winter wise, how soon can you put winter tyres on in the uk?

hey peeps as per thread title, winter wise, how soon can you put winter tyres on in the uk?

im asking because of insurance wise i was wondering if theres a certain time of the year that youve got to put the winter tyres on and a certain time of year where youve got to take them off

No rules in the UK , could have winter tyres all year round if you want. I know people who do. A tyres a tyre and as long as it's legal you're Okay.

John S said:

No rules in the UK , could have winter tyres all year round if you want. I know people who do. A tyres a tyre and as long as it's legal you're Okay.

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didnt know that....

do you generally have to tell your insurer that youve got winter tyres on?

my insurance is with aviva and the broker said its fine to have winter tyres on and you dont need to notify them

The rule of thumb is when the average temperature drops below 7 degrees, my brother swaps from summer to winter tyres at the end of Oct about the time the clocks go back. As above reference insurance. Winter tyres usually have a softer rubber compound so they wont last as long as a 'summer' tyre.

I change over to cold climate tyres usually in November, just watch the weather forecast and temperature predictions, and change back to "normal" tyres in late April/May.
There's no need to tell your insurance company. You can try, maybe to attempt to get a discount but that's most unlikely.
As @John S has said, as long as the tyre is legal you're OK.
I have seen cold climate tyres used all year round, but because they're a softer compound, they can wear quicker at higher temperatures and the performance can degrade at higher temperatures too.

wireman said:

The rule of thumb is when the average temperature drops below 7 degrees, my brother swaps from summer to winter tyres at the end of Oct about the time the clocks go back. As above reference insurance. Winter tyres usually have a softer rubber compound so they wont last as long as a 'summer' tyre.

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yea thats the impression i got

brian47 said:

I change over to cold climate tyres usually in November, just watch the weather forecast and temperature predictions, and change back to "normal" tyres in late April/May.
There's no need to tell your insurance company. You can try, maybe to attempt to get a discount but that's most unlikely.
As @John S has said, as long as the tyre is legal you're OK.
I have seen cold climate tyres used all year round, but because they're a softer compound, they can wear quicker at higher temperatures and the performance can degrade at higher temperatures too.

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not sure if youd get a discount to be honest

Don't forget to swap out Summer air for Winter air in those tires!

I just run general grabber at2's all year round and I've never had any issues. My commute is 13 miles and nearly all of it is ungritted country lanes, some of the snow drifts were over the bonnet last year which was fun

Switzerland you must have winter tyres fitted when clocks change in October.

The crossover temperature is around 7 degrees. You can run winters all year round (I've seen several cars doing that in Germany) but much above 15 degrees or so they'll wear faster compared to summer tyres. We've had a couple of cold mornings so far this month but that doesn't really count. Once the temperature looks like it's going to stay below that for the majority of the day, time to change to winter boots. I have two sets of wheels for my car which makes things much simpler.

Worth considering though, winter tyres on a dry/mild road are a much better option than summer tyres in the snow! I got caught out last year when we had the first snowfall and my summer tyres were hopeless. Swapped to winters in time for the next lot and it was like driving a different car.

A web search for winter tyres will most likely turn up loads of adverts from tyre manufacturers and suppliers, so I've tried to pull together a couple of sites which essentially have no tyre related product to push, the RAC, the AA and Which.
All state that the temperature at which winter tyres start working is below +7 degrees Celsius, but it should be remembered here that this temperature refers to the temperature of the tyre, not the outside air temperature. In many situations, the tyre temperature is dependant on the road temperature and the amount of work the tyre is doing, friction when the tyre is gripping the road surface can cause the temperature of the tyre to rise, but in winter months the rise is likely to be fairly insignificant, unless you insist on spinning "doughnuts" before setting out. Even in winter, exposure to the sunlight can also cause the temperature of the tyres on one side of the vehicle to increase quite appreciably.
Do not assume that reducing the tyre pressures will increase grip, in fact it's likely to reduce even further the grip of a tyre. As the pressure is decreased, the area of the tyre where it's in contact with the road surface will come under a load which will cause the tread pattern to close up, reducing the gaps in the tread.

