Winter Tyres

[alfiejts]

Given that my daughter's in a very hilly part of Sheffield and its her first year driving (and Sheffield's winter weather can be quite bad), I'm planning to fit a set of winter tyres to try and get her through the winter in her nice SR-Nav without damage.

The 205-wide Dunlop SP Sport tyres on the SR don't look as if they would be very good in the winter, especially as hers are over half worn......

So I've sourced a set of 15" Yaris steel wheels for a tenner from fleabay and I'm trying to choose what make of all-season or winter tyres I should choose (in 185/60-15 fitment...).

Has anyone any experience of using all season or winter tyres for UK use and have any comments or recommendations?

Goodyear Ultragrip 7 seem to look good and get good reviews - as well as Michelin Alpin.

Any informed views of the assembled masses?

[Yumma]

Hi, a very wise move I'd say. I fitted Dunlop SP Sport 01 Fast Response tyres to my T Sport and while they are excellent in warm weather the minute the temp drops below about 8 degrees they are aweful; and if there is salt residue on damp roads in the height of winter they are lethal. I Have some Bridgestone Touranzas as an all season tyre and they are much better. Conti Premium contacts are a good all rounder too. But I've never tried a dedicated winter tyre but am sure they'd be good in colder wetter conditions. Both the above are more of an all season touring tyre. The Dunlops are very much a summer only tyre.

Regards

Yumma

[Yaristotle]

Lived in Bavaria for a while and such tyres are compulsory for the winter. It is not simply a question of transferring a winter spec equivalent of the standard tyres to the existing wheels, though. What is required is a second set of wheels that are slightly smaller and can accommodate a narrower and higher profile tyre – far better suited for the snow and ice. Also such tyres are made of a softer compound than their standard counterparts and I think with these there is a permitted speed of around 100km/h. Also these wheels will invariably be made of bog standard steel as there is little point in wrecking high quality alloys for this type of driving.

[alfiejts]

Well I've completed my project so thought I'd give you all an update....

I spent two months trying to source some Michelin Alipin A3 winter tyres as they got the best reviews, but Michelin UK had sold out their annual supply and weren't bringing any more over, despite someone at Michelin suggesting the contrary to ATS....

So in the end I ordered a set of Goodyear Ultragrip tyres from mytyres.co.uk

They were shipped out of a factory in Germany and took a week to arrive (timing coincided with the Channel Tunnel closure that might have had something to do with that.).

I got them fitted to the cheap alloys I bought off eBay in October (a previous thread - full set of genuine new Toyota 15" alloys for £27.50 each delivered.....).

Here are the pictures.

First picture is of the standard tyres on their 16" wheels and its clear why they'd have little grip in snow or slush or on icy roads...

They are the standard Dunlop SP Sport 01 tyres and the solid rubber bands give great summer grip, but there aren't many "cross" cuts or sipes to provide traction in winter conditions.

These are the Goodyear Untragrip tyres on my 15" wheels

There are lots of little "sipes" that help the tread stick like a leech to ice and the pattern provides much greater traction in snow and slush.

Also, the tread compound is softer and designed to operate below 7 degrees centigrade when normal summer tyres start to lose their grip as this is below their design temperature.

We'll have to see how they survive a Yorkshire winter, but if they save one bump and insurance excess, they'll have paid for themselves....

Here's a link to the Goodyear site explaining the benefits of winter tyres...

http://eu.goodyear.com/uk_en/tires/reposit...Grip6/index.jsp

[Sagitar]

There is some other stuff in the "What Tyres Are You Using?" on the "Hybrid / Toyota Prius" board - sorry, I don't know how to make a link.