the winter tyre discussion

[Anonymous]

If youre going for chains, get the quick fit type with a plastic coated cable that goes behind the tyre. The ladder type are sh*t as you have to drive onto them, or if youre already stuck, jack the car up to get them on. Get a pair of work gloves too. The grey "on site" type are thermally rated and available from Tool Station and the like.

Any-one who has used chains will know that frozen paws come as standard, especially if you have them on and off several times in the working day.

Also they come in many sizes, for about 35 euros in french service stations. Get the right size, and some bungees to keep them taught. They have a habit of coming loose after a hundred meters or so, and removing paint quicker than brake fluid.

I remember a kiwi who worked for me when I ran a ski lodge in Bavaria. He travelled all the way from Hannover in a BMW 3 series with the chains on the front! We didnt take the p*ss, much! (fit them on the driven wheels!)

[aaronjb]

I remember a kiwi who worked for me when I ran a ski lodge in Bavaria. He travelled all the way from Hannover in a BMW 3 series with the chains on the front! We didnt take the p*ss, much! (fit them on the driven wheels!)

This was posted on another forum I frequent, just this morning:

[calaerial]

XD

Nice  s:-D :-D s:-D

[Anonymous]

I used snow chains this year on my fully laden Doblo van and works really well,van pulled up a steep hill with about 6" of snow without breaking a sweat.If anyone does buy some I would recommend some 3mm quicklinks for breakages.   m http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... _500wt_922 m

[reds]

so you guys wouldnt recommend running skinnier tyres in the winter (if you go down the 2 sets of wheels route)

Just keep the tyres stock size and run winter / snow tyres

[K T M Rider]

having done the last 2000 miles on winter tyres in stock sizes (in my skoda fabia tdi) I can promise you that the difference is like night and day, so I can't see the point in worrying about any theoretical advantage in going narrower.

Given that any winter tyre in the UK will be spending most of it's time in 'normal' (if cold) conditions surely there are many times when the grip offered by stock sizes would make much more sense.

Also, changing to narrower tyres (winter or not) will definitely require notifying your insurance company (with possible increased premium) every time you swap over. Keep to stock sizes on a second set of stock wheels (and preferably stock load & speed ratings) does not (in my opinion) make this necessary - if it did then in that case logic would also dictate that we would have to inform our insurers whenever we changed tyre brand.

[Anonymous]

I think the skinny tyres is rally thing. They use studded tyres, and try to cut down through the loose snow to grip the surface underneath. We are trying to find a tyre that doesnt go hard and waxy below freezing. I would say the same size tyre/wheel as standard is the best option.

[creamykiwi]

so Dad's just helped me dig my 2 out of the snow behind the flat... I'm intending to drive her home, slowly, on my normal tyres later today... I think if I can make it out of the estate in one piece the main roads should be just about ok by now  s:) s:)  Assuming I can avoid doing a Bambi-on-ice impression in the car park...

But really, enough with the snow already, I want to be able to drive properly with the roof down again  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[K T M Rider]

back in the days before big ugly 4x4s were all over the place, 'popular folklore' used to have it that the humble 2CV was a great snow car on account of it having tyres only slightly wider than yer average bicycle (actually 125 or 135 section) to slice through the snow.

If you are talking useless on snow summer tyres, then a 135 section tyre is going to be a much better bet than a 205, but if you are buying tyres designed for the purpose of driving ON snow, the same logic doesn't stack up.

Anyone want to try driving their '2' on 4 spacesavers and let us know how they get on ?   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

I want to be able to drive properly with the roof down again

speaking as someone who once rode a Kawasaki 750 from Leeds to York in a hailstorm, there's nothing stopping you putting the roof down..........  s:) s:)

[Anonymous]

