Winter Tyres - Confused!

[ArildStavrum]

I am currently running Hankook V12 ventus tyres all round, any hint of moisture or dampness on the road (never mind pouring rain) and my ESP kicks in when accelerating energetically in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear.  The cornering grip seems pretty good, its just accelerating in the wet that does my head in, in the dry its a completely different story.
The dilemma is i'm heading back to SW Scotland for xmas (800 mile round trip) from SW London in a couple of weeks and know its going to be extremely cold and wet (as it usually is at xmas).  I'm wondering if a good set of winter tyres (pirelli sottozero's) will really make that much of a difference?!
The idea would be to replace my existing tyres with the winters directly onto my monza 2's and store my hankooks until April.
Do i want to spend a big chunk of cash on winter tyres plus the cost of fitting if the different wont be noticeable.

bit about my gti:
Revo Stg 1 (B:5 T:5 F:9)
Superpro ALK
H&R Springs
Carbonio Intake

I dont do alot of miles (4k last year) and only use the car for a bit of commuting at weekends and using it for safe fun out and about South of London.

I'm in 2 minds!

[andrewparker]

Is this a trick question?

[MC71]

Buy them.

They should last a few years as well if they are only on your car for 4-5 months or so.

 

[Tortaruga]

Is this a trick question?

My brain isn't seeing any trick question here, although it's a bit fried after a long day at work.

OP-You'll certainly notice a drop in fuel consumption if you fit those Pirelli's for an 800 mile trip.
Personally I wouldn't bother - you're going to SW Scotland, not Alaska.

 

[Janner_Sy]

Personally I wouldn't bother - you're going to SW Scotland, not Alaska.

 

Are you joking?  I personally think winter tyres should become law in the UK.  Theres a reason the UK grinds to a halt with the slightest dusting, while mainland Europe and Finland/Denmark etc carry on as normal with minimal delays yet suffer much greater snow fall. 

Winter tyres, pure and simple are worth every bit of the cost.  99% of the people who appose winter tyres haven't tried them and felt the benefits. 

[andrewparker]

Is this a trick question?

My brain isn't seeing any trick question here, although it's a bit fried after a long day at work.

OK, perhaps not a trick question, but it sounds like the OP is asking us to confirm the obvious.

If you're losing traction in normal damp weather then you'll almost certainly notice a huge difference fitting winter tyres when the temperature is below zero and the roads are wet. Throw in some snow and your purchase is instantly justified. See them as an investment. In temperatures below 6ºC your normal rubber will degrade a lot faster, so having a pair of winter tyres in rotation will make them last longer, and you'll have added safety and grip during the winter months.

[andrewparker]

Personally I wouldn't bother - you're going to SW Scotland, not Alaska.

 

Are you joking?  I personally think winter tyres should become law in the UK.  Theres a reason the UK grinds to a halt with the slightest dusting, while mainland Europe and Finland/Denmark etc carry on as normal with minimal delays yet suffer much greater snow fall. 

Winter tyres, pure and simple are worth every bit of the cost.  99% of the people who appose winter tyres haven't tried them and felt the benefits. 

Completely, 100% agree.

[Janner_Sy]

so having a pair of winter tyres in rotation will make them last longer, and you'll have added safety and grip during the winter months.

or alternatively, you could risk potentially crashing the car or knocking over someone.....  Not worth the risk IMO.  And if you were to prang it your insurance will go up as well, so in the long run you could be much worse off.

[PDT]

I've tried loads of different winter tyres now, currently have Pirelli scorpion snow and ice on my X5 which are great in both wet and dry.

Best I've used to date are Nokian WRG3, simply leagues ahead of things like the Yokohama winter tyres I recently had the displeasure of using.

[LouCyffer]

I run Michelin PS3 until November, then switch to Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme, generally until early March. You will have much better performance in ambient temperatures of 7C or less on winter rubber. The compounds stay softer allowing grip to be maintained. 'Summer' tyres rubber becomes very stiff below 7C & can't perform as well. Braking distances are significantly reduced in all road surface conditions on winter tyres in the correct temperature range.

Although you shell out for winter tyres, you can only run one set at a time, so both your summer & winter tyres last twice as long. My Wintrac Xtreme tyres are just starting their third winter having done 9k miles so far and they are still 5-6mm all round.

If the weather is poor (and lets be honest, with the forecast getting chilly) in Scotland, not exactly a rare event, you'll be glad you stuck winter hoops on. Plus pulling cheerfully away from a guy digging his 4x4 out of a foot of snow in a supermarket car park & watching the look on his face as you do so is priceless 

[Dubbin]

With the new performance labels now mandatory on all new tyres one thing that has confused me about winter tyres is why some are only E rated for wet weather while many summer tyres are A rated. I would have thought that with the deeper tread on winter tyres they would also be A rated.

http://www.blackcircles.com/catalogue/dunlop/winter-sport-4d/225/40/R18/V/92/f?returnurl=%2forder%2ftyres%3fversion%3d2.0%26width%3d225%26profile%3d40%26rim%3d18%26speed%3d&tyre=29196176

http://www.blackcircles.com/catalogue/goodyear/eagle-f1-asymmetric-2/225/40/R18/Y/92/f?returnurl=%2forder%2ftyres%3fversion%3d2.0%26width%3d225%26profile%3d40%26rim%3d18%26speed%3d&tyre=27383450

[Janner_Sy]

Ive found that a good summer tyres are better in the wet than winters, but only when its still mild conditions.  If it was just rain we had to deal with id be content to leave summers on.

[zerolag]

Ive found that a good summer tyres are better in the wet than winters, but only when its still mild conditions.  If it was just rain we had to deal with id be content to leave summers on.

I agree... my Goodyear Eagle F1 AS2's are better in the wet than the Goodyear Ultragrip I have on at the moment... I think I'm going to put the Eagles back on the fronts until it snows, as I seem to be chewing through them a bit quick.

[Andy]

i have been fitting a lot of snow tyres the last 2 weeks.They  do make a difference

[MikeA]

Have you considered buying a set of winter tyres and wheels off eBay or Gumtree? just purchased a set of wheels and Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme from Gumtree and have been so impressed by the grip even in the wet conditions, we had a little snow in Edinburgh last week and even the little lady noticed a difference driving the ED30 on the snow.

I was a bit suspect of the winter tyre thing but my mate and his constant raving about how good winter tyres are made  me buy a second hand set and have been happy with the performance.

Would Highly recommend the Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme about £120 a tyre i think