Snow Tyres...

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TaDa

Active Member
Posts
432
Location
Barnstaple or thereabouts
Hi!

It seems a long while since anyone posted a thread about snow tyres on this site so I thought I'd re-raise the question...

I arrived home just before Christmas and slid down the road - this is not a steep road, just icy. A disco may be a 4x4 but it just becomes a massive sledge when there's ice on the road - a big heavy un-steerable one on this occasion.

Fortunately I'd not been driving fast but I still slid about 40 feet and that was with starting at about 1mph at the top of the slope! You'll all be glad to know I had no accidents - either with the car or in my underpants:)

In my richer days I've driven cars in America from Boston up to the ski slopes in some atrocious snow and ice conditions - gaily driving along at over 60mph!

So, I know what I want but are there any 4x4 or Britain-specific gotchas when buying snow tyres in the UK?

I'm thinking of buying an extra set of 5 tyres on rims so any advice would be much appreciated.

In my dreams I'll be using them in the Croisiere Blanche :)
 
I got a set of Semperit's on steel rims of eBay earlier this year for a score and they've been top notch in snow and ice and not too bad in the mud.
 
Sounds great but are the Semperits specifically snow/ice tyres? If so what model did you get. I wass wondering about a set of Pirelli Scorpion Snow and Ice...

I suspect they'd cost a little more than a score now :-(
 
Looking at the posts from the last month I see a few raving about some Cooper tyres, some mentioning the Pirelli Scorpions and some comments about ATs - many suggesting that they're fine but enough others casting doubt on their stopping ability to suggest otherwise.

Then each thread, after an initial couple of posts about tyres, tended to drift more than my disco in the snow - come on peeps keep it on track :)

So, am I just left with choosing between Cooper ST2s or Pirelli Scorpions?

I see that Cooper and Pirelli have selection of winter tyres - I'll contact them for advice.

I hear the 'use low gear' or 'use diff lock' arguments (the latter sadly not an option - yet - in my unmodified disco).
When I had my 'fun' I was driving very slowly in low range - trust me - but I still had visions of parking in my neighbour's lounge :eek:

I'm not coming to the subject completely green - for example I understand that purely snow going tyres will be awful in summer or just wear rally badly when the ambient temperature gets above, say, ten degrees.

That said it'd be nice if someone could give some guiding light on the subject.
Especially considering a set of 5 on rims will cost >£500
(Though I hear its nice if you can get a trade discount :))
 
TaDa said:
blah blah

Then each thread, after an initial couple of posts about tyres, tended to drift more than my disco in the snow - come on peeps keep it on track

more blah blah blah
Click to expand...

like it or lump it, peeps don't like "keeping it on track"

there's plenty of other forums that'll shoot you at dawn for straying if that's what floats your boat
 
ratty said:
What disco have you got?:confused: Most have difflock.
Click to expand...

Running the risk of straying orft the topic onto an old, much loved, theme... Haven't they all got the diff lock?

And, back on topic. Semperit are Austrian so I'm guessing that they know aboot snow and ice. I would let you know what model but I canna be arsed to go outside. Hold on... where's me Disco? Ah, bunch of arse, I left it down the pub last night...
 
TaDa said:
Sounds great but are the Semperits specifically snow/ice tyres? If so what model did you get. I wass wondering about a set of Pirelli Scorpion Snow and Ice...

I suspect they'd cost a little more than a score now :-(
Click to expand...
I've got a set of Pirelli Ice & Snow on Disco Steels, that I fit on my Series in the winter. Got the rims for £20 on fleabay. The tyres with only 1,500 motorway miles on them I got for free, the guy just wanted rid of them. He'd bought them for a Landcruiser, sold that and bought a brand new RR Vogue and they didn't fit. His wife didn't like the RR so he bought her a brand new XC90 and an Audi TT. Oh to have rich friends.

They're great in any cold conditions, it's just a pain when I have to keep swapping for my Muds to go off road.

I run Winter Tyres on my Espace too, put them on in November and off again in May. Apart from the initial expense and £40 for the swaps, it's no more expensive, but the safety and knowing that you'll make it, is more than worth it. I drive to the Alps skiing quite often, so they're essential.

I'd love to do the Croissere, but don't fancy driving my Series that far without a heater.
 
Touchy aren't we? :)

Ok, I'll add Semperit to my list of possible providers and ask them - thanks everyone!

Now I'm going to go check that my disco hasn't slid into the garage doors due to ice or the handbrake failing.

Happy new year!
 
Spyderman said:
Got the rims for £20 on fleabay. The tyres with only 1,500 motorway miles on them I got for free
Click to expand...

I used all my luck up just before Christmas - those tyres are usually more pricey :(

I can see how 'off topic goes'...

I _need_ snow and ice tyres/rims these will necessitate me buying a rechargeable impact wrench to make it easier to change them and then having got _all_ of the gear (well apart from a lot of obvious bits) I'll have the perfect excuse for doing the Croissiere Blanche.

Spyderman said:
I'd love to do the Croissere, but don't fancy driving my Series that far without a heater.
Click to expand...

Surely some thermal undies and a couple more jumpers?
Just make sure the undies are 'quick release' :)
 
TaDa said:
I _need_ snow and ice tyres/rims
Click to expand...

Are you sure you want Snow Tyres? What you probably want is Winter Tyres. Snow Tyres are exactly that, for driving on snow, if they're used on tarmac they'll wear very quickly. Unless you live in Scandinavia, you'll want winter tyres.
 
For what it's worth, I was out playing in Wales yesterday in snow drifts up to 4ft deep. Standard mud pattern tyres were fine, no loss of traction in deep snow even when climbing up steep slopes. As long as you have a tread pattern that allows the tread to "self clean" it shouldn't be problem although the trade off is that you get more road noise and you have to be a bit more careful on wet roads.
 
classic kev said:
For what it's worth, I was out playing in Wales yesterday in snow drifts up to 4ft deep. Standard mud pattern tyres were fine, no loss of traction in deep snow even when climbing up steep slopes. As long as you have a tread pattern that allows the tread to "self clean" it shouldn't be problem although the trade off is that you get more road noise and you have to be a bit more careful on wet roads.
Click to expand...

Mud Tyres work very well in soft snow, but are ****e on compacted snow and ice.
 
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