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All season tyres

Timely, I've just dug my winter tyres out to swap over this evening. I guess it's a habit thing, I much prefer the additional security that they provide even with a 4x4. As someone has already mentioned, once you've used them you appreciate what they do.
 
zippy said:
HOWEVER, it should be said that I drive a 4x4 and you'd expect that not to need winter tyres.
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Why not? Assuming it doesn't come with them, that is. Any car needs max traction in corners and braking, all cars have 4 wheel braking.
 
Tony Lockhart said:
Snufkin,

You sound like me!

I'm looking at swapping over to the winter wheels/tyres, and for the first time I'll be doing it in the garage rather than on the drive. Better, but I'm not looking forward to it.

Once the winters are worn out I'll be looking at all season tyres too.
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It is a chore changing the wheels but what people forget is that you are running two sets of tyres so that extends their life. I do value the feel and grip having good tyres bring so its worth it. However that extension of tyre life might be why my Dunlops are now age hardening and destined for the chop with about 4mm left; I just haven't used them enough! I might just stick the Winter tyres back on and worry about it in the spring.
 
Snufkin said:
It is a chore changing the wheels but what people forget is that you are running two sets of tyres so that extends their life. I do value the feel and grip having good tyres bring so its worth it. However that extension of tyre life might be why my Dunlops are now age hardening and destined for the chop with about 4mm left; I just haven't used them enough! I might just stick the Winter tyres back on and worry about it in the spring.
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I did this before cross climate but found after 4-5 seasons that the inner rims were getting damaged and it became harder and harder to seal and then I got slow leaks . that's why I changed to all weather tyres
 
Winter tyres make a sizable difference as soon as temps routinely drop below around 5 to 7 deg C. You do not need ice and snow to justify it. Braking differences alone in the cold temps make it a no brainer whether front, rear or 4wd. If you think differently you just have not tried them. For powerful RWD they are a must but having tried them I would fit to a typical FWD runabout now as well. The secure handling and improved traction is considerably safer at all time. You do not need to be looning around as cav suggests to benefit.

Using winter tyres in the summer is fine if you want to but they wear faster and perform worse in braking and traction in the warm dry conditions so again, use the best tyres for the conditions. The dual season tyres are a compromise but better than regular summer tyres year round. They will not be as good in the cold or the hot but probably fine for average use.
 
hifinutt said:
I did this before cross climate but found after 4-5 seasons that the inner rims were getting damaged and it became harder and harder to seal and then I got slow leaks . that's why I changed to all weather tyres
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That is a good point. I am lucky enough to have two sets of wheels so its just a matter of swapping the wheels round. That does give you the issue of storing the set you arn't using which is not always easy. My current Winter tyres have at least a couple more seasons left in them as they do not seem to be deteriorating/hardening like the Summer tyres which is good because they were expensive. Their longevity may be due, in part, to them only being on the car for about four months of the year and the type of compound they are made of.
 
Before fitting the CrossClimates I had been a bit of a skinflint with tyres. I bought new ones, OK, rather than dodgy retreads, but generally went for the cheapest budget brands. In retrospect I was a bit of an idiot. The only thing that attaches you to the road is four patches of rubber and it is not worth skimping on them.

The difference is quite measurable and significant, as the professional reviews confirm. Personally, I don't notice much improvement in the dry, as I don't drive like Senna or anything, but in the wet, on my goodness, those things just scythe through standing water and keep the car firmly planted at all times. I will not be going back, and when my kids have their own cars (some way off right now), I will personally pay to fit these things (or whatever the equivalent is then).

A video review comparing 4 top tyres, Michelin Primacy 3 (a summer tyre), Continental ContiWinterContact (a winter tyre), Goodyear Vector All Seasons and Michelin CrossClimate:

The CrossClimate seems not only like the best compromise, but gives very little away to any of the others in any of the tests.

Kind regards

- Garry
 
In the last fairly snowy winter we had in Manchester, I had the misfortune to use an Audi A3 courtsy car for a week or so. It had stupidly wide tyres as standard. The upshot was that on packed snow that was anything other than level the traction control cut the power because the tyres just couldn't get a purchase from stationary. Skill just didn't come into it.
 
