# snow/winter tyres



## mopardave (Dec 12, 2006)

Evening gents!
Winters coming and I'm gonna get some winter tyres fitted to my wifes polo dsg. Has anyone an opinion...........I'm reading good things about them. She just does the normal urban commute but I have my concerns about her safety so I need to get some fitted............has anyone got a recommendation re brands/suppliers etc?
Thanks guys!
:wave:


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## Bill58 (Jul 5, 2010)

I use winter tyres from November to April as I drive regularly to and from ski centres in Scotland. I use Nokian tyres as they are brilliant in snow. I also find they are have very good all round performance. Goodyear and Continental also make excellent winter tyres and consistently do well in tests. My daughter has Hankook winter tyres on her Fiesta, they have good performance in the wet and dry, but on snow they are nowhere near as good as Nokian.


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## Gizmo68 (Mar 27, 2008)

Another vote for Nokian’s, both the WR G2’s and WR A3’s are superb. :thumb:


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## DeeTailer (Aug 13, 2009)

There's an Autoexpress winter tyre test available to view online. 

The premium brands always do the best if yu're prepared to pay the price premium - Michelin, Goodyear, Continental....

I've had a set of Goodyear Ultragrip 7s on my wife's Yaris for the past three winters, my daughter's a set of Dunlop Wintersport 3Ds on her TTS and I've just fitted a set of Goodyear Performance 2s to my A5.

All seem fine but can't really compare to others....

KwikFit have 25% off all tyres at the moment - and when I got mine from there, my local store price-matched an online retailer....


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## jubbly (May 29, 2006)

Can't really go wrong with any of the big name brands. Nokian Hakkepaliitta just came out on top in the latest test over. Really good on snow and ice but like all winter tyres they are of a softer compound and wear out quicker. Braking distances in the wet are also slightly longer.


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## robtech (Jan 17, 2011)

mind and check with your car insurer as some of them see this a modification and they could be a bit iffy..honestly though fitting snow tyres wont mean the car can just drive over snow like it were a landrover so dont expect miracles,they can also be less grippy in normal conditions esp rain....as someone who worked in the tyre game for years,unless its actually snowing and you really need to drive in snow and ice then yea get a spare set of wheels and fit them when needed,other wise .just stick with regular tyres as long as they have plenty of tread and are at the correct psi then keep them,,if it does snow then you just lower the tyre pressures.


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## CarPro.UK (Nov 22, 2011)

Got a Polo 6R myself as does my mum. I am running Continental Winter Sports this year (just put on last week) and my mum (and girlfriend on her mini) ran Vredistein Snowtrac 3 after winning many awards last year. 

Can't comment on the Continental's so far (but apart from slightly more road noise- certainly havent noticed a difference), but the Vreidstein's were very very good in all conditions and even when temperatures creeped back up past 10 degrees they were more than fine.

Andy


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## Kriminal (Jan 11, 2007)

robtech said:


> *mind and check with your car insurer as some of them see this a modification and they could be a bit iffy*..honestly though fitting snow tyres wont mean the car can just drive over snow like it were a landrover so dont expect miracles,they can also be less grippy in normal conditions esp rain....as someone who worked in the tyre game for years,unless its actually snowing and you really need to drive in snow and ice then yea get a spare set of wheels and fit them when needed,other wise .just stick with regular tyres as long as they have plenty of tread and are at the correct psi then keep them,,if it does snow then you just lower the tyre pressures.


^ allegedly (as I've only read this on t'internet), as long as you keep the same tyre size, ie. mine being 205/50/17, it remains valid on the insurance, and not seen as a modification. :thumb:


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## dubstyle (Jun 13, 2007)

I've gone from 19 inch summer tyre/wheels to 17inch Nokian WR G2's, great tyres


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## mjn (May 16, 2011)

Had Conti TS830's in the past, and were great.

Got Kleber Quadraxxer at the moment, and enable my bmw 330d to be driven in the snow. And with plenty of grip in the cold and wet as well.


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## NU987 (Dec 9, 2011)

I have a set of wheels with Conti TS810S tyres, but have not changed over yet. I thought that winter tyres wore our very quickly if the temperature is over 7 deg, due to the compounds having a higher percentage of natural rubber, am I wrong?


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## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

I've got Nokian WR D3's, excellent so far but a bit twitchy in the wet if it goes much above 7 degrees.

I've not used them in snow but the reviews suggest they're one of the best. :thumb:


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## MuddyWhiteCar (Oct 24, 2012)

I've got some Nokian wr g2 suv on the way so looking forward to it getting chilly now 
Had some on my precious car and it made a massive difference in the cold & wet, especially as they don't salt a lot of roads round here.
My insurer is very sensible about winter tyres and are happy for me to fit them on standard spec rims. Aren't winter tyres a legal requirement in some parts of Europe?
Oh and edited to add that mine were ordered from oponeo as they had the best price by far.


