Winter Tyres 996C4S
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alanchester
New member
I've for the first year put winter tyres on the driving wheels(FWD) of my daily car, which is not a performance car and been very impressed with the increased levels of grip in the snow and ice up here in Central Scotland. Would be interested to hear other views on winter tyres for performance vehicles.
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I use Vredestein Wintrac Xtremes on my turbo and have done for 4 winters. Although not N-rated, they are recommended by Porsche USA for the Boxster. They are fantastic in the wet and cold. During the extreme winter of 2010 with 6 inches of snow and -17 degrees in Belfast, I used the car daily for 5 weeks of the snow. Have a look at this link http://www.porsche.com/usa/accessoriesandservices/porscheservice/documentsanddownloads/
I use winter tyres on my daily from November through to end of March. Car is a Jaguar XF and wouldn't consider half the journeys I do during the winter months without them. I was one of the last cars through Drumochter pass on the A9 on Saturday night. I would have been spending a cold night in the snow without my winter tyres..
vitesse
Active member
I've got them on my BMW 530D Touring but only since mid January with the weather being so mild around here-actually using 225 x17's in place of the usual 235 x17's but only because I was given them by my son-in-law when he changed his Volvo S60 for a BMW X3. He used them in all weathers up north of Newcastle & claims the Volvo went anywhere & very necessary for him as he runs the A&E at the RVI. Generally I drive in snow/ice with DSC disengaged otherwise you can't get enough traction to get going unless you can spin the rear wheels.
Likewise - but on my 993C4 - and similarly they are on the Porsche (Germany) recommended list for 993s - and it specifically notes that they are not N rated but are recommended. I'm really impressed by them. This is my second winter on them. Drove up to Fort William and back from Glasgow on Tuesday. I'm not saying you can throw caution to the wind but they really to transform the drive from "scary" to "fun".
My 993 was lethal in snow on summer tyres, so I know what you mean by scary! Another vote for the Vredestein Wintrac Xtremes. I have them on my Cayman, and they were really confidence inspiring in the couple of cm snow we had here earlier in the week.
924nutter
PCGB Member
Drmeng I completely disagree with you. They should be banned and drivers should be taught how to drive according to the prevailing conditions. If you put these so called winter tyres on and lose it then the kinetic energy will be higher and thus require more dissipation or in other words the impact speed will be higher because inevitably "winter tyres" will instil a false sense of security amongst the irresponsible. I appreciate that they might seem like a boon to motoring safety in the winter but every safety measure introduced inevitably erodes the skill of the driver. I know I sound controversial, but I am grumpy, my new implant treatment has set my teeth off as they do so I need a good grumble, but seriously I see winter tyres as a con; I don't see them as being black ice proof, are they? As the tread would fill up in snow surely they would be no better and is it really prudent to be taking advantage of the extra grip on a wet surface? I am not closed minded about this but I need some proper convincing
924nutter
PCGB Member
With the greatest of respect to Richard, " confidence inspiring"? confidence to do what, exactly? Drive faster? See this is what I am getting at. Why do we need a tyre that inspires confidence? It's winter it's icy; be gentle on the g forces and don't make any sudden manoeuvers, anticipate and slow down to give yourself time to react. Still grumpy
Replying to john. It goes without saying that driving skills need to be better than a one off test. Driving a ton of steel which can kill and does more often than a gun should not be seen as a right ( viz america tolerance of the regular multiple shootings in america amd the apparent right to bear arms ) As all skills they require at leats a 6 monthly refreher due to skill fade. Perhaps thne correct argument to john' s comment is enhanced safety measures such as winter tyres and higher training annually to keep your licence I still rather drive carefully with winter tyres than summmer ones .....
Confidence that you can negotiate the snow with a great deal more control and safety. It isn't all about going faster - winter tyres help you slow down and steer more safely than with summer tyres. So when some idiot (and there are plenty of them who have little conception of car behaviour in such conditions) pulls out in front of you, it gives you more chance of avoiding them. Slopes, both up and down, that in the snow would defeat the car (no matter who was driving) are negotiable safely. Also, it isn't all about snow. Winter tyres operate better than summer tyres in temperatures below 7°C - way before the formation of ice. Read the technical stuff on them, and it explains why they grip better when the tread is full of snow. You choose the best tyres for grip in warm, dry conditions. Why is that? To go faster, or to drive safer?
vitesse
Active member
Sometimes depends on the car--my BMW 530D on 235/17's-rear wheel drive -nearly 2 tonnes of it laden just doesn't like snow & ice even with DSC off-neither did my Daughter's BMW 120D Sport with the wider tyres .As they live in the country north of Morpeth & both are Doctors with on-call duties,that is why they swapped the Volvo S60 (which was quite good in the snow especially with winter tyres,but was getting expensive to run) for the BMW X3(daughter works all over Northumberland) & a Skoda Citigo (for Matt's commutes to the RVI)-both now on winter tyres. That doesn't make them go everywhere faster-that just makes them able to do their jobs.
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