Car magazine winter tyre test, all season tyre looked the best option - any views?

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Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
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Cumbria
I was in a supermarket and passed the magazine rack. I saw on the cover about the 100 vest used cars so I opened it by chance on the winter tyres review. An interesting read. 8 winter tyres compared with one top rated summer and one all season tyre.

After reading it the all season actually seemed to be the best. The michelin crossclimate +. 99.2% overall compared to the 100% for the continental winter contract ts 860. However their scoring gave the all season tyre better wet handling and braking but most surprising it had the better snow handling and snow braking scores.

Does anyone have any opinions whether the michelin Cross climate + all season tyre makes a better option for UK driving?

As a background for this we have a car which is useless on snow or compacted snow. I reckon mostly due to standard tyres but also I think it's not a good car in iffy conditions anyway. A seat Altea xl. So we've been thinking of winter tyres for a year. We have no place to store them no garage or shed space left for tyres. So we cannot get the tyres changed over twice a year without a storage option. However a single set of tyres that are good summer and winter seems the best option.

Would you consider it? If not any suggestions for storing out of season tyres?

The part of nw England we're in doesn't often get snow. So it's likely they'll be more than good enough.
 

jmagee

Forager
Aug 20, 2014
127
10
Cumbria
Considering the price of them I'd stick with normal tyres. I've had winters in the past. That was 5 years of no snow

Got rid of that car last July then snow I haven't got them for the new car. Just drive carefully, had some interesting times last year but they were fine, winters wouldn't have been any different as it was on ice.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk
 

Artic Bob

Member
Feb 1, 2018
39
25
Marches
i've used the Michelin Cross Climates on a series of Mondeo's for about 4 years, and i do about 25k a year in the UK - lots of rural driving around Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Powys, and lots of motorway miles to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

i rate them, i really do. they are not quite as good (imv) on snow/ice as the best winter tyres, but they are vastly better than any summer tyre, and at least as good as most winter tyres. where they excel is with cold roads, whether wet or dry - which is where summer tyres turn into lumps of hard plastic and have no grip on the road at all. pure winter tyres have a reputation for being much better on snow/ice than they are on cold, wet roads - and some of them can be pretty awful on wet roads - which is what UK roads are for most of the winter.

they are expensive, however they generally do me for about 25k/a year, and i've used plenty of tyres that touched £90 that lasted 12k or so...

if you decide to go for full winters, many tyre fitting places do storage - and do please take them off, as they melt in the summer!
 
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Janne

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If your walls are sturdy enough, you can drill, place plastiplugs and bolts ( pointed tip) then hang each tyre and fix with a plate and a wing bolt.
Mark where on the car the wheels go.

I use the US site Tirerack to decide which tyres to get.
I do not trust magazines.

Yes, W+S tyres should be the best in UK. Summer tyres are made from a compound that is perfect in summer, but goes hard in winter. Winter tyres are made for minus temperatures, you do not get many days of those, and they wear rapidly when it is warm.

Get steel wheels, and buy narrower tyres than the summer tyres.

Your and your family’s life is worth the small outlay 4 tyres is.
 
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Dave Budd

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I had a set of mid range winter tyres on my old vectra estate some years back and they were grwat on slushy roads and a bit of snow. They were also much better than normal summer road tyres on wet grass (such as the fields that i drive across at shows). I don't know what longevity they have as the car didnt last that long!

I've just got a set of the michelin crossclimates formy new van. I was going for all terrain as its 4 wheel drive and i wanted grip on grass and and a bit of mud, but i couldnt find much to fit my wheels. The cross climates were only the same price as the upper mid range summer/road tyres for my mondeo, so not too pricey. Can't say how they perform yet, but mostly ive only heard good things
 

Wayland

Hárbarðr
Slightly off the question but I run with standard tyres all year.

What I do pack for the winter though is a pair of "Autosocks" which are easy to fit and will get you out of problem snow if needed.

Had the current set for years, only needed them four times but I've never been unable to get to a school even in the worst of conditions.

