What type of cold weather tires?
The wide array of winter tires can be boggling! Premium, budget, studded, Nordic, European, stud-less ice and snow... the list goes on! The tires we recommend are premium European winter tires. While budget winter tires can offer vastly superior snow performance to any summer tire, budget winter tires can struggle when the roads are wet or warm. Premium manufactuers spend hundreds of millions of pounds a year on R&D and testing, ensuring their tires can meet the demands of one criteria, without significantly sacrificing other performance. With the average winter in the UK being 40% dry, 45% wet and 15% snow, we'd think twice before fitting a budget winter tire which might only be an advantage for 15% of the winter!Availability
As many people experienced last year winter tires sold out as the first snow fell. With the total units sold last year being 350,000, and demand far outstripping supply, you'd think the tire manufacturers would be forecasting millions of units this year. Unfortunately the industry prediction is only 500,000 units, so if we experience another harsh winter (as predicted by almost every forecast) expect supply to be limited again. Buy early.Winter tire recommendations
The Goodyear Ultragrip 7+ was an award winning tire last year, and its successor, the new Ultra Grip 8 is carrying on its winning tradition by winning the first 2 european tire tests published. Slightly better than the Ultra Grip 7 in every way, the Ultra Grip 8 is the tire to be on if you have a medium size, or family car.
Like the Goodyear, the Dunlop Winter Sport 3D was one of the leading winter tires last year, winning 4 of the 6 winter tire tests in 2010! This year, Dunlop have released a new version, the Dunlop Winter Sport 4D which promises to offer its predecessors excellent sporty characteristics along with slightly improved grip all round.
The Nokian WR G2 was a Tire Reviews favourite last year thanks to its "slush optimised" design and excellent wet and dry performance being perfect for the UK climate. The new version, the WR A3 (And its little brother - WR D3) again promises to improve on the G2 in every way. Like last year with the WR G2, supply will be extremely limited this year.
Conitnental's flagship winter tire, the Winter Contact TS830 P is one of the best winter tires for ultra high performance cars. Unfortunately with demand already outstripping supply , especially in the larger tire sizes (17"+) get them if you can find them.
While not the sportiest winter tire on the market, the Alpin A4 is a solid all round performer and perfectly suited to family cars. Its dry bias ensure it works well in the UK climate.
What about all season tires?
Traditionally "all season" tires have simply been tires with a less sporty tread pattern, and might not have worked any better in the snow than their summer counter parts. Fortunately there are now a number of all season options that have excellent snow properties and are extremely suited to the UK climate, perfect if you don’t fancy changing your tires twice a year.All Season Recommendations
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1st:
Bridgestone A001 Overall: The new Bridgestone A001 was designed specifically for the UK market, and as such offers excellent year round performance while keeping vastly superior snow performance when compared to summer tires. Currently unproven in group tests, it's one to watch. |
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1st:
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Overall: The Goodyear Vector 4Seasons is another of the "new breed" all season tires. When compared to full winter tires in a winter tire group test last year it offered 90% of the snow grip (much more than a summer tire), equal wet performance and leading dry weather properties |
Other Winter Tires
As mentioned above, demand is once again likely to outstrip supply this year so getting one of the above tires in your size could prove difficult. As with any tire, you largely get what you pay for but there are a few other good winter brands you can trust.Vredestein - Specialising in winter tires the Wintrac Extreme is an extremely popular tire. Unfortunately supply problems stopped it being in the recommended list above.
Fulda - While being largely ignored in the UK, Fulda are a near premium brand in Germany and make excellent quality tires. The Fulda Kristall Montero is another capable tire, if you can find it.
Hankook - The Optimo 4S is an excellent all season tire, again hard to find.
My wife has a 63 reg VW Polo Match with a 7 speed DSG gearbox with 185/60 R15 tires. The gearbox type gets numerous negative comments for its performance in snow & ice & our drive exits up a fairly steep slope. Can you advise whether there would be any significant improvement if, for eg; Continental 'WinterContact' TS850's were fitted, also, would it be acceptable to only change the front tires? Thanks.
Yes, there would be a huge improvement. Check out our video proof:
http://www.tirereviews.co.u...
It's not recommended fitting just 2 winter tires due to the risk of sudden oversteer in winter conditions.
i am running a VW T4 Transporter (camper) on 225/45/18 (95) tires. I want to swap for winter tires. Can you recommend an affordable brand and as space is tight under the arches already, do tires vary in size even if they are spec'd as the same?
