@10
Anyone know why BFG AT are only applicable before October 2004 (see note 5)?
Or am I reading it wrong?
I note that the Scandinavian Tyre and Rim Org is 6 of the big companies, not inc BFG.

I'm just awaiting my Chrimbo present, comes with cross-conti (not M+S),
and need to take it to Sweden in Jan!
 
Davedrover said:
@10
Anyone know why BFG AT are only applicable before October 2004 (see note 5)?
Or am I reading it wrong?
I note that the Scandinavian Tyre and Rim Org is 6 of the big companies, not inc BFG.

I'm just awaiting my Chrimbo present, comes with cross-conti (not M+S),
and need to take it to Sweden in Jan!
Click to expand...

Thought that Conti Cross Contact's were an M&S tyre? They're whats fitted to new Defenders as standard
 
To be honest you can't beat proper winter tyres with the different rubber compound, design etc such as a Nokian, Pirelli Sotto zero etc.
 
td4van said:
To be honest you can't beat proper winter tyres with the different rubber compound, design etc such as a Nokian, Pirelli Sotto zero etc.
Click to expand...

Continental WinterContact are great and consistently win tyres tests. Michelin Alpin are also very good. Loads out there that are good some not so. But all generally better than summer tyres in winter.
 
Has anyone any views on the differences between an M&S rated tyre against a full winter tyre?

I run a set of Continental 4x4 Contacts M&S rated tyres on my FL1. They have about 3.5mm tread left all round and worked well in the short bout of cold weather last year. I have an option on a set of Continental 4x4 Winter Contacts, part worn, 4.5mm all round and cheap too so debating given the projected worsening of the weather to take the plunge. Will they be significantly better or would I be better off getting a newer set of the current tyres to see me through winter and beyond?
 
Problem with both sets is they're getting low on tread for winter tyres, from what I researched when I was looking at winter tyres for a BMW I used to have, once they get about half worn, or down to about 4mm, they're not particularly good as the sipes generally don't go down to the full 1.6mm legal depth.
The more tread depth you have the better for snow clearance etc, shallow tread will just block up and lose traction as it'll just skip over the surface

M&S tyres on a Land Rover will be more than adequate for 90% of what you'll find in Britain
 
I will echo the above. You current tyres don't have enough traffic on them, and the cheap ones with 4.5mm only have 0.5mm left, whichbiscehyvyhey are che

Both sets will be nowhere near as good at getting rid of water and slush.

Best off with new ones. Cost you less in the long run.

My winters are on their 4th winter now. They were down to 6mm all round after 20,000 miles. So they will last this winter and maybe another one.
 
Thanks, the advice here is always valued and appreciated. In an ideal world I'd have put new rubber on all round given the degradation in performance as they near that 4mm mark, plus you can't put a price on safety. However a new set of Continentals would set me back around £600 to £700. A key factor is I'm unlikely to need the car after April so it's quite an investment for a short term gain.

So I've opted for part worn Continental 4x4 Winter Contacts (17"). I've picked up a tyre here and a tyre there, passed over a good few with uneven wear and done some hard haggling. I've managed to pick up 4 matching tyres for a smidgen over £100. I've two with 5mm tread which will be going on the rear and two which are bordering 4.5mm for the front.

I think it's a good compromise given how long I'll have the car and if they perform anywhere near the Continental 4x4 M&S Contacts then I'll be happy. Even with 3.5mm to 4mm they were a vast improvement over the cheaper tyres that came with the car, even though they had more tread.

Here's to a not too harsh New Year.
 
Thing is, when you come to sell the car, especially if you part ex, they'll just knock the cost of 4 tyres off the trade value, they generally work on anything 4mm and below as needing replacing. Could've got a decent set of new M&S road biased tyres for a good price, and got your money back for them on the sale value as well as a much better drive in bad weather.

