They are compulsory here too. They give a slightly stiffer ride, and they are also said to increase fuel consumption, although it's marginal. They do work though.
But. They are said to work effectively when the temperature is below 7C. So in London half the "winter " you would actually have the wrong tyres. If you lived in rural North Yorkshire, it could be worth it, but London, can't see it myself.
I stick em on my car between October and April/May, but I live in Edmonton Alberta. They do make a massive difference in the snow and ice vs the summer tyres people drive on all year round in the UK. I have 4x4 now, but even on my old front wheel drive car I never came close to getting stuck when I had my winters on.
They are supposed to work better than summer tyres below 7°C regardless of whether it is dry, wet or snowy but the difference is most notable in the snow and ice. If you absolutely need to be able to keep your car moving regardless of weather then they might be worth the money in the UK, but if you can afford to be possibly stuck at home for a couple of days a year then maybe less worth it.
Some people drive all year round here on what are called all-season tyres, but they are not really designed for the extreme winters we get here. They would probably be a better tyre for the UK than full summers though.
You could look at something like the Vrdestein Quatrac which is designed as an all season but also carries the snowflake mark so is certified as a proper winter tyre. I have a buddy here who ran his old FWD car on them without issue. I had their Snowtrac tyre which was awesome. I believe Hankook also makes something similar to the Quatrac.
Pros: much, much better in cold wet, snowy conditions (in theory below about 7 degrees C); your summer tyres last much longer. Some so-called high-performance summer tyres (eg Pirelli P Zero Rosso) really are not very good at all in poor winter weather. Some eg Bridgestone Potenza RE050A RFT are actually not designed for winter use! (BMWs going slide about in the winter maybe not just because of their rear-wheel drive?)
I would also add, they tend to be noisier (although the Bridgstone Blizzak's I'm currently using are pretty close to summers) and as the rubber is softer they wear faster. If you live in a colder climate and can only afford one set of tyres Bridgestine actually recommends that that you run winters all year round as they are better in the summer than summers are in the winter, but you would get through the tyres much faster.
At the moment I have Bridgestones and the Missus has Toyos which are both very good, the Toyos probably better grip but noisier. I would have gor Vrdesteins again but they were hard to get hold of in the right size.
Was just thinking about this and London. When I was over at Christmas I was reminded of the one common hazard - black ice, due to the moist air and of course that nobody would bother to treat the roads unless there was a full on blizzard. I don't think winter tyres can help you with black ice - or maybe I'm wrong?
Had a set on a 4x4 as I need to navigate unmade roads and slopes and have been snowed in, but doubt you would notice the improved performance just because it's cold or icy. Didn't seem to give any more grip on ice. Have not bothered with a set on my current AWD, but probably would if I had 2 wheel drive. So unless you are worried specifically about being snowed in I wouldn't bother.
I'm guessing @WayneK is running something like this on his Ralliart! So winter tyres might be a good option.... (Mind you I did meet a mad Scot who used something similar all-year round on a Griffith 500 - that was brave!)
They absolutely do help on ice in my experience. You get better traction off the line but more importantly better breaking response and stability. Ice is however an inherently slippery and treacherous substance and studless tyres are never going to give you dry tarmac like traction on ice, it's just not possible so there will always be possibility it'll just let go on you. If you adjust your driving to the conditions though, good winter tyres will be less likely to give up on ice than non-winter tyres. If it's properly icy you will still find yourself locking up occasionally and sliding around a bit, but it'll be easier to control and correct.
They absolutely do help on ice in my experience. You get better traction off the line but more importantly better breaking response and stability. Ice is however an inherently slippery and treacherous substance and studless tyres are never going to give you dry tarmac like traction on ice, it's just not possible so there will always be possibility it'll just let go on you. If you adjust your driving to the conditions though, good winter tyres will be less likely to give up on ice than non-winter tyres. If it's properly icy you will still find yourself locking up occasionally and sliding around a bit, but it'll be easier to control and correct.