Our choice would probably be the Nokian WR A3:
http://lovetires.com/search...
If you have uneven wear it's certainly worth getting the tracking checked as it's often the cause of poor wear.
Our recommendation would be the Goodyear Vector 4Seaons, however the Vredestein Quatrac 3 is also available in your size and gets very good ratings:
http://lovetires.com/search...
What's the best way to store wheels/tires when not being used?
Ideally you'd put them in tire bags (
http://lovetires.com/p/Tire... ) and hang them or put them on tire rack / stand.
Thanks, but I was thinking more about - should I stand them up, lay them flat, can I stack them, should they be left fully inflated or should I deflate them.
Maybe a few other things to consider that I haven't thought of for storing over summer (and winter).
Thanks
Chris
If still mounted on the wheel, and you don't have a proper tire rack any form of storage will be a compromise.
We'd probably over inflate them by 4-5 psi and stand them upright, rotating them every few weeks to avoid flat spots.
what does r+w mean on a tire
What sort of tire have you seen this marking on?
Toyo h09's (all rounders) are great for van/mpv style cars (£50 -£70), check out your local scrappy for steel wheels to use to save your alloys. or if you are on a budget look at car importers as often jap imports come with winter tires already fitted, and most importers will be quite happy to let you have a set on some steels. (just check the age of the tire first)
Present tires are Bridgestone B391, 14 x 165 x 70. I would like to change to Bridgestone A001 tires which I expect would work better in the very wet West of Scotland. However the nearest available size is 14 x 175 x 65. Will it be OK to fit these?
The only way to be sure would be to ask someone who's done the swap, or speak to your local dealer to see if it's ok.
This may be a silly question, but Mytires.co.uk sell sets of winter tires with steel rims.
What ones do I get?
My normal tires are 235,45,17,97W - Ford Mondeo 2007 5-stud.
Does it matter if I get steel rims that are 215/55 R16 97H
for example?
The MyTires winter wheel packages are a very good solution (also check out www.tiremen.co.uk ) - regarding what size it's best you check out your handbook. It will have a recommended winter tire wheel and tire size in it which should make the choice easy!
I have an X Trail 4WD to get onto the main roads from my house but when I change my car I'd like to go for something a little more environmentally friendly. Would winter/snow tires give me the grip to get up a hill in a 2WD without sliding around like the BMW's do? Not sure what my next car will be so can't advise this. It seems silly to have a 4WD when I only need the grip on a couple of weeks a year!
A normal car on winter tires will easily out perform a 4x4 on normal tires on snow and ice.
If you're worried about the rear of the car sliding around we'd suggest looking for a FWD replacement car.
Can you please help me?! I have a Toyota Celica 1.8 and the code on the tires is 205/45Z R17. I currently have got Cooper Zeon 2XS tires on at the moment but find they do not last very long and I had to take my car off the road last winter as it was so difficult to drive, slipping and sliding in the snow/icy weather. I just put it down to the type of car and just that it didn't suit winter driving but now starting to think could it be the tires that were making my winter driving hell?! I really want to be able to drive my car this winter and not use my partners. If you could offer me any advice on what types/brands of tires may suit this vehicle any help would be most appreciated. Thank you
We can be 99% sure if you're running normal "summer" tires, these will be the cause of your "winter hell" (a front heavy FWD car should cope quite well in snow).
The bad news is you're a little limited in 205/45 R17 - probably worth checking out the Vredestein Wintrac Extreme if you want to stick with that size:
http://lovetires.com/search...
Im loking for 2 new front tires for my seat altea. I want good grip in the snow/ice. The size i need is the 205/55/16. What do you recomend?
http://lovetires.com/tire/G...
I have a Mini Cooper S currently on runflats 17". Can you advise the best winter tire for this vehicle?
If you're looking to keep the runflats, I'm afraid the best answer is currently "any winter tires you can get"! Demand is high and supply is very small.
What's the maximum temperature at which it's sensible to use winter tires? Can you wreck them by keeping them on too long?
H Chris,
Continental recommend if you can only use one set of tires year round, they should be winter tires. This indicates that a good premium tire has no maximum temperature limit, however as we always recommend being on the right tire for time of year, the rule of thumb is to switch over when the average driving temperature is below 7c.
