Why we’ve tested winter tyres

I live in Northern Scotland and have found winter tyres to be invaluable during the last two winters. We have them on both our Passat estate and our Saxo VTR. The handling is transformed in snow beyond my expectations and we now find it much easier to get around.

The question/discussion on Winter Tyre makes for very interesting reading. However as I live in a town, am retired I do not consider the procurement of these Tyres to be Cost Effective.
During last winter,s condition I did not experience any concerns with the loss of traction with my vehicle. Contrary to belief I found the Automatic Transmission perfect on Front Wheel Drive. Select Drive leave the foot off the accelerator pedal, and the low speed torque derived from Automatic Transmission did the rest, no wheel spin, no loss of traction etc. But then I am a Member of the Institute for Advances Motorists.

Two years ago I bought winter tyres for my Skoda Yeti . At the time the only winter tyres available at local tyre fitters were the Continental winter Contacts and Matadors .Both these tyres are manufactured by Continental and have identical treads.there was however a considerable difference in price ,something in the region of £40 per tyre I recall.

I decided to play safe and bought the Continental Winter contacts which had received good reviews and which proved to be an excelent choice and made a quite staggering difference to the performance of the Yeti in snow.

I may have to replace the Continentals next winter and should like to know if anyone has had any ex[perience of the Matador tyres or can advise me as to what apart from the £40 per tyre is the diference between the two tyres.

I’ve used winter tyres for many years despite living in the South. The difference is astounding and you can, with care, take on any conditions, often where overweight 4×4’s give up. I’ve had Mini’s since 2004, do about 40k a year and have just replaced Michelin Alpins with Dunlop Wintersports. It is really unthinkable that an “all weather” tyre designed to run continuously at over 130 m/hr in summer can cope with low temperatures. The stated ‘cross-over’ is 7C and I usually put mine on when the max temperature is forecast in single figures.

Thank you Dave for your information …. I have, this year put winter tyres all round as they were so impressive last year.

Stephen,

When I replace a car I go to a breakers yard for extra steel wheels. I pay between £4 and £10 a rim.

A few notes…
In some countries it is law to change (and to do so on certain (dates))
Change all four tyres do NOT mix’n’match (Remember the Xply/Radial debate?)
Ice and/or snow are equally treacherous
If you’re not experienced do not drive unless absolutley necessary-in fact don’t drive at all unless it is necessary.
Driving a 4×4 can be worse unless you are competant (and confident)

I’m a winter tyre convert. We fit them in dec to both our cars and remove them in April. Regarding costs, your summer tyres are not being worn when your winter tyres are on. The grip in the wet is excellent as is the grip in slush or snow and cold weather. Last winter I drove passed a freelander stuck on a hill in the snow, kind of defeats the reason for having 4 wheel drive. Although having said that I’m sure a 4×4 with winter tyres would be the safest bet.

One other thing to note is that due to the depth of the tread and the softness of the rubber the tyres soak up the millions of pot holes which appear during each winter better than summer tyres.

Some interesting comments. However basics first – winter tyres are better than summer tyres as soon as temperatures drop below 7 degrees. The magazine article and everywhere else fails to mention this important fact. The softer rubber compounds give a better grip in lower temperatures – not just ice and snow!

I’m not sure i would leave my car at home and prefer to walk as some here suggest. The roads get ploughed and gritted – at least the main networks do. By contrast our pavements become churned uneven, icy, deathtraps. The Uk needs a law like that in southern German states requiring able householders to clear their frontages of snow. Here people hide behind supposed fear of negligence claims should somone slip on their cleared part of path. Government ministers have however been at pains recently to point out that noone has apparenetly ever been prosecuted for such! I’ve clelared the footpath along the front of my office and home and neighbours several years now – come on more should do the same – if able

My other gripe is that those who do not feel proper winter preparation is necessary for them are exactly the people who end up crawling along at a snails pace blocking the traffic and preventing the rest of us getting to and from work. There is a highway code requirement to make proper progress and failing to do so should see offenders confined to the icy treacherous pavements.

Disappointed to see Falken HS439 Eurowinter tyres down-rated in your test results. I fitted 4 to my Honda CR-V 18in wheels last December, and drove to the Alps for a week over Christmas. While in the mountains and returning through France I drove on snow all the way, and the tyres’ performance was excellent. Your disclaimer states that tyre performance cannot necessarily apply to different wheel sizes, and this may be a case in point. Falkens are very good tyres which my local garage recently re-fitted for this winter for £30. I urge readers not to be put off the bigger sizes.

