Winter Tyres

[Guy]

Thanks Guy. I figured I would find it tough to get, but I didn't figure on them only producing one batch a year

I'll go with the chailns/socks in the mean time. However, it's looking more and more likely that I'll be changing the GTI to something rather large and 4wd in the near future.

Yup, initially I was a bit shocked, but I suppose it does make some sort of sense. Just blame the idiot nation(s) for suddenly panicing buying!

Thought about going for the middle ground and getting some all season tyres? They are still much better at dealing with these conditions than normal summer tyres.

All Season Tyres, and keep a set of snow socks/chains in the car for real emergencies?

These are what are on my spare set of alloys for the 3 series.

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.p...10&sowigan=GAN

[Funkstar]

Yup, that's probably what I'll do in the mean time guy.

Still going to be £500 to do all 4 though

Will have to do the front two first, then the back two some time after.

[Guy]

Yup, that's probably what I'll do in the mean time guy.

Still going to be £500 to do all 4 though

Will have to do the front two first, then the back two some time after.

If you think thats bad, I dont advice you ever get a BMW with runflats on!

[Funkstar]

I dont advice you ever get a BMW

Fixed that for you Guy

[chrestomanci]

There are a stack of useful articles on winter tires on the TireRack.com website.

They are an American tire & wheel mail order company. If you where in the states, I would suggest you look into one of their tire and wheel packages, though that would probably make no sense from the UK, due to shipping costs, import duty and the like.

For myself, I asked about winter tires at my local Humphries last winter, and they basically laughed me out of the place (After quoting £200 per wheel for 205/55/R16 - Usual price ~£90).

This winter, I am cycling to work. I have fitted studded tires to my bike and they grip very well even on sheet ice where walking is dangerous.

[Konan555]

This winter, I am cycling to work. I have fitted studded tires to my bike and they grip very well even on sheet ice where walking is dangerous.

That'd be my dream solution. It's just I don't have 4 hours a day to spare on commuting!

Having said that, with the heavy snow fall on Monday, I would've got there around the same time on a bike.

[Konan555]

Appologies... I've had the last set. But....

25/45/17 Kumho KW27s - 4 @ 82.50 each
17" rims off e-bay... £125

So I've got me 4x4 with winter shoes!

[GoNz0]

just in time for the thaw so you have to swap em back

[chrestomanci]

just in time for the thaw so you have to swap em back

Winter tires are recommended in the cold as well as in snowy conditions, so if I where Konan555, I would hang on to them until the weather warms up in April.

In any case, Konan555 brought some rims from eBay to fit his winter tires on, so come the spring, It should only take him an hour or so to take them off and put them in his shed till next winter.

[Guy]

A set of 17's off a 320i, + 4 Goodyear Eagle Vectors and the car is now mobile again.

They arent even full on winter tyres, they are all season tyres, that have the full Mud + Snow Markings on. Since fitting the tyres and swapping the wheels over the difference has been unbelievable. The car hasnt got stuck once.

I still have a bag of salt, a bag of grit, some old carpet, a shovel, wellies, and a few other bits and pieces in the boot though just in case.

[tiggerai]

J has just bought some to go on the Van (ebay - was working out cost per MM on second hand ones...), which is a good thing as they're coming up (slowly) tomorrow. I've also got some Chains from Dad (the Voyager ones fit the Van's tyres)

It'll be a good test run for Tignes in February!

(p.s - doesn't look like you've had it so bad this time... I can still see dirt in that pic! I haven't seen concrete or tarmac on the road for 4 days!)

[Guy]

(p.s - doesn't look like you've had it so bad this time... I can still see dirt in that pic! I haven't seen concrete or tarmac on the road for 4 days!)

Oh we have, dont let the picture fool you.
Thats taken at work, where this year, the owner of the business park, invested in a snow plough, and several tonnes of grit + salt.
Wierdly the snow round here seems very regionalised! Basingstoke isnt too bad, but Reading/Newbury is much worse.
Still struggling to get up our lane, thats just a sheet of ice!

What a difference 10 miles can make.

[Zak33]

A set of 17's off a 320i, + 4 Goodyear Eagle Vectors and the car is now mobile again.

They arent even full on winter tyres, they are all season tyres, that have the full Mud + Snow Markings on. Since fitting the tyres and swapping the wheels over the difference has been unbelievable. The car hasnt got stuck once.

I still have a bag of salt, a bag of grit, some old carpet, a shovel, wellies, and a few other bits and pieces in the boot though just in case.

you see.. PROPER TYRES with cross treads, big blocks...... and you're a star

as for the Opening Poster... if it's for the fronts, you're legally allowed to run narrower tyres on the front than the rear. see what size wheels will fit over your brakes, then get second hand cheapo's and get some narrower tyres that are knobblier


Vredstein do some Wintrack Extreme from memory....and their thinner quartrak are not bad.

[kalniel]

as for the Opening Poster... if it's for the fronts, you're legally allowed to run narrower tyres on the front than the rear. see what size wheels will fit over your brakes, then get second hand cheapo's and get some narrower tyres that are knobblier

For the OP it's the opposite - legally allowed to have wider front tyres, as it's the driven axle.

4wd cars seem to be allowed either to be larger. The RS3 has wider fronts for eg.

[Guy]

you see.. PROPER TYRES with cross treads, big blocks...... and you're a star

Vredstein do some Wintrack Extreme from memory....and their thinner quartrak are not bad.

My plan was to get some Nokian WR G2's, or Wintrac extremes. But after being let down a few times from various suppliers. Then pretty much every other winter tyre had gone, and with no ETA on new stock, I decided to get some all seasons.

They have been awesome so far, and with the added benefit of not wearing quite so quickly once it starts to warm up a bit. Ungritted/ploughed/treated roads no problem. Still struggles a bit on steep inclines, but as long as the momentem is kept up shouldnt be too much of an issue.

*Edit* MyTyres briefly had some more Nokians in, but had jacked the price up stupidly. Initially they were retailing at anywhere from £70-£80/£85, that had gone up to near enough £200 PER tyre!

[chrestomanci]

Oh we have, dont let the picture fool you.
Wierdly the snow round here seems very regionalised! Basingstoke isnt too bad, but Reading/Newbury is much worse.
Still struggling to get up our lane, thats just a sheet of ice!

Strange. A year ago to the day, I spent several hours stuck in Basingstoke while it looked like the North Pole.