Winter Tyres - the great con???

[Deleted member 126251]

A friend of mine collected a new E53 AMG with summer tyres last week.

If winter tyres were that important in the UK, why would they (Mercedes) sell somebody a performance car, with summer tyres, in the middle of winter?

 

[Alienator]

Because car has been build in summer...

 

[MercedesDriver]

A friend of mine collected a new E53 AMG with summer tyres last week.

If winter tyres were that important in the UK, why would they (Mercedes) sell somebody a performance car, with summer tyres, in the middle of winter?

So they can sell a set of wheels with winter tyres maybe?!

 

[Deleted member 126251]

So they can sell a set of wheels with winter tyres maybe?!

Don't know - I've driven 10s of 1000s of miles in all kinds of conditions with "normal" tyres.....technology moves on and I really wonder if for "average" conditions there is more marketing than need.

 

[jpwilliams]

A friend of mine collected a new E53 AMG with summer tyres last week.

If winter tyres were that important in the UK, why would they (Mercedes) sell somebody a performance car, with summer tyres, in the middle of winter?

Same reason as BMW sell their X cars with summer tyres ?

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Because car has been build in summer...

Duty of care?

Cannot sell a machine gun to a monkey without fully informing it that the machine gun is dangerous!

How can MB sell a performance car with summer tyres and deliver it in mid-winter if the summer tyres are not suitable?

 

[bob6600]

There is no law in this country so not compulsory to use winter tyres so they don't need to supply them on a new car. As said, gives the dealer a chance to up sell.

I too have never used winter tyres and not had any problems, although my current car came with them fitted so I will wear them out and then fir some summer tyres

 

[John]

I have a work colleague who used to have a 16 plate 4WD 420d BMW.

He tried to ascend a hill near him when we had snow in late 2017 I think it was - got stuck all too quickly and predictably along with everyone else.

Then a year ago when the "BFTE" hit, having fitted Winter tyres prior to Winter having learnt his lesson, he was driving up a similar gradient hill with similar fresh snow and he stated it was like driving on tarmac!

I ascended this same hill at around the same time as we go the same way to work and I got our Juke up there easily enough but there were other cars like a 5 series sliding and fishtailing around all over the shop giving up halfway up.

Now you could argue "it was the 4WD" but 2 x 0 grip is the same as 4 x 0 grip.

 

[grober]

They aren't yet a legal requirement in the UK, which poses the interesting question of what happens in Germany. Can they sell a new car with summer tyres in the winter across there ? I expect the onus will still be with the new owner rather than the seller to make sure their car is road legal which the Mercedes dealer will be all to eager [ and geared up] to assist with.

 

[MercedesDriver]

Don't know - I've driven 10s of 1000s of miles in all kinds of conditions with "normal" tyres.....technology moves on and I really wonder if for "average" conditions there is more marketing than need.

Technology moves but laws of Physics remain.

 

[Rich H]

I have winter tyres on mine this year and I had winter tyres on a previous rear wheel drive car for 6 years.
They make a huge difference in the slush and snow and they are meant to improve the stopping distance in the cold and wet.
Tyres are important to make you go and stop.
If you choose to buy good quality tyres why wouldn't you buy winter tyres?

 

[Alex225]

The same could be said of lots of things dealerships do. Why can you buy a car which has different brands across the axle? More tread on one than the other? Let alone a host of other things.

Unless they're breaking the law then why would they. Up to the knew owner to go for winter tyres if they prefer. To be fair, I've not ever needed winter tyres as much as I'm sure they are beneficial. At the same time are the tyres on the car in the OP summer only or all year round where winters would be preferable now? I doubt there unsafe mate.

 

[whitenemesis]

They aren't yet a legal requirement in the UK, which poses the interesting question of what happens in Germany. Can they sell a new car with summer tyres in the winter across there ? I expect the onus will still be with the new owner rather than the seller to make sure their car is road legal which the Mercedes dealer will be all to eager [ and geared up] to assist with.

