Uk Winter 2014/15

[The Dark Knight]

Cheaper still on love tyres: http://lovetyres.com/tyre/Bridgestone-Blizzak-LM25/205-40-17

[Phil 87]

Cheers Dave. Now the only thing holding me back is the cost. But it's probably worth it because I'll be keeping the car for a few years.

[The Dark Knight]

No probs. On the cost front, another way of looking at it is that while you are on winter tyres, you aren't wearing out the tread on your normal tyres so they will last longer before you have to invest again.

Someone I know decided that once her summer tyres needed replacing, she put winter tyres on all year round. She decided she couldn't afford 2 sets of tyres but realised that the performance difference of winter tyres over summer tyres in winter is far greater than the performance difference of summer tyres over winter tyres in summer.

[jeebowhite]

Yeah all year round is a mix and a reasonable compromise, I won't put anything but all year round on these days.

[Phil 87]

On the cost front, another way of looking at it is that while you are on winter tyres, you aren't wearing out the tread on your normal tyres so they will last longer before you have to invest again.

That's a good point, I didn't think of that. So even if I have to pay out nearly £400 for a set it won't really cost that much in the long run. And of course the tyres could potentially save my life.

Yeah all year round is a mix and a reasonable compromise, I won't put anything but all year round on these days.

Are all year tyres another type of tyre? I noticed something about those when looking for prices, but I thought there are just summer and winter tyres.

[jeebowhite]

Nah you get some compromise tyred, I won't buy summer tyres only ad I can't afford to replace them with winters, at least there's compromise lol

[Phil 87]

So am I right in thinking there are 3 choices if you're just buying one set of tyres: summer, winter and all year?

[Ianb]

Thanks for sharing that, I didn't know the difference was quite so huge. I think the thing that stood out for me was the braking test on snow from 30 mph, at the point the car with winter tyres had stopped, the one with summer tyres was still doing 25 mph :o

I think I'll seriously think of getting summer tyres fitted once temps fall into single figures. Better go look at some prices. Does anyone know if some particular winter tyres are known to be better than others?

Why, you fancy skidding around more?

[The Dark Knight]

They are known officially as all season tyres Phil and yes there are essesntially the 3 types of tyre. The all season tyres will be better than summer tyres in winter but not by as big a margin as winter tyres.

All season tyres make sense if you can only afford one set and you need a new set. For you Phil, you have a perfectly good set of summer tyres so I would say winter tyres make more sense.

I had all season tyres (very good one's) as standard on my Freelander 2 in the big snow of 2010. Never had major probems but did notice a bit of slip when pulling away on a slope. Not so when I fitted winter tyres to it.

I think a key consideration is just how much power and torque the Fez ST has to put down through the front wheels. The torque vectoring would not be able to reign it in on snow with summer tyres.

[jeebowhite]

Yeah all season tyres are their technical title, but not all sites separate all season from summer, so you need to check carefully.

That's why I use all season with snow socks just in case...

[The Dark Knight]

And another thing: All season tyres should come with M+S rating on the tyre wall (mud and snow.) True winter tyres have a snowflake atop a mountain symbol.

They could mean the difference between sliding into a car or a kerb when braking and not. They would pay dividends on your investment then.

[Phil 87]

Why, you fancy skidding around more?

Oops, edited that to winter tyres :P

[Peterjones]

Well won't the ST be decent in the snow if driven properly given the amount of tourqe that it generates. That is the key usually to cars that cope well in snow and cars that done. Also putting the power down slowly.

[Phil 87]

Well won't the ST be decent in the snow if driven properly given the amount of tourqe that it generates. That is the key usually to cars that cope well in snow and cars that done. Also putting the power down slowly.

I thought the opposite was true, the more torque the more likely you'll spin the wheels in snowy conditions. But it should be quite good in the snow just because it's a front wheel drive car and doesn't weigh much.

[jeebowhite]

Wide tyres, more torque and heavy acceleration are the 3 enemies of driving in snow. Winter wide tyres would reduce that element, acceleration with no throttle but biting sorts the torque issue out.

[The Dark Knight]

Yes, the torque is a bad thing. The Astra VXR was heavily criticised for its torque steer with such poor management of a lot of power through the front wheels.

Nothing like as much torque in the Fez ST of course but it has got quite a bit more than the old Fez ST which I have driven in snow. It coped admirably for what it was but was certainly skittish at times. Careful and appropriate driving still saw wheel spin due to the sporty summer tyres and eager throttle response.

Another good video:

[The Dark Knight]

Here's another video (USA made). This time comparing summer tyres, winter tyres and all season tyres fitted to a RWD BMW 3 series.

[The Dark Knight]

http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/52864...s-forecast


The Express are at it again, quoting James Madden who is really accurate with his forecasts

We are now into late October and very mild temps are firmly in charge. Here is what that idiot Madden said in an article published by The Express on 10/10/14:

“Over the coming weeks and into November, it is likely to turn progressively colder, even very cold at times, in particular, in parts of the north as northern blocking becomes a somewhat more prominent feature.

“This is likely to bring some significant snow across higher ground within this period.

“This may also bring the first snow event of the season to some much lower levels of the country, in particular, in some parts to the north and east of the country, but these wintry weather events may also not necessarily be restricted to just these parts, and some much lower levels of the country could also experience their first taste of wintry weather for the season in terms of overnight snow or developing wintry showers. As the colder weather begins to take more of a stronghold throughout the latter part of October and into November, widespread frosts and dense fog patches will also become a quite prominent feature for many.”

What a complete and utter !Removed! that man is and already proved wrong. If I saw him, I might actually punch him

[Ianb]

So basically, according to him, it's probably definitely but maybe not for sure going to be cold or hot or snowy...?

[theredfox]

Well won't the ST be decent in the snow if driven properly given the amount of tourqe that it generates. That is the key usually to cars that cope well in snow and cars that done. Also putting the power down slowly.

the answser is to fit smaller rims than the standard size for better traction