Is 250 And Snow/ Ice

[mrkfx]

Well i fitted Nokian WRg2 tyres in mid October, superb on snow, excellent traction and i think braking is the most staggering difference over summer tyres in these bad conditions.

well worth the money. I dont see it as a cost, my summer tyres will now last 2 years, and so will the winters. Plus i am safer and can venture out when things are not ideal.

Hi, can I ask where you bought them from and how much they were?

Also do you just change them at the first sign of snow or say in the autumn for 6 months?

Last question, do you have all 4 on as the Lexus dealer told me only the 2 rears which I found strange.

Regards mipmip.

Mytyres.co.uk, but back in September- i like to plan ahead. I gather they have been a tad busy, as conditions in Europe has been worse than here so demand is up in general, let alone from new Uk customers getting wise to winter tyre benefits. Prices all in came to about £500 for 4 inc fitting. Will probably change them back over in March.

Re- only fitting a pair, that sounds ridiculous to me given the night/day difference in grip between summer/winter tyres.

[DaveEdin]

If you only put them on the rear, then you will have the traction required to move... but not the grip to steer properly.

All 4 or not at all I reckon..

Just bought a new set of wheels for my IS, they'll go on around March and the ones currently on will get a refurb and some winter rubber then stored for next year...

Though I must say I didn't find it that difficult driving in the snow in my car on the standard wheels with fairly cheapo tyres on

[mipmip]

Thanks to everyone for the replies so far. I feel I am getting my head around the best way to go. Looks like the 6 months for winter and 6 months for summer is the way to go. Think I might go for second hand alloys and put the winter tyres on so I can change them myself. Anyone know if these would be ok for the winter ones on a IS 220D SE (57 plate) considering they are 16" not 17".

Regards mipmip.

[knitware]

Thanks to everyone for the replies so far. I feel I am getting my head around the best way to go. Looks like the 6 months for winter and 6 months for summer is the way to go. Think I might go for second hand alloys and put the winter tyres on so I can change them myself. Anyone know if these would be ok for the winter ones on a IS 220D SE (57 plate) considering they are 16" not 17".

Regards mipmip.

If your going to change the wheels over you might have to buy a set of pressure sensors, I'm sure your car will have them fitted. It might be easier just to change the tyres. I'm getting winter tyres fitted this week, my summer SP01s are horrid in snow! I can't wait, especially as it looks like we will be getting more snow soon........

[Matus]

Thanks to everyone for the replies so far. I feel I am getting my head around the best way to go. Looks like the 6 months for winter and 6 months for summer is the way to go. Think I might go for second hand alloys and put the winter tyres on so I can change them myself. Anyone know if these would be ok for the winter ones on a IS 220D SE (57 plate) considering they are 16" not 17".

Regards mipmip.

I am afraid those rims are not OK, as they are 6.5Jx16 ET38 while reccomended are 7JJx16 ET45

knitware> luckyly we (EU diesel IS) do not have tire pressure monitoring.

[Swindon Andy]

Wouldn't the narrower wheel be compensated more or less by the reduction in (inwards) offset? Provided the hub centre and PCD are OK it might be worth exploring further.

[Knickam]

I Have been putting winter tyres on my IS250 Auto from new, Got a spare set of identical alloys from eBay and fitted them with mitchelin winter tyres the same sizes as the standard tyres.

I usually put them on in December and take them off in April. This will be the fifth winter for the tyres and they will need replacing next winter.

Got caught out this year with the early snow and could not even get turned in the street with the normal tyres on.

As it was the weekend decided to try a little experiment so I fitted the 2 back wheels, Drove into the road where there was hard packed snow, Applied the foot brake enough to lock the front wheels and tried to pull away.

Bit of wheelspin but the winters pushed me along the road with the front wheels locked.

[Matus]

nice :)

[MW70]

Thanks for your contributions guys.. Since I first posted we had more snow and a after a recent two hour journey home - (normally 30mins)now I'm giving serious thought to an extra set of wheels and winter tyres.

My fear is I buy em' but by that time the snow has gone and we dont get any more! And then I have a pile of wheels in the garage for 6 -8 months. Still I could get out of my dads drive more easily when it rains lol...

Oh and will the tyres make a lot more noise than the summer ones? (cause they are bad enough :-))

Travel safe IS owners!

MW

[Matus]

my winter pirelli sottozeros 205/55/16 are quieter than summer bridgestone r050 245/45/17

[Knickam]

I can't tell a difference in noise between the winter and summer tyres on a tarmac road.

My Michelin winters are the same size as the Bridgestone summer tyres.