Studded winter tyres and old age (1 Viewer)

[EuroTrotters]

Surprised about your comment the wear rate of 4 season tyres. I have winter tyres on my van not noticed any wear rate difference over summer tyres. Quite a few of us on the forum run winter tyres without any problems.

I'm wondering if 4 season & winter tyres depending on the area they are supplied to have different compounds.

Or me.

And I’ve run fleets on winter tyres for almost 40 years. They were hard to get in the UK BAck then.

Only one winter tyre I ran on a VW T5 was really bad, Nokian !

 

[Lenny HB]

Only been in a car with studded tyres as a passenger in Sweden. Talk about scary being driven on ice an snow like you would drive on normal roads.

 

[Northern Boy]

Only been in a car with studded tyres as a passenger in Sweden. Talk about scary being driven on ice an snow like you would drive on normal roads.

You get used to it as you can feel the tyres and studs biting into the surface. Now, its not the same as dry tarmac by any means and after 4 winters I am still getting used to it, however watching the locals change lanes on the motorway when the whole road is ice and there are ruts to climb in and out of at 90 KPH still get my heart beating. Our highway speed limits change in the winter months, summer 110 or 120 KPH and winter 90 KPH.

Other advantages we have here, is most of Estonia is as flat as a pancake, the roads are wide, mainly straight, there is very little traffic as our population is small. 99% of drivers are aware and experienced in these conditions. There is no doubt that if we did not have winter tyres then life would not be the same as it is.

In the UK you can still go out in your car in the snow or icy conditions with summer tyres on, here its illegal. I believe I am correct in saying that In Germany for example and other EU countries the tyres are your choice, but if the conditions are harsh then only those with winter or all season tyres are allowed on the roads. If you still have summer tyres on you have to leave your car in the drive or garage.

Look for the three peaks and snowflake emblem, don't be fooled by M&S written on tyres. I know the video below is a USA production and aimed at SUV's but its good in the way it explains the difference between M&S and Threepeak/snowflake tyres. Now my cross climate car tyres have the three peaks and snowflake emblem and I can tell you its not good enough in Nordic winter conditions. So in some locations you just have to buy your tyres locally and trust the local tyre shop to put the right shoes on your vehicle.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Garfields]

While most people run winters to help them get moving it's the improved steering and stopping that are the real benefits.

 

[John Russell]

I spent a couple of weeks driving studded tyres on icy roads in Hokkaido. They still skid if you're careless, and some of the locals fly past at speeds I wouldn't dare.

I'll be buying winter tyres for the Clou's rear (drive) wheels - I've already got a pair of Continental Scandinavian LS3s for the front - and I'm wondering whether to get a set of Continental Scandis (winter tyres) for the rear or would the newer 3PMSF all-season tyres cope with difficult conditions. Heavy snow, hardpacked, hills and hairpins.

Winter tyres should handle it, but will the all season tyres? Being able to use the tyres all year round saves having two sets and changing them, but I'd rather not have to fit chains if the tyres can't cope. My previous RWD car only once got stuck on worn summer tyres, but it was frequently a sketchy drive so all-season tyres would probably have been ok for that.

@LennyHB Which winter tyres did you use? Anybody else run all-season or winter tyres on a RWD motorhome in tricky conditions?

 

[CazPaul]

Surprised about your comment the wear rate of 4 season tyres. I have winter tyres on my van not noticed any wear rate difference over summer tyres. Quite a few of us on the forum run winter tyres without any problems.

I'm wondering if 4 season & winter tyres depending on the area they are supplied to have different compounds.

Some winter tyres wear quicker than others, our continental Vanco winter 2 tyres wore quicker than these Toyo H09 winter tyres.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[funflair]

I spent a couple of weeks driving studded tyres on icy roads in Hokkaido. They still skid if you're careless, and some of the locals fly past at speeds I wouldn't dare.

I'll be buying winter tyres for the Clou's rear (drive) wheels - I've already got a pair of Continental Scandinavian LS3s for the front - and I'm wondering whether to get a set of Continental Scandis (winter tyres) for the rear or would the newer 3PMSF all-season tyres cope with difficult conditions. Heavy snow, hardpacked, hills and hairpins.

Winter tyres should handle it, but will the all season tyres? Being able to use the tyres all year round saves having two sets and changing them, but I'd rather not have to fit chains if the tyres can't cope. My previous RWD car only once got stuck on worn summer tyres, but it was frequently a sketchy drive so all-season tyres would probably have been ok for that.

@LennyHB Which winter tyres did you use? Anybody else run all-season or winter tyres on a RWD motorhome in tricky conditions?

Morning John

Your tyre choice will be quite different to ours or most others on here with RWD chassis jongood excepted of course, the Daily 7.49t chassis runs 16" rims and essentially light commercial tyres, over 16" you are into truck tyres and you mention the Continental Scandi's https://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/truck/media-services/newsroom/20210923-winter-tyres the 3PMSF that you mention is a winter tyre marking but could be marketed on a "all seasons" or "winter" tyre depending primarily on the rubber compound I believe with the "winter" being the softest of course, with the lower mileages that motorhomes cover relative to trucks a number of people choose to run "winter" tyres all year round.

Our Palace has Conti fourseasons 3PMSF at 16".