Have used Vredestein Snowtrac 3 for last two winters and they give me much more confidence in marginal conditions. Having a set of 5 is a waste of time as they are uni-directional and therefore 6 would be needed to have a viable spare. Surely using an omni-directional summer tyre as spare for a short period is better than using a space saver or using the spray can method.

I bought them for a one series BMW diesel auto..
This car sat outside my house unused for 4 weeks last year (Edinburgh).

My friend in Holland has 2 sets of tyres with his car as it is a requirement of his Insurance to have winter tyres fitted in winter. The tyre firm changes his tyres a the appropriate time and stores the not in use tyre until neede again. He changes his car every 3 years and dosen’t need to buy a new set as the 2 sets last him. He is a salesman and covers a great deal of miles. He says he can appreciate the better performance of the winter tyres in cold conditions and especially in snow and ice.

Having seen the violence with which tyrefitters remove tyres when replacing them, I can’t believe just changing tyres on the same wheels is a safe long-term solution. At the very least, each wheel would need rebalancing every time the tyre is changed? Everyone in Germany seems to keep two sets of wheels, one with winter tyres and one with summer. Does anyone know of a dealer who offers steel wheel and winter tyre packages?

4ft of snow on the ground December last year in the rural area outside Hull and my rear-wheel drive C-Class and IS-220 were undrivable on the local roads and I could not get out of my driveway. However the main A roads on bus-routes and dual-carriageways were cleared by snow plows and passable with care. In the previous January, i was working in Manchester and was able to drive 100 miles from Hull to Manchester, yet my staff, living 10 miles in and around Manchester complained they could not get to work in the snow and ice. It seems it is the local first/last 5-10 miles that are the difficulty.

This year I’ve invested £100 in 4 snow-shoes for my car, this will get me out of my driveway if there is snow/ice and onto the cleared main roads. Careful driving at slower speeds will get me the next 90 miles.

I can’t justify £800+ for tyres + steel rims etc. per car and don’t have the space to store 10 tyres all year round.

I don’t know if Which? has mentioned this but if you do store tyres for 6 months, they need to be stored on their side and sealed/wrapped up to keep light and moisture out, otherwise the tyres will degrade.

Bridgestone Blizzaks on my BMW 330CD auto trasform the car in winter. For the past 3 years I have swapped to these tyres in Nov, reverting to summer tyres in late March. Traction, braking and steering are vastly improved on snow and ice. Whilst 4 x 4 vehicles may have traction on summer tyres, they still cannot stop and turn as effectively as a RWD car on the proper tyres for the conditions. A feature of winter tyres that does not get mentioned is aquaplane resistance on motorways. This is vastly improved giving far more control on our poorly maintained and drained motorway system in wet conditions, irrespective of temp.

Nice article Dave, there’s been a few tests done on the effectiveness of winter tyres. Check these videos out : http://www.blackcircles.com/tyres/winter-tyres/videos it features tyre tests from Goodyear and Tyresafe. If you live in the UK, it’s better to be safe and go with winter tyres during the cold weather months.

Dean, it is your attitude that gets the human race a bad name. Firstly, wet greasy summer roads afford massively greater grip than that available on snow or ice, and indeed non icing, but wet and cold gritted roads. Thats a simple fact. As an all year round driver, motorcyclist, road and mountain biker I can assure you of this. Riding any bike without proper protection is not taking seriously your responsibilities to yourself, family and friends, and society in general, it has nothing to do with civil liberties. I guess you dont wear a seat belt when driving either as this is also a “civil liberties” errosion. Its simple, common sense says dont take a vehicle on the road without it being road worthy, deflating, incorrect tyres for the conditions should not be used. We all have a responsibility to every other road user to ensure we are properly equiped. It matters not to anyone else if you damage your own car, but dont risk my car, and life by venturing onto the roads in sub 7 degrees conditions.

