Tyres in the snow

Raiden

Raiden

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I think I know the answer but I am hoping I am wrong. So down south we got a lot of snow yesterday and it caused chaos. I was meant to be somewhere and I thought I would be ok with my set of Eagle F1 asymmetric 3. Plus I had to wait for my niece to come down who had a set of uniroyal rain sports which I made her buy a few months ago (for her not cheap)

Basically she got stuck so I went to get her and also got stuck. I had the traction off and took it slow but my town in Hertfordshire was screwed. I'm assuming it's the tyres that were wrong for that weather?

I won't need a set for ages but I thought mine would be ok in the snow? When we had really really awful snow and the country was at a stand still years ago I remember having mid range tyres on my bmw mini and yes it took forever to get home but the car was going up and down the back roads with ease.

Is there such a thing as a proper all weather tyre or was it just bad luck yesterday. The wife says its poor driving but even she couldn't get the car moving.

My current have been fine in the wet and dry. We don't get bad snow often and don't really want a set of snow tyres to use just once or twice a year.
 
Raiden said:
I think I know the answer but I am hoping I am wrong. So down south we got a lot of snow yesterday and it caused chaos. I was meant to be somewhere and I thought I would be ok with my set of Eagle F1 asymmetric 3. Plus I had to wait for my niece to come down who had a set of uniroyal rain sports which I made her buy a few months ago (for her not cheap)

Basically she got stuck so I went to get her and also got stuck. I had the traction off and took it slow but my town in Hertfordshire was screwed. I'm assuming it's the tyres that were wrong for that weather?

I won't need a set for ages but I thought mine would be ok in the snow? When we had really really awful snow and the country was at a stand still years ago I remember having mid range tyres on my bmw mini and yes it took forever to get home but the car was going up and down the back roads with ease.

Is there such a thing as a proper all weather tyre or was it just bad luck yesterday. The wife says its poor driving but even she couldn't get the car moving.

My current have been fine in the wet and dry. We don't get bad snow often and don't really want a set of snow tyres to use just once or twice a year.
Click to expand...

There is just a point at which summer tyres like your Eagles become fairly useless and having the right tyres is far more important in maintaining grip than having Quattro or any other awd system - particularly when it comes to steering and braking.

I had a full second set of wheels with Conti winter tyres for my last car (bmw) and they kept me on the road regardless of how bad the weather got through 3 winters.

My current A7 is on Pirelli P zeros during its second winter and I had a couple of iffy moments trying to stop it last year. I had fully intended to buy a winter wheel and tyre set before this winter as they provide peace of mind for our variable weather but the relatively high cost compared to the bmw set has stopped doing it yet.


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I've made a note for the crossclimate tyres for next time. I'll stick a set on the van and my nieces car and stick with the F1's on mine. At least I will have a vehicle I can use if it gets bad
 
Just to say that none of the All Season tyres are available in the correct size for my 20” wheels, so it’s a second set job for my car.


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I had a set of Conti Winter Contacts fitted to my A3 when I got it in Dec 2012, with the intention of getting some summer tyres (and wheels) to change them out to. Never got round to getting the summer tyres, and in January 2017 they had 30k miles on the rears (fronts had to be replaced after 20k miles due to an irrepairable puncture, but couldve done more easily). I dont drive like miss daisy, or a lunatic so to get the lifespan out of them was quite incredible.

Not to mention when it snowed it felt much more sure footed and able to get about without much fuss.

Not sure how others found the durability, but they're not really meant to be run all year round, just below 5° i think (which is a good few months of the year)

Here is a link to a couple of videos I found helpful and informative





I'd have another set in a heartbeat
 
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My a6 came with uniroyal rain/sharkskin tyres- not my choice but still good tread. Now I live in Aberdeenshire in a wee village and I had no problems with the snow and ice! I won’t buy these tyres again as I prefer 4season tyres but either they are great in snow or my allroad is just a beast.
I usually run Goodyear vector 4seasons/ crossclimates but they are coming in at £170 a tyre- Nokian weatherproof dont do my size which is a pain.

The Goodyear’s are fantastic
 
I think most all-season tyres will be many times better than any summer tyre below 7C. Even in above freezing temperatures I notice significant improvement in grip in all cases (braking, accelerating or in corners) with the all-seasons, which have a much softer rubber compound and remain more pliable than the summer set and in the rare cases when it snows, they grip well too. That only leaves you to worry about the other drivers on summer tyres.

I live near London and use Eagle F1 in the warmer months, but switch to a set of Vredestein Quatrac 3 all-season tyres when it gets cold. I bought these before last winter and never looked back. They cost less than most other all-seasons at the time which was nice and are from a well known brand. The Quatrac 5 are meant to be even better. The fact that Michelin Crossclimates are now available in more sizes is nice too - I might check them out when I come to replace this set.
 
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