 

[Lenny HB]

Some winter tyres wear quicker than others, our continental Vanco winter 2 tyres wore quicker than these Toyo H09 winter tyres.

Our Toyo Observe Van have only done about 6000 mile still look like new certainly not waring as fast as the crap Michelin campers the van came with.

 

[Otter Spotter]

During the 70s whilst in the Police I used to drive short wheelbase landies around Saddleworth, they had nobbly tyres fitted all year.
In winter we used to drive on all the moorland tracks and roads even though then we had 6 to 8 foot of snow on the Pennines. I only got stuck once in a drift and had to be dragged out by the other Landie.
We loved to drive at top speed into the new drifts on the A62 to dig a route through help rescue people stuck near the Floating Light Pub. All great fun and we got paid for it.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[John Russell]

Thanks Martin, Paul, Lenny, I hadn't considered running winter tyres all year round but it will help with the storage.

I was originally going to get the Continental Scandis winter tyres - the only dedicated winter tyres I considered - but they're now £50+ dearer. I got a front pair last year and they look good, sticky rubber, but held off on the rears. So I've got a choice between the Scandis or an all-weather rear tyre. Anything with the 3PMSF logo gets categorised as a winter tyre, although most are all-season.

Reading through a couple of German-language forums brought up some more info which answered my questions.

On the 'liner' forum, owners of larger rear wheel drive vehicles say their all-season tyres are working well in snow and it seems that all-season tyres have improved in recent years. Elsewhere, lighter FWD motorhomes are using dedicated winter tyres, and having problems with all-season 3PMSF tyres in poor conditions.

Going through the tyres, we have one here for the Toyo Observe Van - 16" max again unfortunately!

Lots of Morelo Palace owners are pleased with the winter performance of the factory-fitted all-season Continental Vanco Four Season 2 (225/75 R16 I think) in difficult conditions: "I drove in the snow where others simply could no longer drive." What a pity they're not available in 235/75 R17.5!

Someone with a set of Continental Hybrid all-season tyres likes them in snow - that's probably the closest to the Vanco but I think the design is a few years older.

Bridgestone is surprisingly popular, lots of favourable reports. A few users on the 'liner' forum suggest Bridgestone M729 drive tyres - the last few sets of which are currently available in Germany at a substantial discount. Another is very pleased with their full set of Bridgestone M788 Evo (probably M788 though, due to size) tyres for steering and drive; they're described as winter tyres on the front according to Bridgestone but only available in a few large sizes.

The M729 has recently been replaced by the R-Drive 002 which rates two grades better for efficiency and wet grip than the rest. Bridgestone describe these as all-season tyres with the 3PMSF logo and nobody's commented on them yet.

All these tyres are 3PMSF all-season tyres, on RWD vans, and all around £250.

I'll go for the M729s if I can get a set at the bargain price, otherwise the R-Drive 002s look like the best choice and I can use them all year round.

Happy to consider any other contenders based on experience.

John

 

[dazandandrea]

Maybe a silly question but would it be ok to just use winter tyres on the drive wheels ?

 

[Northern Boy]

Maybe a silly question but would it be ok to just use winter tyres on the drive wheels ?

I don't know the correct answer but here in the Baltics that would be illegal. Being the 1st December all cars must have winter tyres on all wheels from today, and as we have 10cm of fresh snow and its minus 12 c tonight I am pleased to have winter tyres with metal studs on all my wheels. And before anyone asks, yes you can buy studded tyres for your push bike too

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[John Russell]

It's not a good idea. The other end will slide much sooner.

If you've RWD, you're liable to come off on corners. If FWD, fishtailing.

If you Google there are YouTube demos of the consequences.

 

[dazandandrea]

Thats fair enough, just curios as ive got no experience whatsoever with them.
Thanks

 

[Garfields]

Maybe a silly question but would it be ok to just use winter tyres on the drive wheels ?

As said above not a good idea

I did try it one winter as only two of the four ordered had arrived
Was interesting

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Northern Boy]

Tried out the studded winter tyres today, its -19c the snow has been packed down for a few days and there is a nice sheen in places. Managed to pull a wheel spin in second gear so quite slippery.

All in all I am impressed, it feels OK, possibility a little better than the car with studded tyres. One problem...

Toilet opening handle frozen so cant use the potty

 

[Badknee]

Snow chains are just evil
Even the easy fit ones are a challenge and the ones you get with hire cars for the Alps airports are really nasty
Sold the last set I had last winter (they didn't fit current car) and not planning to get others.
If it's bad enough to need them I'm not going out
Most winters I don't really need the winter tyres but they are nice to have where we are

Only ever used them once, hadn’t a clue. Ended up taking the wheel off to suss out how they worked, the other side was easier…….. but not much

 

[glenn2926]

Only ever used them once, hadn’t a clue. Ended up taking the wheel off to suss out how they worked, the other side was easier…….. but not much


View attachment 564298

I’ve fitted them many times but only on the fire appliances, never on a car. The first time is a bit fiddly but once you’ve done it a time or two it’s fairly easy to do.
I once had the lads in the back fitting them to my fire appliance whilst sliding very slowly down a hill with the wheels locked. That was a Little scary but we got away with it and managed to attend the call.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}