Winter Tyre Information - info / threads / posts / vids

[a11y]

I've STILL not fitted my winters - unbelieveable. Very unusual weather for us. So far this winter we've only had a couple of frosty mornings, whereas last year at this weekend we had this:


2010-11-29 SNOW! (6) by Ally Mitchell, on Flickr

[PawnSacrifice]

Looks like the time is almost right, need to get those winters on soon. Maybe even tonight... if I have time.

Really want to get them fitted so I can get my lovely M wheels back to Lepsons... 1 chipped by my stupidity, 1 unavoidably clipped in Islay (still worth the trip!) and finally, 1 grazed the other day when some idiot coming from the opposite direction cut the corner and pushed me tight to the verge nice big line of paint removed

Once I do get the winters on I'll be eagerly expecting snow

[mark my words]

Looks like the time is almost right, need to get those winters on soon. Maybe even tonight... if I have time.

Really want to get them fitted so I can get my lovely M wheels back to Lepsons... 1 chipped by my stupidity, 1 unavoidably clipped in Islay (still worth the trip!) and finally, 1 grazed the other day when some idiot coming from the opposite direction cut the corner and pushed me tight to the verge nice big line of paint removed

Once I do get the winters on I'll be eagerly expecting snow

Put my winter tyres on yesterday for the first time, and theyre non run flats and they are so much smoother ride - been itching to get them on

[mark my words]

winter tyre pressure change? - annbody recommend changing the PSI on winter tyres or keep the same (im currently on roughly 32psi all round at tyre shops advice)

[a11y]

winter tyre pressure change? - annbody recommend changing the PSI on winter tyres or keep the same (im currently on roughly 32psi all round at tyre shops advice)

What size?

On my 225/50/16 winters I'm running 32f 34r. That's compared to 31f 33r on my summer 18s (225/40/18, 255/35/18).

Check the sticker inside your driver's side door - that's where I based mine on (although a good bit lower).

[cj_eds]

Ours our on the Focus, did it last weekend then this week it's been either cold and frosty or pissing it down.

[Ewazix]

winter tyre pressure change? - annbody recommend changing the PSI on winter tyres or keep the same (im currently on roughly 32psi all round at tyre shops advice)

There is generally no need to change pressures for winter driving or winter tyres, although it's worth playing around by a couple of psi to see what suits. Dropping pressures in the snow is a complete myth and will prevent the tread on winter tyres from self-clearing properly, not much chance so far this year though

[wantanM]

winter tyre pressure change? - annbody recommend changing the PSI on winter tyres or keep the same (im currently on roughly 32psi all round at tyre shops advice)

There is generally no need to change pressures for winter driving or winter tyres, although it's worth playing around by a couple of psi to see what suits. Dropping pressures in the snow is a complete myth and will prevent the tread on winter tyres from self-clearing properly, not much chance so far this year though

The Icelandic boys deflate/inflate the tyres constantly up and down when they are hooning around in their very heavily modified specialised off road/snow 4x4s. All depending on type/depth snow underfoot. So can't be a complete myth. They really know what they're doing out there !

[Guiseley]

....... and will prevent the tread on winter tyres from self-clearing properly, not much chance so far this year though

Thought part of the advantage of the snow tyres was that they didn't self-clean the snow, in fact they maintain a layer of snow better, as snow sticks to snow better than silica / rubber.

Anyway, just fitted my winters on the e86 and e61 - so I've not got 8 minging MV2s to clean and store . Thinking of getting the Z's refurbed, but can't decide if I should add some colour to the mix - not sure what goes well with Monaco Blue .

[Ewazix]

The OP was asking about inflation of road going 'winter' M & S (Mud & Snow) tyres for a Zed. They are actually designed for 7 deg C and below surfaces to deal with mud, snow, ice and water, and work because the compound stays soft at low temp, rather than hardening like regular or summer tyres. They are specifically designed NOT to collect or get coated in a frozen crap (which is why regular tyres luck out on road snow).

Specialist 'balloon' tyres like those on the 4x4s you mention are used for deep fresh snow and drifts, they can be deflated to enlarge the footprint and spread the load. But there is NO advantage to deflating 'winter' tyres on a road car even in soft snow, it won't work, it will affect the handling and will cause uneven wear.

There are a lot of urban myths around winter driving and deflating your tyres is one of them.

[wantanM]

The OP was asking about inflation of road going 'winter' M & S (Mud & Snow) tyres for a Zed. They are actually designed for 7 deg C and below surfaces to deal with mud, snow, ice and water, and work because the compound stays soft at low temp, rather than hardening like regular or summer tyres. They are specifically designed NOT to collect or get coated in a frozen crap (which is why regular tyres luck out on road snow).

Specialist 'balloon' tyres like those on the 4x4s you mention are used for deep fresh snow and drifts, they can be deflated to enlarge the footprint and spread the load. But there is NO advantage to deflating 'winter' tyres on a road car even in soft snow, it won't work, it will affect the handling and will cause uneven wear.

There are a lot of urban myths around winter driving and deflating your tyres is one of them.

Good knowledge. Interesting stuff. Are you in the industry in some way ?

[RichardG]

Finally got round to ordering some Falken HS 439's from my tyres, just hope they arrive before I get home.
looking at all the snow pics of the UK looks like I'll need them, ironically still no snow here in Buffalo.

[Ewazix]

The OP was asking about inflation of road going 'winter' M & S (Mud & Snow) tyres for a Zed. They are actually designed for 7 deg C and below surfaces to deal with mud, snow, ice and water, and work because the compound stays soft at low temp, rather than hardening like regular or summer tyres. They are specifically designed NOT to collect or get coated in a frozen crap (which is why regular tyres luck out on road snow).

Specialist 'balloon' tyres like those on the 4x4s you mention are used for deep fresh snow and drifts, they can be deflated to enlarge the footprint and spread the load. But there is NO advantage to deflating 'winter' tyres on a road car even in soft snow, it won't work, it will affect the handling and will cause uneven wear.

There are a lot of urban myths around winter driving and deflating your tyres is one of them.

Good knowledge. Interesting stuff. Are you in the industry in some way ?

Nah, mixed background including engineering and a lifetime spent tinkering, jawing or reading about cars. I saw this little clip today with an excellent winter Vs summer tyre demo, and not a mention of getting sticky snow on the tread or running on flat tyres
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/videos/fea ... tyres.html

[a11y]

Not so much an issue for us RWD folk who (I think?) all fit winters on all 4 corners rather than just the driven wheels, but a little story...

Someone I know with a FWD hatchback fitted winter tyres to their driven wheels only, keeping regular/summer tyres on the back. Last week, 2degC on a damp (not fully wet), lost the back end after overtaking a car on a short straight - the rear drifted out as they moved back over onto their own side of the road. Over-corrected before losing it completely and ending up on the verge and whacking a telegraph pole. Purely down to the fact that the fronts had so much more grip than the rear tyre, demonstrating quite clearly the importance of tyres with matching levels of grip. This week winters have now also been fitted to the rears...

[PawnSacrifice]

Ouch, that's a hard lesson... hopefully they weren't giving it the big one about having winter tyres before they went out.

Glad I've got mine on now, some days are a little warm, but mostly under the 7°, although to be fair it's only at speed that they seem a little floaty and that's at over 10°.