Are winter tyres any good?

[Joss Walker]

..... on my non Porsche daily driver?

I'm now doing over 600 rather high speed miles a week up and down the M1 and am looking to the colder days in Jan and Feb, all the tyre manufacturers and my main dealer say winter tyres are better grip, better wear and safer at lower temperatures etc etc, but of course they do sell them!

Does anyone have any real life experience?

 

[Lowtimer]

On my DD E91 3-series I run 225/45 17 Conti PremiumContact 2 between March and November, and 205/55 16 Goodyear Ultragrip 8 between mid November and the end of Feb, or whenever they stop salting the roads, if later. Highly satisfied with both. The spare 16" wheels were only about £100 the set. If you have room to hang a spare set of wheels and tyres on the garage wall I highly recommend it. Grip in all sorts of frosty and icy conditions is greatly improved on the Uglygrips, not just on snow.

 

[Hairyarse]

I've never used them before but have been seriously thinking about fitting them in the winter to my 3-series as it has fat, low profile, run-flats which are useless in any amount of slow/slush. It's law in many countries to use them as you probably know - if I was daily driving decent miles in my 944 then I'd say it's a no brainer with the increase in snow we seem to be getting. Not sure what tyre/wheel size combos are open to you though Joss?

 

[bighead]

I would say its a "must" given the weather we are having atm, I have pirelli zotozeros on my M3 and my wife's 116 msport has dunlop wintersport .
once you've driven on winter tyres and comparing them to summer tyres...you will use them every winter

 

[MarkK]

I have winter Tyres on our old family Cayenne S,we fit them in October and remove in March some time,they are great for conditions below 7degrees.In snow and ice the handling is phenomenal you have to be careful when leading because the car behind will not stop or turn at the same level of performance...and they won't realise if they are blindly following....
I got a deal from the local Porsche centre,including wheels for a great price,it also prolongs the life of your summer tyres for obvious reasons,but the main benefit is saftey and not being concerned too much when your family is out in snow and ice.
Paz (an ex 968 owner on this forum quite a bit) has winter tyres on his Audi and swears by them.Well worth an Internet trawl to see other opinions.

 

[craiginuk]

Hi Joss,

I've just fitted them to my 3 series and have been very impressed with them. Much more grippy on cold wet mornings. Can't get the traction control light to come on for very long at all. Ok it is only a 318d but it used to flash often on the regular tyres.(falken 453s)

I do around 20k miles a year also up and down M1 and think they will be worth it. I got spare 16" steel wheels and tyres through dealership and checked my 18" alloys with tyres in to their "wheel hotel" for £30 per season. Saves tripping over them in garage when tying to work on 944
Also there is a theory that summer tyres wear more in the winter so am hoping to get higher mileage from them. Also nice to have alloys tucked away for the winter.

My wife did the school run in light snow this morning in my car and found them quite confidence inspiring too.

Craig

 

[amrbose14]

I had 'all-weather' tyres on a V8 mustang in Michigan. All I can tell you is the car was extremely usable in snow. I remember once driving down a Highway on packed snow at ~40 mph, and every car in the ditch was either a Mustang or a people-carrier (sorry... minivan)!

All other experiences of driving in snow in other cars in the U.S. (presumably also on all weather tyres) was remarkably easy compared with driving around on snow in the UK (on 'summer tyres').

So - they seem to work very well.

Chris

 

[Copperman05]

Hi Joss,
Off topic but are you coming to our 944 trackday on 25th March? (See thread) obviously with your new kwv3 it would be rude not to?[]


Edd

 

[Diver944]

I had them on my S2 a few years ago when I was doing 20k miles a year in all weathers. It made a huge difference when the roads were icy or slushy after a long night shift. There were times where I could get out of the works car park unaided whereas workmates needed help to get up a slight slope onto a gritted surface

I've just this week received a spare set of steel wheels and winter tyres from www,mytyres.co.uk for our Clio runaround, you can't argue with £280 for tyres and wheels [8D] admittedly tiny 14 inchers. I highly recommend a spare set of wheels and winter tyres once the temperature drops

 

[pauljmcnulty]

We fitted them to our Legacy last winter, although there were only about 4 days when it was cold enough. Only a cheap set of tyres, but a big improvement over the Sport Contacts we usually run. Not only in the snow, but noticeably better in cold, wet conditions as well.

