Winter Driving

[Bratty]

In winter the Temp is usually under 6 degrees centegrade, here in Germany it is advised (Not Law!) to drive with appropriate tyres fitted to your vehicle! That means if you cause an accident or slow traffic down because your vehicle is inappropriately prepared. Insurance will not fully pay out!! and you might get points on your licence if you hold up traffic !
My Audi stays in the Garage in winter and I drive my other cars with winter tyres fitted. If I thought that there were responsible people in Britain that drove there vehicles with "in effect" tyres with incorrect compounds, that would make them in part responsible for a potential accident, or is Europe another world (where if you travel through it, you are responsible for respecting the laws of that country!?!) if in winter you are driving your car without the correct compound tyres fitted then you are contributing to that accident that was avoidable, therefore !!??!!
Responsibility lies with the individual, :confused:

Dunk

[mkc]

No specific winter rules for tyres in the UK. I feel that should change though given the carnage we had last year with that little bit of snow.

I lived in Fredrikstad, Norway for some time and that was prety bad and thats in the south. Up in Lillehammer it was crazy yet people still managed to get to work. We are lucky in the UK that we do not have extreme weaher. Problem is when we have something a little weird, like a few inches of snow we are rubbish.

People have enough problems with one set of tyres, nevermind changing them or putting on tyrebots or chains.

we should have winter tyres though

[Bratty]

The concept of winter tyres is that they work more efficiently not just when there is snow on the ground but also at low temperatures/rain. The tyre compound is different as well as the tread structure being modified allowing the block to open up and get extra grip. The days of m+s tyres looking like and sounding like a Military land rover going down the road are a thing of the past. They can have speed rating well beyond the legal limit in Britain and I know that they DO make a difference!

Dunk

[robtt09]

We have all weather tyres on our BMW Mini and they make a significant difference in cold weather conditions ie below 3 degrees.Never got stuck last winter in the snow and exceptional grip in the wet.I will be putting them on my A4quattro as soon as present tyres near worn.All cars in the UK should be fitted with these rather than the summer tyres we have. It would cut down accidents without doubt.

[Bratty]

There would be those who argue that those types of tyres are a compromise, and a soft compound tyre in summer has a very quick wear rate. I sway towards two sets (summer on nice alloys and winter tyres on steel wheels) that way you have optomised your chances of making anyone who travels in your car as safe as you could do (ie. children, pets, ******-up mates, etc (in that order of priority)). Plus if you have to fit snow chains them alloys are going to be ruined (according to Audi the standard s-line alloys are not allowed to have them fitted) just one to think about if you are going ski-ing somewhere nice this year.

Dunk

[leehal]

Anyone know the UK price of a set of winter tyres? Or can you get away with front wheels only on a front wheel drive?

What is road noise like and realistically when would you fit them and remove them?

Is it OK to have them fitted to my alloys?

[Bratty]

In Germany most drivers (and that really is most drivers!) replace there nice shiny alloys for a dedicated set of winter wheels and tyres, that allows them to drive safely and responsibly. They are invariably on steel wheels as it allows chains to be fitted without damage. The PROBLEM! is optics!!?!! for three months you have to drive around with the equivelant of a butchers bike! or buy a set of crappy alloys. To fit FULLY speed rated M+S tyres to your original wheels is expensive,very expensive.

Its all about you, are looks more important than sensibility.

Price is about 550 Euros a set (very thin, big profile and small diameter)

Dunk