First drive in the GTI on Snow and Ice...not good

[Snoopy]

I'd be going with a cross climate instead of a full winter. We have more cold weather with wet conditions than snow so a full winter isn't really necessary (that's in the North East of England anyway).

It depends were in the North East you live, how far from a local council depo, how close to a council boarder, how close to a main road, gritting route you are. I live over 310 metre above sea level. I use to work at Walker. Its a different climate down there to home. I can have 6" of snow at home and travel a couple miles down the road and theres nothing! I have winters on one car and all weather on another. The one with winters doesn't seam to bat an eyelid for anything only once stoped simply because the snow was that deap it lifted it off its wheels. The all weathers have lost traction at times and don't have the same reassurances of grip on snow and ice.
I guess it drpends on many factors which is best for an individual and there circumstances.
Was -10 here this morning.

[brettblade]

Its not about snow or ice though is it?

Its about the chemical reaction grip the tyre gets with the actual road surface at lower temperatures.

Winter tyres aren't nobblies or studded.... they are just made from a different rubber compound with a lower reactive temperature.

If the road surface is covered in ice or packed snow, the only thing that will made a difference is an offroad or studded tyre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlYEMH10Z4s

https://www.bmwblog.com/2018/11/20/video-summer-tires-vs-winter-tires-bmw-x1-xdrive-vs-bmw-x1-sdrive/

[Daz Auto]

Fitted these to my R Estate a coupe of weeks ago, Revo RV018 and Continental TS850P, offer loads of confidence and grip compared to Pretorias and P Zero tyres when the temps drop.

How do you find those winter tyres? I couldn't decide between them or the new Verdestein Wintrac Pro.

I opted for the Verdestein as I thought they might be slightly sharper. It took a few hundred miles for them to bed in. Or maybe I just got used to them. Hard to know if I made the right choice.

I know the standard TS850 on my wife's car are excellent. Though it already has soft steering on 16 inch tyres.

[Snoopy]

Summer tyres don't work in freezing temperatures with snow and ice? I'm, shocked!

I must admit when I saw the title I thought "bet it's running summer tyres"

30k+ car and people risk it  by using summer tyres in snow. Mind blowing and a danger to other road users.

It's funny how the majority have managed just fine for years and years on one set of tyres but all of a sudden everyone jumps on the bandwagon and then it's frowned upon for not using winter tyres. They aren't always necessary for every part of the country and I think to be fair drivers with winter tyres on have an over inflated sense of safety thinking they'll be saved much like 4 wheel drive drivers too (not everyone  )

I think it was the winter of 2010 I used a little 2wd Daihatsu with its regular 155 tyres. Only thing i noticed moving on the roads that winter was me and small 4WDs.
The reason it managed and we managed for years was simply there was no such thing as eco tyres, summer tyres or sports tyres. Just normal or winter. The increased width of modern car tyres is also a big issue in snow and ice due to the shape of the contact area. I managed perfectly well for 20+ years with 'normal tyres' but then most  cars until the past 10 years have had modest tyre widths of about 185 you get bigger than that on a supermini now.

[Daz Auto]

I'd be going with a cross climate instead of a full winter. We have more cold weather with wet conditions than snow so a full winter isn't really necessary (that's in the North East of England anyway).

It depends were in the North East you live, how far from a local council depo, how close to a council boarder, how close to a main road, gritting route you are. I live over 310 metre above sea level. I use to work at Walker. Its a different climate down there to home. I can have 6" of snow at home and travel a couple miles down the road and theres nothing! I have winters on one car and all weather on another. The one with winters doesn't seam to bat an eyelid for anything only once stoped simply because the snow was that deap it lifted it off its wheels. The all weathers have lost traction at times and don't have the same reassurances of grip on snow and ice.
I guess it drpends on many factors which is best for an individual and there circumstances.
Was -10 here this morning.

All season tyres are a compromise. Not as good as summer tyres in the summer. Not as safe as winter tyres on snow and ice. However, all season tyres are much better than summer tyres on snow and ice.

[Gnasher]

Is this a bad time to say I'm getting a couple of Goodyear Asymmetric 3's fitted in the next few days lol?

I can (kind of) see both sides of the argument really, however I've never had winter tyres fitted and won't this year.

3 points from the thread I can glean are:-

1. Winters will be better in the... winter (funnily enough)
2. It's still possible to drive on Summers, you just have to go slower
3. There seem to be more and more people on this site that are now of the opinion that their opinion is the only opinion that counts and take proper offence when someone dares to have a different one lol.

[mustard]

Summer tyres don't work in freezing temperatures with snow and ice? I'm, shocked!

I must admit when I saw the title I thought "bet it's running summer tyres"

30k+ car and people risk it  by using summer tyres in snow. Mind blowing and a danger to other road users.

