My car really hates snow

[Mic]

I called Kwik Fit and was told the following :-

Continental are on special offer (something like 15% off when buying 4)

The price with discount is :-

Tyres £522+vat
Fitting £48+vat

Total £669.75 inc vat.

The guy then went to check availability and got back to me and said "We have none in stock, the distribution center has none in stock and continental cannot supply us with any more than we are already waiting for, so I am really sorry but we cannot even get these in for you"
:-x

Our bananas are the cheapest but we have none !!!***???

Mic

 

[survey]

Try www.tyremen.co.uk they have some Nokian WR G2s in 225/55/16 H for £145 or Hankook Ice Bear £130 and Vredstein Wintrak Extreme £129

http://tyremen.myshopify.com/collections/winter-tyres?page=5

I can thoroughly recommend the Nokian WRG2's. Have fitted a set to the wife's Skoda Yeti and have not had the slightest problem in the recent weather conditions. Worth every penny. The MB is in the garage!

 

[shayes]

Tyre pressure has always seemed to me to be an inexact science - checking pressure when in hot weather or cold, after running or before etc. Could a couple of pounds off each tyre when you have to venture out into snow make a difference to grip on Summer tyres, or does the compensation technology in the modern car make it irrelevant.
I like the comment about using the handbrake - when there was a handbrake - I couldnt use the foot handrake to any affect as am pretty sure I'd end up in the back of something as its always seemed so unnatural.

 

[Colt45_GTO]

Tyre pressure has always seemed to me to be an inexact science - checking pressure when in hot weather or cold, after running or before etc. Could a couple of pounds off each tyre when you have to venture out into snow make a difference to grip on Summer tyres, or does the compensation technology in the modern car make it irrelevant.
I like the comment about using the handbrake - when there was a handbrake - I couldnt use the foot handrake to any affect as am pretty sure I'd end up in the back of something as its always seemed so unnatural.

some would say no a couple of pounds out of the tyres makes things worse, indeed if you think about that you could imagine it to be right, a tyre that is slightly deflated will seem to close up the tread on contact with the road surface, but if you take a car out with one tyre at 30lb and one at 25lb and drive for a mile, the lower pressure tyre will be hotter.

also look at trials bikes/ landrovers (off roaders) they have between 5 and 15psi only in each tyre to aid grip on slippery surfaces.

i am not going to sit here and say yes its correct to lower the pressures what i will do is say try it and judge for your self. i know for certain it works with the van and the 190 had better grip before i inflated the tyres.

knock 5lb out of each and try it for a day or two.

also mercs with the foot operated parking brake would make it difficult to use as a backup brake. if you feel the car sliding out of control under braking, either panic or release the brake and try to gently reapply it to regain control. most likely in thos conditions you have either become too close at the wrong speed to do anything about it, be it a junction or another car. just take your time on approach to cars in front or road junctions. select nuetral if you think it will push you out, that way you have most control of forward movement than the car.

 

[xavierx]

If the continental's or other premium brands are so expensive why not buy budget tyres, or even part worns? I know there is a thing about how inferior they are (although many budget brands are owned by the "premium brand" manufacturers anyway and simply churn out last year's "premium brand " tyre patterns with a different name anyway) but surely the worst winter tyres will still be 10x better than the best summer tyres in icy conditions.

I checked many many tyre review sites and car mag sites and found that the Continentals were consistently good (second place on almost every site) so I thought if I was going to shell out money I don't have spare for tyres, they should probably be good ones.

One thing that was consistent with every tyre roundup was that most of the budget ones all came at the bottom of the tables, some were even rated as "dangerous"

I tend to buy mid-priced summer tyres and avoid the expensive big names, but if I am to believe the review sites then I need one of the "big 6 brands" for winter tyres and nothing else.

If worst comes to the worst I could give a budget winter tyre a try as like people have said above, they are probably better than nothing.


FYI, I have heard so so many times over the years "never buy part worn tyres" that I would not even be tempted to give them a try.

