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[Varche]

Didn't have much luck with the Spanish tyre shop with respect to M and S tyres. I did however get a real shock as my car has been MOTd here 4 times and passed each time despite having the "wrong rated tyres fitted". I arrived with W from Britain and replaced them with V's as I believed that the 2.5 Elites could have either V or W.  Maybe so in Britain but here your Spanish V5 created when the car is reregistered shows W so that is it.

Well not quite as the V5 Notes also show 15 inch rims with H rating are OK. The guy at the tyre shop said Absurdo I agree.

I think for Britain snow chains is your practical answer.

[cem_devecioglu]

You think it's bad driving a car as heavy (and long wheelbase) as the Omega - I was driving the MR2 home the night of the heavy snowfall in Feb (I moved house in the heavy snowfall of December  ) .. by the time I'd made it from Epsom to Bracknell you could no longer see the road - I got stuck 100yds from my house as I turned a corner from 'slightly driven on' snow to 'virgin snow' and the front end sank in to it like a snowplough  But by heck was it hard getting up the hilly bits to my road; short wheelbase RWD cars like to swap ends fast!

Fortunately two passers by came and dug me out of the drift and we managed to 'dig' the car to my driveway.. where it remained for nearly three weeks before I could get it out again 

That night was bad, day workers left at 5 and came back to work again by 7, slough was totally grid locked, my boss left slough at 4, early enough to gat half way up the m4 and sit for 5 hours in traffic turn round back to slough and get the train to Bracknell.

I thought stuff that and worked two shifts back to back and drove home at 6am in relatively calm conditions. Must have been 50 lorries parked on the m4 and three times that many cars along the back roads, bedlam.

Car was skipping around all over the place though, and the abs is shite in ice and snow.

But these conditions are exceptional in the uk in recent years, as said, if we only get rain this year we will be waisting our time and money surely? Or not?

nope .. winter tires are more grippy and much much better on a rainy wet surface then the summer tires..
(remember their compound are designed to be soft on low temperatures..)

and I can say the same even on dry..

but the drawback is/are

1 - you will consume more fuel
2-  your acceleration will get worse..
3- your tire life will shorten..

[aaronjb]

short wheelbase RWD cars like to swap ends fast!

<whistles>

Move along.. Nothing to see here...

I said nothing..  [smiley=engel017.gif] 

[Debs.]

Pretty sure Debs swaps summer and winter tyres - hardly suprising where she is, she needs em....

may be able to give you some pointers.

Indeed, I do have a set of M & S (or should that be S & M?) boots. [smiley=evil.gif]

I use Vredstein Snowtrac II (which I believe are of Dutch origin) and work well in soft or packed snow; but even on sheet ice they do help a little, mainly because they`re a relatively soft compound even at -18C.; whereas at such low temps., 'ordinary' tyres become very hard and non-tractive.

When things get REALLY tough on roads with hills and where the ice is 'polished'; then snow chains are really required (even with M & S tyres).
IMPE: a quality-set of 'easy to fit' snow chains for the rear wheels (and fitted BEFORE you get stuck) will get an Omega pretty much anywhere without any fuss or bother (going forwards or backwards) on any kind of snow or ice and for only the cost of one winter tyre.

The pup-mobile sporting it`s Winter gear, with just a light dusting on the ground; last Winter the snow was 3ft. deep where the car is parked in the picture!

[feeutfo]

You think it's bad driving a car as heavy (and long wheelbase) as the Omega - I was driving the MR2 home the night of the heavy snowfall in Feb (I moved house in the heavy snowfall of December  ) .. by the time I'd made it from Epsom to Bracknell you could no longer see the road - I got stuck 100yds from my house as I turned a corner from 'slightly driven on' snow to 'virgin snow' and the front end sank in to it like a snowplough  But by heck was it hard getting up the hilly bits to my road; short wheelbase RWD cars like to swap ends fast!

Fortunately two passers by came and dug me out of the drift and we managed to 'dig' the car to my driveway.. where it remained for nearly three weeks before I could get it out again 

That night was bad, day workers left at 5 and came back to work again by 7, slough was totally grid locked, my boss left slough at 4, early enough to gat half way up the m4 and sit for 5 hours in traffic turn round back to slough and get the train to Bracknell.

I thought stuff that and worked two shifts back to back and drove home at 6am in relatively calm conditions. Must have been 50 lorries parked on the m4 and three times that many cars along the back roads, bedlam.

Car was skipping around all over the place though, and the abs is shite in ice and snow.

But these conditions are exceptional in the uk in recent years, as said, if we only get rain this year we will be waisting our time and money surely? Or not?

nope .. winter tires are more grippy and much much better on a rainy wet surface then the summer tires..
(remember their compound are designed to be soft on low temperatures..)

and I can say the same even on dry..

but the drawback is/are

1 - you will consume more fuel
2-  your acceleration will get worse..
3- your tire life will shorten..

Thanks Cem, much like racing wets then? i have a pair on spare wheels for the bike, maybe i should just fit them and take the bike to work instead......NOT.

[VXL V6]

Can't decide if I should be looking for a set of 235/45/17's and fit them to my spare alloys or get some smaller steel wheels and appropriate sized tyres....

Money Money Money 

[cem_devecioglu]

Pretty sure Debs swaps summer and winter tyres - hardly suprising where she is, she needs em....

may be able to give you some pointers.