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## Bill58 (Jul 5, 2010)

MuddyWhiteCar said:


> I've got some Nokian wr g2 suv on the way so looking forward to it getting chilly now
> Had some on my precious car and it made a massive difference in the cold & wet, especially as they don't salt a lot of roads round here.
> My insurer is very sensible about winter tyres and are happy for me to fit them on standard spec rims. Aren't winter tyres a legal requirement in some parts of Europe?
> Oh and edited to add that *mine were ordered from oponeo as they had the best price by far.[/*QUOTE]
> ...


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## EliteCarCare (Aug 25, 2006)

Would recommend either Nokian WR G2 and Vredestein Wintrac Extreme, I've used both and they're excellent. I'd get them ASAP though as the prices rocket the closer you get to Dec/Jan. :thumb:


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## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

Bill58 said:


> MuddyWhiteCar said:
> 
> 
> > I've got some Nokian wr g2 suv on the way so looking forward to it getting chilly now
> ...


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## stoke st (Jan 29, 2009)

my mate got a garage in staffordshire that does part worn winter tyres, they are very good quality and i,ve had them on my st last year and they kept me moving ,he also sells them on e-bay link here http://stores.ebay.co.uk/A-A-TYRE-SERVICES?_trksid=p2047675.l2563


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## bigalj (Jun 27, 2010)

I'm running Nankang SV-2 winters this year; towards the budget end the tyre market but still infinitely better than any summer tyre in winter conditions.

Essential on my BMW, or any rear wheel drive car IMO.


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## Bill58 (Jul 5, 2010)

robtech said:


> .just stick with regular tyres as long as they have plenty of tread and are at the correct psi then keep them,,if it does snow then you just lower the tyre pressures.


Don't reduce tyre pressures to get more grip - it doesn't work, and reduces stability

You only need to inform your insurer by telephone, in most cases (see link) no action is needed.
http://www.abi.org.uk/Information/C...r_Tyres__The_Motor_Insurance_Committment.aspx


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## Gizmo68 (Mar 27, 2008)

chippy30 said:


> my mate got a garage in staffordshire that does part worn winter tyres, they are very good quality and i,ve had them on my st last year and they kept me moving ,he also sells them on e-bay link here http://stores.ebay.co.uk/A-A-TYRE-SERVICES?_trksid=p2047675.l2563


Just watch out for the tread depths on s/h tyres, winter tyres stop becoming beneficial in snow @ 4mm - most part worn winter tyres on eBay tend to be between 4 - 5mm!

Stick to the manufacturers recommended tyre size for winter tyres on genuine rims and it is NOT a modification, if they want to charge you a premium then time to move insurers next time round!

Winter tyres should also be run at 0.2 bar HIGHER than a summer / all season tyre.


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## spursfan (Aug 4, 2009)

robtech said:


> mind and check with your car insurer as some of them see this a modification and they could be a bit iffy..honestly though fitting snow tyres wont mean the car can just drive over snow like it were a landrover so dont expect miracles,they can also be less grippy in normal conditions esp rain....as someone who worked in the tyre game for years,unless its actually snowing and you really need to drive in snow and ice then yea get a spare set of wheels and fit them when needed,other wise .just stick with regular tyres as long as they have plenty of tread and are at the correct psi then keep them,,if it does snow then you just lower the tyre pressures.


Not too sure that you know much about winter tyres, dont doubt that you know your business well but simply put they work better than summer tyres once the temperature gets down below 7-8 C, softer compound makes them grip better when it's cold, simply lowering the pressures when it's snowing is not going to make a summer tyre a world beater in the snow is it?
tread patterns also play a huge part in driving in the snow, summer tyres have a different design so are not as effective.


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## essjay (Mar 27, 2007)

Ive got a set of Vredestein Wintrac Extreme waiting to fit. The weathers been pretty mild in Mancunia so been putting it off !!


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## spursfan (Aug 4, 2009)

Although weather has been fairly mild during the day, on the trip to work and going home, only one day has been above 8c so glad i have the goodyear ultragrip 8's on.
They certainly feel very surefooted in the morning, especially over some of the rougher roads where the summer tyres would wander a bit with the ridges, these goodyears dont even wander at all, very good so far.


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## Porta (Jan 3, 2007)

Where I live, beyond the artic circle we have winter tires 6 months on the car per year. And here I would not choose anything but studded tires and it should be a expensive tire from a well known brand such as Nokia Hakappeliitta 7, Michelin X-ice North,Good year Ultragrip 500 Ice or Continental ContiIceContact.

I guess you guys are using non studded tires and here I cant help you.


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## mjn (May 16, 2011)

Yeah, it'll be winter tyres rather than snow / ice tyres.


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Would lowering tyre pressures be the opposite of what to do in snow, unless it was particularly deep?

In usual urban snow I thought that you wanted a narrower footprint so that it 'cuts into' the snow, so you might raise tyre pressures to get it.

If it were deep enough that your car would bottom out before it cut through, then I'd have thought lowering the pressure would be advisable. Sort of a similar situation to driving in soft sand dunes where you want the tyre to float across the surface.

