Yaris Pretty Good In The Snow And Ice

[Hartside]

We've had some serious snow and ice over the last two days. Just got the wifes '08 1.3TR last Saturday and she loves it. Because of the snow and ice, we've been using my Golf which is already fitted with 4 winter tyres. She refuses to drive in the snow at all

I decided to take the Yaris out last night to see what it would be like and took it up the trading estate. Well impressed, quite predictable, but obviously had to be really light on the accelerator to stop spin up of the front wheels. Once it's kitted out with some winter rubber it will be superb! She even commented that she might drive it if it was fitted with some winter tyres!

[Cyker]

Well my one slid into the back of a Ka at 1mph with some epic ABS fail last year so make sure those are darn good winter tyres!

[Hartside]

Well my one slid into the back of a Ka at 1mph with some epic ABS fail last year so make sure those are darn good winter tyres!

So you clearly didn't have them fitted to yours then! :D My Golf hasn't even activated the ABS in this spell of bad weather as the stopping power on winter tyres are vastly superior to normal tyres. I just ordered a set of Fulda Kristall Montero 3's tonight for the Yaris on steelies, see here: http://www.adac.de/infotestrat/tests/reifen/winterreifen/w185_65_R15_details.aspx?testId=78&recordId=1712

Even a poor winter tyre is streets ahead of a good summer tyre in this type of weather!

Although ABS is a superb safety device 95% of the time, ABS is no good in the snow as you need a bank of snow to build in front of the tyre to help stop the vehicle. ABS releases the bank under the tyre actually extending stopping distances in the snow

[alfiejts]

Grip in the winter is all down to tyres and driving style.... The actual car probably doesn't have much to do with it. The "lower" power of the Yaris though probably helps stop people putting too much power down accidentally...

Toothy came home and got her winter tyres fitted a couple of weekends ago....

We've got Goodyear Ultragrip 7s.

The wheels & tyres cost the same as one lot of insurance excess, so if they save just one minor bump, they've paid for themselves....

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&cart_id=11739572.110.1222&typ=R-147131&ranzahl=4&Breite=185&Quer=65&Felge=15&Speed=T&weiter=0&kategorie=6&Ang_pro_Seite=20&Transport=P&dsco=110&sowigan=Wi

[Hartside]

Grip in the winter is all down to tyres and driving style.... The actual car probably doesn't have much to do with it. The "lower" power of the Yaris though probably helps stop people putting too much power down accidentally...

Toothy came home and got her winter tyres fitted a couple of weekends ago....

We've got Goodyear Ultragrip 7s.

The wheels & tyres cost the same as one lot of insurance excess, so if they save just one minor bump, they've paid for themselves....

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&cart_id=11739572.110.1222&typ=R-147131&ranzahl=4&Breite=185&Quer=65&Felge=15&Speed=T&weiter=0&kategorie=6&Ang_pro_Seite=20&Transport=P&dsco=110&sowigan=Wi

I completely agree. And remember if you are intending keeping the car for a few years, the tyre cost evens out. When your on winters, you're not wearing down your summer ones and vice versa. Should be law in this country. We had another 3-4" of snow last night and this morning I'm watching people unable to get off their drive.

[saniasamah]

my auris has been good in the snow d4d mmt....would fiting snow tryes be ok if i wanted to drive in the summer with winter tyres too or would they make to uch road noise thanksx

[alfiejts]

If you look on the "mytyres" site, they list "summer tyres", "winter tyres" and "all weather tyres".

The bottom line is that the tyres everyone normally fits to their cars are called "summer tyres" because they are designed to operate best above 10 degrees c.

They have tread patterns designed for dry or wet roads, but not for gripping well in slippy conditions.

The winter tyres are a legal requirement in some Continental regions, so people think theyr'e just for ski resorts, but they have a different tread pattern and rubber compound designed to work better in colder temps and in icy or slushy or muddy or snowy conditions.