Indeed, I do have a set of M & S (or should that be S & M?) boots. [smiley=evil.gif]

I use Vredstein Snowtrac II (which I believe are of Dutch origin) and work well in soft or packed snow; but even on sheet ice they do help a little, mainly because they`re a relatively soft compound even at -18C.; whereas at such low temps., 'ordinary' tyres become very hard and non-tractive.

When things get REALLY tough on roads with hills and where the ice is 'polished'; then snow chains are really required (even with M & S tyres).
IMPE: a quality-set of 'easy to fit' snow chains for the rear wheels (and fitted BEFORE you get stuck) will get an Omega pretty much anywhere without any fuss or bother (going forwards or backwards) on any kind of snow or ice and for only the cost of one winter tyre.

The pup-mobile sporting it`s Winter gear, with just a light dusting on the ground; last Winter the snow was 3ft. deep where the car is parked in the picture!

yep.. if you are trying to climb a long "polished" hill  you will need chains or some other type..

however in cities mostly normal winter tires are adequate unless your daily path includes some steep hills..

but I must say I would prefer either a studded tire or new plastic type chains..  real chains are awful on asphalt and damage the joints quickly unless covered with thick snow..  :-/

[cem_devecioglu]

here are the tires I use;

this one, for miggy without studs (ice type)



this one for clit


and this for passing snowy mountains..


but the last one I never find chance to use.. :-/
even when passing the mountains (last year)

[Mr Skrunts]

I had some chunky M + S tyres, thet were colway remoulds on 3 series BMW steel rims chucked on a 3 Viva that was bought as a run arround.

These tyres were bloody fantastic and would easily get me out of 6/8" snow from standstill.  Downside was onece the roads were clear the wore fairly rapidly, and were very noisy due to the tread pattern.  I would love a similar pattern tyre again if the severe snow was likely to return.

[cem_devecioglu]

I had some chunky M + S tyres, thet were colway remoulds on 3 series BMW steel rims chucked on a 3 Viva that was bought as a run arround.

These tyres were bloody fantastic and would easily get me out of 6/8" snow from standstill.  Downside was onece the roads were clear the wore fairly rapidly, and were very noisy due to the tread pattern.  I would love a similar pattern tyre again if the severe snow was likely to return.

if the temperature is above 15 celcius (approx depending on the tire )

[jon-]

You think it's bad driving a car as heavy (and long wheelbase) as the Omega - I was driving the MR2 home the night of the heavy snowfall in Feb (I moved house in the heavy snowfall of December  ) .. by the time I'd made it from Epsom to Bracknell you could no longer see the road - I got stuck 100yds from my house as I turned a corner from 'slightly driven on' snow to 'virgin snow' and the front end sank in to it like a snowplough  But by heck was it hard getting up the hilly bits to my road; short wheelbase RWD cars like to swap ends fast!

Fortunately two passers by came and dug me out of the drift and we managed to 'dig' the car to my driveway.. where it remained for nearly three weeks before I could get it out again 

That night was bad, day workers left at 5 and came back to work again by 7, slough was totally grid locked, my boss left slough at 4, early enough to gat half way up the m4 and sit for 5 hours in traffic turn round back to slough and get the train to Bracknell.

I thought stuff that and worked two shifts back to back and drove home at 6am in relatively calm conditions. Must have been 50 lorries parked on the m4 and three times that many cars along the back roads, bedlam.

Car was skipping around all over the place though, and the abs is shite in ice and snow.

But these conditions are exceptional in the uk in recent years, as said, if we only get rain this year we will be waisting our time and money surely? Or not?

nope .. winter tires are more grippy and much much better on a rainy wet surface then the summer tires..
(remember their compound are designed to be soft on low temperatures..)

and I can say the same even on dry..

but the drawback is/are

1 - you will consume more fuel
2-  your acceleration will get worse..
3- your tire life will shorten..

1 - Potentially, yes. But my experience is you spend more time sitting around going no where in winter conditions so fuel consumption always hurts

2 - How / Why? Assuming the rolling radius is the same, the tyre weights are the same and there's no slip, I can't see why that would be the case.

3 - It's nice to look at the tread life a different way. Unless you're doing epic miles winter tyres will last a good 2-3 seaons, and that's 2 or 3 winters you're not eating your expensive summer tyres or corroding your favourite alloys

This winter tyre buying guide has led me to really want to try those Contis, I hope we get some snow this year so I can really test them out 

[aaronjb]

2 - How / Why? Assuming the rolling radius is the same, the tyre weights are the same and there's no slip, I can't see why that would be the case.

Physics, I believe.. Tyres with a higher coefficient of friction (i.e. more grip) require more energy to move the rubber over the road surface.

That's why 'energy saver' tyres have about the same grip as the plastic wheels on a tonka toy - the opposite effect to snow tyres.

AFAIK.

[Bojan]

there is an old saying:
ANY WINTER TIRE IS BETTER THAN BEST SUMMER TIRE.
(on snow, of course).

[feeutfo]

Hmmm, saving summer tyres is at the back of my mind, sport stars with sc3's add up to pretty penny.


Also re snow chains, I don't know about where you live, but round here when it snows there is nowhere, and I mean nowhere to stop and fit or remove them without causing a tale back. Clear roads are in constant use, and uncleared roads risk trapping the car without chains. On the face of it they don't seem practical in urban areas....?

[Bojan]

and it is not recommended to drive on clear roads with chains fitted.