Member Since: 21 Aug 2008
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 3145
Well i,m going to break the trend and say that its a load of ball hocks !
My Mrs has a Golf and she went everywhere i went in my D3 last winter, i had a full set of badly worn Pirelli Srap Irons on
and it went in every direction and on every road i drove on.
I drove out of Dorset last winter in my D3 when the country was at a stand still, all the way up the M5 and on to south Yorkshire.
I know this was mentioned last winter BUT ! the point about the rest of Northern Europe crossing over to winter tyres has NO relevance what so ever, for a start most of the countries that have snow for several months of the year have to pass a winter driving test and CAN actually drive in the conditions that they find themselves enduring for Months on end.
Ive driven Fuel tankers in Northern Europe, on snow and Ice with NO chains and NO spikes in the tyres for obvious reasons.
The locals drive at the same speeds as they would if it was fair weather, not because of the tyres they have on but because they can and because they have been doing so since they started driving.
I was with some people from SKANSKA last year who thought it was hilarious when it snowed and everything came to a stand still....
If i was a tyre manufacturer i would be pre empting bad weather and a second set of tyres !
A bit like the bloke who invented WELLA HOT OIL in the 1980's "wash hair and repeat in a week" Genious !
Sorry but i,m not buying it. Only dead fish go with the Flow !
24th Oct 2011 10:01 pm
packingstrips
Member Since: 24 Mar 2010
Location: uk
Posts: 435
Sorry but i,m not buying it. Â well thats just aswell, i havent seen wella hot oil in the shops for years
25th Oct 2011 4:38 am
amazing
Member Since: 05 Mar 2011
Location: chengdu
Posts: 1542
all or nothing
I want the guy driving behind thinking he can keep up to have winter tyres too.It is better to have and not need it then need and not have it.
I'm slightly amused at all the hype going on around winter tyres at present
.....but I really do question the need.
.....If my brother-in-law can get up a very steep hill covered in packed snow in his Merc R-Class 4x4 car shod with 20" road going all season boots then I'm not convinced I need to spend/waste the money.
......Prepared to be shot down on this one
......but I reckon as long as your tyres have good amounts of tread and are maintained at the correct pressure
......the D3 is more than capable of coping with the worst weather the UK can deliver.
1) slightly amused at the hype...not hype at all I have used M+S tyres for over 25 years on roads that were lethal (Southern Ireland) - narrow, poor surface anyway, plenty ice, black ice & frozen slush, no grit, no salt some really crazy driving, some really skillful.....I found that having tyres that gave me an advatage was an advantage...like I got to work, my wife got to work we both got home & when we travelled as a family we were safe onthe road. My Disco on really poor Scorpions was very good in the mdoerate snow & road conditions we get here....fittings Vreds..has made it so much better.
2) If you BIL has a 4WD with all season boots - then he is part way there
3) Consider yourself shot down as you have based your judgement on the local conditions & not that what others - maybe yourself may encounter.....I did this myself last December by trying to drive from here (Halifax) to Heatrow the weekend before christmas (quite a lot of snow south of Milton Keynes.....was in my VW golf....I did OK others didnt.
4) Condition of tyre goes for any tyre...even Winter tyres eventually wear & can be at worong pressure...you will never know as you arent prepared to fit them....
5) A D3 - driven properly is just awesome in bad conditions (go on a LR exeperience to see / feel what poor conditions really are)...but these are controlled with expert tuition...quite a lot different when you have bogged yourself down somewhere D3's also have limits - not completely invincible
"You pay (or dont) pay your money & take your choice"...when you are stuck, in an accident, damaged your vehicle unnecessarily the choice / slight amusement / justification may be the other way around.
Over recent years more & more ordinary motorists are considering & fitting winter tyres for the abominable conditions that roads get to.....maybe a situation created by local government cut backs...but never the les a reality.BREXIT - done properly.
Right now ...We need Government - not Politics
Save the Dipstick Flagbearer-keep it simple, less likely to fail campaign-agenda items:Starting Handles, Acetylene Lamps.
Founder: Dipsticks-R-Us Inc
D3 HSE-perfectly formed, passenger friendly...has real DIPSTICK
Jag XK-but sadly no DIPSTICK...HUGE design fault
FL2 has DIPSTICK..."real comfort in rear seats"
VW Golf wondermobile (?)..has real DIPSTICK
Morris Minor..original DIPSTICK technology..and a real KEY.
Member Since: 21 Aug 2007
Location: Lugano
Posts: 1535
I always use winter tyres, I fel the extra safety they add is worth it. As some said, with the Disco/RRS system you can get moving even in quite bad situations, the problem is stopping, here is where the better tyres come into the equation.
gazellio wrote:
Not sure my Cooper STT's will be great on sheet ice but should be amazing in fresh snow.....
Yes the perform quite ok
Click image to enlarge
gazellio wrote:
Would anybody running Cooper STT's be happy to use them all Winter?
No, great to have fun off road, but I would not relay on them for everyday use, especially in winter.
25th Oct 2011 7:33 am
Gazellio
Member Since: 08 Jan 2011
Location: Chilterns
Posts: 4130
CFB wrote:
gazellio wrote:
It is from what I have seen. Road tyres do a lot of slipping before they grip going up steep muddy slopes whereas Mud tyres grip from the outset not having to rely on the cars electronics anything like as much....