In the UK this is somewhere between November and April.
Have a read of some real world tire experiences here: http://www.tirereviews.co.u...
Hi
I've got a Volvo xc90 d5 163bhp with conti cross contacts uhp 235/60r18 I'm looking for tires for all year round I have been looking at general grabber what do you think and what else would you reccommend? I don't want to change tires twice a year but want something useful in the snow!
Many thanks
Very difficult in that size. We think your best bet would be the Vredestein Quadrac 3 SUV - http://lovetires.com/tire/V... a proper all season tire that's also good in the snow.
Hi
I have just purchased a Chrysler grand voyager with 215 65 R16 H98 tires. I have been advised to get winter tires for it ( conti cros contact winter tires ) but when I looked they say 4x4 are they ok? Can you recomend an alternative or are they the best for my car.
I have been told they are even good in the summer is this true? Or would you recomend summer tires for the summer or an all season tire all year.
Thanks
Martin
Good question. We'd double check owners clubs / the dealer, usually you'll only find one type of tire made in a certain size however in this size there seems to be plenty of good "car" winter tires:
http://lovetires.com/search...
As things stand, we'd get whatever we could find at the moment, so you'll be fine with the Goodyear, Dunlop or Conti.
We'd not run winter tires year round, if you want a true all season solution the Vredestein Quadrac is made in your size ( http://lovetires.com/search... )
I'm looking to put winter tires on my front wheel drive Volvo XC60 D3 Automatic. I drive about 12000 miles per year and intend to keep the tires on year round. My choice is coming in as Continental 4x4 WinterContact, Vredestein Wintrac 4 Extreme or Hankook Winter i cept evo. Are there any others I should be considering and if price were not an issue which would be the most suitable.
Thanks
Greg
Hi,
We can't comment on other choices as you didn't say the tire size, however of the 3 listed we'd lean towards the Conti or Vredestein - both make excellent winter tires. We've little experience with Hankook winter.
I have VX Insignia SRi with 245:45 ZR18 ContiSport Contact fitted. I want to fit winter tires/wheels for the scottish climate and have looked at numerous sites but still cannot get a clear idea of what tire and wheel is suitable size and fit. I anticipate same snow as last year !. Can anyone help me ? thanks. .....TC
If you can find them, the Nokian WR A3 would be an excellent choice. Alternatively the Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme gets excellent reviews and is available in your size:
http://lovetires.com/tire/V...
Hi my elderly Dad has a toyota Aygo and lives on the top of a hill in west yorkshire. The Toyota garage are suggesting their all season tire ( which he likes the sound of as he doesnt want to change wheels). Are the all season likely to be as good as winter tires? as he does low milage ( 4000 PA) is there any reason why he couldnt just keep winter tires on all year round?
VMT
It largely depends which all season tire. If they're recommending a Goodyear Vector 4Seasons, Hankook Optimo 4S, Vredestein Quadrac or Kleber Quadraxer then it's a good choice, as they offer good snow performance.
If it's something branded "all season" for the american market, then it's probably a bad choice!
Hi there, I have a Citroen Grand C4 Picasso (7 seater), wheel size 215/55/16 (I think !) and I was wondering if anyone have any advice on what type of winter tires I should choose for this car ? Does it make a difference to the performance of the winter tire that the car is quite "tall" ? I would be grateful for your thoughts.
Hi there,
The tallness of the vehicle shouldn't have an affect on the tire choice, just make sure you match the manufacturer load ratings.
As for what tire, there's plenty of choice: http://lovetires.com/search...
We'd suggest the excellent Avon Ice Touring ST if you're on a budget, or the Dunlop or Conti if you're not. All get ace reviews on this site.
Hope this helps a little.
Thanks very much for your swift response and advice - really great help; now I know which tires to go out and get quotes for amongst the vast choise of tires that is out there ;-)
I have a Jaguar XK and can only find Pirelli's at £500 each. 2 questions.....1. Will winter tires help me get around in the snow.....last year it refused to move so and 2. Are there any more cost effective options. Am i wasting my time?
1) Yes, massively.
2) Snow chains / socks are an option just to get you moving and onto a gritted piece of road, however they can be a pain to use and do not have any of the other winter tire benefits (such as improved grip when the road is below freezing)
I have Continental 255/50/R20 tires on my Range Rover. I note that they came top in the Auto Zeitung 2010 4x4 tire test. I live on the North Yorkshire moors. Do you think that I need winter tires specifically? If so, should I go for the Continental Winter tires or another brand?