 

[turbopete]

FYI, I have heard so so many times over the years "never buy part worn tyres" that I would not even be tempted to give them a try.

yet i know people who use nothing else and have had no problems. to the point where they WOULDNT buy a new tyre. £15 each, 5mm tread or £40 each, 7mm tread. i can see the logic, in the current economic climate, especially!

 

[Colt45_GTO]

some people have no choice but to suffer part worns, a lot of people cant afford to buy mid range tyres and i am one, i know many others. tyres are a ridiculous price here we should be more like america where tyre prices are concerned. they are considered a safety feature and the prices (at best) are governed.

i know because i worked in a garage over there for 3 month. and i am part of a huge forum of 3000gt owners, a full set of tyres for them is almost half the price we pay for the same brand sometimes almost a quarter.

 

[turbopete]

some people have no choice but to suffer part worns, a lot of people cant afford to buy mid range tyres and i am one, i know many others. tyres are a ridiculous price here we should be more like america where tyre prices are concerned. they are considered a safety feature and the prices (at best) are governed.

i know because i worked in a garage over there for 3 month. and i am part of a huge forum of 3000gt owners, a full set of tyres for them is almost half the price we pay for the same brand sometimes almost a quarter.

that doesnt surprise me. tyres here are a rip-off!
i worked at the pirelli factory for a while, in Carlisle. staff there are paid around DOUBLE the area average for factory type work, and can buy 2 sets of 4 tyres a year (via vouchers) at discounted rate.

for example, a pair of 225/50x16v pirelli tyres (cant remember which model they were) would probably sell out of most tyre places at £50-£60 each id guess. factory staff, however, get them at around £25 each fitted, balanced, the lot!

 

[Colt45_GTO]

we could blame import taxes but not if the things made in this country are sold in this country! and usually priced higher than items that have to be imported.

a set of american made tyres or tires will cost only around 200 bucks for 5. thats for 225 width. anything american made sold the the american market is sold at a price affordable by all. anything imported is double sometimes treble the price

 

[turbopete]

most of the uk stuff is EXPORTED (from pirelli at least)

they were going to close the place down, but quality and production levels were higher than the plants that were going to get the jobs to do that carlisle branch got, so they are now INVESTING in the place, as a turkish plant has been switched from passenger use tyres to F1 tyres for next season!

 

[Rory]

that doesnt surprise me. tyres here are a rip-off!
i worked at the pirelli factory for a while, in Carlisle. staff there are paid around DOUBLE the area average for factory type work, and can buy 2 sets of 4 tyres a year (via vouchers) at discounted rate.

for example, a pair of 225/50x16v pirelli tyres (cant remember which model they were) would probably sell out of most tyre places at £50-£60 each id guess. factory staff, however, get them at around £25 each fitted, balanced, the lot!

They're £100 from online places. Same size as on the rear of my car. The Michelin's I buy are £120.

I checked a random place online in the US and they are ballpark the same price, although that included free alignment if you bought, tyre rotation (big thing in the US) on request etc.

 

[d215yq]

I checked many many tyre review sites and car mag sites and found that the Continentals were consistently good (second place on almost every site) so I thought if I was going to shell out money I don't have spare for tyres, they should probably be good ones.

One thing that was consistent with every tyre roundup was that most of the budget ones all came at the bottom of the tables, some were even rated as "dangerous"

I tend to buy mid-priced summer tyres and avoid the expensive big names, but if I am to believe the review sites then I need one of the "big 6 brands" for winter tyres and nothing else.

If worst comes to the worst I could give a budget winter tyre a try as like people have said above, they are probably better than nothing.


FYI, I have heard so so many times over the years "never buy part worn tyres" that I would not even be tempted to give them a try.

My point was in the rest of my post that regardless of whether the budget winter tyres are bottom or not in some review, or whether some people say part worns are dangerous, the part worn budget winter tyre will stop and steer far far better than any premium summer tyres. So logic states that if you are prepared to venture out in premium summer tyres in this weather, you should also be prepared to venture out in some budget winter tyres if it is difficult or ridiculously expensive to obtain some premium winter tyres.

