Tyres! Winter or All Season?

[Rory]

When I had my HRV I put two Winters on the front....

It's supposed to be very dodgy to do that as you end up with the back of the car overtaking you.   

It's OK to put two on the back of a RWD car.

[richardfrost]

Well I looked into that a lot, as previously I had always gone with four. There was a whole lot of conflicting advice out there. But the final arbiter was my tyre shop. He didn't want to sell me four. Said it was pointless. Now he had skin in the game so I decided to go with his advice.

[guest6489]

My '11 ES has Michelin Energy tyres, they are fine in the dry, but on any roads that are damp and wetter make the car very under-steery and are useless in the snow. Not going to bother with full winter tyres but something better in the wet would be preferrable. What do panel suggest?

[John A]

All season ones, and the Vredestein Quadtrac 5 got the best reviews for the wheels size on my car.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/92863/all-season-tyre-test-20172018-top-all-weather-tyres-tested for example

[123Drive!]

Or Nexen N'BLUE 4s if you are on a budget. I use Nexen N'Priz 4s and during the last 3 days, have been brilliant.

[coffeecup]

I just stay in !!!

[madasafish]

Blackcircles have a "£25 off 4 x Michelin Cross Climate" offer. Destroyed one tire in puncture so ordered four - to be fitted next week £303 all in.

[culzean]

Just taken my winter Nokians off and put my shiny alloys back on.

I noticed wear bars with a snowflake on them that were taller than normal wear bars so I googled it.  Seems like 4mm in minimum tread depth on winters where they are mandatory for efficient grip in snow,  can't find any information for all season tyres but if 4mm is minimum for proper winter tyres I guess all season will lose their efficient grip in snow earlier.  Anyone have any information on this ?

[sparky Paul]

I believe it's to do with snow compacting in the grooves.

Winter tyres in particular deal with snow by the soft compound compressing the snow in the treads, so that it can be released and thrown clear when the tyre rotates. If the tread depth is too shallow, this compression doesn't work and the snow actually sticks in the tread, significantly reducing traction.

Presumably, all season tyres are made from a harder compound, and rely on this action less, but I would imagine it would still have some impact.

Basically, bald tyres are not good in snow... I think we can work that bit out, but there is a technical reason why it's recommended that winter tyres should be changed at 4mm.