( In fact the last time I actually needed them I got to the school three hours before the local teacher I was working with did. I had travelled 65 miles, mostly on back roads. )
 
Jan 13, 2018
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. I was going for all terrain as its 4 wheel drive and i wanted grip on grass and and a bit of mud, but i couldnt find much to fit my wheels.


I have found (and was taught on various off-road training courses) that the worst / hardest surface to get traction is wet grass and if it is wet grass on a slope - almost impossible.
If grass is your primary driving requirement then get real 'chunky' cleated ties that will cut thru the grass and bit into the soil below.
 

Janne

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Narrow tyres, high pressure ( top of recommended) helps too.

For those lucky to own a Defender there are superb MOD tyres to be bought from people that sell ex mod stuff.
 
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Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
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Cumbria
The interesting bit about the cross climate + is the performance is better than the summer tyre in every condition including dry. Looking at the scores and the prices they really seem to make sense. However as my partner says, she doesn't trust something that claims to be the Jack if all trades. She prefers summer and winter tyre sets.

As for price, well my budget to mid price tyres are edging to the prices of the Cross climate + tyres. For better performance all round I think a little more is worth it.

I know kwikfit did the storage bit previously. We are only going for this change from standard tyres because we feel our car handles poor conditions badly compared to previous cars I've owned.
 
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Fadcode

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Feb 13, 2016
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Tyres are a bit like shoes, depends on the person wearing them, sounds like the problem could be with your car if your previous cars have been ok.,
 
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Insel Affen

Settler
Aug 27, 2014
530
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Tewkesbury, N Gloucestershire
Sorry, I cannot comment on those tyres, but can throw 2p in for the general discussion.

I have lived in Germany for a few years where they are compulsory and using winter tyres do make a world of difference. Not only for snow, where you will notice the difference in grip, but also at any temperature under @7C which is what they are designed to work in. Yes, they do wear out very quickly in high temperatures, but change them at Easter and they should last. (The Germans use them from O to O (October to Ostern [Easter])) I know people will say they are extra cost, but it makes your summer ones last longer too - you are not using your summer ones, while you use your winter ones.

Storage is on a tyre pole - bought from Lidl for about €15, this way they rest on the rim and not the wall of the tyre or the actual tyre.

Oh and my final advice is get them fitted onto steel rims, not other alloys or swapping the actual tyre every 6 months. Most cars have the pressure sensors in them, so you would need expensive bluetooth valves every time you change the tyre and you have to re-set the tyres to the car (a garage should do this if you get them to change the wheels).

Are they worth it? Absolutely, yes they are.
 
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Janne

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In addition to the previous super post I would recommend that you do NOT store the tyres standing up against a wall ( the logic, space saving option) as they will develop a flat spot.
Usually goes away after a while, but highly irritating before that happens!

Also, mark them clearly where they were on the car. Do you guys rotate the tyres to prolong the life of them?
 

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
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Cumbria
Tyres are a bit like shoes, depends on the person wearing them, sounds like the problem could be with your car if your previous cars have been ok.,
TBH I've tended to go with whatever deal a trusted back street garage offered. Usually inexpensive. However even those have crept up in price of late Such that in getting better named brands but not their best models. Just cost a little more.

Put simply it could be the quality of the tyres I get but I got cheaper with my old astra and they coped surprisingly well driving on proper snow a few years back. Took three times as long to get home but it got us home OK. 4x4s with big tyres on ditched by the side of the road in a dip between two hills I made easily really made me appreciate that Astra.

No tyres are very important but IMHO there's something about cars which also plays a big factor in winter handling.

Been eyeing up a rav 4 mk 3 iirc from 2012 I think and costs £8000 upwards. Number 5 on the used car survey. Hmmm! £3000 more than we want to spend but...
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
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McBride, BC
Our tires depend on the law, not desire. October 01 to April 30 for winter tires.
If you don't, your insurance is void in an accident.
If you don't, your vehicle will be towed and impounded at your expense
until such time as you buy wheels and tires and have them installed and inspected.