Swings and roundabouts though
 
There's little value in the car anyway, it's a 2003 FL1 so I'm not convinced I'd have recouped the extra investment if I should part-ex it. I'm also not sure I could have got a decent set of M&S tyres for anywhere near the money I've spent. All-in with fitting and balancing I'm looking at £140.

The current Conti 4x4 Contacts replaced some budget tyres with 5mm+ of tread (Maxxis I think) as two were punctured, one of which couldn't be repaired. I wanted a very cheap matching set, M&S preferably so took the part-worn plunge. The difference with the Conti's was huge, even with around 4mm it felt like I had bags more grip and even on very wet motorways seemed to displace water far better. Had a good few days of use in the snow and they were great around the hilly and untreated part of Sheffield I live in, put other 'more capable' 4x4's to shame albeit I guess they were running summer tyres.

I figure the Conti Winters with a good amount of tread will more than adequately fulfill a short term need, assuming the temperature through January and beyond keeps falling.
 
winter compounds usually have a extra set of winter wear markers, once they are down to this they are no good for winter use, on my audi I run them for 2 winter seasons then wear them out into the summer till they are dead
 
SteNova said:
winter compounds usually have a extra set of winter wear markers, once they are down to this they are no good for winter use, on my audi I run them for 2 winter seasons then wear them out into the summer till they are dead
Click to expand...
Here in Sweden the winter wear limit is 3 mm (2mm in summer)
 
tread%20depth%201.jpg
 
Davedrover said:
@10
Anyone know why BFG AT are only applicable before October 2004 (see note 5)?
Or am I reading it wrong?
I note that the Scandinavian Tyre and Rim Org is 6 of the big companies, not inc BFG.

I'm just awaiting my Chrimbo present, comes with cross-conti (not M+S),
and need to take it to Sweden in Jan!
Click to expand...

BFG probably changed the compound to get better wear after then.

It IS a legal requirement to have winter approved tyres here in Sweden from Dec1st till Mar 31st. Trust me if you don't have at least M&S rubber you DO NOT want to be driving here if it snows. So far this year it has been pretty clear of snow and ice but that can change in a day. That and you will pick up a nice fine if the Polis spot you without winter tyres. Note that they do do spot checks for both alcohol. Note that alcohol limit here is almost 0. If you drink more than 1 small bottle of 2.8% "lättöl" you will get done in a big way. There is no tolerance for it here.:5bcheers2:
 
Portchy said:
BFG probably changed the compound to get better wear after then.

It IS a legal requirement to have winter approved tyres here in Sweden from Dec1st till Mar 31st. Trust me if you don't have at least M&S rubber you DO NOT want to be driving here if it snows. So far this year it has been pretty clear of snow and ice but that can change in a day. That and you will pick up a nice fine if the Polis spot you without winter tyres. Note that they do do spot checks for both alcohol. Note that alcohol limit here is almost 0. If you drink more than 1 small bottle of 2.8% "lättöl" you will get done in a big way. There is no tolerance for it here.:5bcheers2:
Click to expand...

Wish it were the same here!
 
I would like it here to be compulsory winter tyres and no grit/salt on the roads, with the money saved from no gritting used reduce the the vat on winter tyres
 
SteNova said:
I would like it here to be compulsory winter tyres and no grit/salt on the roads, with the money saved from no gritting used reduce the the vat on winter tyres
Click to expand...

Problem with no grit is that too many people in this country panic in bad weather, having said that, if they'd be kept indoors it'd be safer for everyone!

No doubt if this was proposed in Parliament there'd be demonstrations, protests and anger from many people who don't drive cars anyway
 
All this road salt can't be good for the environment either. It comes to something when you see coastal plants such as samphires growing on motorway central reservations.
 
Spacemonkey... said:
All this road salt can't be good for the environment either. It comes to something when you see coastal plants such as samphires growing on motorway central reservations.
Click to expand...

Neither is the rust that falls off the cars, which is caused by the salt!

Wonder how much longer tratters would last before starting to rust if there were no salt...might be at least 9 months now instead of rusting before the first owner takes delivery!
 
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