East Mids Ambulances have winter tyres all year round.

I would never want tyres on my car close to legal limit this time of year. If there is an accident first thing investigators checked is tyre tread. Even if it wasn't your fault you will get prosecuted if below legal requirements. Nother good excuse for insurance companies not to payout as car would not pass MOT therefore claim not road worthy.

They're not close to the legal limit though, they're still double the UK limit at 3mm...

Michelin’s research director Bernard Delmas:

They say 3mm, sometimes 4mm - why not 5mm? You have to realise that when a tyre is on the car, it’s not new anymore, it’s already wearing. Legally it’s been said 1.6mm, [but] some people are starting to say 3mm, 4mm, which is almost half of the tread depth, which is an absolute waste for the economy.

If you remove the tyre at 3mm instead of 1.6mm it means you have one tyre per car every two years to be added – which is enormous. On top of that you have the materials necessary for making the tyre, which are wasted as well, and then you have a very interesting effect which is the fuel economy and CO2 generation. At the same time the tyre is wearing, the rolling resistance of the tyre is improving, which means that if you remove the tyre at 3mm instead of 1.6mm you are not going to use the tyre at its best, and [that] has an impact on fuel economy, degrades it, and creates more CO2.

So, when we say use your tyres to 1.6mm instead of removing at 3mm, you gain on the tyre, on the material to remove the tyre, on the fuel you save, and even the CO2. So today, with the world we are facing - the society, ecology - it’s very important that people know about that. Also the tyre is safe at 1.6mm. There’s no reason to remove [it] before [that].

Well, He should know what he's talking about.

59 minutes ago, Bobr said:

Well, He should know what he's talking about.

Yes, and if anything you might have expected Michelin to say the opposite to sell more tyres😃, so I guess that opinion carries some weight. 

I would prefer 8mm to 1.6mm when aquaplaning. You definitely would know the difference mind you Lewis Hamilton manged to cope in Turkey his intermediates were almost slicks.

1 hour ago, st line x 140 driver said:

I would prefer 8mm to 1.6mm when aquaplaning.

Lol, I'm sure we all would! Unfortunately unless we have a financial package like Lewis to keep our cars on permanently new tyres, it ain't gonna happen and like everything in life, it's a case of striking a compromise. Mind you, I'm sure Lewis would easily outdrive me even on the bare rims with no tyres at all!

Only slightly off topic, I would highly recommend a skid control course to anyone who's not tried it. At least it gives you an idea of what to expect if you do experience aquaplaning etc. Good fun too!😃

 

11 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Only slightly off topic, I would highly recommend a skid control course to anyone who's not tried it. At least it gives you an idea of what to expect if you do experience aquaplaning etc. Good fun too!😃

Have indeed had 1/2 day on test track at brooklands - part of package when you buy a new AMG Mercedes only problem was bought an A45 Which you can't slide however i was lucky due to booking same day Lewis Hamilton was demonstrating the new GTR in 2016. So they had to reschedule trackday. Because of the inconvenienced  caused i was allowed to drive like it was stolen an AMG GTR, C63 & of course A45 around the test track and skid pan.

Just to add:-

 

How safe is a tyre with just 1.6mm of tread ?!

In the wet & dry

https://youtu.be/HNFNQjsHGxE

2 hours ago, Tiexen said:

Just to add:-

 

How safe is a tyre with just 1.6mm of tread ?!

In the wet & dry

https://youtu.be/HNFNQjsHGxE

It's more about budget v premium

32 minutes ago, pragmatix said:

It's more about budget v premium

There's a heck of a difference between the premium new and the premium worn in the wet which, in my view, is when it really counts.

28 minutes ago, pragmatix said:

It's more about budget v premium

New Tyres with more tread stop quicker in wet conditions on premium brands even with minimum legal limit (1.6) stop better than new cheap tyres.

Cars with Premium tyres no tread in dry conditions stop shorter distance /go faster just like F1 funny that. - think its something to do with contact area.

37 minutes ago, Bobr said:

There's a heck of a difference between the premium new and the premium worn in the wet which, in my view, is when it really counts.

I've always wondered if tyre reviews could test tyres not only when new, but half or 3/4 warn. It would be interesting if they get the same results. I'm sure I've seen machines, used in motorsport, that can shave rubber off tyres to achieve this.

On 11/14/2020 at 2:46 PM, st line x 140 driver said:

I wouldn't bother with winter tyres. Not needed in this country. Just drive to the conditions and stick to the main roads when weather's bad. If you are worried about wear its better to have more tread on tyres especially in bad conditions. 3 points per bold tyre and its the only thing between you and the road. Personally never skimp on tyres this is a good indication on whether the car has been looked after by brand of tyre on car.

Depends where you are really. My one and only crash could have been prevented with winter or maybe all season tyres. 

I run on 14"s with all seasons now. 

16 minutes ago, jbell said:

Depends where you are really. My one and only crash could have been prevented with winter or maybe all season tyres. 

I run on 14"s with all seasons now. 

Every location/situation different have to drive to conditions not knowing facts hard to comment you are the best person for that. If you had winter/all weather tyres on who's to say the accident still would of not happened. All be it with different scenario/fault.

15 hours ago, st line x 140 driver said:

Every location/situation different have to drive to conditions not knowing facts hard to comment you are the best person for that. If you had winter/all weather tyres on who's to say the accident still would of not happened. All be it with different scenario/fault.

But all seasons reduce the likelihood of an accident in all weathers, when it's wet a summer tyre won't grip and when it's warm you just wear out your winter tyre very quickly and at the same time have lower fuel economy and worse handling due to winter tyres having a much softer side wall

summer tyres best for summer, winter tyres best for winter, all weather tyres compromise

Found out today that South Yorkshire and Lancashire Police forces both use winter tyres all year round.

On 11/16/2020 at 5:37 PM, st line x 140 driver said:

New Tyres with more tread stop quicker in wet conditions on premium brands even with minimum legal limit (1.6) stop better than new cheap tyres.

Cars with Premium tyres no tread in dry conditions stop shorter distance /go faster just like F1 funny that. - think its something to do with contact area.

Of course slick tyres will give more grip in dry conditions there is more rubber to road contact. The only reason for the grooves in the tyres i.e. tread, is to get rid of the water in wet conditions. Water is not easily compressible so without any channels for the water to escape from under your tyres your car will just float on a thin layer of water and you will have no grip.

If we could guarantee there would never be any rain on our roads we would all be driving round on slicks.

 

I saw a few driving on slicks before the MOT test came in.

was that when you were a lad Bob.

15 hours ago, st line x 140 driver said:

was that when you were a lad Bob.

You wouldn't believe the state some peoples tyres were in when I was dealing with RTAs prior to the MOT test.   Not uncommon to see no tread at all or even metal showing through.

There'll be loads of people driving on slicks again now since the MOT extension.  

7 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

There'll be loads of people driving on slicks again now since the MOT extension.  

Just in time for the bad weather - talk of snow next week!