This is just my personal logic, not based on anything substantial or evidence, so I'm not adverse to being wrong with it.


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## IanG (Nov 21, 2007)

I've got Marangoni Meteo HP SUV's on 17" wheels to fit to my car probably next weekend. Had them on last winter and what snow we did have they performed really well.

I know they aren't a "Fashionable" brand but from my experience of last winter they did fine


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## johanr77 (Aug 4, 2011)

robtech said:


> mind and check with your car insurer as some of them see this a modification and they could be a bit iffy..honestly though fitting snow tyres wont mean the car can just drive over snow like it were a landrover so dont expect miracles,they can also be less grippy in normal conditions esp rain....as someone who worked in the tyre game for years,unless its actually snowing and you really need to drive in snow and ice then yea get a spare set of wheels and fit them when needed,other wise .just stick with regular tyres as long as they have plenty of tread and are at the correct psi then keep them,,if it does snow then you just lower the tyre pressures.


Been using Vredestein snowtracs for the last three winters and I can honestly say the level of grip in snow is night and day compared to a standard tyre. Unless it's 6 inches of fresh snow the car just pulls through it. It's not just snow either, they grip better in low temperatures.

As for the handling, they're fine in the rain in fact its only in high temperatures I notice the handling is suffering.


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## Scott152 (Jul 4, 2010)

Another Vote for Nokians, I had WRG2s on the front of my corsa in 2010 and WR D3's on the rear as i couldnt get another 2 G2's it was unstoppable in the snow even with snow up to the sills, and i found them better in the wet than the summer continentals

Ive just fitted 4 Nokian WR D3's to my Combo van for this year, I havent used them in any bad weather yet, but ive got confidence they will be good after my experience in my Corsa

as said before, watch the prices, they do tend to rise the further into winter, but they still fluctuate,

I got my first ones from http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk/ and my others from http://www.mytyres.co.uk/ both places had them to my from Germany (If my memory serves) within a few days no problems at all,

Scott


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## MuddyWhiteCar (Oct 24, 2012)

My 4 Nokians arrived in 2 deliveries on separate days this week (shipped from Poland), but other than that I can't fault Oponeo. Now just have to wait for the temperature to drop a bit more.. Knowing my luck we'll have a sunny end to November & then the warmest winter on record!


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## peekaboo (May 18, 2007)

2 years ago I put some pirrelli Wintersport on my van, i`m a courier and go all over the Uk, they where fantastic, I have even passed some four wheel drives that would of had summer tyres on, and where struggling, my advice is when they are fitted drive a little bit slower than normal and you cant go wrong, they are slightly noisier, my fuel consumption went down by 1 mpg, if you do a few miles and go up lots of hills or rural roads then get some, one other thing, they are fine in the rain and any other weather conditions, get some you dont need to buy the most expensive just read a few reviews, happy winter motoring.


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## Obsessed Merc (Apr 10, 2011)

+1 for Vredstein wintrac extreme. Got my "sledge" of an auto Merc up the toughest of hills in the snow last year


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## fisko53 (Jun 30, 2012)

Got a 2nd set of 16" rims with Falken eurowinters on, deffo much better in the lower temps. Got them last year so didn't get a good workout due to a mildish winter. 17" summers were useless the two bad winters previously

They are now in the shed awaiting time/funds for refurb and powder coating for the summer season.

G


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## quattrogmbh (May 15, 2007)

Had pirelli wintersports on a passat last year and it was passing stranded 4x4's on summer tyres.

Makes a huge difference in snow.

in the current weather, might be better off with a boat though.


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## explorer (Nov 11, 2012)

When I was looking for tyres there recommendations for all season type tyres for all year use. I attempted to buy Goodyear 4Seasons but couldn't find a decent price locally and ended up with Uniroyal Rainsport 2.


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## -Simon- (Oct 29, 2010)

Ok guys looking at some winters for the Polo my wife runs the kids around in 185 60 r15...live in the south east so reckon they would be used from now to March? Offer Michelin Alpins at £79-00 a corner fitted....any thoughts on these tyres, and price?


Cheers 

Simon


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## ImDesigner (Jan 19, 2012)

I bought a full set of Hankook W310 Winter Icept Evo tyres today. Can't wait to get them on the car and try them out.


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## donnyboy (Oct 27, 2005)

explorer said:


> When I was looking for tyres there recommendations for all season type tyres for all year use. I attempted to buy Goodyear 4Seasons but couldn't find a decent price locally and ended up with Uniroyal Rainsport 2.


My dad just put 4 of the Goodyear Vector 4season on his car after me pushing him to get all seasons. They look like a winter tyre and have the 3 peak snow symbol on them. Will be great in wet too. He says cars so much better, and I'm happy him and my mum are safe if they need to travel during snow and ice.

I just took 4 rainsport 2's off my car, but they're more of a summer tyre than an all season. Great in the wet and quite soft. Felt ok last winter, but not up there with winters or all seasons.


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