Assuming the Contis are the UHP version of the 4x4 tire you might find your Range Rover struggles on snow and ice.
If you're switching to winter tires it might be worth checking out the Vredestein Wintrac 4 Extreme too, it's an extremely popular tire on 4x4 vehicles and is competitively priced: http://lovetires.com/search...
What Size Winter Tire (on Steels) would I need for an S-Max? Would It be 1 size or could I choose??
I have a Kia Sportage with 235/60/16 tires and live at the end of a non tarmac track. Should I go for all season or winter tires and will I have to buy new wheels to do so?
If you plan to swap tires twice a year we would use the Dunlop Winter Sport 3d. ( http://lovetires.com/search... ) These will fit on your existing wheels no problems.
Hi I have a Audi A1 1.6Tdi Sline , car currently has 225/35/18s fitted but I have bought a set of replacement audi alloys off Ebay to fit winter tires to . They are 15" 6J wheels and are currently fitted with 205/60/15 summer tires . Can you please advise what size tires I need to replace these , I read if tires are within +/- 2.5% of diameter of original wheels I should be ok ? I make it these are 1.92% bigger . Could I simply just replace the front 2 tires , ie) driven wheels or should I go for 4 new winter tires and what size.
You can use a tire size calculator like this one http://www.miata.net/garage... to work out the best tire size.
We'd always suggest changing all 4 tires to avoid potential difficult handling characteristics.
Make sure the new 15" front wheels fit over the brake calipers on an S-line. I had to fit 15 mm spacers to my A4 S-line to stop the brake calipers from hitting the rims.
Thanks for that , thats my biggest worry , I'm still waiting on the rims to be delivered , I know the 15" Audi A3 pepperpots fit but i'm not sure about the ones I've purchased . I'm not commiting to tires until I know or its an expensive mistake !! The centre of the hub to the outer edge of the caliper is 6 1/4" , its going to be tight . Not sure where to find the information on my audi wheels ?
There should always be a sticker in the fuel cap or info in the handbook itself. Failing that, give Audi a call and find out what they recommend. I did that with our car and they were happy to help.
Hi there
I have a mercedes 270CDI sport with a continental sports contact 2 set - all i do is about 5000 urban miles a year with the occasional motorway journey.
We also have a Toyota Estima (import) with 225/50/R16 sizes, currently in a budget brand - again about 6000 miles per year , mostly urban roads around London.
Prefer winter or all seasons; both sets need replacing - what would you suggest??
Need to buy this week!! And can you recommend any fitters?
For year round use, the Goodyear Vector 4Season or Bridgestone A001 is worth a look. For just winter use check out the above!
I have a nissan Qashqai Tekna 2.0 dci Auto and am considering all season tires. Current tires are Continental Premium Contact 2 - 225/55 R18 99v. What would you suggest that I replace them with as all season tires?
Many thanks
Anything you can find in that size! We think you might struggle to get a proper all season in 225/55 R18 - perhaps there's an alternative winter tire size in the manufacturers handbook which will give you a wider range of choice.
Hi TireReviews.
Can you tell me which winter tires to put on my two cars. I have got the tires in August the wife is a vw touran my car is honda civic type s. The tires are got are Vredestein snow 3 and continental ts830? We Live on a big hill need the best grip in the snow. Last year we could not got out. The wife will do more mileage than me.
Ps The tires size are 205/55/16
Are both the speed and load ratings the same between the tires?
yes they are the same 91H
If it was our choice, and we'd double checked the tires were suitable for the cars we would put the Contis on the Touran and the Vredesteins on the Civic, purely down to the Touran doing more miles and the Conti probably being slightly better in the dry and wet.
У меня есть Audi A2 с шинами 205x40x17. Я купил
запасной набор шин того же самого размера, чтобы я мог заменить на зимний
комплект комплект . Единственная грустная вещь, я не нахожу зимние шины этого
размера, Вы можете мне помочь?
privet, poprobui
Roadstone
WINGUARD SPORT
205/40 R17 84V XL,
Wanli Snow-Grip 205/40 R17 84V XL BSW,
ili
Sunny SN3830 205/40 R17 80V BSW.
roadstone , dumaiu lu4she.
