Winter tyres: yay or nay?

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SebRogers

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My quattro Avant will soon need some new sneakers. The timing would be right to fit a set of winter tyres, but this would be the first time in over 15 years of car ownership that I've bothered... and I'm not sure if it's worth it or not?

I live in rural Somerset, the roads out here do get pretty dicy in the frost and snow and even when it's not cold enough for the white stuff there's plenty of mud and crap to contend with. Quattro plus winter tyres seem to make sense, but if I understand it right you don't really get the benefit unless the temp drops below 7c.

Thoughts, anyone?
 
I had new Vredesteins ultrac sessantas at the end of last year. They are supposed to be a summer tyre. We had a snowstorm and there was around 18 inches of snow, I was travelling in the early hours, before the snowploughs and fritters came out. I was the only car on the road, there were loads abandoned everywhere. I wouldn't worry about winter Tyres at all. If you have new rubber and Quattro, you'll take everything that comes your way. I can't see how anyone can justify the expense in this country.
 
I'm buying them for sure. Although it will be the first time. And I do believe that over 7 deg they are meant to be pretty bad. Personally I am getting a set of winter wheels for the winter tyres.

But a friend of mine had them on his golf tdi last year and said it was WAY better on the road than his range rover. 4wd will only help you so much, but at the end of the day, if your tyres dont have the grip to start with, the quattro aint doing jack.
 
xs2man said:
I'm buying them for sure. Although it will be the first time. And I do believe that over 7 deg they are meant to be pretty bad. Personally I am getting a set of winter wheels for the winter tyres.

But a friend of mine had them on his golf tdi last year and said it was WAY better on the road than his range rover. 4wd will only help you so much, but at the end of the day, if your tyres dont have the grip to start with, the quattro aint doing jack.
Click to expand...

With a 2wd you'd notice more of a difference. I couldn't beleive how good mine was in the snow, there were even some "offroaders" abandoned. I personally wouldn't spend the money, we just don't get consistently bad weather like they do in other parts of Europe.
 
Glad you've raised this, I bought some last year for an Austrian Alps trip which didn't happen....225/45/17's...sat in my shed deciding their fate, saying that i think if you have quattro and a good pair of snow chains, there wont be much you cant get out of - 2wd as above :)
 
Might give some Falken HS-439 a go this winter.
 
I have just bought 4 x Goodyear Eagle Ultragrip GW-3's for my gf's Fiesta and put them on another set of alloys ready to swap over.

Having used winter tyres on her car last year in the really bad weather i will now continue to use them every year, even on a 2wd fiesta they out perform even the best off roader with summer tyres, its actually quite shocking how good winter tyres are.

Once you try winter tyres you will never go back to using summer tyres during winter again!

Although as rowdy says the vredestein sessantas on a 4wd audi are very impressive, but.... winter tyres on an 4wd audi would be unstoppable.

My advice, if you can afford them then they are a must, and i would suggest you buy them now before the prices rocket up!, if the winter this year is anything like or worse than last year then you will probably need them.

Driving in the snow and ice with winter tyres is the same as driving in the dry with summer tyres, thats how good they are, no sliding, braking distances drastically reduced, amazing grip especially in heavy rain and slush, you can use winter tyres effectively up to 10 degree's, anything above that and they wear quicker and start to lose a little traction, but even at 10-15 degree's they still perform really well, but you would hopefully have taken them off by then.
 
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I totally agree that they will outperform summer Tyres but I can't justify £1000 + for a week or two a year.
 
I suppose it depends on what wheels you are putting on I guess, but 225/40/18's will come in around £600, stick them on a bargain set of wheels, and your looking at around £800 all in. And they will last you years, not weeks. Assuming you can find somewhere to store them I guess.
 
I've had a set the last few years, and they are absolutely incredible, and will 'never' go back. My wife's 3 series has a set, and in contrast to any other powerful rear wheel drive car, its unstoppable in the cold/wet/ice/snow. Only problem is people following on normal tyres assuming that the conditions are ok.

Don't make the assumption that they are only for snow, they perform better in all cold conditions. So they are better all winter. People will say 'but it only snows for a few days each year' but they are entirely missing the point with winter tyres.

I got a set of 16" alloys from the bay and put some winter tyres on, saving loads on the 18" normal tyres, even with the purchase of the alloys.

