Advice on Winter Tyre Pressures

Pugliese

A2OC Donor
Having to go to Europe at short notice going via Germany and the Swiss Alps, so tomorrow am having fitted 4 x Kumho WinterCraft WP51's, size 205/50/16 on my trusty Tdi Storm. Reckon I will be covering 3/4k miles with 75% on motorways.

These are my first set of winter tyres and would appreciate any advice on the pressures I should be running them at. Car will be emptyish on the outward journey but fully loaded on the way back.

During the summer I can normally achieve 70 mpg on this run, but reckon that with these tyres and the colder temps this will drop by 20%, but this is a guess, so again it will be interesting to know other opinions based on experience.

Thanks
 
Unless I know I'm going to be driving on snow I run my winter tyres at my normal pressures which I usually set to the laden pressures. I'll be surprised if you deviate more than 10% running on winter tyres. I've not long fitted our yellow CS with winter boots, got a photo of yours?
71187004_2532750676747462_8850232583917666304_o.jpg
 
Just thought I would post my initial impressions of the Kumho WinterCraft WP51 winter tyres as I had read a lot of conflicting reports on performance and was unsure about my choice.
I was switching from the Hankook Ventus Prime 205/50/16 that have always performed well.

I tested the winter tyres in both wet and dry at a temp varying between 9-12C, so above the optimal performance temperature for a winter tyre. Tyre pressures set to normal. I was pleasantly surprised with good levels of grip in cornering and stopping. Noise was slightly more but nothing terrible and the big gain was comfort. The car now 'eats' speed humps! Not entirely sure of the reason for this but it could be that the tyres are not reinforced.

So at the moment a big thumbs up for the Kumho WinterCraft WP51's but now about to drive across the Swiss alps, so that will be the real test.
 
Just back from our Alpine/Italy jaunt.

IMG_20191110_150524.jpg


A real test for the winter tyres as temps across Europe were higher than normal with us encountering 20C in Italy. The Kumho's performed brilliantly in the warmer temps with grip levels as good as the outgoing Hankooks.

Just when I was thinking that perhaps I could have avoided the cost of the winter tyres, we encountered a tropical like rain storm whilst trying to negotiate Milan's suburbs during rush hour. With the car fully laden and temps now around 7C, the Kumho's again just stuck to the road.

Still a little disappointed that the tyres had not been used in anger, the next day crossing the alps via St Gotthard

IMG_20191123_090057.jpg


For once the very cautious Swiss Authorities had been caught out as the speed limit was too high for these conditions. The tyres performed well and only lost grip when crossing lanes, but only momentarily when the ABS kicked in and dealt with it.

So overall I can thoroughly recommend the Kumho's and their performance was so good in the warmer climate I am now thinking of running all year. Of course wear could be a factor but the degree of safety they offer out trumps that. And lastly, on economy, on the last run with a car fully laden (2 passengers, luggage, two small armchairs, a dehumidifier, 24 bottles of wine and 50l of olive oil - -the purpose of the trip) and averaging 130kph on the motorways, the car achieved 60.1mpg.

Oh and coming back through customs at Eurotunnel, who knew that the A2 is a favourite for smuggling??? Well we got pulled into Shed 2 and had the front carpets stripped out and the front floor wells opened. The senior customs officer then did a teach in for the rest of the staff explaining how adept the A2 is a hiding contraband. Fortunately no rubber gloves were involved!
 
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@Pugliese nice tyre review and trip report, thank you. It is worth noting while winter tyres feel good at warmer temperatures, their stopping distances are significantly worse than summer tyres. Good to see the tyres had little effect on fuel consumption.
 
@Pugliese nice tyre review and trip report, thank you. It is worth noting while winter tyres feel good at warmer temperatures, their stopping distances are significantly worse than summer tyres. Good to see the tyres had little effect on fuel consumption.

Interesting. I did try some very hard braking and did not encounter this, but I am comparing brand new tyres to summer ones that had done 10k miles. So probably not a fair comparison.
 
I guess significantly worse is subjective though I'm sure winter tyres are less bad in summer than summer tyres are in snow. The front underfloor areas are surprisingly capacious, I have used the drivers side storage. I'd be unlikely to use the passenger side due to the electrics, ECU etc.
 
Just back from our Alpine/Italy jaunt.

View attachment 59011

A real test for the winter tyres as temps across Europe were higher than normal with us encountering 20C in Italy. The Kumho's performed brilliantly in the warmer temps with grip levels as good as the outgoing Hankooks.

Just when I was thinking that perhaps I could have avoided the cost of the winter tyres, we encountered a tropical like rain storm whilst trying to negotiate Milan's suburbs during rush hour. With the car fully laden and temps now around 7C, the Kumho's again just stuck to the road.

Still a little disappointed that the tyres had not been used in anger, the next day crossing the alps via St Gotthard

View attachment 59012

For once the very cautious Swiss Authorities had been caught out as the speed limit was too high for these conditions. The tyres performed well and only lost grip when crossing lanes, but only momentarily when the ABS kicked in and dealt with it.

So overall I can thoroughly recommend the Kumho's and their performance was so good in the warmer climate I am now thinking of running all year. Of course wear could be a factor but the degree of safety they offer out trumps that. And lastly, on economy, on the last run with a car fully laden (2 passengers, luggage, two small armchairs, a dehumidifier, 24 bottles of wine and 50l of olive oil - -the purpose of the trip) and averaging 130kph on the motorways, the car achieved 60.1mpg.

Oh and coming back through customs at Eurotunnel, who knew that the A2 is a favourite for smuggling??? Well we got pulled into Shed 2 and had the front carpets stripped out and the front floor wells opened. The senior customs officer then did a teach in for the rest of the staff explaining how adept the A2 is a hiding contraband. Fortunately no rubber gloves were involved!
I’m glad to hear no surgical rubber gloves were needed ??...
 
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