I experimented in a frozen car park, I wanted to see if they helped prevent a 4 wheel slide and didn't need to do much to induce one. Didn't particularly try straight line accelerating and braking, so not doubting what you say, but I think you need studs to make a real difference on ice (not sure if they are legal here). Snow tyres work by having a tread that gathers a layer of snow like when you roll a snowball, because snow against snow gives more grip than rubber against snow. The rubber has a better grip at low temperatures in the wet, so think it is true to say they are really designed for snow and the cold, and improved performance on ice is marginal.
I use them and they are excellent, I never buy good brand tyres though because they are sometimes worse then budget ones, the continentals on mine were crap, I paid 70 quid for 18 inch tyres, not that expensive.
I've used snow chains to good effect in the past (abroad)
They are only for use at very low speed of course (so, on reflection, perfect for Eltham), but on this subject has anyone tried snow socks rather than chains?
I would never ever bother, I work in a tyre garage.
Well that's odd, much better on the roads in winter, if you get caught out in snow you won't get stuck and you won't burn 2 years worth of clutch in 30 minutes.
I live in the mountains, lots of snow all year round (OK maybe not July) - use All Season tyres on a 4wd - works fine for me even in the direst conditions. It's not so much the tyre but the person behind the wheel that counts....
If you fit them, you must tell your insurance company. Some insurers don't like them because they feel you will take more risks if you have them fitted.
They absolutely do help on ice in my experience. You get better traction off the line but more importantly better breaking response and stability. Ice is however an inherently slippery and treacherous substance and studless tyres are never going to give you dry tarmac like traction on ice, it's just not possible so there will always be possibility it'll just let go on you. If you adjust your driving to the conditions though, good winter tyres will be less likely to give up on ice than non-winter tyres. If it's properly icy you will still find yourself locking up occasionally and sliding around a bit, but it'll be easier to control and correct.
I experimented in a frozen car park, I wanted to see if they helped prevent a 4 wheel slide and didn't need to do much to induce one. Didn't particularly try straight line accelerating and braking, so not doubting what you say, but I think you need studs to make a real difference on ice (not sure if they are legal here). Snow tyres work by having a tread that gathers a layer of snow like when you roll a snowball, because snow against snow gives more grip than rubber against snow. The rubber has a better grip at low temperatures in the wet, so think it is true to say they are really designed for snow and the cold, and improved performance on ice is marginal.
Did you do a comparison in the same car and car park with summer tyres? Not trying to sound smartarse, genuinely interested.
Last January when I bought my new car, for various reasons, I ended up driving through the winter with the OEM All-Seasons. As Oaky suggests, in a 4x4 and with some skill from the driver they are basically fine and I didn't have any real issues. However even in my shiny new Jeep I did find the car was a bit more twitchy sometimes and less responsive to steering inputs than my beat-up old Ford Taurus saloon had been on full winters. I personally put a lot of stock into having good tyres on your vehicle as ultimately they have more say over your level of control of the vehicle than pretty much anything else fitted to the car. I figure if a safe driver is safe on all-seasons then they should be even safer on winters. So this year I bought a set of winters which amongst other technologies are supposed to have micro particles embedded in the rubber which provide lots of tiny biting edges to dig into and help grip on ice. I think it helps and the car handles better this year vs last, but like I already said, ice is bloody slippery stuff and there's only so much you can do without metal studs, which are actually aren't allowed here.
That is of course the perspective from a city where it can be below zero for months at a time and below -20°C for a week or 2 at a time. It's also worth bearing in mind that the all-seasons sold as summer tyres in Canada are different to the full summer tyres sold in the UK for all year round use. What we call all-seasons incorporate some of the tread pattern design etc that go into a full winter, so have certain amount of utility in snow, but don't use the cold temperature rubber. They'd actually probably be an excellent tyre for British conditions but for some reason are not what is sold.
My office window overlooks the car park and I often see visitors, in 2WD cars, really struggling to get out on compacted snow and ice and I have never come close to being stuck in any of my own vehicles.
If you fit them, you must tell your insurance company. Some insurers don't like them because they feel you will take more risks if you have them fitted.
