All season / winter tyre choice dilemma

[greywolfhound]

No that taken off the website prices start from £38 in smaller size would presume ..??.. I bought them through e bay nearly a year ago ..from Germany they were about £55 from memory ..can’t be sure...I bought 5 one for a spare

 

[Tsu]

Lovely. I've spent a few days now looking for the perfect price to performance tyre within budget and I've whittled it down to either Kumho Solus HA31's or Nexen N'Blue 4Season's, both in 85 H ratings. I was going to go for an all-out Winter tyre but the All Seasons seem to be getting so good now that it seems excessive to go that route when it's mainly rain with the odd icy morning/night to contend with, here in Ireland anyway. We don't get as much snow as you do in the UK, but we certainly get our fair share of rain

 

[damadgeruk]

Did you pay £38.19 for them @greywolfhound , because if you did that's a steal?!

Latest price for that size is £55.49

View attachment 58765

Lovely. I've spent a few days now looking for the perfect price to performance tyre within budget and I've whittled it down to either Kumho Solus HA31's or Nexen N'Blue 4Season's, both in 85 H ratings. I was going to go for an all-out Winter tyre but the All Seasons seem to be getting so good now that it seems excessive to go that route when it's mainly rain with the odd icy morning/night to contend with, here in Ireland anyway. We don't get as much snow as you do in the UK, but we certainly get our fair share of rain

I tend to buy my winter tyres in summer, they're much cheaper in my experience.

 

[Tsu]

I tend to buy my winter tyres in summer, they're much cheaper in my experience.

I'm watching tyre prices like a hawk all week. I reckon the first sniff of a decent snow either here or in the UK and the All Seasons and Winters will shoot up.

 

[greywolfhound]

An interesting fact my daughter has run an S3 Quattro last 11 years for last 1/2 dozen she’s used salun ice blazers a winter tyre but she’s ran them all year round good hard wearing tyre ..a few couriers used them on their vans..

 

[Tsu]

That is interesting. They're a little more over here than I was budgeting to spend, but if they can be run year round then they're worthy of consideration.

This is my shortlist so far then;

 

[Jeff Sutcliffe]

That is interesting. They're a little more over here than I was budgeting to spend, but if they can be run year round then they're worthy of consideration.

This is my shortlist so far then;

View attachment 58775View attachment 58775

I changed to a set of Maxxis AP2 earlier this year and, although there's not been any snow so far, they're very good in the cold and wet (and the dry). I've not managed to provoke traction control yet, whereas my previous Continentals made it easy. Camskill are currently listing them at £45.10 in the UK.

 

[greywolfhound]

That is interesting. They're a little more over here than I was budgeting to spend, but if they can be run year round then they're worthy of consideration.

This is my shortlist so far then;

View attachment 58775View attachment 58775

Only issue I have with all the above including the nokian I use ...is the side walls are thin good for comfort as they flex but sally my better half caught the corner of a curb and tore out side wall ...I thought I would point that out good luck ?..

 

[andrewparkeruk]

Only issue I have with all the above including the nokian I use ...is the side walls are thin good for comfort as they flex but sally my better half caught the corner of a curb and tore out side wall ...I thought I would point that out good luck ?..

... a good thing you bought five

Andrew

 

[andrewparkeruk]

I am concerned about the number of people running winter tyres year round. I would imagine an insurer would not be happy unless this was a declared modification.

Andrew

 

[damadgeruk]

I am concerned about the number of people running winter tyres year round. I would imagine an insurer would not be happy unless this was a declared modification.

Andrew

Is it any worse than people running summer tyres year round? Here in central Scotland we have 6 months of winter(average temp below 7C).

 

[Tsu]

I changed to a set of Maxxis AP2 earlier this year and, although there's not been any snow so far, they're very good in the cold and wet (and the dry). I've not managed to provoke traction control yet, whereas my previous Continentals made it easy. Camskill are currently listing them at £45.10 in the UK.

They're considerably more expensive here at €65.

£45 converts to €52, so a considerable difference over here sadly.

 

[Tsu]

Only issue I have with all the above including the nokian I use ...is the side walls are thin good for comfort as they flex but sally my better half caught the corner of a curb and tore out side wall ...I thought I would point that out good luck ?..

That's sh*te luck!

I read in another thread to stay away from XL's as they're too stiff for A2's. Is that the consensus or do people even notice the difference?

 

[greywolfhound]

That's sh*te luck!

I read in another thread to stay away from XL's as they're too stiff for A2's. Is that the consensus or do people even notice the difference?

now that’s a new one on me ..you see we never stop learning..I will look ? into this now ..
Right I have just been out and checked our nokian weatherproof they are xl and the ride is lovely it’s what you would expect from a 185 60 15 compliant and nice ride smooooth ? hope this helps...certainly not a stiff wall tyre far from it ..

 

[sailesh]

That's sh*te luck!

I read in another thread to stay away from XL's as they're too stiff for A2's. Is that the consensus or do people even notice the difference?

If you’re comparing the same tyre model, XL is likely to give a stiffer ride and sharper turn-in, hence I put XL on pepper pots when I had them.

In my experience, softness tends to vary more by manufacturer more than by XL rating, having run Hankook Ventus tyres with XL tyres on my 800 kg smart roadster for years, which were more comfortable than previous non-XL tyres.

 

[Tsu]

now that’s a new one on me ..you see we never stop learning..I will look ? into this now ..
Right I have just been out and checked our nokian weatherproof they are xl and the ride is lovely it’s what you would expect from a 185 60 15 compliant and nice ride smooooth ? hope this helps...certainly not a stiff wall tyre far from it ..

Good to know, although I don't have the budget for Nokian's anyway, so smooth XL's or no, I'm out ?

Prices for 185/60/15's are higher than 195/60/15's on the site I'm looking at, so I'd be leaning more towards the 195's as I never carry heavy loads.

If you’re comparing the same tyre model, XL is likely to give a stiffer ride and sharper turn-in, hence I put XL on pepper pots when I had them.

In my experience, softness tends to vary more by manufacturer more than by XL rating, having run Hankook Ventus tyres with XL tyres on my 800 kg smart roadster for years, which were more comfortable than previous non-XL tyres.

That makes sense @sailesh . As I'm in the low to mid-range in terms of budget I suspect the brands I'm looking at might run harder anyway, with XL versions exacerbating that.

 

[andrewparkeruk]

Is it any worse than people running summer tyres year round? Here in central Scotland we have 6 months of winter(average temp below 7C).

Yes, because summer tyres are original equipment ... unless Scottish dealers supply cars with winter tyres during those six months

 

[sailesh]

Yes, because summer tyres are original equipment ... unless Scottish dealers supply cars with winter tyres during those six months

I’d be surprised if insurers care about more than tyre sizes and use of original vs third-party wheels; if they cared or knew about tyre compounds the budget ditchfinders would be an immediate insurance void!

Summer tyres in winter = a major safety liability

Winter tyres in summer = a minor tyre wear liability

 

[damadgeruk]

Yes, because summer tyres are original equipment ... unless Scottish dealers supply cars with winter tyres during those six months

My point was that summer tyres are (here at least) less effective than winter tyres for half the year. Winter tyres are not typically supplied with new cars though this doesn't stop them being original equipment. Many insurance providers no longer require to be informed when using winter tyres (to OEM standards).

 

[greywolfhound]

Yes, because summer tyres are original equipment ... unless Scottish dealers supply cars with winter tyres during those six months

I think Andrew it is probably up to the individual what they wish to put on their own cars ...but dry grip and braking distances in the wet comparable or better than better quite a few cheapo summer tires ..?