 

[OLD_ian]

yes... I moved to England from Canada 10 years ago, so have over 20 years experience of driving on ice, snow, slush, freezing rain etc.

Winter tires make a massive difference.

edited to add this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elP_34ltdWI

Ian

 

[LIZ111S]

ORIGINAL: _ian

yes... I moved to England from Canada 10 years ago, so have over 20 years experience of driving on ice, snow, slush, freezing rain etc.

Winter tires make a massive difference.

edited to add this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elP_34ltdWI

Ian

Ian that video sums it up and also shows that winter tyres are not just for the snow.

I do a fair bit of driving in Germany and Holland, and even in snow the roads keep moving because everyone generally uses winter tyres (law in Germany).

In the UK we have a nightmare every year just with the slightest bit of snow. Even last year running winter tyres on both my cars you still get caught up in the traffic, resorting to overtaking stranded cars.

My biggest fear during the winter is someone running into me, knowing that I can probably stop quicker than them if they are on summer tyres. There needs to be more road safety campaigns in the UK to get everyone to switch to winter tyres.

 

[GlennS]

Yes. They work. Significant advantages at all temps below 7 Deg. C and in ice and snow.

 

[Eldavo]

Fitted MrsEldavo's 3 series cab with 16" steelies with BMW wheel trims and winter tyres last night.

They look rubbish compared to the 19s that were on but the difference is phenomenal!!!

 

[944Turbo]

Not yet, thought about fitting them to the Audi before the drive to the alps last year, decided not to in the end. There was some high speed ( think s2 flat out) runs following a BMW 535D (with ski roof box - I left a good distance in case it came off and so he could draw the police).

In those conditions at low altitudes I was kind of glad to have summers on - do winter tyres have lower speed ratings?

Once in the alps I was surprised again how well the quattro coped even on polished sheet ice (the ramp up and out of the underground car park) with summer tyres. I have a pair of snow socks and chains still unused.
The year before we crossed a pass on mostly ice with a very slight dusting of snow but no real issues driving to the conditions, it was around 2am though so not a lot of other traffic to deal with.

It does still surprise me how it will gain speed a lot better than it will stop though - same 4 contact patches!

I think if I lived further north (and didn't have a garage full of Porsche wheels) I would definitely go for some winters

Tony

 

[DavidL]

I have a set of Pirelli scorpion winters on my old range rover. Put them on about 3 weeks ago and they will stay on until end of feb/mar or as weather depends. Covers all bases I reckon, just waiting for the snow.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

do winter tyres have lower speed ratings?

Ours were rated for not over 100 mph IIRC.

Realistically, I figure that anyone who thinks it's worth doing more than that in conditions where winter tyres would be on the car, particularly in the UK where that's a risky speed in Summer on the clearest motorway, might be safer taking a train. [&o]

 

[944Turbo]

ORIGINAL: pauljmcnulty

do winter tyres have lower speed ratings?

Ours were rated for not over 100 mph IIRC.

Realistically, I figure that anyone who thinks it's worth doing more than that in conditions where winter tyres would be on the car, particularly in the UK where that's a risky speed in Summer on the clearest motorway, might be safer taking a train. [&o]

On the contrary, from a safety point of view I would argue that on a motorway with good sightlines, you are less likely to need to stop suddenly or swerve violently at even 120 mph. The unexpected eventuality needing the tyres performance is likely to occur near other hazards, possibly well within the speed limit, say a snowy day in town, pedestrians falling into the road, kids playing etc.

From a getting knicked point of view, you will be equally punished winter or summer, probably less likely to get caught during the winter, its much more pleasant manning a laser gun in the summer.

 

[TTM]

ORIGINAL: Diver944
I've just this week received a spare set of steel wheels and winter tyres from www,mytyres.co.uk for our Clio runaround, you can't argue with £280 for tyres and wheels [8D] admittedly tiny 14 inchers. I highly recommend a spare set of wheels and winter tyres once the temperature drops

What tyres did you choose?
I have been running some "Nankang Studdable" on my Clio and though I was initially impressed how well they handled in the dry, so far they seem to slip as much as normal tyres in the snow.

 

[GlennS]

do winter tyres have lower speed ratings?

They're rated in the same way as summer tyres. I have "H" rated (130mph) winters on my Golf and I know "V" rated (149mph) winters are available.