A tyre pressure monitor system, cost about £40 and upwards can not only continuously monitor the pressures and alert you to any sort of failure resulting in a loss of pressure, but most will also monitor the temperature of each tyre, or rather the air in the tyre. In many cases there's no need for additional wiring, the valve caps are replaced with wireless pressure monitors and the indicator unit can be charged using solar energy, very easy to install.

• https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/winter-driving/should-i-buy-winter-tyres/
  
• https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice/safety/winter-tyres-in-the-uk
  
• https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/new-and-used-cars/article/winter-tyres-and-snow-socks/should-i-buy-winter-tyres

As has been said, there's no legal requirement to use winter tyres here in the UK, but countries on the Continent have different and varying rules and laws. Some countries require winter tyres to be fitted between certain dates, others require such tyres to be fitted only in certain areas of their countries while others just recommend the fitting of winter tyres. Anybody intending to drive on the continent during winter months would be well advised to check the laws in the countries they intend not just to visit, but those countries which they have to pass through. This web page will give some idea of the confusing situation regarding winter tyres and snow chains:-

https://www.uniroyal-tyres.com/car/tyre-guide/winter-care/winter-tyres-mandatory

landyzoner said:

hey peeps as per thread title, winter wise, how soon can you put winter tyres on in the uk?

im asking because of insurance wise i was wondering if theres a certain time of the year that youve got to put the winter tyres on and a certain time of year where youve got to take them off

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Like other members suggest: When the outside temp drops to 7°c or is below that for days, time to put on the winter tyres. Think of it as no different from you deciding when to put on a scarf depending on how cold the weather is. Also as most people suggest, change tyres around October to April, which would be a lot easier than watching BBC Weather for when the temp do drop below 7°c. I would suggest changing between October and April to be a lot easier to remember than struggling to keep an eye on weather news. This would be similar to you decided to dig out your scarf, woolly hat, and gloves out of your wardrobe when you know winter is coming, rather than left it too late, like step outside and say "AW! It's freezing! Now I got to go back indoor and change to a winter outfit!"

It would be easier to think something like: "If I get out my winter outfit in October ready for the cold weather, then I should also get the winter tyres on the car ready for winter." or something like that. Make up your own memory trick to help you remember.

Mine is: Change tyres when it's time to put clocks forwards/backwards by an hour.

Insurance wise, they are more interested in you first and foremost. They would want to know if you're a good driver or a bad driver. Do you drink and drive a lot? Knowingly drive when you're feeling sleepy. Enjoy ignoring the speed limit?

Then after that, they will look at your car to see if you did not take a good care of your car, did you keep it in good working order? MOT passed? Plenty of brake fluids? Tyres above the 1.6mm limit?

If you crashed while driving on snow, they will want to know if you drove at silly-mph on ice (sorry, I meant at sixty mph!), before they want to see what kind of tyres you have.

I think any tyre should work in the UK whatever the weather ,

Providing you take into account the temperature and road surface. Some tyres will be better than others.

Cheers

Major Eazy said:

Insurance wise, they are more interested in you first and foremost. They would want to know if you're a good driver or a bad driver. Do you drink and drive a lot? Knowingly drive when you're feeling sleepy. Enjoy ignoring the speed limit?

Then after that, they will look at your car to see if you did not take a good care of your car, did you keep it in good working order? MOT passed? Plenty of brake fluids? Tyres above the 1.6mm limit?

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When winter or cold climate tyres started to be introduced and used in the UK, some insurance companies didn't quite understand what was going on, with the result that they classed fitting them as a modification and consequently loaded the premium. These days at least they understand that winter tyres can be beneficial and so they just accept that you have round black things with a knobbly surface on each corner of the vehicle.

FlyingPete said:

The crossover temperature is around 7 degrees. You can run winters all year round (I've seen several cars doing that in Germany) but much above 15 degrees or so they'll wear faster compared to summer tyres. We've had a couple of cold mornings so far this month but that doesn't really count. Once the temperature looks like it's going to stay below that for the majority of the day, time to change to winter boots. I have two sets of wheels for my car which makes things much simpler.

Worth considering though, winter tyres on a dry/mild road are a much better option than summer tyres in the snow! I got caught out last year when we had the first snowfall and my summer tyres were hopeless. Swapped to winters in time for the next lot and it was like driving a different car.

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sounds like winter tyres are defo worth having