Snow? Its All Over

[noby76]

So Its all over and snow has now cleared with 10 degrees celcius outside today with sunshine :) . my summer tyres worked in the brief snow spells for the past two weeks and have now come into thier zone. even if i could have stored my summer tyres at a neighbours shed for a couple of months and opted for winter tyres for the brief 2 weeks winter tyres really came into thier zone as we encountered snow and minus temperatures, I didnt opt for winter tyres which translates into ££'s saved on winter tyres, ££' saved on garage labour cost to swap summer tyres to winters, ££'s saved on garage labour cost to swap back winters for summers and time spent on doing other things than in the garage having tyres swapped around.

I think my decision not to run winter tyres was spot on even though I could afford winter tyres and could have found ways to accomodate my summers through neighbours storage space or family I didnt and my rear wheel drive Lexus got by with no hassle on summer tyres in the snow but my location(Bedfordshire) must have played a part in this aswell.

As its not mandatory to have winter tyres in UK during winter seasons, my question to all Lexus owners not just the IS, is

if you did not run winter tyres would you say it was a good decision and where you able to get by without encountering any incidents due to the fact that driving style was adjusted to accomodate road conditions or would you opt for winters next year??

if you opted for winter tyres would you say it was money and time well spent over the duration of a brief 2-3 weeks where most of UK really had snow and experienced minus conditions and winter tyres really came into thier zone or would you just save money and time next year and keep your summer's on??

[matt-c]

Loved my winter tyres, worked flawlessly. I'll be using them again next year too. And the year after that, and the year after that, and so on.

Money well spent? In my opinion, yes. Very well spent.

[Dewfallsuk]

A bit premature as winter has a way to go yet?

[matt-c]

^ Exactly why I'm not taking mine off yet. Still plenty of cold, wet, and possibly snowy, weather to come before spring

[noby76]

A bit premature as winter has a way to go yet?

I think its all done and dusted with the snow!! summer tyres (well mine) will still grip in the wet no problems so i will still get by with no issues. we pretty much in February another 4 weeks from now is Spring so winter is pretty much done and dusted now i think.

[matt-c]

Spring starts March 20th, which is 7.5 weeks away. So no, not "pretty much done" - it's still winter. And will be for over 7 weeks.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

I'm glad it's a bit warmer. Im not convinced winter is over yet tho.

I will be buying a new set of alloys and wrapping them in winter rubber ready for next winter in the spring time. I'm never getting stuck on my driveway again

[Lance]

Not another "I don't need winter tyres cos I'm an awesome driver" thread....

Yawn.............................

[Valkirk]

Given the fact we have neither extreme summers or extreme winters I just don't understand why the default tyre provided in this country isn't All Season? Having to purchase, swap and store 2 sets is expensive and difficult yet it doesn't take much to thwart summer tyres on a rear wheel drive car during the winter months.

[LexIS200Sport]

Well, fair enough that winter has been comparatively mild so far. But who knew? If we were to roll back two winters ago, I am SO glad I had winter tyres on.

Now, if we were to look at all the rage and debate that went on in most of the other winter tyre discussion threads, one could argue that you could stay home if the snow got a little heavy. But unfortunately, it isn't an option for me and many others :)

Add to the fact that some councils don't grit their roads as well as others, I think it is a safer bet to have winter tyres if you can afford to do so and have somewhere to store your summer tyres :)

[Youngiceman87]

Everyone has different deciding factors. I have indeed found the 200 isnt brilliant in snow but i didnt get any winter tyres. Reason being our snowfall was rubbish compared to many and my current job is only 3 miles away so if all else failed i could ultimately walk. This wouldnt be the case for most people.

[matt-c]

Given the fact we have neither extreme summers or extreme winters I just don't understand why the default tyre provided in this country isn't All Season? Having to purchase, swap and store 2 sets is expensive and difficult yet it doesn't take much to thwart summer tyres on a rear wheel drive car during the winter months.

