Winter tyres vs all season tyres.

[onefortheroad]

Whats peoples thoughts on all season tyres over winters. I'm looking at Bridgestone all weather which are meant to be brilliant, I've not got room for 2 sets of wheels and paying to have tyres fitted and then removed is a bit non cost effective.

 

[Blobcat]

If you’ve space have a separate set, if you haven’t then don’t.
I had all seasons on the smart, my eldest thought he’d fitted the same Verdesteins on the back. He didn’t he has full winters on the back and they haven’t melted on him...
Winters give worse fuel economy than summers so all seasons are a compromise between the two

 

[Wighty]

I use them on the CLK during the winter , I went with all seasons this time so that I could use them further into the other seasons if I wanted to .
All seasons are 90% winters anyway .
I have used winters all through one summer to use a set up and never noticed any difference anyway

 

[Wighty]

I think you are the 2020 winner for first Winter Tyre Thread . Congrats

 

[onefortheroad]

I think you are the 2020 winner for first Winter Tyre Thread . Congrats

I seen your post earlier so I made this up. Ha ha

 

[Wighty]

I seen your post earlier so I made this up. Ha ha

Excellent , well covered buddy

 

[sonic]

When we were both still working we had winter wheels & tyres for both cars, & I wouldn't be without them. But now being retired & only going out when I feel like it my attuded is changing. Do I really need them now!
I still have the E class & both sets of wheels, & no intention of selling it. So I am covered there. We replaced the wife's SLK for a SLC 6 months ago & only have summer tyres for that. But in my circumstance I don't think I will be buying another set of wheels for the SLC.

 

[Chrishazle]

First problem for me is that I have 17" rims and staggered set-up on both cars. Last spring I had to replace the fronts on the S204, could get Michelin X Climate 225/45 for the fronts, but at that time 245/40 for the rear was not available, although I was later told that they will be available this winter. Not in a rush as my rear GY Assyms have another year left in them! On the SLK I've replaced the fronts with GY Efficientgrip Performance rather than x Climates as I have no intention of taking her out of her garage if the weather's bad! However, changing the crappy hard wall things she came on improved the ride and feel just changing the fronts, so I need to wear out the rears so I can justify also changing them!

 

[Blobcat]

First problem for me is that I have 17" rims and staggered set-up on both cars. Last spring I had to replace the fronts on the S204, could get Michelin X Climate 225/45 for the fronts, but at that time 245/40 for the rear was not available, although I was later told that they will be available this winter. Not in a rush as my rear GY Assyms have another year left in them! On the SLK I've replaced the fronts with GY Efficientgrip Performance rather than x Climates as I have no intention of taking her out of her garage if the weather's bad! However, changing the crappy hard wall things she came on improved the ride and feel just changing the fronts, so I need to wear out the rears so I can justify also changing them!

I have staggered 16’s on the SLK for summer but a “square” setup for the winters - 205 and 225 summer, 205 winter

 

[Chrishazle]

My SLK will only come out of her garage in winter/crappy weather in emegency, so I'm not thinking of all season tyres for her. The S204 will, at next rear tyre change, hopefully get all season tyres if I can find them in 245/40 R17! Don't really fancy changing dwon the 225/45 on the rears, handling is soft enough as is - but far better on 17's than it was on 16's which IIRC was a square setup, not staggered.

 

[MinionBob]

We have 'all seasons' in this country, so all seasons tyres are an obvious choice and logical compromise. For most of the UK, I think that winter tyres are an overkill. Our winters are not all that cold, nor are they very snowy; this is the plus point for winter tyres.

 

[Blobcat]

We have 'all seasons' in this country, so all seasons tyres are an obvious choice and logical compromise. For most of the UK, I think that winter tyres are an overkill. Our winters are not all that cold, nor are they very snowy; this is the plus point for winter tyres.

Stopping distance below 10’c is greatly improved with winter tyres.
I’m a 11 year convert to winter tyres (I do live 750’ on top of a hill)

 

[MinionBob]

Stopping distance below 10’c is greatly improved with winter tyres.
I’m a 11 year convert to winter tyres (I do live 750’ on top of a hill)

Also improved with All Season!..I thought it was under 7deg C anyhow.

Also, need to consider how often temp is under 7deg C..not often as a percentage of the year I suspect. Also how much is 'greatly'..

 

[LostKiwi]

This comes up every year.
Much will depend on the weather profile where you live and your driving profile.

For me most of my journeys would be evenly split between being under 7°C and over 7°C. Only 3 weeks per year on average will the bias swing in favour of winter tyres.

I therefore take the decision to remain on summer tyres instead of going to winters as to me the benefits are not really there.

I use A wet rated tyres and gave found them to be very good in winter. There is an argument to suggest using all season tyres but (last time I looked) they don't come in A wet rated form. Since we get more wet days than very cold days it doesn't make sense to move of what I have.

There is no blanket right or wrong to the question of winter/all season/summer tyres. It's down to the individual and their circumstances.

 

[Blobcat]

Also improved with All Season!..I thought it was under 7deg C anyhow.

Also, need to consider how often temp is under 7deg C..not often as a percentage of the year I suspect. Also how much is 'greatly'..

Plenty of tests and reviews online.

I switch over in October and March generally although I was late changing onto new summers this year

 

[MinionBob]

But surely, using summer tyres in the winter, which one would assume at below 7deg are operating outside of their design parameters (and performance drops off substantially) is not the right thing to do at least on paper; the individual has nothing to do with it.

 

[LostKiwi]

But surely, using summer tyres in the winter, which one would assume at below 7deg are operating outside of their design parameters (and performance drops off substantially) is not the right thing to do at least on paper; the individual has nothing to do with it.

Not really. Winter tyres are compromised compared to summer tyres above 7°C.
If it's 50/50 you're compromised either way. Like I said there are only 3 weeks per year on average where both outgoing and return journeys are below 7°, and even in those three weeks there are days where at least one part of the day is over 7° so it's still not clear cut.

 

[sonic]

The other side of the issue is the set up on the car. Prior to 2000 I had a small front wheel drive with a manual gearbox on 155 profile tyres, it would go most places in the snow.
Fast forward to 2001 I had a CLK200K auto with rear wheel drive on 245 profile tyres which wouldn't go anywhere on snow.
There is the difference.