Winter Tyre Recommendations?

[BahnStormer]

I'm after some recommendations for Winter tyres, please - I'll be out pretty much every day on ungritted country lanes early in the morning, etc... so the Yoko's aren't staying on - if for no other reason than the way they wear down ~40% faster <10C!!

I've got Dunlop Wintersport 5's on my Audi... not bad, but I wasn't blown away by them.

I've had Vredestein Wintrak Xtreme's on previous cars, but I don't think they do MR2 sizes... so I'm considering the Continental "Conti Winter Contact TS860"... they come highly recommended from various sources, but it's ~£400 for a set in stock FL sizes (185/55R15 and 215/45R16)... so thought it would be worth asking around!

Trying to think if I've seen anybody else running winters on their '2? @jvanzyl / @MrT ?

[jvanzyl]

Mine are kumhos... Much quieter than the T1 proxes.. never tried to really nail corners with them, suspect very soft sidewalls, don't know though...

Sent from my Moto G (5) using Tapatalk

[Joesson]

I believe someone else recently posted up there choice of winter tyres they had ordered, that they were Vredestein , i'll have a look.

[Joesson]

https://www.mr2roc.org/forum/index.php?topic=66418.msg782411#msg782411

Johnny5 ordered some allseason tyres, maybe not what you want if you live off piste.

[BahnStormer]

https://www.mr2roc.org/forum/index.php?topic=66418.msg782411#msg782411

Johnny5 ordered some allseason tyres, maybe not what you want if you live off piste.

Ta, but as soon as I'm driving in the warmth (and daylight) and wanting to "make good progress" again, I'll be putting the Yoko's back on... until then might as well go proper Winter tyres...

[McMr2]

Haven't run them on a 2 but had some 15" Nokian WR D4 on the other car and was very happy during the worst of winter. Quite soft but I think most tend to be.

[Johnny5]

Hi,
As mentioned above, I've just taken delivery of some Vredestein Quatrac 5 All Season tyres.  Getting them fitted on Friday, and will report my findings on the tyre thread.

I, too, considered Continental TS860 as well as Continental All Season Contact.  In the end I went for the Vreds.  I explain my reasons in the comments at the bottom of the following page.  I basically wanted to maximise subjective feel over and above outright snow performance: 

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2018-AMS-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm

[1979scotte]

I have used my Yoko AD08R all year road no problems with significantly more power than stock. Only time I regret it is when it's raining cats and dogs like it has lately.
Admittedly its not a daily.

[Chilli Girl]

I put brand new Falkens on Foxy when I brought him.  I can honestly say I'm well impressed. On Friday night I had to venture out in horrendous torrential rain and flooded roads, the tyres were excellent, obviously I was driving carefully due to the conditions but I can honestly say they behaved impeccably.   

[BahnStormer]

I have used my Yoko AD08R all year road no problems with significantly more power than stock. Only time I regret it is when it's raining cats and dogs like it has lately.
Admittedly its not a daily.

I did last year.... but regretted it afterwards as I'm sure they took a lot more damage in the winter months... plus I ended up using the Audi for about 2 months straight...

The plan is that this year I'm going to stick with the '2 pretty much every day and my commute is ~60 miles of untreated country lanes each day as the motorways aren't really a backup plan any more as they're effectively closed during rush hour until about 2022.

[BahnStormer]

I put brand new Falkens on Foxy when I brought him.  I can honestly say I'm well impressed. On Friday night I had to venture out in horrendous torrential rain and flooded roads, the tyres were excellent, obviously I was driving carefully due to the conditions but I can honestly say they behaved impeccably.   

Was that Falken Euroall season AS210 or Falken Eurowinter HS01? Or were you talking about summer tyres? It's too early in the year to worry about losing grip due to the cold, even if you're in the North... today was roof down, no jacket and we're going to see nearly 20C later this week.... I'm more worried for the winter snap and what those country lanes will be like ~0C (or if it snows again!!)...

[BahnStormer]

In case it wasn't obvious, but main sources for info are the TyreReviews.co.uk website (e.g. Bild Winter Tyre Test) and their YouTube channel.

I was originally going for the Continental All Season tyres, but the TS860's are so good in the wet and similar to most of the all season tyres in the dry, so they didn't seem to be that much of a compromise considering they're a full winter tyre... although if it snows properly, I'll probably take the Audi anyway, but more for ground clearance rather than the quattro

[Joesson]

Ground clearance is of the utmost importance in deep snow, if the tyres don't touch something firm it matters not what tyres your on.
Alternatively, consider a splitter and plough your way through in your 2 

[BahnStormer]

Ground clearance is of the utmost importance in deep snow, if the tyres don't touch something firm it matters not what tyres your on.
Alternatively, consider a splitter and plough your way through in your 2 

I find the rear diffuser on the Audi means it's unstoppable in reverse: going forward it struggles in much more than ~10 inches of powder.... but in reverse, 18 inches or more is absolutely fine.

[Joesson]

Many a true word spoken in jest

PS. I really do hope you don't find 10 /18 inches of snow in Surrey this winter, we are in the middle bit and is typically colder here.

[BahnStormer]

Home counties get some pretty special snow fall, but not around where I am in SW London, this is more for commuting out into Sussex/Surrey/Herts/Beds/Bucks.

If I'm doing supply runs for elderly relatives, then I'll take the Audi - I think they'd be pretty p!ssed off if I turn up with "supplies", but only what I could fit in the MR2 storage bins!

