Winter tyres - Yes its that time of the year again

[Zaros]

Apologies if this has been asked before, I've looked on the forums but not found much info about winter tyres on a rear wheel drive Lexus.

I've currently got some fairly new summer tyres on my Mk 4 GS but I'm conscious that I'm driving around in a rear wheel car in the soon to be winter time.
In previous cars I've had winter tyres and loved their grip and security in frost, ice and snow. In the last 7 years I've driven a front wheel drive car (Vauxhall Insignia) with Goodyear Vector 4 seasons which were good enough to only provide one scare in all those seven years. My driving style lead to the fronts lasting for 40000 miles and the rears lasting 70000 so they seem to last well with me.
Does anyone have any experience of whether 4 season tyres are good enough for a rear wheel drive car? If I go for 4 season tyres I'll just replace the current summer tyres and have done with it for the whole year, if I go for winter tyres I'll get separate alloys and TMPS which may be a bit of a faff but if the opinion of the forum is that winter tyres are needed then it'll be the way to go.
 

[Arnett]

Controversial but....

Honestly ive never used winter tyres on a car and had RWD cars for the past 10 years, and yes I do drive in the snow. I like the look of the profile of summer tyres. 

That was on an IS250 2.5L V6 & a  GSF 5.0L V8

 

[Zaros]

Sam, thanks for that.  I may just stick with the summer tyres this year and see how it goes, they all have 8mm of tread on them. Unlike previous years I currently don't have to be in the office so I have the luxury to pick and choose when I use the car. 

[DBIZO]

I'm new to UK car ownership and surprised to learn that all season tyres are not standard but most cars come with summer tyres in the UK despite the climate - rarely really cold, rarely too hot either. Summer tyres start losing grip below 7C, particularly in wet conditions, which is not uncommon in the UK - yet the vast majority never change their tyres. I wonder how many accidents happen due to lower grip levels in wintry times, especially cold early mornings...

I'll need a winter set for driving across Europe in winter months anyway (it's mandatory in some areas, such as driving in Austria, which we will), so I'll probably leave it on the car for the winter months. So that's one vote from me for winter tyres, but that's because of driving overseas.

[First_Lexus]

I’ve had Winter tyres fitted on my cars for a number of years now, on both FWD and AWD vehicles. I keep a separate set of wheels so the switch over is simple, and dealers store them for me while they’re off the car.

From my experience, they do make a difference. I remember one particular incident driving on a snowy road up a gentle incline. My car drove up without any problems on Winter tyres but even some other SUVs were struggling. I imagine they were on ‘Summer’ tyres.

However, I fully accept the climate in the UK probably isn’t bad enough for full Winter tyres - I do it because I’ve already got the spare set of wheels. TBH ‘all season’ tyres such as Michelin Cross Climates are probably a more sensible choice.

[LenT]

52 minutes ago, First_Lexus said:

However, I fully accept the climate in the UK probably isn’t bad enough for full Winter tyres…TBH ‘all season’ tyres such as Michelin Cross Climates are probably a more sensible choice.

That’s certainly my opinion too.  It’s many years since we’ve seen extreme winter conditions here in Northamptonshire, so a good ‘all season’ tyre makes more sense for ‘normal’ driving styles.

I fitted the original CCs to our small 4x4 when they came out and was delighted with their overall performance.  Apparently the latest CC2 version performs even better in comparative road tests.  I would have fitted them to the Lexus but my model requires different sizes fore and aft, one of which Michelin didn’t do.  My personal priority is wet road performance so instead I chose the then new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5s for the IS250, which have proved to be a very satisfactory choice in terms of handling, grip, noise and overall ride comfort.

These days, particularly over the last few months of pandemic, our mileage has been so low that it could be years before I can justify their replacement.  And should the weather conditions suddenly become so extreme as to possibly justify a tyre change for the Lexus, then it’s easier for me to just change cars!

[VFR]

Have used Michelin Cross Climates for a few years now and found them to be very good (on other cars) but not fitted to a Lexus yet.

[peniole]

1 hour ago, VFR said:

Have used Michelin Cross Climates for a few years now and found them to be very good (on other cars) but not fitted to a Lexus yet.

Have them on mine. Had them on my old Civic, and they lasted for 83k Km(when the car is being sold). So far so good on the Lexus.