They are not a legal requirement in Germany either. The requirement is to have the correct tyres for the conditions. If one is involved in an incident in the snow and one is on 'summer' tyres the Polizei will have words...

 

[moonloops]

If winter tyres were that important in the UK, why would they (Mercedes) sell somebody a performance car, with summer tyres, in the middle of winter?

Same reason the car arrives with aircon on coldest setting when bought in December and the heating on max when bought in August.

Winter tyres are not important in the UK, I've been stranded on snow and ice twice in xxx years of driving. Yes it's a "rhymes with witch" when you get caught out but give it a few hours and the world goes back to normal....

 

[KillerHERTZ]

UK - 2mm of snow: Cue scenes of cars struggling to get out of Tesco carpark / Red weather warning.

Germany (rest of Europe) - 1 Metre of Snow, cars driving around like its mid summer.

Difference? Winter tyres.

 

[Dryce]

UK - 2mm of snow: Cue scenes of cars struggling to get out of Tesco carpark / Red weather warning.

Germany (rest of Europe) - 1 Metre of Snow, cars driving around like its mid summer.

Difference? Winter tyres.

Try the BMW configurator on the German site and try configuring a car. On the UK site it will default to 18" wheels and offer you mainly 18" and 19" wheels option with a token 17" offering. On the German site it will offer a range of 17" options.

Are BMW the only ones? No. VAG used to do this with the old Touareg - 17" wheels were the base option in Germany. 19" the base option in the UK.

Do winter tyres help? Yes.

But the combination of modern high torque engines - large rims - wide tyres - and drivers typically only experiencing the conditions occasionally also contribute to the UK situation where a light covering causes disproportionate amounts of disruption.

 

[Headhurts]

I had a set of winter tyres on my previous car a 2014 E300 but I was still working at that time, I believe winter tyres are better when temperatures drop below +7 degrees.

These days I’m retired so if weather is icy I stay home.

I believe they are worth having but I guess you will need to take into consideration what roads you use mostly to make an informed decision.

Personally I would prefer any new car to come with summer tyres regardless as our winters are not that cold.

Robin

 

[Mattns]

As others have said, requirements to have winter tyres on a vehicle in the winter months varies from country to country, UK has no requirement, other countries it's mandatory and you have compliance issues if you don't change the wheels to match the season.

I too have had the chance to drive on winter tyres several hundred Km across Finland on roads covered in snow/ice, as others have said the difference is unbelievable, traction on hills and stopping distance is only slightly compromised over what I would experience in summer on a very wet UK road. Also in Finland I gather they drop national speed limits down by I think 20Km/hr however traffic flows freely as they all wear winter boots

 

[Edd1968]

Interesting thread.
I lived in north Germany for a few years and everyone had either a second set of wheels with winters or mounted them onto their existing rims. It was just normal.
Living in the Highlands now (like this morning for example) I've woken up to a smettering of the white stuff.
I've just sold both our winter tyre shod Merc!! but I can speak with confidence that they are chalk and cheese compared to their summer derivatives.
But at the end of the day it's down to each individual to drive (or not) according to the prevailing conditions and as someone already pointed out not many folk have the experience of driving in said conditions which is always going to pose an issue.
Is it a rip off by the manufacturers? Absolutely not. A good sales man however would recommend a set of winters as an extra option, let's face it the extra cost is only a few hundred more on a set of steel wheels. Who cares what they look like when they allow you to complete your journey when all others around you are sliding everywhere

 

[st13phil]

They aren't yet a legal requirement in the UK, which poses the interesting question of what happens in Germany. Can they sell a new car with summer tyres in the winter across there ? I expect the onus will still be with the new owner rather than the seller to make sure their car is road legal which the Mercedes dealer will be all to eager [ and geared up] to assist with.

A friend of mine who lives in Dusseldorf ordered a new VW during December, that will be delivered in February. He was offered a choice of delivery on winter tyres or all season tyres, and couldn't spec delivery on summer tyres.