Although I've only had these tyres fitted for half a day, I thought it might be useful for people who are trying to justify investing in a set of cold weather tyres for their car.
Why?The winter weather in the UK seems to be getting worse year on year. I personally love snow, however I don't want it to rule my life. Previous snowy spells have meant I was reluctant to use my car, which in turn has impacted on my work and social life. I see my car as a tool, and it's attractiveness comes from it's ability to handle anything I throw at it, be it chauffeuring myself and three friends from one end of the country to the other, or providing the thrills on a back road thrash. The profile of winter, or cold weather tyres has been raised significantly in the past year or two, both in the media, and on forums like this, and as I now have a spare set of wheels I decided to have them fitted with a pair of tyres more suitable to colder temperatures.
My plan is to run them from late November to the end of March, weather permitting. With the mileage I do I hope to get 4 or 5 winters out of them, so a sound investment I think.
Which tyre?Having used, and been impressed by Vredestein tyres in the past my aim was to buy the Wintrac tyre, however at nearly £170 per corner the cost was prohibitive. Although I hadn't heard of the brand, the Nankang Snow SV-2 tyre seemed to review very well on several sites. As the cost was reasonable I decided to purchase them.
CostI ordered from Mytyres at a cost of £78 per tyre (225/45 R17 94V XL), including fitting which was carried out in their usual professional manner by IDS Mobile Tyre Fitters. I should note that 2 days following my order these tyres had rocketed to £136 per tyre. That's supply and demand!
Any good?It's been said before, but the difference between summer tyres and winter tyres in cold, wet conditions is night and day. Having spent the past few days tiptoeing around on 18" Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas I was in a good position to judge exactly how different they are, over a variety of different conditions, including fresh powdery snow, hard packed snow, and wet slush. On several occasions I attempted to break traction and trigger the ESP, which proved very difficult indeed. In fact grip and breaking in all conditions was incredible, and the noise levels are not noticeably different to the Ultrac Sessantas. In an effort to see exactly how good they are I attempted a steep hill near my house that is very rarely used by other cars in the snow, and is not gritted. The car sailed up as if there was no snow at all.
So at this point I have nothing negative to say about them. If you're apprehensive about using your car in the snow I'd urge you to try them. I hope to update this review when I'd have the chance to drive them in drier conditions also.