They really are a bunch of crooks. Do they think the Germans all go mad on the autobahns on their winter tyres?
If you fit them, you must tell your insurance company. Some insurers don't like them because they feel you will take more risks if you have them fitted.
They really are a bunch of crooks. Do they think the Germans all go mad on the autobahns on their winter tyres?
Idiots shooting themselves in the foot more like - I had one accident in the UK for which I was partially at fault and that was at 10 mph in the snow when my brakes locked up and so did an oncoming vehicles and we both slid into each other. I can guarantee that accident would not have happened if just one of us had been on snow tyres and our insurances companies would not have had to deal with claims. If they're genuinely discouraging people from buying them for that reasons they're morons.
I use them and they are excellent, I never buy good brand tyres though because they are sometimes worse then budget ones, the continentals on mine were crap, I paid 70 quid for 18 inch tyres, not that expensive.
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But. They are said to work effectively when the temperature is below 7C. So in London half the "winter " you would actually have the wrong tyres. If you lived in rural North Yorkshire, it could be worth it, but London, can't see it myself.
In hindsight I probably wish I hadn't bothered.
They are supposed to work better than summer tyres below 7°C regardless of whether it is dry, wet or snowy but the difference is most notable in the snow and ice. If you absolutely need to be able to keep your car moving regardless of weather then they might be worth the money in the UK, but if you can afford to be possibly stuck at home for a couple of days a year then maybe less worth it.
Some people drive all year round here on what are called all-season tyres, but they are not really designed for the extreme winters we get here. They would probably be a better tyre for the UK than full summers though.
You could look at something like the Vrdestein Quatrac which is designed as an all season but also carries the snowflake mark so is certified as a proper winter tyre. I have a buddy here who ran his old FWD car on them without issue. I had their Snowtrac tyre which was awesome. I believe Hankook also makes something similar to the Quatrac.
Cons: you need a new set of wheels; storage space; putting up with bogus TPS messages (or buying more sensors?); down south really only helpful for a few days a year (more if you drive a lot a night); and if non-standard spec wheels maybe have to tell your insurers (some insurers have been odd about them - see attached list) https://abi.org.uk/~/media/Files/Documents/Publications/Public/Migrated/Motor/ABI%20guide%20to%20winter%20tyres%20The%20motor%20insurance%20commitment.pdf
Vrdesteins are very well thought of.
At the moment I have Bridgestones and the Missus has Toyos which are both very good, the Toyos probably better grip but noisier. I would have gor Vrdesteins again but they were hard to get hold of in the right size.
Better on ice too.
Last January when I bought my new car, for various reasons, I ended up driving through the winter with the OEM All-Seasons. As Oaky suggests, in a 4x4 and with some skill from the driver they are basically fine and I didn't have any real issues. However even in my shiny new Jeep I did find the car was a bit more twitchy sometimes and less responsive to steering inputs than my beat-up old Ford Taurus saloon had been on full winters. I personally put a lot of stock into having good tyres on your vehicle as ultimately they have more say over your level of control of the vehicle than pretty much anything else fitted to the car. I figure if a safe driver is safe on all-seasons then they should be even safer on winters. So this year I bought a set of winters which amongst other technologies are supposed to have micro particles embedded in the rubber which provide lots of tiny biting edges to dig into and help grip on ice. I think it helps and the car handles better this year vs last, but like I already said, ice is bloody slippery stuff and there's only so much you can do without metal studs, which are actually aren't allowed here.
That is of course the perspective from a city where it can be below zero for months at a time and below -20°C for a week or 2 at a time. It's also worth bearing in mind that the all-seasons sold as summer tyres in Canada are different to the full summer tyres sold in the UK for all year round use. What we call all-seasons incorporate some of the tread pattern design etc that go into a full winter, so have certain amount of utility in snow, but don't use the cold temperature rubber. They'd actually probably be an excellent tyre for British conditions but for some reason are not what is sold.
My office window overlooks the car park and I often see visitors, in 2WD cars, really struggling to get out on compacted snow and ice and I have never come close to being stuck in any of my own vehicles.