Auris Hsd With Winter Tyres

[T Sport 1978]

Hi all,

Its that time of the year again! I am going to be fitting winter tyres onto my Auris soon for the first winter with the car, just wondering if there are anyone out there with experience on adverse fuel consumption or performance degradations because of it.

Any feedback or tips would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

[johalareewi]

Have a look for low rolling resistance winter tyres. They are out there. Michelin and Continental were doing them last year.

These will help keep your mpgs up.

[Sagitar]

I have used winter tyres on my Prius for three winters now and I definitely get a reduction in mileage through the winter, but it is very difficult to isolate the effect of the tyres. The winter weather makes a difference and the petrol at the pumps changes for the winter. I console myself with the thoughts that I would rather be safe than frugal and that in any case I am still getting better mileage than other cars that are suffering similar effects.

johalareewi's answer is sound and I can't add to it except to say that I use Continental Winter Contact TS830 and they work brilliantly.

[Terry953]

Hi all,

Its that time of the year again! I am going to be fitting winter tyres onto my Auris soon for the first winter with the car, just wondering if there are anyone out there with experience on adverse fuel consumption or performance degradations because of it.

Any feedback or tips would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

MEGGA - MEGGA - CON 'T - Sport 1978'

They're after your dosh and hoping to cash in on your gullibility, where did you get this notion from ??.

Winter Tyres in UK ?? 1945 and 1962 maybe not 2012, just think what could happen if you with your all singing all dancing winter tyres come to a screeching / slushy STOP situation, does matey behind have the same retardation qualities as you on his pride and joy ?? Result - your boot space could be seriously reduced.

It could be an Ambulance, a Military Vehicle [They can be very BIG] or your next door neighbour, or a Police car - Hey! do Our Emergency Vehicles fit winter tyres ?? When they fit thems then I will consider it.

Your MPG [and all of us HSD's] is going to dip due to the nature of the HSD beast during winter. [Research on Fuelly site.]

Your performance degradations will depend on your expertise with diving an HSD,

Just set the heater to 21- Auto - Scrape the glass on frosty mornings [ensure the wipers are unstuck] , switch on rearscreen defrost [this will do the mirrors as well] , hit the Windscreen button and just take it easy and drive.

Basically use the technology that you have paid for with your Auris from Toyota., you are unlikely to improve it.

[johalareewi]

Winter Tyres in UK ?? 1945 and 1962 maybe not 2012,

Maybe not down south but the UK does include Scotland.

just think what could happen if you with your all singing all dancing winter tyres come to a screeching / slushy STOP situation, does matey behind have the same retardation qualities as you on his pride and joy ?? Result - your boot space could be seriously reduced.

You are approaching a junction where you have to give way. There is a slight downward slope. You brake to slow down but you slide. The ABS is going bonkers and you slide out into the junction...

This happened to me in the winter of 2009 on normal tyres in a gen3 prius will all the gadgets.

Next year, I had winter tyres on. Much more grip.

It could be an Ambulance, a Military Vehicle [They can be very BIG] or your next door neighbour, or a Police car - Hey! do Our Emergency Vehicles fit winter tyres ?? When they fit thems then I will consider it.

OK

Basically use the technology that you have paid for with your Auris from Toyota., you are unlikely to improve it.

All the wizardry in your Toyota isn't going to conjure up any more grip. You need the right tyres for that.

[Madasafish]

I live in the Staffordshire Moorlands We get snow most years.. And lots of ice..

I could no doubt buy winter tyres but if the conditions are bad enough for them to be needed here, the traffic will block the roads. (In the 1990s my wife took 4 hours to travel 8 miles in snow in Stoke on Trent. I took 2 hours to travel 50 from Burton on Trent to Stoke... The impact of hills and snow on traffic).

When it was packed snow , I just drove slowly .. (Michelin Energy tyres ).. with no issues braking very gently.

We had one day last year of extreme black ice where rain fell overnight and then -8C. The roads were undriveable unless you had chains.. The pavements were like glass - I slid everywhere despite wearing proper walking shoes with ridged soles. The local hospital was full of broken arms/hips from pedestrian falling

I see winter tyres even here as only worthwhile 2-5 days a year..

