Winter tyre time?

[mullermn]

I notice that the temperature has started to dip to 7 degrees ish in the mornings now, so by the time I get my car the conditions will probably be appropriate to go straight to winter tyres, if I decide to go for them.

I've not tried winter tyres before so I'm not really sure which ones I should be looking at, how much they'll cost, or who I should go to to get them swapped over (I wasn't planning on getting additional wheels to put them on). Is this the sort of job that any old tyre place should do well, or is there scope for them to mess it up?

Thanks for any advice!

[dubber36]

Fitting winter tyres is no different to normal tyres, so as long as you are happy with your chosen tyre fitters, what can go wrong? However swapping tyres on and off the rims now and again in the spring will increase the chances of accidental tyre fitting related damage happening.

I've got a spare set of wheels with my tyres fitted. I can generally get 3 winters out of a set, so if you think of it as being £40 each time you swap your tyres, over 3 years that's £240. The price of a half decent set of secondhand alloys. Alternatively, many online tyre companies (as well as VW) can supply you with a set of ready to bolt on steel wheels and winter tyres.

[GTI-7-Performance]

I live in Switzerland where, although not a legal requirement (your insurance pay out can be reduced in case of accident), 99% of cars have winter tyres.

These are usually a set of complete wheels with tyres. I have changed my own for the last 25 years here. It's a 35-minute job and I have a torque wrench to ensure the nuts are correctly tensioned.

With a GTI the tyres should theoretically be 'V' rated. And as I drive round for 5 months of the year (beginning of Nov to end of March) reckon that I'd like fairly decent looking 18" alloys and 225 x 40 tyres. These will cost me the same as a set of summer wheels. I find that I get at least 5 years out of a set and of course while the winter ones are on, the summer ones get no wear at all!

It is generally accepted that winter tyres should not be used about about 7°C as this will lead to excessive wear. Also, while tempting, 'all-weather' tyres for year round use simply don't cut it. I can assure you that winter tyres really make a difference in snow. They tend to be noisier than summer ones, though.

There are plenty of videos like this one demonstrating the advantages:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elP_34ltdWI

Funnily enough, when I enquired about winter tyres in the Uk 30 years ago, I was told they weren't available for my then car (Toyota Celica Supra) and only about 400 winter tyres were sold a year in the UK...

[monsta]

Do we really need winter tyres in the UK?  I thought the purpose was to have more grip in snowy conditions but unless you're living in the middle of nowhere your normal tyres are fine?

[monkeyhanger]

Do we really need winter tyres in the UK?  I thought the purpose was to have more grip in snowy conditions but unless you're living in the middle of nowhere your normal tyres are fine?

I wouldn’t have thought there was much call for them in Bristol (OP’s location), maybe in the upper reaches of Scotland. If there’s  more than a few inches of snow then you probably shouldn’t be taking the car out. Common sense, a good degree of control and no winter tyres has always got to be better than driving as if the conditions are normal, just because you have winter tyres on. You can go to the Nth degree on anything to make life easier or minimise risk. People in most of the UK will get on fine if they act sensibly and respect the potential dangers associated with ice and snow on the roads.

[dubber36]

Do we really need winter tyres in the UK?  I thought the purpose was to have more grip in snowy conditions but unless you're living in the middle of nowhere your normal tyres are fine?

There is a widespread misunderstanding about winter tyres. Many believe that they are designed purely to deal with snow and ice, but the real key to their success is the nature of the rubber compound. This is formulated so that it offers greater adhesion at low temperatures than that of conventional "summer" tyres. The tyres we tend to drive on most of the time only exhibit their full adhesive qualities once they are warm, whereas winter tyres will be gripping well at temperatures below 7 degrees C.

Although the winter may, or may not, bring snow and ice, wet weather is bound to be a feature in the coming months an it is when the roads are wet and cold that winter tyres come into there own, providing the extra grip which can make all the difference.

The problem, of course, is cost. Once you have got over this and made the investment, your long term costs for tyre replacement can be even lower because you are always riding on the right sort of rubber for the conditions and they actually last longer.

[johanr77]

Do we really need winter tyres in the UK?  I thought the purpose was to have more grip in snowy conditions but unless you're living in the middle of nowhere your normal tyres are fine?

I wouldn't make it a law but winter tyres are more than just snow tyres. I've used them the last 4 years and I wouldn't be without them. The difference to grip in low temperatures is fairly substantial, on a normal tyre my car was twitchy and vague when it was cold and damp with my winters on I could feel far better what the car is doing.

I look at it this way there are plenty of guys at my work who say you don't need winter tyres, that's fine but my car doesn't smell of burning clutch or sit halfway up the hill on a patch of polished snow. I always got to my work without winter tyres but now I get to my work without straining the car as much to do it and more importantly when I brake the car pulls up much better than it does on the normal tyres.

[ginnes]

Do we really need winter tyres in the UK?  I thought the purpose was to have more grip in snowy conditions but unless you're living in the middle of nowhere your normal tyres are fine?

Definitely depends where you live, I'm in the north east of Scotland and winter (cold weather) tyres make my life a lot easier. It's not just about snow, although they are obviously more suited to those conditions, but for the next 4-5 months it will mostly be below freezing when I'm commuting to and from work. (-23C worst I've seen) In these cold, and often wet conditions, it is so much easier to drive with tyres designed for purpose.
 
My Mk5 GTI with good summer tyres (Goodyear F1's) had the steering accuracy of a sledge in the snow or slushy conditions, and the improvement in all cold conditions make it the sensible choice for me.

Pity my winter tyres for Mk5 won't fit on my PP equipped Mk 7
Got a set of 225-40-18  winter tyres from Camskill for a reasonable price, will probably get at least 3 winters out of them and obviously will not be using my summer tyres for any miles at this time. Cost wise over 3 years it pretty much evens out for me with not having to replace my summer tyres so often.
Big hit this time though as I've decided to put BBS alloys on for the winter , couldn't bear having rubbish alloys on my new car , and too much to ask that the tyre fitting monkeys don't damage the original alloys if I were get them changed over twice a year.

[stuart.cameron]

"My Mk5 GTI with good summer tyres (Goodyear F1's) had the steering accuracy of a sledge in the snow or slushy conditions, and the improvement in all cold conditions make it the sensible choice for me."

 

[Jules Winfield]

I've put winter tyres on my Mark 6 for each of the three winters that I've had it, and I wouldn't do otherwise now.  I have a set of the 16" Aspen alloys from VW - they were around £110 each.  Tyres are Continental TS830s.  All the Continental winter tyres get good reviews.  I used to run steel wheels but they started going manky, so I switched to alloys, which look far better and won't rust.

It's not just the safety aspect for me - it's the cost to replace things if I have an "incident".  I'd much rather pay £110 to replace an Aspen alloy than pay £450 to replace a Seattle Shadow wheel.  And I don't really care if the winter wheels get covered in muck either.

My local tyre place charged me £15 last year to swap everything over, and I paid £40 or so to get the winter tyres fitted to the wheels.  I have a tyre/wheel stand from eBay that lives in the shed that has the set I'm not using on.  To keep them clean, I use a set of the VW wheel/tyre covers.

My winter set will go on the car in the next few weeks - it depends on the weather.  I don't want to have to clean my summer set in pouring rain (not so bothered about it being cold).