of snow that was causing the issue... The car was bottomed out

Best way to gain confidence, IMHO, is to find some private, open space and learn the limits of the car and the warning signs... Once you know them you can drive smoothly and confidently, dealing with any "sideways action" that may occur as you see fit. Personally, I normally deal with it with a good armful of opposite lock and a massive grin

[mrgreen]

get a cheap set of rims throw them on there from nov till january and you will certainly get 3 years out of them what kills winter tyres is heat (soft rubber) so it's a one off buy but think you aint using your summer tyres in that time either and when they get down to 5mm you use them for a season as summer tyres and i would say cheap winter tyres are better than summer tyres any winter day of the year purely for their way that they disperse the snow from under your wheels, i've driven on summer tyres in snow and to say it was scary was an understatement and these are good summer tyres but may as well have been slicks in the snow

Yep... But you get real snow over there, not just a few inches for a couple of days like we get here

TBH, as I stated earlier, tyres would have made no difference to me last winter as it was the depth of snow that was causing the issue... The car was bottomed out

Best way to gain confidence, IMHO, is to find some private, open space and learn the limits of the car and the warning signs... Once you know them you can drive smoothly and confidently, dealing with any "sideways action" that may occur as you see fit. Personally, I normally deal with it with a good armful of opposite lock and a massive grin

that is all very true until you need to stop quickly  but that's what insurance is for

[Lazydocker]

get a cheap set of rims throw them on there from nov till january and you will certainly get 3 years out of them what kills winter tyres is heat (soft rubber) so it's a one off buy but think you aint using your summer tyres in that time either and when they get down to 5mm you use them for a season as summer tyres and i would say cheap winter tyres are better than summer tyres any winter day of the year purely for their way that they disperse the snow from under your wheels, i've driven on summer tyres in snow and to say it was scary was an understatement and these are good summer tyres but may as well have been slicks in the snow

Yep... But you get real snow over there, not just a few inches for a couple of days like we get here

TBH, as I stated earlier, tyres would have made no difference to me last winter as it was the depth of snow that was causing the issue... The car was bottomed out

Best way to gain confidence, IMHO, is to find some private, open space and learn the limits of the car and the warning signs... Once you know them you can drive smoothly and confidently, dealing with any "sideways action" that may occur as you see fit. Personally, I normally deal with it with a good armful of opposite lock and a massive grin

that is all very true until you need to stop quickly  but that's what insurance is for

I agree that all weather tyres are not as good and that stopping distances are affected... But you should adjust your driving style to suit the conditions, surely? Applying the brakes gently and smoothly will make you slow down, just over a greater distance

[aaronjb]

get a cheap set of rims throw them on there from nov till january and you will certainly get 3 years out of them what kills winter tyres is heat (soft rubber) so it's a one off buy but think you aint using your summer tyres in that time either and when they get down to 5mm you use them for a season as summer tyres and i would say cheap winter tyres are better than summer tyres any winter day of the year purely for their way that they disperse the snow from under your wheels, i've driven on summer tyres in snow and to say it was scary was an understatement and these are good summer tyres but may as well have been slicks in the snow

Yep... But you get real snow over there, not just a few inches for a couple of days like we get here

TBH, as I stated earlier, tyres would have made no difference to me last winter as it was the depth of snow that was causing the issue... The car was bottomed out

Best way to gain confidence, IMHO, is to find some private, open space and learn the limits of the car and the warning signs... Once you know them you can drive smoothly and confidently, dealing with any "sideways action" that may occur as you see fit. Personally, I normally deal with it with a good armful of opposite lock and a massive grin

that is all very true until you need to stop quickly  but that's what insurance is for

I agree that all weather tyres are not as good and that stopping distances are affected... But you should adjust your driving style to suit the conditions, surely? Applying the brakes gently and smoothly will make you slow down, just over a greater distance

You remind me of something I saw a couple of winters ago - long straight road covered in snow/ice/slush mix.. two cars travelling nice and slowly down the road, but a little too close perhaps.

Car in front stops at a junction to turn off, the car behind waits until he's all of 2m behind the other car and then stamps on the anchors and .. slides straight into the other guy  Well duh, what did he think was going to happen!

[Lazydocker]

get a cheap set of rims throw them on there from nov till january and you will certainly get 3 years out of them what kills winter tyres is heat (soft rubber) so it's a one off buy but think you aint using your summer tyres in that time either and when they get down to 5mm you use them for a season as summer tyres and i would say cheap winter tyres are better than summer tyres any winter day of the year purely for their way that they disperse the snow from under your wheels, i've driven on summer tyres in snow and to say it was scary was an understatement and these are good summer tyres but may as well have been slicks in the snow

Yep... But you get real snow over there, not just a few inches for a couple of days like we get here

TBH, as I stated earlier, tyres would have made no difference to me last winter as it was the depth of snow that was causing the issue... The car was bottomed out

Best way to gain confidence, IMHO, is to find some private, open space and learn the limits of the car and the warning signs... Once you know them you can drive smoothly and confidently, dealing with any "sideways action" that may occur as you see fit. Personally, I normally deal with it with a good armful of opposite lock and a massive grin

that is all very true until you need to stop quickly  but that's what insurance is for

I agree that all weather tyres are not as good and that stopping distances are affected... But you should adjust your driving style to suit the conditions, surely? Applying the brakes gently and smoothly will make you slow down, just over a greater distance

You remind me of something I saw a couple of winters ago - long straight road covered in snow/ice/slush mix.. two cars travelling nice and slowly down the road, but a little too close perhaps.

Car in front stops at a junction to turn off, the car behind waits until he's all of 2m behind the other car and then stamps on the anchors and .. slides straight into the other guy  Well duh, what did he think was going to happen!

Exactly... Drive to the conditions. I must confess, though, that driving in the snow needs a lot more concentration and awareness so is tiring compared to normal motoring