It's funny how the majority have managed just fine for years and years on one set of tyres but all of a sudden everyone jumps on the bandwagon and then it's frowned upon for not using winter tyres. They aren't always necessary for every part of the country and I think to be fair drivers with winter tyres on have an over inflated sense of safety thinking they'll be saved much like 4 wheel drive drivers too (not everyone  )

I think it was the winter of 2010 I used a little 2wd Daihatsu with its regular 155 tyres. Only thing i noticed moving on the roads that winter was me and small 4WDs.
The reason it managed and we managed for years was simply there was no such thing as eco tyres, summer tyres or sports tyres. Just normal or winter. The increased width of modern car tyres is also a big issue in snow and ice due to the shape of the contact area. I managed perfectly well for 20+ years with 'normal tyres' but then most  cars until the past 10 years have had modest tyre widths of about 185 you get bigger than that on a supermini now.

Was just thinking the same, my first car a 1964 Mini Cooper S came with wider wheels 4.5" and rarely had any issues.

[fredgroves]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlYEMH10Z4s

That was very interesting. I didn't think it would work like that at all!

You learn something new every day!

I did read this though:

https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/motoring-issues/winter-tyres-uk-snow-guide/

That's as close to a negative for winter tyres (in the UK) as I have found

"In the snow, winter tyres are a obvious option. They make for safer, more confident driving, and they improve grip significantly – but they’re also a gamble. Sure, we’re in a cold snap now – but on every mild, grey - but not white - day, you’ll have the wrong tyres on your car. And winter tyres aren’t great in normal weather.

Cars can become notoriously unruly on winter boots, with vehicles closer to the performance end of things – like a DB11 AMR, for example – spinning the wheels in fourth.

In snow and cold weather, a seasonal rubber compound, chunkier tread and sypes work well – but they don't behave as they should if it's really mild and above the optimum operating range. We've driven numerous cars shod with winter tyres that have a chunkier ride quality, woollier steering and slippier handling in certain conditions.

It’s a complicated argument and one that comes down to your budget, and the predicted weather for the next few months. In colder countries, getting winter tyres is an easy decision, but in our – not quite arctic but somehow worse – British climate, we can’t even rely on a cold snap."

[brettblade]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlYEMH10Z4s

That was very interesting. I didn't think it would work like that at all!

You learn something new every day!

I did read this though:

https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/motoring-issues/winter-tyres-uk-snow-guide/

That's as close to a negative for winter tyres (in the UK) as I have found

"In the snow, winter tyres are a obvious option. They make for safer, more confident driving, and they improve grip significantly – but they’re also a gamble. Sure, we’re in a cold snap now – but on every mild, grey - but not white - day, you’ll have the wrong tyres on your car. And winter tyres aren’t great in normal weather.

Cars can become notoriously unruly on winter boots, with vehicles closer to the performance end of things – like a DB11 AMR, for example – spinning the wheels in fourth.

In snow and cold weather, a seasonal rubber compound, chunkier tread and sypes work well – but they don't behave as they should if it's really mild and above the optimum operating range. We've driven numerous cars shod with winter tyres that have a chunkier ride quality, woollier steering and slippier handling in certain conditions.

It’s a complicated argument and one that comes down to your budget, and the predicted weather for the next few months. In colder countries, getting winter tyres is an easy decision, but in our – not quite arctic but somehow worse – British climate, we can’t even rely on a cold snap."

I suspect I'd be inclined to agree if I was further South like the writer (as CAR's Peterborough head office would suggest).  I've not seen double digit temperatures (while in the car) at all this month.  They do wrap up with saying that if your budget allows, that they'd recommend buying them for safety.

Prior to buying my first set of winter tyres, I didn't think they would make an awful lot of difference and that it predominantly came down to driving style and number of driven wheels (plus FWD vs RWD).  As those videos demonstrate, that's absolutely not the case and the tyres are a huge factor.  Most definitely a case of don't knock them until you've tried them!

[Exonian]

Well said Gnasher! 




Out of interest, how do you DSG FWD owners pull away and gain traction in the snow? Obviously the all conquering superiority complex R drivers (sorry, been spending a bit of time over on VWROC!) have no issues whatsoever ever 
But jokes aside, I’m curious as an archaic stoic manual driver I know I can usually gain momentum in light snow by using 2nd or 3rd to pull away with minimal if any throttle wearing summer tyres (I live in South Devon near the coast so we very very seldom get snow, even today the forecast heavy snow didn’t materialise and is just driving rain) as I’ve never felt the need to buy winters. I just slow the hell down in very cold weather and keep my distance.

How does a FWD DSG wearing summer tyres pull away in snow?