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[Sir Tigger KC]

I saw a sign outside a tyre place advertising Budget Winter Tyres!!    Now I have to admit that I'm a little cynical about winter tyres and their worth in this country....   

There's been many a thread about what tyres to put on the Omega, and I think that the general concensus is that you get what you pay for......   

So here's the thing!! Would you be better off on quality ordinary tyres or budget winter tyres during our 10 day white-out??   

[Shimmy]

In snow, the budgets.  It's been tested.

But it's pointless as the quality summer tyres will be better for when it's just plain wet or dry, which is most of the time in winter.

If you do get winter tyres, get the premium ones as they offer better grip not only in snow but also in the wet and dry during the winter months.

I'll leave this link here again:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/total_tyre_guide/259435/winter_tyre_test.html



Budget tyres in general are a false economy IMO.

[cem_devecioglu]

if you accept kumhos as budget tires, I can recommend KW19 ..tested on a snowy mountain road..
 
and its ok for the job..
 
 
 
 

[JamesV6CDX]

If it snows, leave the Omega on the driveway 

[Shimmy]

if you accept kumhos as budget tires, I can recommend KW19 ..tested on a snowy mountain road..
 
and its ok for the job..

Kumho make good mid range tyres.

Budgets are Wanli, LingLong etc...

[Sir Tigger KC]

If it snows, leave the Omega on the driveway 

Personally I won't be buying them, mainly for economic reasons and also because if I did shell out £500-600 on another set of rims and tyres, you'd bet your bottom dollar that we'd have bikini weather in January!!!!    but all you winter tyre-ists can have the last laugh as you swish by splashing me with dirty slush as I'm struggling with my chains.....  Might keep a few bags of sand handy though.....

[tigers_gonads]

If it snows, leave the Omega on the driveway 

Rear wheel drive ?
Long ish wheel base ?
Hand brake ?
Snow ?

Find a carpark and its playtime 


On a more serious note .............. If you ain't confident about driving on snow and ice, don't do it 

[Lazydocker]

If it snows, leave the Omega on the driveway 

Why?

My saloon was absolutely fine in the snow... Went everywhere with no issues I bought chains last year but didn't need them, even when it was bad. Preparation is key

[D]

Winter tyres are not just about snow, but also about temperature. The rubber mixture used on summer tyres hardens out from 7 degrees C and loses more and more grip, the colder it gets. So even on a dry or just wet cold winter road they can make the difference of stopping in time or hitting something.

On snow even the cheapest snow tyre will be better than the most expensive summer tyre. But in the cold, on a dry/wet road is where the differences between a cheap and premium winter tyre become apparent.

The economic argument isnt valid either. Firstly your summer tyres wont be used in winter and will last longer. The winter tyres can be re-used for perhaps the next 2-4 winters depending on mileage/driving style. And if you use cheap steelies for the winters, then you avoid risking damage to your precious alloys as well.

[tigers_gonads]

Winter tyres are not just about snow, but also about temperature. The rubber mixture used on summer tyres hardens out from 7 degrees C and loses more and more grip, the colder it gets. So even on a dry or just wet cold winter road they can make the difference of stopping in time or hitting something.

On snow even the cheapest snow tyre will be better than the most expensive summer tyre. But in the cold, on a dry/wet road is where the differences between a cheap and premium winter tyre become apparent.

The economic argument isnt valid either. Firstly your summer tyres wont be used in winter and will last longer. The winter tyres can be re-used for perhaps the next 2-4 winters depending on mileage/driving style. And if you use cheap steelies for the winters, then you avoid risking damage to your precious alloys as well.

Fair point that 

[Ken T]

Winter tyres are not just about snow, but also about temperature. The rubber mixture used on summer tyres hardens out from 7 degrees C and loses more and more grip, the colder it gets. So even on a dry or just wet cold winter road they can make the difference of stopping in time or hitting something.

On snow even the cheapest snow tyre will be better than the most expensive summer tyre. But in the cold, on a dry/wet road is where the differences between a cheap and premium winter tyre become apparent.

The economic argument isnt valid either. Firstly your summer tyres wont be used in winter and will last longer. The winter tyres can be re-used for perhaps the next 2-4 winters depending on mileage/driving style. And if you use cheap steelies for the winters, then you avoid risking damage to your precious alloys as well.

Fair point that 

Hmm nice physics attempt, however how soon does a tyre warm up ?.  A lot of energy used in moving a car is deforming the tyre from round to be flat and hence grip the road,. I don't know the figs, but I would imagine any tyre doing 30mph plus will be using a lot of energy deforming to grip the road and hence will warm up soon, well past the ambient temperature.

I recon any normal tyre in use will warm up soon, a nobbly tyre will take longer because of the thickness of the rubber away from the bit that deforms and heats up.

Tyres/cars have massive safety margins, so I recon if you drive with a bit more care in snow you should not see any problems.

Ken
 

[al brown]

If it snows, leave the Omega on the driveway 

Where is the fun in that

[Sir Tigger KC]

Winter tyres are not just about snow, but also about temperature. The rubber mixture used on summer tyres hardens out from 7 degrees C and loses more and more grip, the colder it gets. So even on a dry or just wet cold winter road they can make the difference of stopping in time or hitting something.

On snow even the cheapest snow tyre will be better than the most expensive summer tyre. But in the cold, on a dry/wet road is where the differences between a cheap and premium winter tyre become apparent.

The economic argument isnt valid either. Firstly your summer tyres wont be used in winter and will last longer. The winter tyres can be re-used for perhaps the next 2-4 winters depending on mileage/driving style. And if you use cheap steelies for the winters, then you avoid risking damage to your precious alloys as well.

The economic argument is extremely valid in my case and I'm not into modifications, so fitting a set of steelies to my Omega is completely out of the question 

[Kevin Wood]

Budget tyres are ditchfinders in all weathers, IMHO. Decent quality normal tyres grip nicely at all temperatures if the surface is free from snow and ice. Most of what we face in this country in the winter is just wet, something that budget tyres cope with particularly badly.

Unless you're going to swap tyres for the couple of days per year when the snow is band, and those days only, stick with a decent all-round tyre and a set of snow chains IMHO.

[TheBoy]

If it snows, leave the Omega on the driveway 

Hmmmm, never really had a problem with Omegas. It's all about being prepared, and knowing how to cope with the conditions