Of course if I was driving a rear wheel drive car, that is a different issue. BMWs/MBs and Lexus are literally undriveable in ice or snow with summer tyres. And I mean they can't move: just spin their wheels on the slightest gradients.

[valmiki]

I had winter tyres on a spare set of alloys on my old car, a 5 series touring, and as you say madasafish what a relief that was during the snow!

Living in Wales we have plenty of hills, inclines, slopes. Winter traction does make one feel much, much safer! In fact I may look into hunting down a spare set of alloys for the Prius. Slightly off-topic but are Toyota 15" alloys all the same fitment-wise? I'm guessing 15s should fit on a T-Spirit no problem...

[Sagitar]

We've debated these winter tyre arguments several times and I guess a search will find them, so I don't intend to repeat them. Based on personal experience, I wouldn't want to be without them, others clearly think differently.

[Parts-King]

They're after your dosh and hoping to cash in on your gullibility, where did you get this notion from ??.

I too have commented on this dozens of times before and don't intend to repeat myself too much but here goes :D:

There appears a misconception that winter tyres are there purely for snow and ice, that is just plain wrong

The extra grip afforded by winter tyres is there when the temperature drops to 7 degrees or below, it has nothing to do with how well they grip in snow, but how well the tyre operates at these lower temperatures. They are no a gimmick, they are fairly new to the UK that's all. Remember the country coming to a standstill a couple of years back? Those who had winter tyres on were still moving (and stopping safely) If you have never used a car with winter tyres then you have no right to comment. Yes you can get about in winter on normal tyres, but you can get around even safer on specific winter tyres. It is a proven fact that stopping distances are greatly improved with winter tyres. Winter tyres will not stop the kn0b that tailgates you and runs in the back of you because he is a poor driver, nothing can beat those idiots

Do emergency services fit them? No, that is due to budgetary requirements, no other reason

Should you fit winter tyres? Yes, if you can afford it, your grip and stopping distance will improve significantly

Kingo

[Yolina]

There appears a misconception that winter tyres are there purely for snow and ice, that is just plain wrong

The extra grip afforded by winter tyres is there when the temperature drops to 7 degrees or below, it has nothing to do with how well they grip in snow, but how well the tyre operates at these lower temperatures. They are no a gimmick, they are fairly new to the UK that's all.

Absolutely :) I'm French (from the Alps) and winter tyres have been used there for many, many years, despite the roads being well gritted and snow ploughs making regular runs when needed, I think the areas of the country prone to cold and snow also use a different type of tarmac.

Having been in London for many years now, I think it would probably be overkill for here, particularly as I don't drive out of town much in winter, I also have the added problem of not having anywhere to store the extra set of wheels!

[Parts-King]

and a demonstration of winter tyres

http://youtu.be/BOyHP87s44o

[timberwolf]

I suspect that tyre properties have probably changed over the years.

I was surprised to learn that the tyre market had changed and that our cars were being fitted with Summer tyres, I don't know when the All Season tyres stopped being the norm? I don't think we were really informed (and we were certainly not consulted), and in some respects I can understand Terry's feelings that this has been a sneaky tacit to create a market to sell us two sets of tyres (I love conspiracy theories!). But with our mild winters (excluding a few problem years), Summer tyres are probably still an okay compromise for the winter for many people, but I still think we should have had a choice of an All Season tyre!

In the South, we have only had 2 or 3 bad winters, the last one wasn't that bad (I can't recall any snow falling possibly less than half a day and it didn't settle, just the fear of it - and markets like to take advantage of the fear) and before that we had apparently had 16 years of very mild winters.

I'm wishing for a mild winter again!

[T Sport 1978]

Hi all,

Its that time of the year again! I am going to be fitting winter tyres onto my Auris soon for the first winter with the car, just wondering if there are anyone out there with experience on adverse fuel consumption or performance degradations because of it.

Any feedback or tips would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

MEGGA - MEGGA - CON 'T - Sport 1978'

They're after your dosh and hoping to cash in on your gullibility, where did you get this notion from ??.

