Winter tyres

[AYGOSTU]

It’s probably been discussed a million times.. but does anyone run winter tyres and what are the thoughts? I have been looking and Yokohama WDrive come in Aygo 14&15 inch sizes, so will fit my car.

I drive 450 miles a week and this week as been so rainy, icey and generally terrible. On my drive to work today I saw 2 accidents. It got me thinking 🤔 about my optimum tyre safety.

so are winter tyres worth it or are my Continental eco contact 5s hard to beat? I know winters are the law in lots of parts of Europe so assume they are a good thing?

Any thought / experience shares welcome :) 

[gampla]

My aygo is running continentals eco contact on rear and nangkang eco2 on fronts both are b rating on rain fuel my set up is average is d (nangkangs e rating Continental c fuel) never had an issue with grip

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[Agent Orange]

Hi Stuart,

To be honest I wouldn't go the full winter tyre route in this country ( more rain than snow here ) but a set of "Cross Climate" tyres might do the trick.....Unfortunately they are few and far between to fit the Mark 2 Aygo.

https://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Goodyear/Vector-4-Seasons-Gen-2.htm/price/165-60-15

If you do go for full winter tyres, it might be a thought to get a set of steel wheels and fit the tyres to them, that would make the winter change over much easier but would spoil the look of your fab "X-clusive".

A good set of tyres with good reviews and the best "Wet" rating that you can find should be good enough.

All the best and stay safe. 

 

[AYGOSTU]

Cheers Aygo Orange 🙂 I will do some more reading and may rethink. 
I hope you are well.

Stu

[fordulike]

I'm running four of those Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2's that Agent Orange mentions. They are very good. Not tried in snow yet, but wet and dry, they provide good grip on both. The Continental ECOs I had on before were nasty in the wet 😯

[REDPEPPER]

.........couldn't agree more with fordulike - Goodyear far superior to Continentals (or Michelin for that matter), especially in the wet !

Wife's Yaris 2014 came with Dunlop as O/E and these were really 'orrible in the wet and replaced in short order for Vector 4-Seasons Gen2.

Agreed the Goodyears may cost a little more, but it's money well spent.

Latest 4-Seasons now have the "M+S" marking anyway now and I can't see why with what little snow we get winter tyres justify the expense and hassle.

I guess Toyota have an agreement to supply with Continental and Goodyear to supply tyres that satisfy the spec. needed at the right price rather than what's better.

Experience shows Goodyear to be 1st. choice for me.

[gampla]

.........couldn't agree more with fordulike - Goodyear far superior to Continentals (or Michelin for that matter), especially in the wet !
Wife's Yaris 2014 came with Dunlop as O/E and these were really 'orrible in the wet and replaced in short order for Vector 4-Seasons Gen2.
Agreed the Goodyears may cost a little more, but it's money well spent.
Latest 4-Seasons now have the "M+S" marking anyway now and I can't see why with what little snow we get winter tyres justify the expense and hassle.
I guess Toyota have an agreement to supply with Continental and Goodyear to supply tyres that satisfy the spec. needed at the right price rather than what's better.
Experience shows Goodyear to be 1st. choice for me.

Continentals are over priced junk

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[PeteB]

or as another alternative, this works for me...

For my last 2 cars (A gen 3 and Gen 4 Prius - which both used the same tyre size so the winters did for both cars) I used Nokian winter tyres, and they seemed to work well on snowy icy roads winter before last.

My current car is all wheel drive and I've gone with 5 Vredestein Quatrac All Season tyres.  They've not been properly tested yet, but there have been quite a few days where the temperature has dropped below 7°C, below which the tyre experts suggest winter and all season tyres will give better grip than summer tyres, which tend to harden at that temperature.

Until my original tyres wear out, I'll get my dealer to swap them every October and March, then just use the all seasons all year round unless something persuades me back to winter tyres in the meantime.

[Auris James]

Only just got my Auris and as tyres have good tread, Continental eco contact 2 (noisy) leaving as is. May fit all seasons then.

I have a 1996 Volvo 940 auto estate and 4 winters ago now bought a cheap set of alloy wheels and bought 4x new Goodyear ultra grip 9's winter tyres. In the Beast from the East it was like having a 4wd.