 

[Colt45_GTO]

My point was in the rest of my post that regardless of whether the budget winter tyres are bottom or not in some review, or whether some people say part worns are dangerous, the part worn budget winter tyre will stop and steer far far better than any premium summer tyres. So logic states that if you are prepared to venture out in premium summer tyres in this weather, you should also be prepared to venture out in some budget winter tyres if it is difficult or ridiculously expensive to obtain some premium winter tyres.

anything is better than nothing right? and after all a winter/snow tyre has been designed to provide grip in bad conditions (provided) that you drive accordingly to those conditions, the budget winter/snow tyre will perform the same way an expensive tyre will.

 

[jackwall5]

Conti's are very popular over here too in Austria. There's alot less discussion about winter tyres, merits, myths and to boot as they are a long standing legal requirement and everyone know about them .. insurance companies and politians even!!

As I soon learned, in my first winter here, [-15 is normal, snow is deep if you're in the Salzbury side of the country especially and it hangs around for months] a week's driving in snow once a year at home on the odd year does not stack up very much on the experience scale. The "I'm a good driver, I know what I'm doing " arrogance was soon put into perpective in my case let me tell you! I call it arrogance because I now know it was. [There's a thin line between arrogance and confidence and I was well wide of the mark, I'm prepared to say :!:]

If winters continue to get colder with snow and ice more regular, investment in a winter set of tyres [and rims or ease of use] may pay off.

Of course, with weather patterns being what they appear to be, 2010's may be the reference winter that in 15 years time is used to compare the next bad winter against

Save Driving

P.S. colt45 .... the picture reply in the middle of the thread was classic!!

 

[dieselman]

Of course, with weather patterns being what they appear to be, 2010's may be the reference winter that in 15 years time is used to compare the next bad winter against

Which I suspect is going to be the case. In reality we haven't had any decent snow for years and years, it's just that the jet stream has been blown off course this year so we are suffering colder Northerly winds for a change.

 

[st4]

Will, this is 3 fairly harsh winters up here.

In particular the st4 patch has a VERY mild climate, we just do not get long pronlonged spells, I for one next year will get winter tyres, I meant to this year but overlooked it.

So far I have been ok, but I have been trying so hard to be smooth and gentle, and maybe at the end of the day there is only so much you can do before its crunch time, and one day I could run out of luck.

 

[dieselman]

Snow tyres in 18" are a bit harder to come by, but there are plenty available in smaller sizes, some with wheels already on...

 

[st4]

I bet next year less so, as tyres sizes/wheels get ever larger with new models, 18 will be deemed a small wheel in a year or so

 

[HelpThisDude]

Avon Ice Touring on my 17" cost just under £400 a couple of years ago. My summers are 18" staggered fitment.
The difference between my summer tyres and the (budget) Avon winters are like night and day.
On the winters I can actually get up my drive, the summers just twitch the back end even on tickover.

Just a thought here, if the tyres are actually breaking traction, then the ESP cant have anything to do with it, because as the wheel turns, the tyre breaks traction....only then does the ESP kicks in. So if a Merc on a given tyre/weight/torque is breaking traction, then the same tyre on a BMW (without an LSD) given the same weight/torque would break traction too?

Trains put simply, have a metal tyre on a metal rail, and the electronics is programmed to allow very slight slip- as the best tractive effort is just before the very moment of wheel slip. Given that, does Mercedes really have it so wrong (for a road car)?
I wont argue that BMW M3 is faster then a 63AMG around a track, but that has nothing to do with pulling away on a flat carpark with only 2" of snow? BMW has a sweet set up and weight distribution that allows stunning track performance, and they are darn good at it.

Im sure there are much better drivers on this forum then me, but I have done a couple or seasons of club motorsport in a twitchy RWD Capri, VW Golf, aswell as Karting blah blah.

Anyway...my point was only meant to be you can get good grip in snow with cheapo Avon Ice tyres, no need to break the bank with Contis

 

[whitenemesis]

Short and to the Point

http://www.evo.co.uk/news/evonews/248524/winter_tyres_tested.html