Just read the winter tyre test and to be honest it left me disappointed. Giving a star rating is fine but if you quoted actuall stopping distances in meters people would soon take notice, especially if you also included the results for a summer tyre. I can’t help but feel that the Which testers have not spent much time behind the wheel of a car fitted with low profile summer tyres, wider say than 215mm in severe winter conditions.(worse if RWD!) The difference between driving one of these and a typical small car on narrow tyres is huge the moment the snow starts to fall. Something Which completely fail to mention.

I have been driving for over 35 years in a variety of vehicles, both in the UK and in Europe.
About 15 years ago I was living in a hilly rural area and purchased a spare set of wheels with winter tyres (instead of buying a 4 wheel drive vehicle) to keep me mobile during a particulary snowy and icy winter. The handing improvement on ice and snow was dramatic, so I began fitting winter tyres to my family’s other vehicles.
For the past 5 years I have been fitting “all-season” tyres, for improved summer-handling and tread-life (up to 20K-plus miles per set).

We’re in Sutherland where temperatures are consistently below 7C in winter. We fitted a set of Goodyear SP this year and are delighted with the improved handling in cold conditions, with or without snow. It would have been really useful if Which? had published this report earlier in the year as it came too late to be any use. Manufacturers only distribute a limited number of tyres in the UK and you need to order early, ideally by October to get a good choice of makes. You don’t have to fit them right away. We made our choice after reading German and North American reviews. Michelin were the make most recommended, but we were too late to get them.

first year with winter tyres.made decision back in august,got myself set of secondhand alloys bought set of vredestein snowtrac 3 in september and had them fitted to above s/h alloys.changed over tyres summers to winters in 2nd week in december and haven`t looked back.
below 7deg C handling/grip is sharper,marginally noisier and mpg appears to be about the same,but correspondingly above 7 deg C grip is less,also wet grip/handling so much better with winters at any temperatures.am lucky that have space to store wheels when not in use.
my daily commute is 80 miles round trip,car is bmw 1 series cabby diesel.overall am very pleased with these tyres and their performance,they suit my circumstances.

And now the sock report is out. Very useful!

I am also pleased to see the comparison between winter and summer tyres included in the report.
It really does show how summer tyres are just not safe for use in snow conditions: not even able to get up a 7% slope and double the stopping distance …. far worse than attempting to drive in normal conditions with tyres that have less than 2mm of tread.

Given that many cars now have space saver spare wheels, how does this line up with your idea of buying five winter tyres?

I recommend winter tyres, as for the insurance issues, last winter the companies were trying to say that if your car was on V or W speed rated summer tyres you had to have the same speed rating in winter tyres which is just crazy and in most cases winter tyres are only made in H 130mph or V 149mph rated which is way more than most people will use. After this was in the news the insurance companies finally got some common sense: ABI ISSUES REASSURANCE TO MOTORISTS FITTING WINTER TYRES
The ABI has issued reassurance to motorists that fitting winter tyres should not result in an extra charge on their motor insurance. There is lots of good information on winter tyres with videos here http://www.performancealloys.com/Winter-Tyres.aspx and if you are looking for winter wheels you can also get them as well.
Since i bought my winter tyres from these guys last year they now have included the entire new EU tyre labelling information which was very interesting to look over to see how all the different tyres compared.
With regards to the Dave’s comment on the space saver, you can’t buy these in winter options and they are only used to get you to a place to get your flat tyre repaired…

I am a firm believer in winter tires. It can be a pain to have to change from summer to winter tires, but it is well worth it. I live in southwestern Montana and we have some long winters out here, and I wouldn’t go without winter tires. A while back, my winter tires had reached the end of their useful life and I has a brand new set of Michelin highway tires on and figures that being that they were new, they would work for the winter. Was I ever wrong.

Winter tires definitely should be changed out during the summer as they are made of a softer rubber compound. One summer of driving on winter tires could wear them out.

Winter tires can be a bit more noisy. It really doesn’t bother me personally. I live in the states and my every day driver is a Buick LeSabre, a fairly large car, but does get decent fuel mileage for a large car. During the summer I can get around 30 to 31 mpg in every day driving and as high as 34 on interstates. In the winter, the winter tires will lose me about three mpg, but it is worth it to me.

I usually leave for work aroud 5:30 AM and really don’t have time to plow my driveway. I live in a fairly rural area and many times I will get on the roads before the snowplows have been able to plow. The winter tires make all the difference in the world. I won’t leave home without them.