Winter tyres

[gazbutS3]

Whats the score with winter tyres, anybody use them??? We had some bad weather up North last year so thinking of putting some on mine and the misses just got a 1 series so may put some on that too.

I seem to remember JPC put some on last year, do you just fit them say in October and run them full time or fit them when the forcast looks bad? How are they when its dry and can anybody recommend a make?

cheers fellas

[LouCyffer]

I'm planning to do the same. I've a second set of wheels, and I'm going to fit Vredestein Wintracs. Intrested to hear what experience anyone's had so far.

They have an optimum temperature range, so you can fit & forget for the winter period, no need to fit them only for bad forecasts.

[bodger00]

Had some Bridegstone Blizzaks fitted to a car I bought once. I stupidly did not notice that they were winter tyres when I bought the car.

Anyway they were scary in normal conditions causing wheel spin with a light throttle and gave really poor grip.

I did not have them on the car long enough to find out what they were like in bad weather as I kicked the dealers ass for selling me a car in summer with them on.

Just a thought......

[gazbutS3]

I'm planning to do the same. I've a second set of wheels, and I'm going to fit Vredestein Wintracs. Intrested to hear what experience anyone's had so far.

They have an optimum temperature range, so you can fit & forget for the winter period, no need to fit them only for bad forecasts.

Cheers mate, I'm gonna do the same, fit them to some spare rims. I think Jay fitted the Wintracs

[Janner_Sy]

i spent nearly 9 years in germany where it was law for all the germans to put winter tyres on.  i never did it for the first couple years, and always found i slowed the traffic up or got stuck all the time.

I then put a set of all weather tyres on which were a massive step forward.  Not too good in the wet though. and rubbish in the dry.

the next year i got myself a second set of rims and fitted proper winter tyres and the difference is absolutely huge.  braking, turning and straight line grip were hugely increased.  however as with the all weather tyres they were rubbish once it warmed up and the snow disapeared. And really didnt last that long.  I then bought a set of vredestein winter tyres and used them for the following years snow, but when ever the snow cleared i swapped back to my normal tyres and vice versa.  

that was the best way to do it IMO.  

if you get stuck in a snow drift with snow tyres on an S3 you need chastising

Sy

[RedRobin]

.
This is the UK, guys! You can't tell what the weather will be like from one day to another, let alone month.

Best bet is to put some winter tyres on a spare set of rims, as Sy has done, and easily swop from week to week. [I've got some Monza 17's to sell, rims only ].

Either that or move south to my neck of the woods and simply don't venture out at all if it snows.

[182_blue]

the video 

[182_blue]

its odd as i was looking at this just yesterday, i would get spare alloys though and put the tyres on, we just dont really get weather that bad , we had like 3-4 weeks this year and i am not sure its worth the hassle ?, that said im still looking for a decent set of 19" rims as i have found some vreds like in the video cheap 

[gazbutS3]

I'm goin the spare rim route

I lost 2 weeks work last year all told because we couldn't get out of the village, I work for myself so thats 2 weeks wages lost, the tyres will pay for themselves in no time

[SteveP]

How about snow socks Gaz?

http://www.autosock.co.uk/

[danishmkvgti]

When speaking about winter tires you need to take into account what size you chose. In this tread noone has mentioned rim size or tyrewith.
If you as most in Denmark do use 17 to 19"  205 and wider for summeruse and your wintertyres are 15 to 16" 205 and below, you will lose a lot of the steering feel and sharpness of the car.
IMO i have had the original 17" with 225/45-17" Goodyear wintertyres on for the first 2 winters in the GTI and they have been great. Now i plan on going 225/40-18" this winter, ( I have looked at the Vredestein wintertyres as the are the only ones i could find rated to 300km/h) 
My reasoning for this is: In Denmark we normally have very few days where there is several inches of snow on the road (and therefore a need form narrow tyres), when it snows, the roads are cleared within 6 hours and only ice are left, but 6 month of the year we have damp roads and therefore a need for the softer rubber and general construction of a wintertyre.
By keeping the OEM fitment of the car for the winterperiod i get the steering response and general feel of the car, but better grip when it occationally snows.
As soon as the sun can't dry up the road in the morning it's time to find the winter tyres and fit them 

[182_blue]

^^ this wa my worry actually, my tyres currently are 235-35-19, should i use the same size for winter tyres ?

[danishmkvgti]

^^ this wa my worry actually, my tyres currently are 235-35-19, should i use the same size for winter tyres ?

I plan on 235/35-19" for summer, but IMO you should go for 225/40-18" for winter, it's the best compromise between steering feeling and winter grip 

[JPC]

What people don't realize, the vredestein winter tyres are used for every type of cold weather. They perform better than most other tyres in cold weather. Dry and wet braking distances are much better than stuff like eagle f1s in temps below 4 degrees. Add that to the fact you can get about when there is snow about they are a winner. I'll be putting mine on as soon as it gets to be 2-4 degrees every morning.

I did about 8 k on my tyres last winter and they still have about 70% left.

You wouldn't believe the difference in cold and wet conditions. Let's face it, most days in the winter are cold and wet.

In my opinion, two days of snow would warrant these for me!

[gazbutS3]

Is it the wintracs you used Jay?, and where'd you get um?