Sorry I meant the difference between all season and winter.
You have slightly misquoted me....
My point was an anology I was fully aware you where talking about Winter conditions
First I said:
gazellio wrote:
I think this is a little like watching a D3 with road tyres perform at an offroad centre. It does the job adequately because of the terrain response and electronic braking systems but if you compare this performance to the same model with AT or Mud Tyres then the huge performance difference is obvious to see....
You said:
Quote:
That's perhaps a fair comment, wonder if the difference is really that much though.
Then I said:
Quote:
It is from what I have seen. Road tyres do a lot of slipping before they grip going up steep muddy slopes whereas Mud tyres grip from the outset not having to rely on the cars electronics anything like as much....
My point was that D3 Electronics do a lot to aid winter performance regardless of tyre type/choice but specialist tyres will only make life a lot easier and safer.
25th Oct 2011 7:51 am
LT
Member Since: 31 Dec 2005
Location: South West
Posts: 23816
There's no doubting the superior grip of high silica content winter/cold weather tyres in cold temperatures. What's interesting, is a few of the tests inc. a summer tyre. This gets trounced by the winter tyres, but at higher temeratures and particularly in the dry, the summer tyre trounces winter tyres on braking and grip.
I had winter tyres fitted to my Saab last weekend, it was dry and 13 C. Normal driving behaviour didn't really show any significant differences. But pulling away smartly from a junction near my house and the grip was noticeably worse with the winter tyres.
My wife managed to get about during the last two winters in the Saab with Continental Sports Contact 3's fitted (225-45-17). She a very competent and experienced driver, but it wasn't easy on the ungritted roads and at one stage our lane was just sheet ice and it was impossible to get any traction from the Conti's.
It made financial sense to me, to buy a used set of 16" Saab alloys for £168 plus a set of 205-55-16 Uniroyal MP Plus 66 Winter tyres for £332. As for the 5 months or so that these will be fitted to the Saab, the more expensive and fast wearing 17" Conti's will not be used.
On my D3, Pirelli ATR's have been superb during the last two winters, so I'm sticking with them. However, if I didn't venture off road every week, I'd fit winter tyres (probably Dunlop or Continental). In my experience either first hand from friends who had winter tyres fitted and comments from members here, winter tyres are pretty poor to useless off road as they clog with mud very quickly.
So in summary, I'm a fan of winter tyres, but keep them for the winter and don't run them all year round (incoming fire )
25th Oct 2011 11:02 am
Northland
Member Since: 10 Aug 2011
Location: Queeeeebec
Posts: 2
so time for my first post, bout time too!
Got 4 year old HSE in June, have enjoyed every minute so far, first big trip from Quebec to Newfoundland was seamless.
But to get to the point about winter tyres. Here in Quebec they are manditory from mid December to the spring. I think there are some exemptions for light "trucks" I have yet to get winter rubber for the Discovery but based on my experince with my trusty rusty Outback I can say that winters are probably not over rated. Now it may be that you get a false sense of security with winter tyres, changining from worn all seasons to new winters, the improvment may just be due to a new tread. The acid test will be my first winter with the Landrover, I have not worked out what tyres to go for yet, but it seems lke a good time to get off 55 profile things back to something with a better profile. If you want to look at what is on offer out here goggle Canadian Tire, Yes I know Tire arrrrrrrrrrrgh
28th Oct 2011 3:15 am
Ted Newman
Member Since: 09 Oct 2010
Location: SE London
Posts: 840
And do remember that if you go over the Channel many European countries insist on at least M&S tyres during the winter months - it varies from country to country - but Germany (for example) adopted new legislation last year and they (the Germans) don't do things by half, for instance if you are involved in an accident and do not have the correct tyres on you will be prosecuted NO MATTER WHOs fault it is. LR Discovery 4 XS pulling an Airstream 532 Caravan also own (since new) a 1996 MGF
28th Oct 2011 9:41 am
Wollemi
Member Since: 11 Jul 2011
Location: Wharfedale
Posts: 112
I've just ordered a set of Wintrac 4 Extremes for my D4 which I only got this summer. I bought a disco 2 a year ago because I had been stuck in the snow so many times in my BMW M3 in the previous years winter. Could get winter tyres to fit the M3 so thought it was time for a Landrover.
After spending years disparaging any car that did 0-60 in more than 6 seconds I was converted!
The Disco 2 was on General AT2s which were great in snow, and kept me going even when other 4x4s were stuck - I went past a RR Sport on low profiles which was going nowhere and I had the road to myself apart from a BMW 330 - which was on winter tyres - going where the RR Sport couldn't manage.
However the AT2s were quite dodgy under braking on cold wet roads - quite a few nasty moments slithering to a halt much further than planned.
So I decided that since I'm keeping the Disco 4 for the long term that proper winter tyres would be sensible.
Now I'm looking forward to lots of snow!
28th Oct 2011 11:21 am
AJS4X4
Member Since: 30 Mar 2008
Location: Surrey
Posts: 3224
If you can afford them go for them, winter tyres DO work.
Not everyone needs them though, as a good driver on good tyres with the ability the D3/4 will go most places but with winter tyres you feel just that bit safer.
I will stick with a good AT/AS tyre as that suits my needs, if it gets bad then I will use chains.
We all have different needs so it's up to you and your pocket.
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)
. They are good but do not make the car indestructible.