That's what's so good about choices - you don't have to purchase, swap and store 2 sets of tyres. You can go out and buy yourself a single set of all season tyres.

I'm glad there isn't a "default" tyre provided in this country. I like to have choices available to me, and I like to make my choice using the factors that are important to me, not have someone else dictate it to me what I have/need/want/etc.

[Valkirk]

Given the fact we have neither extreme summers or extreme winters I just don't understand why the default tyre provided in this country isn't All Season? Having to purchase, swap and store 2 sets is expensive and difficult yet it doesn't take much to thwart summer tyres on a rear wheel drive car during the winter months.

That's what's so good about choices - you don't have to purchase, swap and store 2 sets of tyres. You can go out and buy yourself a single set of all season tyres.

I'm glad there isn't a "default" tyre provided in this country. I like to have choices available to me, and I like to make my choice using the factors that are important to me, not have someone else dictate it to me what I have/need/want/etc.

But that's the thing there IS a default tyre and it's summer. You buy a new car and it will come with summer tyres meaning really you need to purchase another set for winter or risk it. If you could choose what your new car comes with a set of all season would probably save a lot of people having to deal with multiple sets. Do you really need the tiny added dry performance of summer over all season and lose the capability to work adequately in lower temps?

[matt-c]

Ah, I see what you're getting at - sorry, misunderstood! I can understand from that point, yes if you wanted all season tyres but the car you're buying comes with summer tyres, then that's added expense of re-shoeing it. However, I do think some of it comes down to what car you're buying. If you're buying an Aston Martin, do you really want it to come with all season tyres on?

That said, I'm not even slightly interested in having a set of all season tyres. I have a set of wheels with summer tyres on, and another set with winter tyres on, both of which I'm very happy with. So the way I see it, I have the best of both worlds, rather than a single set based on compromise.

[Raymond.]

Winter is far from over! Roll on Feb!

[Lex-Scott]

I don't go for winter tyres, but wasn't it a few years back, we had a bucket load of snow in April?

[LexIS200Sport]

and in other news, James May just slagged off winter tyres on Top Gear lol :P

[The Transporter]

Just got back from a quick trip to yorkshire, left my town at about 8 on Friday, destination Bradfordistan (6 inches of snow), would have taken the Jeep if the bro in law hadn't pinched it after he'd lost his volvo in a snow drift so went in the van. They don't seem to treat the road much at all and all those hills mak things interesting.... Van and its Vredestein Vanco Winters managed to keep me moving without having to resort to the shovel or winch.... The van wouldn't have stood a chance on summer rubber.

[panya]

For me winter tyres it's not really necessary i don't have much snow here, but when we do hav snow, its just melt away! , and which mean I can use winter tyres money and spend on burning fuel instead for my Sunday morning drive :)

[petayV8]

I said to my work colleague bet you wish you still had your Jeep Cherokee and she wreckoned her new FWD car is better than her 4WD with winter tyres she put on it. Ive personally not had any issues with my summer tyres and am yet to be convinced they are required in these conditions (where i live anyway) I had to make a semmie emergency stop the other day too and not a skid. It also took me 2 attempts to get the tail out on a empty car park after work! 2nd attempt i had to turn traction off and really had to give it some and it finally it slid out slightly!

[matt-c]

and in other news, James May just slagged off winter tyres on Top Gear lol :P

Which I thought was incredibly ironic considering the Bentley was wearing winter tyres ;)

[Lexmanic]

Snow its not here its just raining

[The Transporter]

Oi Nobby, is it still all over?

[noby76]

No sign of snow here Transporter!! heard up North is meant to be getting some tonight if not already started. even if we do get some here, my summer Pirelli Rosso's will conquer it with slight adjustments to my driving style and road judgements.. see me in action on page 7 of this thread :winky:

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=80388&st=90

[The Transporter]

Plenty in the civilised part of the country today, I thought that someone reconed that the Winter was over......

I'll resist watching you in action.