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The first time I heard about this was with my Zed.
Change your tyres to winter tyres when the temps drop below 7.

I don't want to open a discussion on the advantages of snow tyres, but I'm thinking the fear of 7 degrees is more of a marketing scam than anything else.

Anyone here use one set year round ?
And what is your experience ?

Bumpy

I feel the same way about spark plugs

Bumpy wrote: ↑Mon Nov 06, 2017 2:31 pm The first time I heard about this was with my Zed.
Change your tyres to winter tyres when the temps drop below 7.

I don't want to open a discussion on the advantages of snow tyres, but I'm thinking the fear of 7 degrees is more of a marketing scam than anything else.

Anyone here use one set year round ?
And what is your experience ?

Bumpy

I feel the same way about spark plugs

I have never used winter tyres so my "knowledge" is only from what I have read, but what I have read says that winter tyres don't work well above 7 degrees and wear out quickly above that temperature.

The problem with the south of the UK is that the temperature varies either side of 7 degrees from one week to the next, and indeed during the day. It was -1 degree when I left the house this morning but I bet it's now about +10 degrees.

RickRob wrote: ↑Mon Nov 06, 2017 2:36 pm

Bumpy wrote: ↑Mon Nov 06, 2017 2:31 pm The first time I heard about this was with my Zed.
Change your tyres to winter tyres when the temps drop below 7.

I don't want to open a discussion on the advantages of snow tyres, but I'm thinking the fear of 7 degrees is more of a marketing scam than anything else.

Anyone here use one set year round ?
And what is your experience ?

Bumpy

I feel the same way about spark plugs

I have never used winter tyres so my "knowledge" is only from what I have read, but what I have read says that winter tyres don't work well above 7 degrees and wear out quickly above that temperature.

The problem with the south of the UK is that the temperature varies either side of 7 degrees from one week to the next, and indeed during the day. It was -1 degree when I left the house this morning but I bet it's now about +10 degrees.

pretty much that.. winter tyres work better in snowy places. But if you're careful when it's below 0 you'll be fine. Push your luck and you can spin out any car.

I've never had winter tyres - even when I had to stand on the roof of the Landrover to reach the top of a snow drift one year to dig a way out of the village in the early 80's.

I commuted at least 100 miles each day for ten years in my Focus RS on Bridgestones and never got stuck - do winter tyres mean I can drive in winter like I do in summer? or shell I just keep on driving to the conditions?

I've only ever had summer tyres on my Z4MC.

Not had a problem with it in cold/light snow, nor running around the Nurburgring at 2ºc. BUT, I will take it easy and will constantly check levels of grip by braking & accelerating in a straight line. This morning was 3ºc when I left (5am) and the car didn't do any lairy slides coming out of the drive, or around roundabouts.*







Ice is another matter and even winter tyres won't help out there - unless you're using studded tyres.

However, if the weather looks terrible (i.e. more than an inch of snow) then I'll take the Alfa over the Zed any day - although only due to the risk of someone else ploughing into me in the snow/ice - as the Alfa's worth buttons.

The Alfa runs Michelin Cross-Climates all year round (which is what they're designed for).

* although I'm not sure the car liked the early start after a week of driving at the Ring, as it got 30 miles before getting into a tizz and pulling all electrical power. Had to slowly shuffle across 4 lanes of the M6 to the hard shoulder with no engine or electrical power (no indicators, brake lights, hazards, headlights either).