I've not bought snow tires because I work from home and don't drive a lot, but we do get a LOT of snow in Massachusetts, and I've found that new all season tires are significantly better in snow than all seasons that are anywhere near the legal minimum tread depth (1.6mm here as well as in the UK). Putting new tires on the rear of my FWD car significantly reduced fish tailing in snow (and I had near 3mm before the change).

My takeaway is if you don't want to splurge for two sets of tires and if you plan to drive in snow, make sure you change your tires well before they get anywhere near the legal minimum.
 
My car came with Continental ProContact all-season tires that were equally inept through all four seasons. I regret not changing them as soon as I took delivery of the car. After 30,000 miles of hatred, I gambled on a set of summer tires (Michelin Pilot Super Sport). We've been having milder and milder winters, I survived last year's with the summer tires and expect to do the same this year.
 
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I have had Pirelli Scorpion All Season tyres on my diesel X3 since 2008. They are excellent and I would now always use All Season tyres on any future vehicle (well, assuming I don't move to Florida...), most likely the Michelin CrossClimates if not an SUV. I do drive to The Alps every winter.

My Pirellis have been doing about 50k miles before needing to be replaced, which I think is excellent on a 4WD vehicle.
 
In Swissieland your insurance claim will be rejected if you have an accident in icy or snow conditions without winter tyres- I'm going for a roadworthy (MOT) test tomorrow, and had to get winter wheels fitted over weekend because weather has turned, they would fail me if there is snow and summer tyres on car. On snow and ice they make a difference, but do not allow you to drive like the conditions are anything but snow/ice. Even with AWD, this only solves getting going, doesn't help with stopping or changing direction in snow.

Worse is high performance summer tyres at below 5 degrees C. We used to run sponsored P-Zero corsas in a streetcar championship I was in - trying to use them on the road with air temps below 5 degrees and they become ditch-finders, when I moved to Dublin with a good set of Corsas, the first winters t-junctions in Dublin were interesting. On track, you just need a few more laps to warm the buggers up.
 
Dowser, in my experience the extra grip for braking and cornering can be felt through the steering. No, I don't drive like Hannu, but there is a big difference in my opinion. And, I think the data says so too.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
In the last fairly snowy winter we had in Manchester, I had the misfortune to use an Audi A3 courtsy car for a week or so. It had stupidly wide tyres as standard. The upshot was that on packed snow that was anything other than level the traction control cut the power because the tyres just couldn't get a purchase from stationary. Skill just didn't come into it.
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My A3's traction control tried to kill me the first time I drove it on snow, presumably applied some differential braking as it pirouetted through 180° going round a gentle bend at about 20mph. Fortunately it did it when I had the road to myself, knew it was the traction control as I saw the light flash; so turned it off and completed my journey without incident. On consulting the internet, I was directed to check the manual, where it does say in size 6 text in amongst a bunch of guff, that you should always turn the traction control off when driving in snow! Honestly had never occurred to me, first car I owned with ABS or PAS, nevermind ESP or whatever they call it!
 
I have driven many thousands of miles on Michelin Cross Climates on my previous Jag estate. They are simply the business. And still got very good life compared to regular summer tyres even.

My wife had (some time ago) a Renault Grand Scenic. I put Nokian winter tyres on (very good!). One morning on the school run she faced a sheet of ice on the sloping road where everyone stopped for the school bus. Cars slipping around everywhere. She just reversed straight up the road as if it was dry. Cue general astonishment from other drivers.

Seek out the video where winter tyres are tested at the Tamworth Snowdome. Winter tyres work.....not just on snow. Icy roads they make a HUGE difference. Heavy rain?----cuts straight through.

Only problem for me is that we now have an XC60 and a Qashqai and a Ford KA. Cross climates are not available for any of them!

XC60 has Scorpion Verde as standard. But that is an all weather tyre and not an all season tyre. There is a Verde All Season version so I may look at that. The Qashqai has silly skinny tyres so expensive in any variety. KA tyres are cheap - so may change those and my wife use it bad weather days perhaps.
 
Another vote for Cross Climates. Excellent tyres all year round and very good in the wet too.
 
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