Just came across this board while trying to find winter/all-season tires for my MR-2.  I have what is called in this country a Spyder, which I assume is the same as your Roadster (2-seater convertible, 1.8L engine, no luggage space to speak of).
We definitely have winter here in eastern Massachusetts (total yearly snowfalls anywhere from 6" to 100" during the past 10 years), and I've suffered through eight winters with the OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE040s.  I can understand why most of the Spyders imported to this country never made it out of California.
The MR-2 is my daily driver, so this year I decided to try to find something that would have more winter traction without messing up the great summer handling.  However, I soon found that the weird sizes Toyota put on the car severely limit my choices - indeed, none of the All-season or Winter tires that Consumer Reports has tested come in sizes that fit both ends!  I asked Toyota about changing sizes, or going up to 16" wheels, but they strongly recommended against either.
I have, however, discovered that Vredestein makes an all-season tire, the Quatrac 3, that does come in the right sizes.  Does anyone have any experience with them on an MR-2?  I assume they would be an improvement in the winter, but are they noticeably not as good as the Bridgestones in warmer weather?

[K T M Rider]

Just came across this board while trying to find winter/all-season tires for my MR-2.  I have what is called in this country a Spyder, which I assume is the same as your Roadster (2-seater convertible, 1.8L engine, no luggage space to speak of).

is sometimes considered a poor man's porsche boxster.......... some of em' like to drink oil...........i think we're talking the same car   s:) s:)  

not sure if anyone on here has tried the Quatrac on a '2' but you may find the following useful:

 m http://www.tyretest.com/summercar_tyres ... index.html m

 m http://www.tyretest.com/allseason_tyres ... index.html m

in short the average rating for the Quatrac is a little bit worse on dry braking and dry grip, which is what you would generally expect for an all season vs. a summer tyre.

Might be worth considering two sets of wheels, one with winter / all season tyres one with summer tyres.

If you went this route, you might want to consider The Michelin Exalto which rates higher than the potenza on dry braking / grip:

 m http://www.tyretest.com/summercar_tyres ... index.html m

As for myself, I just keep the '2' for the finer weather and chuck on el cheapo Kumho KU31s   s:) s:)

[Anonymous]

Thanks, KTM_RIDER - those test report sites are a terrific resource I didn't know about.
I've heard the "poor man's Porsche" comment before; once even a car salesman asked me, "Is that your Porsche?"  I've never had a problem with oil consumption, fortunately.
Unfortunately, we don't have the room to store a second set of wheels/tires, which is why I was hoping to find good all-season tires I could just leave on the car until they wear out.
I just contacted our local Vredestein dealer, who informed me that they have never made the Quatrac3s in 205/50x15 size, in spite of listing it on their web site!  I've queried Vredestein's US office; we'll see how this plays out.

[aaronjb]

You could always switch to 2003+ wheels - those are slightly wider 16" rears and slightly wider 15" fronts, and (from memory, anyway) there's more choice of tyres in those sizes..

Those sizes which I have, of course, completely forgotten now I come to try and tell you. D'oh. I'm having a senior moment...

[Anonymous]

Like your idea of driving on 4 space savers, KTM, Ive got 2 here if you want to try it. Must be legal I think. When I lived in Berlin, early 90s, a friend had his tyres knifed on a Golf. Dealer put him on 4 space savers till insurance coughed up. Looked wierd though.

[Anonymous]

Just to add to the confusion, anybody tried this stuff?
 m http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LIQUID-SNOW-CHAIN ... 5d2cbef385 m

[Mad Matt]

I can't say for the MR2 but our family hatch runs on thinner tyres in the winter (225s become 205s). It was amazing this morning, a 4x4 driver was sruggling to get the car moving and we could just drove round him in an ordinary hatch.

We've had a little over a foot of snow, on and off, and the winter tyres worked fine on that. I can't see the need for snow chains. They are easier to store but the winter tyres also give you better braking and more grip in the wet and cold (below 7C) so I think they're worth it if you intend to use the car for commuting, for example.

[K T M Rider]

Thanks, KTM_RIDER - those test report sites are a terrific resource I didn't know about.
I've heard the "poor man's Porsche" comment before; once even a car salesman asked me, "Is that your Porsche?"  I've never had a problem with oil consumption, fortunately.
Unfortunately, we don't have the room to store a second set of wheels/tires, which is why I was hoping to find good all-season tires I could just leave on the car until they wear out.
I just contacted our local Vredestein dealer, who informed me that they have never made the Quatrac3s in 205/50x15 size, in spite of listing it on their web site!  I've queried Vredestein's US office; we'll see how this plays out.

typical car salesman  - has little general car knowledge, it's all just product to shift.

