All Season Tyre Choices

[Deleted member 166430]

I’m coming up to the time when I‘ll need to get new boots. I always change tyres long before getting down to the legal limit, generally aiming for 3mm as the absolute minimum. All four of my current tyres are currently between 3.5 and 4mm. With winter arriving soon I don’t want to leave it too long before getting re-shod.

I’ve decided that All Season tyres are the best way to go for me in Cambridgeshire. Although snow is rare these days, even here it can get very cold, so summer tyres rapidly become less efficient. But winters aren’t long and bad, so I can’t justify another set of wheels with winter tyres for a relatively small number of journeys.

But my quandary now is which All Season tyres to go for. One problem is that the two biggest tyre testers in Europe (Tyre Reviews and Auto Bild) don’t come up with the same set of results. They use different cars and different tyre sizes and test on different surfaces. This results in some tyres performing well with one tester and badly with another. So that doesn’t help with making a decision on which to go for.

Things get further complicated when it comes to tracking down the chosen tyre. For instance, Michelin CrossClimate 2 did well with both testers, but it’s not available in the size I need for the rears (255/35 R18). I even wrote to Michelin to find out when it may be available, but they just replied that it’s not. Funnily enough though, it is available in North America but presumably in compliance with a different set of regulations to those in Europe.

So I looked into getting Pirelli Centurato All Season FP2, which are available in the sizes I need. But that’s one that performed very well for Tyre Reviews but badly in wet braking for Auto Bild. The thing is, neither reviewer tested 18” tyres, nor as wide or as low profile as I need.

Am I therefore going to just have to guess and hope? Do I con myself that Pirelli are now testing 18” tyres for next season’s F1 cars, so they should know what they’re doing? Not having results from any other tyre companies to compare, makes that a pointless assumption.

Its all too bloody confusing.

 

[grober]

It's quite common that powerful RWD models such as Mercedes and BMW recommend the following changes to their cars when employing winter tyres. This particularly applies to staggered setups where rear wheels are wider than the fronts. First recommendation is to move up one step in tyre wall aspect ratio . Second is to equalise tyre tread width front and back by reducing rim width at the rear* such that the tyre tread width is the same all-round. The thinking being a higher tread wall permits greater flexibility and narrower tread helps the tyre to bite into slippery surfaces. In countries where winter tyres are compulsory many rear wheel drive car owners thus have a set of winter/all-weather wheels and tyres for that reason. This can mean that owners wishing to retain wheels with summer /standard staggered tread width and aspect ratio may have difficulty in finding winter/all-weather tyres to fit in their desired size particularly at the rear. Certain manufacturers do cater for this but choice is often restricted.
As far as manufacturers are concerned I would favour Nokian and VREDESTEIN who first introduced winter/all-weather tyre technology but the size caveats may still apply.

* different wheel offsets may apply F/R altho rim width may be the same.


ps-all this sort of info used to be easily found in the printed owners manual-- it may still be there online you look hard enough!

 

[OneForTheRoad]

I ran 245 35 18 without issue . Cross climates are available in that size.

 

[MrSteve]

I've been looking as well for my C43 with the same rear size and same problem trying to find a set of 4 that are the same.

I am in a very slow email conversation with Michelin which started with me asking whether you can mix CrossClimate+ and CrossClimate 2 tyres on the same car and after a week they might have got to the point of identifying my car and tyre sizes after being told them a couple of times (I hope!). They have not made a suggestion or response to the actual question yet.

I also asked a dealer for help and they said they could not help as they could not find runflat all season tyres, and I could not use non-runflat tyres because of no spare/gunk kit. When asked about whether a gunk kit was available I was basically told there are "setup" differences so it was not possible. Take from that what you will, I took it to mean they are not interested, which is a shame.

