Summer and winter tyre recommendations

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DSM10000

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I have 205/55/16 Pirelli P6000 tyres fitted all round on my C320 saloon.

I think they may be the "Powergy" range but am unsure without checking, the unused spare certainly is. They are all fairly new with good tread, one brand new last Saturday as the one it replaced was out of shape slightly.

Reading several tyre review sites however gives me cause for concern as these tyres are coming out with very poor ratings for grip especially in the wet.

So far they seem OK but I am still getting used to the car so I am being gentle, they are a little noisy on the motorway perhaps and I can make the TCS light up if quick away from a junction but in a relatively powerful rear wheel drive car that is not unusual.

I drive along a mix of twisty, sometimes poor quality country lanes as well as fast A roads and motorways on my commute so I want a tyre that suits the car and provides high levels of grip. I do not drive stupidly but do like to keep up a good pace especially around corners. I am also quite likely to encounter wildlife such as deer suddenly jumping out in front of me so good braking action is vital.

Any comments on these or recomendations of other tyres to consider would be most welcome. I am also seriously considering a set of winter tyres as the first 6 miles of my commute are on roads that rarely see a gritting lorry.

Thanks in advance.
 
I used Kumho winter tyres on my CLK - very impressed.

For summer tyres I would use Michelin's, Continental or Falken 912's.

Avoid the falken 452's as they are noisy (but quite grippy)
 
Yes i found that they were noisiy aswell
Try Conti sports contact 3's
 
Falken ZE912's for summer & Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme's for winter.

Russ
 
All here, and happily for you tests conducted on 205/55R16 versions

Winter Tyre Test | Total Tyre Guide | Products | Auto Express

Verdict | Total Tyre Guide | Products | Auto Express

1. Goodyear UltraGrip

2.Continental ContiWinterContact

3. Dunlop SP Winter Sport

I have the older version of the Goodyear Ultragrips and they are brilliant.

Thoughout the recent UK snows and a number of ski trips to very snowy places in Austria (involving long high speed runs and some very bad autobahn conditions indeed) never had any problems at all.

Lost count of the number of stranded 4x4's on stupid tyres I have sailed past.
 
The old saying is correct when all season tyres are tested, Jack of all trades - Master of none! Last place or therabouts in every test.

Russ
 
Part of the problem is that the P6000 is as old as the hills - tyre technology has moved on a long way.
 
The old saying is correct when all season tyres are tested, Jack of all trades - Master of none! Last place or therabouts in every test.

Russ

Trust me this is no longer correct. I have first hand experience.
 
Trust me this is no longer correct. I have first hand experience.


The tyre test appears to be recent, 2010 or 2011?
The all season tyre got good marks on dry roads, but came bottom for wet or snow covered roads.

The verdict at the end places it 7th out of 8th, when you consider the tyre in 8th was a summer tyre included for comparison purposes, it does not look good. An all season tyre is too much of a compromise and can never excell in all conditions unlike a dedicated winter/summer tyre set up.

Russ
 
I suggest you read it again. The Vedrestan tyre is a 4 season tyre and it scored highly throughout.
 
I suggest you read it again. The Vedrestan tyre is a 4 season tyre and it scored highly throughout.


The Vredestein Snowtrac scored highly, it is a winter tyre, the Vredestein Quatrac (all season) narrowly avoided last place due to the inclusion of a summer tyre in a winter tyre test.

Russ
 
I think the braking test says bucket loads.

Top stopper was Goodyear’s UltraGrip 7+, which was the only tyre to dip below the 18-metre mark. There was little to choose between the Continental and Goodyear’s sister brand Dunlop, which took half a metre more.

Read more: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/total_tyre_guide/259438/snow_braking.html#ixzz1SZ9oNFoIThe Vredestein model needed another metre, stopping in 19.5 metres. There was nothing between the Pirelli and Finnish tyre specialist Nokian, which required just over 20 metres. Less than five metres behind the winner was the all-season Vredestein.

And the summer tyre most of us will be using this winter? It needed 43.14 metres! That’s around six car lengths further than the winning Goodyear. It was still doing close to 20mph when the UltraGrip had stopped. And we only started braking from 25mph!

My own experience with both dedicated winter tyres and 4 season tyres for me at least confirms that for our climate, 4 season tyres are more than adequate. If I were to spend 4 months or more of the year with snow on the ground then I might see the justification of full on winter tyres but in all honesty these new 4 season tyres are surprisingly competent as borne out by the M&S winter tyre accreditations.
 
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these new 4 season tyres are surprisingly competent as borne out by the M&S winter tyre accreditations.

To be honest, the M+S rating on any tyre is pretty much meaningless. The only criteria a tyre needs to gain the M+S rating is 25% of the tread pattern has to be open or grooved. Whether it can grip in mud or snow is not even tested.

Each to their own, but the only tyres I would buy for winter use would have the M+S along with the "snowflake in the mountain" symbol showing the tyre is rated for extreme winter conditions and has to pass far stricter tests to get that accreditation.

Russ
 
so you would agree then that my 4 season tyres with both m&s and the mountain snowflake symbol would satisfy your requirements then since they've passed such stringent testing. [sigh]


Have you actually tested these or is your claimed wisdom merely hearsay?:doh:
 
so you would agree then that my 4 season tyres with both m&s and the mountain snowflake symbol would satisfy your requirements then since they've passed such stringent testing. [sigh]


Have you actually tested these or is your claimed wisdom merely hearsay?:doh:


All season tyres are still a compromise, if they excell in one area, then they must be poor in another. There is no such thing as an all round tyre that can perform in every condition. I'd rather swap tyres and use a winter/swummer set up.

The internet is full of tyre tests, by reputable people, hearsay does not come into it.

All Season vs. Winter (Passenger Vehicle): The Difference Between Wintertime Gripping and White Knuckle Snow Slipping

Russ
 
[groan] You have just selected a review of a tyre which doesn’t have the mountain/snowflake accreditation to try and prove your point. :crazy:

I on the other hand drove 1000 miles and back across Europe during blizzard conditions that were the worst the continent has seen in over 50 years. Cars/trucks/vans with summer tyres were abandoned by the roadside or up embankments or in ditches. My unsuitable compromise tyres as you put it handled the extreme circumstances with ease, allowing us to literally pick our way through the carnage without loss of control or traction.

Being a seasoned user of winter tyres, I experienced no major difference in level of grip between a full on winter tyre and these new 4 season variety that have been accredited and approved for use in the snow in those countries that demand it. Despite this admittedly unscientific test, I think it clearly shows that this type of tyre does what it says on the tin.

Now that we are in summer time I can confirm that the tyres are working equally well with no increased noise or loss of grip and no signs of increased tyre wear.

Back to the OP's question therefore, I think these tyres will be ideal based on first hand experience.

If the OP was going to drive across the arctic circle in November then perhaps a full on winter tyre may well be better suited but then that isn’t the case here is it.
 
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Common sense & the laws of physics dictate that an all season tyre is a compromise, if yours are great in snow then they must be lacking in some other area, they simply cannot excel in every condidtion.

You seem to be a world leading authority who disagrees with every tyre test I've ever read (comparing all season to summer/winter set ups), so no point in arguing any further.

Russ
 
Everything is a compromise but given our climate where we rarely (if ever) have really really hot snaps or really really cold snaps then I would suggest that neither a dedicated summer tyre or a dedicated winter tyre is ideal.

Are you really suggesting a full on snow tyre is best for the OP's requirement? I would suggest that this would be the biggest compromise of all.
 

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