My summer Michelin Energy Savers were useless in my rear wheel drive Volvo automatic and the slightest incline would just spin the wheels.

The winter tyres have transformed traction, braking and steering! I can stop on a hill and pull away! The best buy ever! Tread wear still 6-7mm! I fitted them start of December, as been mild until then. I'll take them off end of March.

James

 

[Wiz201]

I did use winter tyres since 2010 and never regretted it. I only started using all weather tyres instead from 2017 and I was impressed with them when we got some snow. I use Pirelli all weather tyres at the moment.

[Garth-1]

On my main car I have Nokian all-season tyres and can recommend them.  On my "occasional" cars, which do a low mileage, I keep winter tyres on all year round.  I would never go back to having summer tyres on any car in the winter - too much of a risk, too many slippery episodes.

[rajivrattna]

On 1/20/2020 at 10:48 PM, AYGOSTU said:

It’s probably been discussed a million times.. but does anyone run winter tyres and what are the thoughts? I have been looking and Yokohama WDrive come in Aygo 14&15 inch sizes, so will fit my car.

I🤔

 

Any thought / experience shares welcome :) 

I would never drive a car without winter/snow tyres on icy road. It is asking for trouble and it just needs one bad slide or braking issue to have a bad accident and loose life. Not worth it when all could have been prevented with proper winter tyres (not just all season or all weather tyres) that cost just a couple of hundred pounds. The winter tyres for Aygo are quite cheap because of the small wheel size and besides the winter tyres will spare the wear and tear on your summer tyres. Worth every penny and if you have some where to store them during summer you can change them by your self. It takes max one hour to change all 4 tyres in Aygo, the pleasure of having a small car. Yes I do have proper winter tyres for our Aygo and I change them myself. Remember the true winter tyres have a different rubber compound that is soft in winter and has a far better grip than the hard rubber of summer tyres. Besides the true winter tyres have sipes for even better grip, braking and acceleration in snow and ice. There are lots of videos in you tube testing cars with and without winter tyres.

[AYGOSTU]

8 hours ago, Garth-1 said:

On my main car I have Nokian all-season tyres and can recommend them.  On my "occasional" cars, which do a low mileage, I keep winter tyres on all year round.  I would never go back to having summer tyres on any car in the winter - too much of a risk, too many slippery episodes.

I read that winters come with more tread/ deeper groves. So I wonder if they last longer than say my Continental eco contacts if I used them all year round.. then again like someone said, swapping them over at home in March is no biggy 

[Notoyboy]

4 hours ago, rajivrattna said:

Remember the true winter tyres have a different rubber compound that is soft in winter and has a far better grip than the hard rubber of summer tyres.

Although I'm presently using winter tyres on my Corolla, I don't consider I really need them nowadays, especially with living on the west coast with the benefits of the Gulf Stream, so I'm considering whether to go for All-Season tyres when I next need the summer tyres replacing.  Does anyone know whether the rubber used in All-Season tyres is the same as for summer tyres, or a half-way compromise towards winter grade?

[Agent Orange]

29 minutes ago, Notoyboy said:

Although I'm presently using winter tyres on my Corolla, I don't consider I really need them nowadays, especially with living on the west coast with the benefits of the Gulf Stream, so I'm considering whether to go for All-Season tyres when I next need the summer tyres replacing.  Does anyone know whether the rubber used in All-Season tyres is the same as for summer tyres, or a half-way compromise towards winter grade?

Hi Martin,

From the Goodyear website and the info on the Goodyear Vector 4 seasons, I would say that the compound is a "Half way house" between that of the summer and winter tyres.  That might sound like a compromise but when you add in the unique "Whale tail" tread pattern and the smoother ride in dry conditions, then that would still be my choice for Stuart.

If I lived in Scandinavia, Germany, or the Alps then I would go for Winter tyres every year without question but in the UK we get a few days of snow/ice and then we go back to the dreary wet conditions that we are all used to.  A couple of years ago we had the exception with the "Beast from the East" but normally our weather is wet rather than icy and having driven a car on winter tyres in the dry (OK, things might have changed as that was a few years ago) I can say that it's not a lot of fun.

