What weather tires do you use in the UK?

[Riva811]

I think i am going for these for my car Discover the MICHELIN Pilot Sport 4 S on www.michelin.co.uk
Summer tires are the way to go i guess. Not sure how bad they will be in snow or ice conditions but thats usually a couple of days in london

 

[OneForTheRoad]

anyone know if all season tyres have to go on all 4 rims , like winter ones do ??

 

[CaptainChaos]

anyone know if all season tyres have to go on all 4 rims , like winter ones do ??

Ideally yes. Same with any tyre. You want an equal amount of grip on each corner. Not two with loads of grip, and two with little.

 

[WollaGT40]

Since I live in Scotland I occasionally encounter some pretty severe conditions. One thing which I didnt notice mentioned is tyre width which is just as important as rubber compound. Tyres have got wider over the years, (fashion more than anything) and handling in the wet and grip in snow deteriorated accordingly for rwd cars. So where conditions dictate, winter tyres coupled with a reduction in width at the back gives a dramatic improvement in traction and handling in snow and slush especially. e.g the slk has 225 front and 245 rear, so I would go for 225 winter front and back as I have on my bmw 320d. SLK isnt getting out to play in the snow tho, it's just necessity for the bmw.
Dave

 

[Wolfie1]

Problem with all season tyres is they only go up to a specific size and unless you have 16 or 17” rims you wont get them for merc sized tyres

 

[leef44]

Although I'm in the summer tyres only camp, some people with 4x4 in winter think that they are invincible with grip but don't realise that they also need to switch to winter tyres to gain that advantage.

 

[rf065]

Although I'm in the summer tyres only camp, some people with 4x4 in winter think that they are invincible with grip but don't realise that they also need to switch to winter tyres to gain that advantage.

A tyre has really only 3 main functions to deal with.
1. Acceleration
2. Steering
3. Braking
Any 4x4 will only have an advantage over any front or rear wheel drive car on point one, acceleration, i.e. outright traction.
If it snows or is icy, it will not steer or brake any better, which is why at the first sign of winter the first cars I see that have left the road and are lying in a field are always 4x4's.

Russ

 

[Riva811]

A tyre has really only 3 main functions to deal with.
1. Acceleration
2. Steering
3. Braking
Any 4x4 will only have an advantage over any front or rear wheel drive car on point one, acceleration, i.e. outright traction.
If it snows or is icy, it will not steer or brake any better, which is why at the first sign of winter the first cars I see that have left the road and are lying in a field are always 4x4's.

Russ

I think the term 4x4 is used to describe SUVs. But I agree all wheel drive cars have a great advantage over the rest.

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[rf065]

I think the term 4x4 is used to describe SUVs. But I agree all wheel drive cars have a great advantage over the rest.

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My point was that other than traction on acceleration, they don't have any advantage over the rest. Winter tyres are more of an advantage than 4WD.

Russ

 

[CaptainChaos]

Problem with all season tyres is they only go up to a specific size and unless you have 16 or 17” rims you wont get them for merc sized tyres

Availability is getting better though. Most of the decent All Seasons are now available up to 245/45/18 (Michelin, Goodyear, Nokian, etc). Winter tyres go bigger still.

 

[AndyRC]

I'm considering looking for set of 18inch alloys and putting a set of winter (or just cold and wet weather) tyres on the C63 as they should outperform "summer" tyres at temperatures below 7/8 degrees C for grip.

Having had 4.5 years in a VW 4x4 with Continental Sport 3s I never got stuck in snow or ice but the traction control light was on an off a lot. If I had still been living on the edge of the Pennines I would have definitely fitted winter wheels and tyres.

 

[grober]

The maxim for fitting allweather or winter tyres is when and where. Do you have to drive every day and often after dark or early morning? Do you live or drive frequently in the North of Britain or at elevated altitude or locations more exposed to the elements - then you may often benefit from the fitment of such tyres. If not, then on the odd occasion when they may be necessary outwith these criteria then leave the car in the garage/street and take public transport.
ps and yes if financially challenged you can leave em on all year with very little penalty other than a little increased road noise.
pps
the big names are fine Continental,Michelin, Goodyear but don't forget the first manufacturers to offer this technology Vredestein and Nokia

 

[Lennox]

I have summer and winter wheels for the golf..... Just bought these...(below)

AND they re way better than the Volvo is in the snow. Turns the GTD into a snow goat...

Sent from my Huawei note 8 using my fingers

 

[Wolfie1]

Availability is getting better though. Most of the decent All Seasons are now available up to 245/45/18 (Michelin, Goodyear, Nokian, etc). Winter tyres go bigger still.

Mine runs 255/35 18 on the tears and you dont get all seasons for them yet

 

[Riva811]

Mine runs 255/35 18 on the tears and you dont get all seasons for them yet

Performance cars will never get them. Mine is 255/35/20 front and 275/35/20 rear. Mostly performance summer tires are available.

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[Wolfie1]

Performance cars will never get them. Mine is 255/35/20 front and 275/35/20 rear. Mostly performance summer tires are available.

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Yea but i dont think you will get all seasons in that size

Just checked no you dont but you do at least get winters

 

[Riva811]

Yea but i dont think you will get all seasons in that size

Just checked no you dont but you do at least get winters

I am happy with summer performance tires. As others stated it was really cold twice so far and to be fair you want wet grip if anything else. Plus ESP keeps kicking in on my car so things can't go wrong that easily

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[CaptainChaos]

Mine runs 255/35 18 on the tears and you dont get all seasons for them yet

They might come in time, or else you could drop down a wheel size. Or maybe common sense will prevail and manufacturers will start supplying cars with more modest size tyres on them, as it's all getting a bit silly now!

 

[martini]

I have been using dealer supplied Winter wheels and tyres. November to March for the last six years. On my C350 CDI Estate and previous C320 CDI Estate. My feeling is that grip/breaking is better and safer. With the additional benefit of since using winters, it has hardly ever snowed!

 

[Wolfie1]

I have summer and winter wheels for the golf..... Just bought these...(below)

AND they re way better than the Volvo is in the snow. Turns the GTD into a snow goat...

Sent from my Huawei note 8 using my fingers

You didnt pay £540 on 4 steel wheels!