Because the rubber's a softer compound and because the tread pattern is "coubikr" they will probably be a bit noisier and also wear more quickly in warmer temperatures.

The "compromise" is an "all weather" tyre.

Its designed to have a tread pattern that is a compromise of summer and winter settings and also a rubber compound that works well all year around.

The "all weather" option is probably a good compromise if you don't live somewhere with loads of winter weather (which was most of the UK until last year....)

But as Hartside says, if you have somewhere to store them, separate summer and winter tyres are the best option and you are only wearing down one set at a time, so if you're keeping the car for a while, your actual only extra real cost is for the spare set of wheels.

(If anyone in the NW is considering their options after reading this thread, I have a set of 15" Yaris steel wheels in my shed. Bought them myself to fit winter tyres and then picked up a set of new alloys cheap instead. PM me if interested...)

[Hartside]

This video gives a good overview of the differences between Summer vs All Season vs Winter tyres

[aygoal]

Our Yaris is on the standard Continentals and last year it was far better than my Zafira with Michelin tyres on 17" rims. Unfortunately it was also better than the Fiesta that was following the OH last January, but that is a different story.

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

My Yaris handles much better in the snow than my old Honda did. Last year it was superb with all the ice and the snow! I ended up writing off my Honda the year before so that says it all... I don't plan on going anywhere this winter but if I do I'll get some winter tyres stuck on and be doubly sure!

[Raeman]

Used to have a Micra which was brillaint in the snow & ice, the thin little tyres seems to cope really well and the whole car felt stable and surefooted.

The Yaris is totally the opposite! I just can't stop the thing wheelspining everytime i touch the throttle. Nightmare in ice, you really have to concentrate hard to keep it steady.

I guess the T-Sports are the same especially with 195/50/15 tyres like mine!

[Cyker]

Yeah, I think I will suspend my higher pressure tyre experiment until after winter!

This is the time of year where having a torquey diesel engine is not so much fun!

[Madasafish]

This is the time of year where having a torquey diesel engine is not so much fun!

Disagree. trickle along at 1,000rpm.. No accelerator.. Standard tyres..

[Cyker]

It's more the "Touch accelerator, under-steer off road" part that I'm worried about!

I had a bit of such a scare going round a roundabout this morning!

My tyres are down to 3mm tho' so that may be why; 3mm is usually the point where I start to consider changing them. It's just a bugger that it's this close to xmas where I will have no monies!!

(Yes I know the legal limit is 1.6 around the middle but leaving it to that level is just asking for trouble!)

[Madasafish]

My tyres are down to 3mm tho' so that may be why; 3mm is usually the point where I start to consider changing them. It's just a bugger that it's this close to xmas where I will have no monies!!

I change mine at 3mm.. mud and snow in winter ... And the horse excrement we have around here...

[hora]

Well this is my first winter without a Subaru Forester. I'm ****ting myself frankly! How do guys cope with front wheel drive!!!!!

[Hartside]

Well this is my first winter without a Subaru Forester. I'm ****ting myself frankly! How do guys cope with front wheel drive!!!!! ]

Winter tyres!

[avensis57tr]

Hi, we have a yaris 1.33 tr on order and just looking around for some winter tyres before they all sell out :s. Just wondered if anyone knew the dimensions of the wheels I think they are 185/60 R15 but unsure of the speed rating as most winter tyres seem to be T rated but I wasn't sure if the yaris uses H rated. If its H does anyone know if the manual allows T or a lower rating when using winter wheels? Just worried about insurance impliactions if I have to go down a speed rating. Many Thanks

[RS4]

Hi, we have a yaris 1.33 tr on order and just looking around for some winter tyres before they all sell out :s. Just wondered if anyone knew the dimensions of the wheels I think they are 185/60 R15 but unsure of the speed rating as most winter tyres seem to be T rated but I wasn't sure if the yaris uses H rated. If its H does anyone know if the manual allows T or a lower rating when using winter wheels? Just worried about insurance impliactions if I have to go down a speed rating. Many Thanks