Winter Tyres in UK ?? 1945 and 1962 maybe not 2012, just think what could happen if you with your all singing all dancing winter tyres come to a screeching / slushy STOP situation, does matey behind have the same retardation qualities as you on his pride and joy ?? Result - your boot space could be seriously reduced.

It could be an Ambulance, a Military Vehicle [They can be very BIG] or your next door neighbour, or a Police car - Hey! do Our Emergency Vehicles fit winter tyres ?? When they fit thems then I will consider it.

Your MPG [and all of us HSD's] is going to dip due to the nature of the HSD beast during winter. [Research on Fuelly site.]

Your performance degradations will depend on your expertise with diving an HSD,

Just set the heater to 21- Auto - Scrape the glass on frosty mornings [ensure the wipers are unstuck] , switch on rearscreen defrost [this will do the mirrors as well] , hit the Windscreen button and just take it easy and drive.

Basically use the technology that you have paid for with your Auris from Toyota., you are unlikely to improve it.

Terry,

I felt exactly like you prior to the 2009 winter, I simply thought it was unnecessary to have them. In that winter I experienced first hand what it feels like to have to abandon your car because it could not go up a mild slope in snow, and also saw countless others stuck on level ground because they were simply rooted to the spot.

I changed my front tyres to a set of Nankang Snow-SV2 few days later and in the same condition and same road I was driving like as if NOTHING was wrong, the difference could only be described as night and day. It was the difference between being mobile and not, stuck or not. I can't emphasise enough how much I was surprised at the difference, incredible.

Just to say that I live in London, the road that i was stuck on was bottom of Pampisford Road in Purley going up hill for those who know, and this is by no means a steep road.

Since then I have always swapped to a set of Nankang Snow SV-2 every winter and have never looked back, and I will continue to do so.

[T Sport 1978]

Thanks for all the feedback regarding MPG, what sort of difference can i see with these tyres?

I currently average 59mpg overall since ownership and pretty much achieve this every tank, would these make me see low 50's?

[Parts-King]

I can understand Terry's feelings that this has been a sneaky tacit to create a market to sell us two sets of tyres (I love conspiracy theories!).

Conspiracy theory? I think you have read too many James Bond books :D:

You have a choice, you buy or not, how can that be a conspiracy theory to make you buy them? Thankfully we have a choice. If we had to fit them by law then I would not be happy, there are enough laws running our lives, its an individual choice

In the South, we have only had 2 or 3 bad winters, the last one wasn't that bad (I can't recall any snow falling possibly less than half a day and it didn't settle

Here we go again, the mention of no bad winters and how the snow didnt stick. How many mornings did you go to work when the temperature was 7 degrees or less?? Plenty I'm sure, and if fitted, you would have benefited from greater stopping distances and improved grip. The science is there to prove it, if you are not convinced, don't buy, but leave others to make their own decisions based on facts and not something from MI5 :D:

Kingo

[timberwolf]

From what I can recall, last winter was mild temperature wise.

I don't dispute any real scientific tests (not the rubbish on tv), although I would question who paid for any research and whether the summary, test devised or results had been presented without undue influence.

[johalareewi]

Thanks for all the feedback regarding MPG, what sort of difference can i see with these tyres?

I currently average 59mpg overall since ownership and pretty much achieve this every tank, would these make me see low 50's?

There isn't much difference in mpg between summner and winter tyres.

There is a big difference between ordinary tyres and low rolling resistance tyres (aka energy savers, fuel savers, etc.)

Toyota hybrids are fitted with these tyres so if you swap to normal tyres, your mpg will plummet.

If you are going to fit winter tyres, see if you can get 'fuel saver' winter tyres.

Your main mpg difference will be due to it being winter and not summer.

This is noticable with hybrids.

Expect a 10mpg drop from summer figures just becuase it is cold.

There are things you can do to minimise this drop like grill blocking and turning down the heating and using ECO mode.

As has been said, this topic comes up every year so have a search through the forum for ideas.

[Sagitar]

johalareewi's comments are sound. Click on his Fuelly tag - go down to recent fuel ups and click on "chart all fuel ups" - you will see the evidence for what he is saying charted very clearly.