Winter Tyres...... advice and thoughts from owners please?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chockswahay
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Chockswahay

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I am looking for new tyres on my Fiat PVC Globecar Globescout and I have in mind fitting winter tyres. I have re read many threads on the forum and I am probably more confused than ever:eek:

Can anyone give any 'real world' advice please based on their actual experience?

I want: Quality, Safety, and Low noise. I am quite happy to move away from 'camping tyres' ( I have Continental CP tyres at the moment that have lasted over 23000 miles on the front, back still plenty of tread). I average 12000 miles per year so 'van' tyres will be just fine.

Have you changed from either 'Summer' to 'Winter' tyres or perhaps from one brand to another.

I don't want cheap non branded tyres, I am happy to pay for quality.

Lastly, my understanding is that proper true 'winter' tyres must be marked 'M+S' and have the 'Snowflake'

Many thanks :)
 
We are running Continental fourseasons 2, as the name suggests NOT just a winter tyre but all year with the full snowflake and mountain logo so no problem in countries where you have to run snow tyres, they have a good load rating and if anything have a better ride than the previous Michelin Agilis81/camping tyres and no noise to speak of. Not been in the snow with them but certainly made a good impression in a muddy field.

I think the marking of a proper winter tyre is the Snowflake and mountain log rather that just M+S (Michelin camping are M+S)

Not cheap but I would buy them again.
 
We have Yokohama A534 All Season van tyres.
They are on all year round, great on muddy rally fields, fantastic on Alpine snow. We rarely use the snow chains.
Noise levels are a little higher but mpg isn't affected.

The tyres are m+s and snowflake/mountain marked.
 
I have always had Continental Vanco C tyres on the Hymer and have been satisfied with them (225 70 R15 C 110/112). Following a couple of punctures in Italy and France in September (they were due for replacement anyway as they were 6 years old) I decided to swap all four. In October I replaced them with Vanco Winter 2 (M&S Snowflake marked). So far, we have only done one long trip up to N Yorks at the end of last year.
The new tyres certainly feel secure and the noise level was noticeably lower than with the old ones. I think this is normal when any new tyres are fitted as it shows how noisy tyres get towards the end of life as the compound hardens and the tread gets shallow. Regarding a reliable noise rating, compare tyre labels as they have to show relative noise levels nowadays.
There is enough test evidence to show that winter tyres are a significant factor in improved safety at low temperatures (braking and skid resistance). Before having them fitted, I talked to the technical department at Continental who confirmed that they would be perfectly suitable for year-round use on a motorhome. Wear may be a little faster in summer than on an all-season or summer tyre, but early wear is seldom a problem for a motorhome tyre anyway. Age usually catches up with them first.
On my experience to date I would recommend the Conti Vanco Winter 2.
 
I have Dunlop ST fitted, lot quieter than the Michelins, seem to be wearing well. Not really been anywhere to see what they are like on mud or snow.

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Another one for Vanco winter 2 M&S tyres. Best tyres we have had, whether on mud, snow or ice. A recent trip to alps proved how good they are, an aire that was an ice rink, snow packed roads in the ski resort, sandy muddy pitches here in Maroc, oh and good old English grass campsites.
 
I will be needing a couple of new front tyres soon so might have a look at the vanco ones, I assume they will be fine in summer also
 
Had Toyo H08's M&S, fitted a couple of years ago, never been stuck on a grass site since. They seem quieter than the Vanco campers we had on previous but you do feel a little bit of "movement" when cornering at first from the blockier tread but you soon forget about it. I think I went for a slightly higher load index too, cost £95 per tyre fitted and balanced at our local independent fitters.
 
Michelin M+S for us all round use them all year don't see the point in having 2 sets.
5 tonne tag axle running at 4600 to 4800 kgs most of the time covering at least 10'000 a year, so far front set have done well over 20'000 and plenty left back ones covered huge mileage and still going strong. Perform well in mud and wet grass and brilliant in snow and we've been in plenty especially in the Alps in winter. As for noise can't say they're any noisier than any other tyre, noise is more to do with road surface than tyres I think.

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Another vote for Continental Vanco Four Seasons.
 
Vanco fourseasons 2 fitted last year, happy with them so far
 
I fitted conti vanco winter tyres . Quiet and excellent grip. in calais three weeks ago when the blizard hit. cars were sliding off the road others were stuck . We just drove through . Great grip in rain as well .
 
Thank you very much everyone for all your replies. I quite like the Vanco Winter 2 tyres so will probably go for those.

:)(y)
 
Another great fan of the conti vanco winter2 tyres, wonderful in rain, snow, sleet, mud. I have had to use the MH in winter a couple of times to get to work as the car has got stuck(we live high up on the moors) nothing stops these tyres, even blizzards/drifting snow.

Paul.

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Another vote for Continental Vanco Winter 2, been on them for four years now and never a problem.

When I fitted a replacement pair on the front 13 months ago they were unavailable in the UK. Web search found me a pair from a Uk firm with depot in Germany and they were couriered post free, arrived 2 days later and cost quite a bit less than quoted UK price. Sorry can't remember name, in Morocco and can't look it up.
 
Hi
AFAIK----the 'snowflake' shows it's a winter tyre-----M&S shows it's a four season tyre---I was just reading this on a tyre website this evening.
We will replace ours with four season when the time comes.
Nigel & Pamala
 
Hi
AFAIK----the 'snowflake' shows it's a winter tyre-----M&S shows it's a four season tyre---I was just reading this on a tyre website this evening.
We will replace ours with four season when the time comes.
Nigel & Pamala

Hi Nigel

Our Conti Fourseasons 2 have a snowflake, they certainly look more like a snow tyre than the Michelin campers which were M+S.
 
Hi Martin
I just found out last week that Michelin winter tyres are marked up as 'Alpin'------my Michelin are not, or M&S----so I believe that mine are just Summer tyres----at the moment too good to replace.
Nigel & Pamala

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Just found this thread whilst looking for tyres, after all the good info I think Conti Vanco fourseason 2 are my preferred tyre........bugger they dont do them in a 225 70 15 ...gggrrrr..

The Conti Vanco fourseason (not the 2) is available - does anyone know the differences between them, I cannot see a snowflake symbol on the non "2" version.
 
I'd forgotten about this thread. For us, in the end we went for Michelin Agilis Camping tyres which are not 'full' winter tyres but are marked M+S. There are some countries (Italy being one, where we went this year) where it is illegal to use 'winter' tyres in the warmer months!

It's all about compromise (y)
 
There are some countries (Italy being one, where we went this year) where it is illegal to use 'winter' tyres in the warmer months!
That is not strictly true - it was raised in an earlier post recently. What the Italian regulation prevents is the use of winter tyres in summer IF they have a lower speed rating than the originally fitted summer tyres.
 
Went for vanco winter 2 on spare set of wheels. Wheels were half the price of tyres. I got these after coming down the hill from a ski slope in Scotland thinking I have 3.5 tonnes that may not want to stop if I have to brake. Currently quite enjoying being alive. Takes me about 1 hour to change over.

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