I know that some tyre places in the UK will offer to store your summer tyres for you if you bought your winter tyres from them (and vice versa come the warmer months - you just pay for the changeovers and then ultimately the new tyres as you need them).

The last two places I have bought tyres from (both over the internet) both list a 205/50/15 Quatrac:

 m http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?d ... owigan=GAN m

 m http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... 05/50_R_15 m

but Mytyres (the first link) only seem to list the Quatrac 2 in this size - based on what your Vred dealer said perhaps it is only the Quatrac 2 that is actually available?

[Anonymous]

Thanks again.  The other problem with the winter/summer changeover is that I haven't been able to find half-decent winter tires at all that come in the OEM sizes for my car.

Vredestein's web page specifically lists 205/50 R 15 as available in the Quatrac 3, but no longer lists the Quatrac 2 at all.

The plot thickens!  I sent an e-mail to Vredestein at the address listed on their web site for the US, but  e mailto:postmaster@vredestein.com">postmaster@vredestein.com e  tells me it's "unable to connect successfully to the destination mail server"!

I've also asked Toyota if upgrading to the 16" rears that came on the 2003+ cars would be a possibility, but I fear that there were probably suspension mods that accompanied the change.

I have to say that this has been a very frustrating process.  I've been working on it for a month now, there's a slow leak in one of my Bridgestones, we're due upwards of 6" of snow by Monday afternoon, and I still don't have new tires!  Aaargh!

But - a joyous Christmas to all!

[Anonymous]

I and a few other have put the later 16" rear wheels on with no problems at all.

[Treboeth]

I and a few other have put the later 16" rear wheels on with no problems at all.

Bryan is there a problem the other way round  ie putting pre2003 15" on a facelift car for winter tyres?

[Anonymous]

Nope, no problem whatsoever. I had 15" wheels on my old MY03 car for both road and track use.

[Anonymous]

I and a few other have put the later 16" rear wheels on with no problems at all.

Bryan is there a problem the other way round  ie putting pre2003 15" on a facelift car for winter tyres?

The fronts are the same on all years,it's only the rears they changed.There should be no problem handling wise although depending on tyres your speedo may over read by a couple of mph but its not really a problem.

[K T M Rider]

Thanks again.  The other problem with the winter/summer changeover is that I haven't been able to find half-decent winter tires at all that come in the OEM sizes for my car.

neither of the stock rear sizes seem to offer many winter tyre options, so (if you can't get 205s) I think I would be considering some 195/50/15s for the rear to go with either the stock fronts or 175 fronts (to maintain stagger).

195/50/15 seems a common size even in winter or all season tyres - just had some fitted to my diesel hatch in this size.

Not much evidence of anyone using winter tyres on here on their '2', popular alternatives seem to be:

1) Leave it on the drive

2) drive like a scared granny

3) use Autosocks (see further up this thread)

but then we're not used to having proper winters over here yet   s:) s:)

hope you get sorted soon

[robsonic]

Yep...its the middle of summer but now's the time for me to start looking at winter time. Mine is post facelift and runs on the 16" rears, which in winter tyre sizes are alot more expensive than the 15". So is it safe to buy a 'winter set' of alloys in 185/55r15 fronts and 205/50r15 on the back instead of my 215/45r16 on the back and then fit winter tyres to them? Will down sizing be a problem?
Thanks.

[Steve Green]

Taking note of the location of some of the posters on this thread a lot depends on geography.
I am on the south coast and whilst winter tyres are fine when it snows it happens so rarely that I am not going to bother.
Those accross the water, whether west or east have very different winter conditions as do some brethern up'north.
In the UK, generally we have gritted and salted roads, on the continent particularly in some alpine areas it is a legal requirement to fit snow tyres.

Have any of you tried driving on a wet road with snow tyres, their compound is so hard its like driving on ice.

I must look out my snow chains and see if they will fit my rears. I know they wont fit on my 10" rears on my Supra TT.