As I said earlier, with our climate in the UK, the all season tyre could be the answer for Stuart (At the end of the day, it is his decision, not mine) but I like to read reviews and do a bit of homework before I buy something, as AygoStu is doing and that leads me away from the total winter tyre.  David ( @fordulike ) lives in the North East and if the Goodyears are good enough for him with the conditions up there, then that's good enough for me.

It's interesting to hear different views though, isn't it?.....As for you, Stuart, there used to be an American comedy on TV called "Soap", at the beginning of every episode the did a recap of what had previously happened and ended with the tag-line:

"Confused?  You will be"

I bet you feel exactly the same, Matey! 

Anyway, all the best and good luck.....I'm sure that you'll make the right decision in the end. 

[Notoyboy]

@ Agent Orange - thanks for the reply.  I suspect we don't live that far apart ☺️

[TonyHSD]

Hi,

with the high miles you drive winter tyres would be beneficial to you, or perhaps all season one. I drive over 1000 miles every week and I have two sets of tyres, summer and winter, make sense as otherwise I will have to buy a new set every year if I drive with all seasons , and also they are more expensive but not better option than summer and winter. All depends your needs and personal preferences. In my case I spent  £700 including fitting for two sets that will last for two years minimum and I will have maximum safety, comfort and efficiency, if I had to get an all season for my car a good set would be around £450 + which makes total coast £900+,  for the same period of time. Either way you go just remember to rotate front and rear every 10k miles so you get even wear and maximum life out of them. Some people prefer not to do it, they can only change two fronts after some time but doing so it is a false economy, as you are ending up with two new and two fairly old tyres on the back. New rubber all around is the best. 
Regards 

[PeteB]

9 hours ago, AYGOSTU said:

I read that winters come with more tread/ deeper groves. So I wonder if they last longer than say my continental eco contacts if I used them all year round.. then again like someone said, swapping them over at home in March is no biggy 

Winter tyres use a softer compound are are generally thought to wear more quickly in warmer weather with drier roads.

This may be useful:  

 

[AYGOSTU]

I have decided

.. Goodyear Vector 4seasons Gen2 are going to be my next tyres. 

I think they are worth a blast based on the comments. 

Thanks everyone 🙂 

[simon p]

On 1/22/2020 at 7:01 PM, AYGOSTU said:

I have decided

.. Goodyear Vector 4seasons Gen2 are going to be my next tyres. 

I think they are worth a blast based on the comments. 

Thanks everyone 🙂 

[MM16]

I thought about getting winter tyres but after the relatively mild winter we’ve had here, decided not to this year.

now, the tyres currently on the car are 165/60/15 and there aren’t a great deal of tyres to choose from in that size. There are more to choose from in 165/65/15. Would it make any difference if I went for that size?

has anyone ever gone for a wider tyre in 175/60/15? Or any other similar combination? 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Check the effect on the speedometer - eg http://www.autopartuk.com/tyre-calculator/

if it under-reads (shows less than the true speed) it is illegal.

[snowBALLs]

1 hour ago, MM16 said:

I thought about getting winter tyres but after the relatively mild winter we’ve had here, decided not to this year.

now, the tyres currently on the car are 165/60/15 and there aren’t a great deal of tyres to choose from in that size. There are more to choose from in 165/65/15. Would it make any difference if I went for that size?

has anyone ever gone for a wider tyre in 175/60/15? Or any other similar combination? 

If your car spec can take the 175 then I would recommend. This will improve the grip and road holding of the car so much. 

[MM16]

51 minutes ago, snowBALLs said:

If your car spec can take the 175 then I would recommend. This will improve the grip and road holding of the car so much. 

Not sure if they would. I know the wheels are fairly small but wasn’t sure if the small increase was doable. I assumed it would help if they could hold slightly wider tyres. One of my previous cars had 205 width and put 215’s on and had no issues at all, car felt great.

 

as for going for the 65 instead of 60, again, any issues there? Not look as good?

[MM16]

1 hour ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Check the effect on the speedometer - eg http://www.autopartuk.com/tyre-calculator/

if it under-reads (shows less than the true speed) it is illegal.

Thanks for this - I did think about the speedo. Says it would be 1.1% out I think. Will probably stick to the same size