1St Outing On Snow With Winter Tyres A Success

[andy m w]

when the 1st snow dropped before xmas our sportcross was hopeless which forced me to trying out winter tyres for the 1st time , had them on 6 weeks & they do grip well in the wet but today in 25mm snow/slush the lexus drove like it was 4x4 , ,

really impressed & would recommend to users who are considering them

i picked up a set of 4 part worns as new for £120 fitted , ,money well spent http://www.gislaved-tires.com/generator/www/com/en/gislaved/automobile/themes/pc_tyres/winter/euro_frost_3/master_ef3_en.html

[jay_russell]

i think it's time for the uk to start thinking about winter tyres as this is so much safer. in sweden we do this every year and is a must. :)

[jomo]

Where did you get the tires from Andy? And do they have any more.

Also did you get them fitted to std lexus alloys?

Ta.

[m1pui]

If you're just after tyres check out the following places;

www.camskill.co.uk

www.tyremen.co.uk

www.mytyres.co.uk

www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

I used cam skill and tyremen to get winters for my sisters e90 330D and my RX300 respectively. Tyremen & MyTyres do tyres on wheels (steels and alloys) packages but I'm not sure how pricey they are.

If you look on eBay.de (eBay germany) you can often pick up some part worn winters for some quite keen prices. They normally still have very useable tread depth as, i believe, they have to be changed as soon as they're down to 3 or 4mm in depth.

EDIT:

and for what it's worth. I ordered both sets of tyres back at the beginning of October and checking the price again today on camsill and tyremen, they haven't increased since then. £117 for Avon Ice Touring ST in 225/40/18. and £99 for Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme in 215/70/16.

My sister has done a bit under 5000 miles on hers and I've done just short of 3000 since mid-November and neither of us have any complaints at all.

[jomo]

Are the prices you quoated each or a set, as i cant find anyone doing part worn winter tires at a good price anywhere?

[m1pui]

That price is per tyre and those sites I mentioned, as far as I know, don't do part worn.

What sizes are you's looking for

[andy m w]

as they were local i had them fitted in with the £120 , http://www.ebay.co.u...9#ht_500wt_1198, that was for the 4 BTW ! 5/6mm tread on all 4 & they have loads of choice & do courier them out , , ,audley tyres in blackburn lancs , , ,never seen as many tyres in one place , ,literally thousands of them ! if anyone wants the number PM me

[andy m w]

for the doubters who need that extra little convincing

[m1pui]

I've seen a few of these videos and what I'm saying isn't meant as a negative.

It's all good and well showing a comparison like this, but not many people will be swapping NEW summer/all season tyres for, in most cases, new winters.

In mine and my sisters case. Our tyres were pretty well worn. Mine were down to about 2mm on all 4 corners and the rears on my sisters were right down, possibly, below the tread indicators. I changed my tyres in November, so before the real cold set in, and the difference even then in cornering and braking was significant.

I reckon, from a legal standpoint, I could've gotten through at least most the winter with the tyres I had on before, but I daren't think how compromised the car would've been. In my case, the winters I bought were about £15 a corner cheaper than replacing like for like with the Pirelli Scorpion STR's (which admittedly were more than fine in previous winters) I had on, so it was at least worth giving them a shot.

Even if I decide to swap them come spring summer, they don't wear down when they're off the car so could easily last two or more winters beyond this one.

[fil4362]

Part worn tyres??? As an mot tester/mechanic i see lots of tyres every day i fail quite a few as well. i have seen many a car that has one winter/snow tyre. When asking the customer why they have just one they usually reply they didnt know it was, and they had that one replaced recently and was it a problem. From what i can see most part worn tyre places are selling winter/snow tyres as part worns. They ship them in from overseas at the end of winter , so if you want winter/snow tyres try your local part worn place and have a chat see if they have any your size then check to see if they have any winter/snow tyres they didnt realise where not a standard tyre. I know from experiance at least one part worn place in my area is fitting them,even in summer, without telling the customer. Most of my customers when buying tyres just want a round black rubber tyre and the only consideration as to choice is the cost.