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/deep breath
this has taken a MONTH, of pondering, to decide to write.
Last month, my Pirelli's were down to 4mm and I decided to try some winter tyres. After fiddling about on line for ages, I decided to try a mid range set of multi season's... something I could justify taking off if they were pants. So budget was set.... £100 ish each plus fitting. I only wanted two.. wanted to feel pull away.. stopping.. etc.
I eventually decided on Kleber Quadraxer's. I need 225/45 R17 Extra Load jobs.
they were EXACTLY £100 each, online, and £8 delivery. When they arrived I took the Pirelli's off, gave them to a mate.. and fitted these Quadraxers.
In the first 10 miles with new tyre's you get to compare DIRECTLY what you've been used too for 6 months. The old tyre's are part of your psychy... you know exactly what to expect. So those first few minutes were key.
Opening thought: slightly less dry grip, but they let go much more gently. Under heavy acceleration out of roundabouts, in my 150ps TiD Saab 9-3 these let go gently.. no snatch. So suprised by the kindly nature of these tyres was I .. that I texted Lowe.. as he's really NOT into winter tyre's as a principle, pointing out we have a few days of snow and we all queue up on dual carriageways anyway.
Later that journey I had to stop and text Lowe again... I'd been flying down a nice muddy B road, wondering at the front grip.. and there is was.. the arse end letting go as the rear Nexen's decided not to out-hold the new front Quadraxers. The road was wet clay smeared hell from building trucks.. and that's when Zakky knew the Quadraxers were very good in slippy stuff. I won't go that quickly again in those conditions...not unless I have same front to back tyres. Because it's HARD to unstick a rear 9-3 axles... very hard. But it occurred.
3 weeks go by. In the dry all is well.... normal.. 90% as good as the Pirelli's from before. then the real rain hits us.
M25.. Sunday night.. heavy heavy downpour.. and it occurs to your truly that these puddles... this standing rain.. is having zero impact at all on my steering wheel. It's not just a bit better because they're new and have 7 mm tread... the streaming torrent diagonally across the dual carriage way later.. that I know is there.. doesn't even register. I realise then that I must always grit my teeth at that point, expecting the gentle tug.. the slide sideways.. the begining of slippage at the front....... it's always deep in this weather... and yet I don't know where it was. I've gone through it. It's behind me and I didn't feel a thing.
Lowe got another text that week.
And today.. it snowed.
It's not deep.. but the service roads around work are white. and some are slushy icy messes. My colleague has a 9-3 with same engine.. and new front tyres.
We swap at my insistance and, no motor sport experience.. not even very into cars.. he comes back and laughs... and sits and laughs again.. and says "is that why they change tyres in rallying?"
Yes bud... cos I couldn't even pull AWAY in the flat carpark in your car.. and you've just braked hard, accelerated quite hard.. and whipped round that roundabout in my car with no hint of slip apart from what you'd expect is wet weather.
Each block of the tyres is split (as though cut with a razor blade)
I'll stop going on now. But I will say this... if they last about 9 to 10k miles as my tyres normally do, with heavy country driving (I get rid at 4mm normally), I'll buy them again in summer.. because they're just astonishing value and the wet/snow/slush/muck grip is amazing.
Originally Posted by Advice Trinity by Knoxville
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