You will not be breaking any laws if you fit T rated tyres to your car, unless you are caught exceeding the said speed rating. A 'T' speed rating permits 118 mph and a 'H' rated tyre permits 130 mph. However, you must equal or exceed the load index. My Yaris D4D also comes with 185/60 R15 84H tyres as standard. In October I fitted my spare set of Vredestein Snowtrac 3's which are: 185/60 R15 88T. I have had the acceptability of this confirmed by the Department of Transport in the past. I had a Subaru Impreza WRX which came with W rated tyres as standard. It used to be impossible to get W rated snow tyres, and I had to drop down to a V rated snow tyre. The DoT sent me a letter saying this was OK, providing I didn't exceed the V rating.

P.S. It is good to know there are some like minded people out their who also fit winter tyres to their cars. Most people I have mentioned the use of winter tyres to in the past, seem to think winter tyres either don't exist or are a waste of money. I do 600 miles per week in my D4D over the M62 between Leeds and Warrington, and have never been late for work or stuck in the snow (touch wood).

[avensis57tr]

Thanks for the advice, didn't think it would cause too much problem but you never know. Will get some ordered before there all gone, just annoyed I didn't get some before they doubled in price. Agreed with you that winter tyres are worth the money. Have fitted some to my Fabia this year, had to turn round in a car park which was sheet ice yesterday saw a golf lock its wheels and skid trying to brake and pedestrians failing over was able to turn round without abs, tcs or esp kicking in or any hint of loosing traction. Totally sold that they should be compulsory here, just have to remember that other people dont have them and adjust for their driving as well :s. Think that the Yaris will be good in the conditions and have specified VSC which will hopefully work well with the winter tyres to keep us moving.

[Hartside]

Have a look at www.mytyres.co.uk and on the left menu choose "steel wheels with tyres" You can choose a set of tyres including the steel wheel fully mounted, balanced and delivered. All you need to do is source some wheel trims if you're bothered. At the moment because of the weather, prices are up by around £35 per wheel/tyre, and the choice of tyres has reduced by about 75%, I guess because of sheer demand.

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

I'm thinking about fitting some winter tyres to my car. Do I need them on the front (because my car is front wheel drive) or on the rear as well? Also, could someone recommend some good brands to me and how much I could pay for them?

Thanks.

[avensis57tr]

Well have ordered some Kumho KW23 185/60 15 for new Yaris :D £63.30 delivered were only £45 a week ago. Just hope mytyres have enough to fulfill the order. We had 18 inches of snow overnight :s so they cant come quick enough. Have got Nokian WGR2 fitted to the Fabia. On Mytyres they list all the reviews for each tyre so went off that especially if they did well in ADAC tests and have the mountain snowflake mark. You need them for all four corners just fitting them to the front may make the back end step out, alternative is all season but believe these are not as good ad the winter tyres.

[Hartside]

Be prepared for a wait I'm afraid. I ordered wheels/tyres for my wifes Yaris last Friday and I'm still waiting for a confirmed delivery from mytyres. Seems a new law was passed in Germany on Monday whereby winter tyres are now a legal requirement and now supply of winter tyres are as rare as hens teeth. Guess where mytyres stock comes from - Germany!

Be interesting to see how your delivery fares in comparison to mine as I take it you just ordered the tyres?

Here's the ADAC test for 2010, albeit the tyre size is very slightly different (185 65 R15)

http://www.adac.de/infotestrat/tests/reifen/winterreifen/2010_Winterreifen_Test_185_65_R15.aspx?ComponentId=40327&SourcePageId=31821

[avensis57tr]

Not reassuring lol, Well Yaris not expected until 16th Dec so hoping they may be here near then but who knows. Before this all kicked off only to a week to get my winter tyres but as you say there is such huge demand now especially if that law has been passed, Think most of Europe is struggling with the level of snow this year. Which brand of tyre did you order Hartside?