The day of "18 inches of snow" was more due to wind and lie of the land than actual snow fall... but it was my mother-in-law's driveway out in Sussex / South Downs. Her Corsa wasn't going anywhere and her neighbour's Range Rover made it out the garage and down their drive and was then promptly abandoned... apparently four wheel drive is no use if you're on 20" wheels and summer tyres  (:< > (some people never listen!!)

My parents are in NW Herts and if anywhere in the South is getting snow, then it's the Chiltern Hills due to it being decently inland and the sudden elevation, so whichever direction the snow is heading, it seems to drop there. But they've got a Q5 on winter wheels anyway.

[james_ly]

It might be cheaper to buy PFL tyre sizes? I bought a set of 15" wheels for £50, then you can buy the smaller rear tyres?

[BahnStormer]

It might be cheaper to buy PFL tyre sizes? I bought a set of 15" wheels for £50, then you can buy the smaller rear tyres?

I thought about that, but I was concerned about changing the size too much - either up or down.

What are the stock rear tyre sizes on that? I couldn't find any 15" tyres in anything from 205-225 width, 45-50 profile... the closest I could get a good brand at was 195/55R15.... only 2.5% larger.... but 10% narrrow, but that's the wrong type of driving excitement I'm looking for this winter.... or 205/60R15 would be a closer match and they're 5% larger than the stock FL tyres... but not great on a car that's lowered.

I managed to get a set of wheel (with "good tyres") for <£200 and the TS860's are looking like being ~£400.

[Joesson]

I do hope you find plenty of snow this winter to get a good pay back.

[BahnStormer]

I do hope you find plenty of snow this winter to get a good pay back.

Snow not required: this is just for the icy lanes in the early mornings!

It only has to be zero degrees and keep me out of a ditch once for it to be worth it in one go... plus it stops my even more expensive Yoko's getting shredded on every junction - they get really brittle and like other summer tyres, they start to wear a lot faster when it gets <7C....

When we had that mini cold snap a couple of weeks ago, I was sliding the back out of every junction and corner.... Yoko's at <5C make ~5mm of tread feel like ditchfinders with 1mm tread... for every bit of utterly bizarre grip levels of grip that they manage to find in the warm and dry, they seem to lose with interest as soon as it gets chilly. Very wet is fine (and fun!), but cold and wet is just silly.

In a much less "what if..." scenario: I can almost justify it on petrol alone - it costs me ~£6 a day in petrol MORE to use my Audi vs the MR2.... so if I can use the MR2 for the worst two months of winter this year (46 working days) and the same again next year on these tyres, then it has paid for itself already (~100 days @ £6 per day is more than I paid for the wheels and tyres together).... and I'd be pretty certain that a set of good winters will run for 3-4 months of the year for 3-4 years or so (10k-15k miles).

And that is just petrol. Completely excludes how much more the Audi costs to insure on higher mileage or the rate that the Audi eats tyres (and those are at @ £800-£1100* a set for the winter tyres - Dunlop WinterSport 3D)...

*depending if I buy them from Pneus-Online (just under £200 a corner) or split yet another tyre 100yds from my Audi garage and roll it in there (for £275 a corner)...

[Joesson]

OK you've convinced me!
Snow you can see and make allowance, ice can be very patchy and can be almost invisible. Your option, the Audi,  puts into perspective how low cost our 2's can be. I say "can be as there are those that do like to "treat" their 2's.
I really don't miss having to drive to work, wherever that took me, on a cold and dark winter morning.
So I will amend my previous post:
I do hope that you don't have to make too many supply runs to your relatives.

[bigjeff5591]

Anyone going down the winter tyre route - I have a set of PFL wheels - free to a good home (or donation to club funds would be nice) collection only, located in Crewe.

[Chilli Girl]

I put brand new Falkens on Foxy when I brought him.  I can honestly say I'm well impressed. On Friday night I had to venture out in horrendous torrential rain and flooded roads, the tyres were excellent, obviously I was driving carefully due to the conditions but I can honestly say they behaved impeccably.   

Was that Falken Euroall season AS210 or Falken Eurowinter HS01? Or were you talking about summer tyres? It's too early in the year to worry about losing grip due to the cold, even if you're in the North... today was roof down, no jacket and we're going to see nearly 20C later this week.... I'm more worried for the winter snap and what those country lanes will be like ~0C (or if it snows again!!)...

Yeh, summer tyres I think.  They are called ZE914's.  Great tyres but probably not what your're after.

[Johnny5]

Loving my new all season tyres!  They make the car feel so secure.  Car just feels planted.  What most amazes me, is that they actually feel sportier and more communicative than the summers I've just taken off.  Think I've found the sportiest cold weather tyre there is.

For anyone not daily running their 2, separate cold weather tyres would be plain unnecessary.  Just stick to summers and drive to the conditions.  But, being self-employed and needing to rely on the car (my only vehicle) 24/7/365, and this being my first ever car with the engine in the back, I'm really pleased I did it.

[BahnStormer]

Loving my new all season tyres!  They make the car feel so secure.  Car just feels planted.  What most amazes me, is that they actually feel sportier and more communicative than the summers I've just taken off.  Think I've found the sportiest cold weather tyre there is.

For anyone not daily running their 2, separate cold weather tyres would be plain unnecessary.  Just stick to summers and drive to the conditions.  But, being self-employed and needing to rely on the car (my only vehicle) 24/7/365, and this being my first ever car with the engine in the back, I'm really pleased I did it.

Wow! What summer tyres did you have before?!?