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[Jimbob]

Alert - Winter Tyre Safety
Welcome, at least for the majority of Blackcircles.com customers, to snow covered Britain, suffering its worst winter weather for 18 years with the promise of more snow to come.

Today, unusually, it's not just the North and Scotland which are being affected. Those of you living or working across a broad swathe of the western, central and eastern England are equally affected.

As a consequence, lots of you are having to contend with weather and road conditions which are pretty alien to you or the likes of which you haven't experienced for some time.

I figured therefore that it was a good time to remind you of what to consider to ensure that your tyres are prepared for the hazardous road conditions.

Here are a few tips we've come up with in conjunction with our partners Warranty Direct (who can offer car warranties from as little as £15):

Check all tyres for condition, pressure and tread depth. At least 3mm of tread is recommended for winter motoring, and certainly no less than 2mm.
Don't reduce tyre pressures to get more grip - it doesn't work, and reduces stability.
Check you have a working jack and wheel brace, and that you know how to change a wheel if necessary.
It's rare to need snow chains unless you live in an isolated area hit with heavy snow, and where the roads are not cleared. They must be removed to drive on a metalled road without a reasonable covering of snow.
Consider changing to winter or all season tyres - these have a higher silicone content in the tread which prevents it hardening at lower temperatures, and therefore gives better grip in cold wet conditions.
Wherever you are and whatever the weather, drive safely and carefully.

With best wishes

[Jimbob]

Some common sense in there, some conflicting advice to other sources  :-/

[Omega man 2]

Makes sence to havetyres with good depth but lowering the pressure does give better grip :-?

[VXL V6]

Makes sence to havetyres with good depth but lowering the pressure does give better grip :-?

Agreed

[cem_devecioglu]

"Check all tyres for condition, pressure and tread depth. At least 3mm of tread is recommended for winter motoring, and certainly no less than 2mm. "

sorry but 2-3 mm depth  is adequate only for wet-dry and normal driving conditions..   Even with unused normal season tire with 5-6 mm depth when surface is covered with snow you will face tragic events..  especially when braking and cornering..


"Consider changing to winter or all season tyres - these have a higher silicone content in the tread which prevents it hardening at lower temperatures, and therefore gives better grip in cold wet conditions.
Wherever you are and whatever the weather, drive safely and carefully."

I have both normal winter tires and studded winter tires..
 
Even with normal winter tires you are not that safe when the surface is ice or if you try to climb a steep hill.. Under those conditions studded tires are must.. :-/