My winter tires are genuine, marked with both the mountain symbol and the snowflake.
Blocks of very fine sipes. Crushed walnut shell traction compound in the rubber ( tc studs are skates here)
Any other claims are fake.
As a matter of fact, I'm getting the change-over at 1PM today.

Buy a set of balanced wheels from the wreckers.
Store your other tires in a pile @ 20psi under a double tarp and off the ground in a shady spot..
This works just fine in the mountain winters and summers in western Canada.
The UK has much milder or shorter winter conditions than I face every year.
 
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Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
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McBride, BC
The carcass of car and light truck tires here are not designed for retreading.
Average set of 4 winters is about $1,200.00.
I need control. Many of the ditches are 50-200' deep.
18-wheel ( and more) semis often run Bandag retreads on bogy/non powered wheels.
September seems to be the month that they all disintegrate!
There was tire wire shredded crap for 200 km, driving in to the city.
 

Janne

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Off Topic:

Rethreads are supposed to be good. And cheap. Maybe.
If you see a tyre that has disintegrated without a puncture, it is a rethread.

Go for the best possible tyre. If you need, save some money and buy the best you can. A quality brand.
Why? The only thing between your life and death are four contacts the size of your hand, between your car and the road.

I buy only Michelin and Pirelli. I trust them to do a good design.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
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McBride, BC
Janne is right about tires. You are a liability to yourself and your family on cheap rubber.
You're a liability to the rest of us on a snowy mountain highway.
Do you enjoy hydroplaning and it isn't a boat?

Underneath the different logos, you find that there are very few manufacturers.
Hankook, BFGoodrich, Cooper, Firestone, they all have to meet the same standard.
Governments don't' care = here's the standard, no, we don't negotiate.

True winter snow tires run very hot on dry pavement = they can fail from overheating, not punctures.
Plus, they wiggle and erase themselves, rubber scrubbing.

I expect all season reliability in any vehicle I own. Changing tires and even changing washer fluids works for me.
I run synthetic turbine oil so that does not change viscosity with seasons. My coolant is good to -40C and I am
too old to be farting around outside at -40C. So, I never bothered with Command Start.

Now I read that 10 other european car makers, besides Volkwagen, cheated 40X on emission tests.
Those are silent killers you can keep at home.
 

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
1,546
Cumbria
Best tyres in the world won't save a dangerous idiot behind the wheel.

Every car I've ever owned I have had a good feel for his it drives and I control the car within the car's and my own abilities. I've had top spec Michelin tyres and lesser tyres. All my accidents happened on Michelins or pirelli tyres. The reason was simply I was young stupid and pushed the car's boundaries. I worked on a privately owned industrial estate and I often left after the rush hour by some time. So I had the estate with its many 90 degree bends. Being young and stupid I used to push the car and learnt to control skids around bends. I would push past the grip of the pirelli tyres (best ones you could get in my car's tyre side) and then collect it again. It passed for fun and I was a bit of an adrenaline junkie at that time.

Now I use what I learnt then and drive a bit conservatively these days. When younger I'd be driving on a motorway at 80-90 in heavy rain. Now I'm the 60-70 mph driver in the inside lane because I've experienced hydroplaning before. Although you can hydroplane at less than 60mph I've yet to do so.

Basically drive safely and you don't have to test the tyre grip much. Snow and heavy rain / standing water aside.

BTW we don't have much snow nw England where I live. Being coastal my area tends to remain snow less when 20 miles east or less there's snow and warnings to travel. Water and rain we do have. For those conditions I'm not sure winter tyres are better than good summer or all season ones The Michelin cross climate + tested better than most winter tyres in that article for dry, wet and in some cases snow/cold conditions. It's better than summer tyres for all conditions and would have come 2nd or 3rd in the list of tested winter tyres. For my area I think that's good enough.
 
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Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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What does Tirerack say about them?
Yes, stupid behaviour is what damages/kills most young people in traffic.

I need to have my every day car checked out. The ‘check brakes’ info came on on the way to pick wife up on the way to the supermarket. Info, not warning. Brake linings are thin somewhere. The disks are fine, replaced last year.

Next will be new exhaust.
 

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