Lots of experience with winter tires , all season tires and summers, LOL
Summer tires and all season tires are too stiff in colder temps so lose grip. The winter tire are a softer compound and work better in cold temps. We have a snowflake emblem on the winter tires to show compliance , I use winter tires on my Highlander and my 911,
As for wearing out the winters driving in warmer temps, it’s not a big deal, they work fine and wear slightly faster , having them on when the temps are swinging back and forth is the best way to go. Not having them on is foolish. Better grip on ice, not getting stuck and the biggie is “ Avoiding crashing into a curb and wrecking a $1000 rim”. . Lots of people here use all seasons all year, I tried it a few times, it sucks.
BTW. I live in Vancouver island where the weather is virtually the same as the UK, I used to live in Alberta where the winter gives you 8 inches of packed snow to drive on for 5 months. Too much winter driving experience in my opinion , that’s why I live where I do now

Modern low profile summer tyres are designed so that above a certain temp (7 degrees C I suspect) they are a compromise between a fairly soft compound for grip, and a relatively hard compound for economy & tyre wall strength. When the temp drops the summer tyre compound becomes a lot harder and more slippery on wet or cold surfaces. The tread on winter tyres is also designed to throw snow out of the depth of the tread - summer tyres tend to hang on to compact snow in the treads so they get even worse, particularly when they snow gets iced in the treads as well. Winter tyres are a softer compound in much lower temps, and so remain compliant and gripper for longer in lower temps.

However, using winter tyres in the summer is fine, they just wear out much quicker. Also, next year those snow tyres will not be all that effective as they will be half worn.

OOH - beat me to it! And having lived in Alberta you will have a lot more experience!

Additional comment: I have Pirelli Sottozeros on the 911, only because they only have two brands of tires that fit my car and the other tire is a low performance Dunlop. After my experience with the Pirelli’s I will try the Dunlop. My Pirellis have less grip on damp or wet roads than my Supersports..... and are less than what I call acceptable on snow. I use Bridgestone Blizzaks on the Highlander, used them on everything I owned that drove in snow, an exceptionally good winter tire.

The other choice is to spend $$$$ and get smaller rims that have more tire choices available. That’s about a $4000 option.... ouch. Or park the car .... and that’s really hard to do

911 driven in winter - that’s what I like to hear

Winter tyres work better in cold conditions generally, not just snow and ice.
I've been using summer and winter wheels for about 15 years now, and feel very uncomfortable on summer tyres on a cold morning. My Z4C is getting a set of Style 32s with Dunlop Wintersport 5s fitted this week. In the meantime I am driving the E46 Touring which already had its winter wheels fitted a few weeks ago.

Snow and ice are pretty rare down here in Cornwall, due to the good old Gulf Stream surrounding us. Hence I have the MPSS on all year around. On those rare crisp early morning winter run outs, that makes for concentration and TC on. Still a lot of fun

I've never bothered because we just don't get enough snow consistently to warrant the outlay in my opinion. In the last 20 years I think we've only had one really bad snowy winter (2010/11) when we had 12" fall in 24 hours. In the last two winters I don't think any snow settled at all.

When I started looking for year round tyres on my daily I realised there are two types and easily confused, 'multi season' and 'all season'. Multi season will do everything including sub -7 dec C and work well but are NOT mud & snow (M&S) snowflake * rated, these can be had quite cheap. All season work from summer temps down to winter and ARE M&S * rated as well. They generally have a mixed summer/winter tread pattern and a clever compound that remains compliant at low temp but remains firm and stable at high temps (chemistry/materials buffs please step in here ).

I have Michelin Cross Climate on the family hatch. They are the top rated All Season tyre, expensive and work very, very well. I would say they would be a touch too soft for ultimate summer performance driving on a Zed but day to day feel is excellent in all conditions very impressive.

I have recently put the cheaper Toyo Celsius All Seasons on my Forester Turbo jobbie, these are XL rated (stiffer) and drive like a good summer tyre in summer (actually better than the original fitment Yokahama summers) I've yet to try them in winter but the reviews are strong.

So whilst I don't think either, including the award winning Michelin will cut it as a genuine performance summer tyre and both compromise on fuel ratings, they are both very capable year-round and have proper M&S ability for occasional UK ice and snow.

Well my 103 wheels with Continental Winter tyres are now on, so far they have slid around more, I suspect due to the release agent on the tyres...

Was going home night before last from the shop in mine, first time in "cold" conditions on the newly fitted P Zero's..

Was a hoot!!
Mind you, the LSD does help with the traction once it gets "slippery"

Mike