 

[Chrishazle]

If anyone finds 245/40 R17 all season tyres please post the link - both my cars have staggered 17" rims, 225/45 R17 front (for which Michelin Cross climates are available, I have them on the S204), 245/40 R17 rears - can I find all season tyres in that size - NO!! I know I can fit 225/45 on the rears instead of 245/40, but would prefer to keep the extra 2cm of tread on the road at the rear, especially in summer, and especially on the SLK which will not leave her garage if there's white or icy stuff around (except in emergency).

 

[Deleted member 166430]

I ran 245 35 18 without issue . Cross climates are available in that size.

Michelin CrossClimate 2s aren’t available in 245 35 18 as far as I can tell. Do you mean CrossClimate +, which is nowhere near as good as the 2 according to all the reviews? CrossClimate 2 only came out earlier this year.

 

[Deleted member 166430]

As far as manufacturers are concerned I would favour Nokian and VREDESTEIN who first introduced winter/all-weather tyre technology but the size caveats may still apply.

The latest Vredestein and Nokian tyres aren’t available in the size I need for my rears, so that decision is made easier.

I have to confess that I didn’t fully understand what you wrote about tyre/wheel sizes, not least because it mostly applied to winter tyres. My manual has no mention whatsoever of All Season tyres and I certainly don’t want the expense of buying new rims. Are you saying that it may be ok to go for a slightly narrower tyre on the same rim? I don’t see how I can go for a higher tread wall on the same rims.

 

[grober]

If anyone finds 245/40 R17 all season tyres please post the link - both my cars have staggered 17" rims, 225/45 R17 front (for which Michelin Cross climates are available, I have them on the S204), 245/40 R17 rears - can I find all season tyres in that size - NO!! I know I can fit 225/45 on the rears instead of 245/40, but would prefer to keep the extra 2cm of tread on the road at the rear, especially in summer, and especially on the SLK which will not leave her garage if there's white or icy stuff around (except in emergency).

Our offer for 245/40 R17 All-season tyres

Tyres online @ mytyres.co.uk - Buy cheap car tyres online and benefit from a fast delivery to the address of your choice.

www.mytyres.co.uk

expensive!

this looks a conservatively treaded winter tyre

Kumho WinterCraft WP71. Only £ 123.00

Winter tyres Kumho WinterCraft WP71, 245/40 R17 95V XL, Load rating: 95, Speed index: V: up to 149 mph.

www.mytyres.co.uk

ps I have run" conservatively treaded" winter tyres as all weather tyres [all year long] for many years at UK road legal speeds with no ill effects

 

[Chrishazle]

Fuel D Wet C Noise 72Db - not what I'd be looking for, particularly fuel and noise!

 

[fabes]

I have Bridgestone Weather control Evo in 235 and 255 18s on mine.
They seem fine, but haven't been tested in anger (or snow / slush) as last winter was too mild

 

[grober]

Fuel D Wet C Noise 72Db - not what I'd be looking for, particularly fuel and noise!

Unfortunately increased rolling resistance and noise levels come with the territory. All those little sipes and open tread pattern that give the extra grip to all weather tyres have a down side----its deciding whether you can live with them in daily driving as these figures translate into driving experience- some can live with it/get used to it--others can't.

 

[OneForTheRoad]

Weather control evo are B and A . I'm running them as 245 40 18 all round on my e350 . Okish in the snow on banks, great wet grip .

 

[OneForTheRoad]

Correction . 235 40 18 all round.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

If you can’t find all season tyres in the right sizes then you could consider a summer and winter set, stored in a tyre hotel. When using a tyre hotel you don't need a second set of wheels which reduces the cost.

I use a tyre hotel and they don’t charge for storage, or for the first change over, but subsequent change overs are £40 whether mounted to wheels or not. They say most people don’t have a second set of wheels.

It’s great service, they’re ready and waiting freshly cleaned and balanced each time they change over. The dirty wheels are cleaned before storage. For £40 it’s a bargain and avoids piles of tyres at home.

We have a tyre hotel within 30 minutes of home so it works for us. We do use all season tyres on our touring caravan, having two sets of tyres replaced every four years with little wear would be madness