Fred's surprise Munich Trip... guess what...

[mcmaddy]

Tyres developed specially for the car? These kind of statements need to go with a huge dose of salt.

Weather / climate / road surface are huge factors in the performance and effectiveness of a tyre, regardless of which car they're fitted to.

Don't forget people in Germany and colder parts of Europe take their summer tyres off for several months of the year and swap them for something more suitable, whereas most of us Brits soldier on with the same tyres we'd use when the temperature is in the high 20°C's?

that's exactly the issue. The summer tyres are perfectly fine for the summer but they should really be swapped for an all season or winter setup when required. We just seem particularity stuck in our ways in the UK and don't think anything should change.

[fredgroves]

We don't have the laws to make that happen though - thats why they do it, not because individuals care, but because they can be fined for not doing it.

This then leads to things like tyre hotels so people can store their spare set of wheels/tyres, which enables people to achieve it.

I believe German car leasing also often includes the wheels/service to facilitate it too.

However, we in the UK don't have the same continental climate you see in Germany. Our weather is influenced by the ocean, its a wetter but not hotter/colder place. Our main condition our tyres need to cope with is rain.

[mcmaddy]

It's not just rain though it's also temperature.

[mike roberts]

Hell yeah, on my old M135i I'd be changing off the SuperSports as soon as it was regularly below about 5degrees, they just turned to plastic. It was unstoppable with CrossClimates and the LSD.

[fredgroves]

Circa twelve hundred quid for wheels and tyres plus more junk to be moaned about by Mrs G.... I'll just stay home the one day it snows every five years lol

I've not lost a car yet to cold roads yet in three decades and three quarters of a million miles plus.

[mcmaddy]

Circa twelve hundred quid for wheels and tyres plus more junk to be moaned about by Mrs G.... I'll just stay home the one day it snows every five years lol

I've not lost a car yet to cold roads yet in three decades and three quarters of a million miles plus.

me neither Fred but I'm happy knowing that the all seasons are better in the cold temperatures and it's been bloody cold up here in Sunderland/Durham ❄️

[Guzzle]

It's only really when you've tried all seasons / winters in winter conditions that you appreciate just how much better than summer tyres they are.

As good as PS4's, Asymmetric 5's etc are in the summer, they can't match a good all season or winter tyre in the colder temps.

Volkswizard has just done a new video about all seasons just today, interesting watch (for those that care about tyres  ).

https://youtu.be/RdGwjVzfwx4

[ub7rm]

Completely agree, living in the frozen north snow tyres are a game changer.  cross climates are a very very good compromise - but obviously not quite as good as proper snow tyres (in the snow - no real difference in general cold/wet weather).

[Garhan]

I started to fit winters after the 09-10 winter,it was that bad we couldn’t get the cars up the hill to our house.
The next winter was just as bad but,I was ready this time.
We’re the only ones to get our cars up the street without even spinning a wheel.
The neighbours still park at the bottom and walk.

When the temperature drops bellow 7c and the roads are wet,what a difference they make.

[Daz Auto]

It's only really when you've tried all seasons / winters in winter conditions that you appreciate just how much better than summer tyres they are.

As good as PS4's, Asymmetric 5's etc are in the summer, they can't match a good all season or winter tyre in the colder temps.

Volkswizard has just done a new video about all seasons just today, interesting watch (for those that care about tyres  ).

https://youtu.be/RdGwjVzfwx4

I watched that video yesterday. Those are the same tyres we fitted to the new BMW on day one - at the beginning of January. This winter our road has been really bad with snow and ice. I was actually wondering if I made the right decision opting for 4 season tyres. I was not driving the BMW when the conditions were bad. We usually took my Golf with winter tyres. Though, I don't think my wife noticed much difference between the old worn Conti WinterContact TS850 and new Goodyear Vector Gen 3.

I was driving my parents C220 on snow covered roads with Michelin CrossClimate tyres. They look like a summer tyre i.e. no sipes (fine cuts in the tread blocks to give better grip). The tyres did work ok, but I did notice a lot more ABS and traction control activation than on my winter tyres. And I was being a lot more cautious than I would drive my car in those conditions. That's why I opted for a more winter focused 4 season tyre for my wife's car.

I only discovered recently that there is a difference between all season and 4 season tyres. Only tyres called 4 season are guaranteed to work on snow and ice. All season tyres are really just better in cold and wet weather, not necessarily on snow and ice. They should be called 3 season tyres to stop the confusion.