If you can afford them; then go for it.
 
rowdyboy said:
I totally agree that they will outperform summer Tyres but I can't justify £1000 + for a week or two a year.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean mate, there too expensive for the audi, but i tend to use my my gf's fiesta as much as i can and i got some cheap 15" alloys and managed to get the best winter tyres you can buy in a super cheap 15" size, only cost me £260 for a full set of goodyears GW-3s, £800 in 18" ouch!!
 
icenutter said:
I've had a set the last few years, and they are absolutely incredible, and will 'never' go back. My wife's 3 series has a set, and in contrast to any other powerful rear wheel drive car, its unstoppable in the cold/wet/ice/snow. Only problem is people following on normal tyres assuming that the conditions are ok.

Again, another 2wd car.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks everyone for the replies. Plenty to think about. I'm still undecided, tbh.

rowdyboy said:
Again, another 2wd car.
Click to expand...

Fair point, but as xs2man pointed out earlier in the thread, no grip is no grip regardless of whether you've got two driven wheels or four :)

As far as I'm concerned it comes down to temperature. Winter tyres only outperform normal tyres at temps below 7c. The UK has a relatively temperate climate, and doesn't tend to suffer the cold winter temperatures over long periods that parts of continental Europe do. So it becomes a bit of a temperature lottery... will the winter be cold enough to justify the outlay? Still undecided on that one. Maybe it's time to look for a spare set of 16" winter alloys, cos the price of 18" winter tyres is pretty terrifying...
 
Not sure if these will work or not???

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl

[URL="http://www.camskill.co.uk/m96b0s1626p0/Winter_-_Snow_-_Cold_Weather_-_Car_MPV_Tyres_-_16_inch_R16_inch_-_195_55_16_195_55_R_16"]http://www.camskill.co.uk/m96b0s1626p0/Winter_-_Snow_-_Cold_Weather_-_Car_MPV_Tyres_-_16_inch_R16_inch_-_195_55_16_195_55_R_16

Th[/URL]e cost of 16" winters is also not cheap. I looked at the 17" option, but I guess they are a less used size, because the cost of 17" was more than that of 18". So I have gone for the 18" option myself. Plus, just because I want grip, doesn't mean my motor has to look crap.

Bargains can be had on ebay too.

Goodyear: 4x Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance 2 - 245/40 R 18 97V | eBayunlop (4.6mm) £180: 245 40 18 Dunlop 2454018 Part Worn Tyre x 4 | eBaytart looking now and you could get a bargain before the cold weather comes.
 
xs2man said:
Not sure if these will work or not???

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl

[URL="http://www.camskill.co.uk/m96b0s1626p0/Winter_-_Snow_-_Cold_Weather_-_Car_MPV_Tyres_-_16_inch_R16_inch_-_195_55_16_195_55_R_16"]http://www.camskill.co.uk/m96b0s1626p0/Winter_-_Snow_-_Cold_Weather_-_Car_MPV_Tyres_-_16_inch_R16_inch_-_195_55_16_195_55_R_16

Th[/URL]e cost of 16" winters is also not cheap. I looked at the 17" option, but I guess they are a less used size, because the cost of 17" was more than that of 18". So I have gone for the 18" option myself. Plus, just because I want grip, doesn't mean my motor has to look crap.

Bargains can be had on ebay too.

Goodyear: 4x Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance 2 - 245/40 R 18 97V | eBayunlop (4.6mm) £180: 245 40 18 Dunlop 2454018 Part Worn Tyre x 4 | eBaytart looking now and you could get a bargain before the cold weather comes.
Click to expand...

Yeah the 16" are expensive, which is why i bought 15" alloys instead! 15" are cheap!
 
I bought 17"....still dont know if 17" wheels will fit the calipers on the S3, never got around to buying
 
apparently not mate, I have to be careful which 17"s I buy by all accounts.....did quite a bit of research on it at the time and it was looking like OEM wheels only leaving literally a couple of mm between them.....
 
1animal1 said:
apparently not mate, I have to be careful which 17"s I buy by all accounts.....did quite a bit of research on it at the time and it was looking like OEM wheels only leaving literally a couple of mm between them.....
Click to expand...

Hmmm...interesting, i suppose the correct offset would help but you might be right as my 18" are very close to my calipers!
 
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