У меня Subaru Legacy Sports Tourer. Я не хвастаюсь, а просто путаюсь у выборе зимних шин. Я много не езджу, но мои теперешнии шины могут быть скользкими, если будет
холодная зима. Если моя машина AWD (полноприводная), нужна ли мне зимняя шина или достаточно будет всесезонки? Я рассматриваю Goodyear Vector 4Seasons, или UltraGrip 8. Есть какие-нибуть предложения?
Лучше поставить зимние шины даже на AWD. Всесезонка сойдёт для города где нет снега. При хорошем снегопаде можно застрять.
P.S If you are getting all season, not winter tires, could you just replace the front two?
Thanks
It would not be something we would advise. A good all season tire can be very close to a winter tire in snow performance which would leave you with a similar imbalance as 2 winter tires.
What would be good all season tires for a Nissan Micra (175/60 15 81)? I have a baby and want to be very safe when driving. Thanks
Hi MR,
Unfortunately due to the lack of availability of a true all season tire in your size, we would have to again suggest a set of these for the winter months: http://lovetires.com/tire/G...
I have an Audi A2 with tires 205x40x17. I purchased a spare set of alloy rims of the same size in order that I could change the complete wheels when the winter arrives. Sad thing is, I can't seem to find any winter tires of this size, can you help?
Unfortunately 205-40-17 a low selling tire size and you might struggle to find a winter tire in that size.
If you move to 215-40-17 or 205-45-17 there is a little more choice: http://lovetires.com/search...
http://lovetires.com/search...
I have a Mazda2 2008 and need some reliable and good quality tires for winter. Last winter my car was practically sliding down a straight road. Any suggestions would be much appreciated
The Goodyear Ultragrip 8 is suited to smaller vehicles like the Mazda 2, so we'd suggest starting there!
I have an old 97 Peugoet 106 XN. What would you recomment for me? I'm in east central scotland, commuting everyday and get hit hit snow pretty bad all winter.
Depending on tire size availability we would suggest the Goodyear Ultragrip 8 for smaller vehicles.
I have a Subaru Legacy Sports Tourer, not bragging, just confused at the choice of cold weather tires. I don't do many miles, but they might be slippery if we get the predicted cold winter. Being AWD, will I see much benefit getting a full winter tire, rather than an all season tire? I'm considering the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons, or the Ultragrip 8. Any suggestions?
Both good tires, and probably not a million miles apart in overall performance. If you're Northern and think you'll see a lot of snow we'd probably edge towards the Ultra Grip 8s, if you're Southern based the Vector 4Seasons might be a better choice.
Another popular choice for Subaru owners is the Nokian WR A3 - considered to be all season in some parts of the world, it's a winter tire that's suited to our climate.
Fantastic reply. I'm Cambridge based, but live on the edge of the Fens. We have to deal with an odd micro climate which is significantly drier than the surrounding area, but it sees some of the lowest temperatures in the S.E.
It looks like the 4Seasons will be better, for the odd snowy day and rare trips sledging to the Peaks.
Great advice. Thanks.
Shouls all 4 tires be replaced, or only those on the driving wheels?
We only recommend all 4 wheels as replacing just 2 wheels can leave to severe handling imbalances in extreme conditions.
I've got an Audi A6 Le Mans 07 plate with 255/19/35. I was wondering if you could tell me what my options would be for winter tires/alloys, preferable going smaller?? Thanks.
Hi Twiggy,
Your handbook will have a winter wheel and tire size option, it will probably be a 16 or 17" steel wheel.
I've got the same car and my research indicates that only a 17" wheel will fit and it's the offset that's key. Recommended wither set up from Audi is a 17" 7J with ET 42. But from forums and the like, I can say with some confidence that a 17" 7.5J ET 45 wheel will also fit. Tires in this size are 225/50/17 rather that the very popular 225/45/17 that seem to be knocking around. Not sure how much difference this would make to rolling radius. HTH.
I have a BMW with run flat tires. Can you recommend a run flat winter tire size 205x55x16? They appear very difficult to come by.
Tony
Hi Tony,
These are the only ones we know are available:
http://lovetires.com/tire/D...
Not bad tires either.
No mention of the Kleber Quadraxer all seasons, do you know anything about it please?
We'll be covering the Auto Bild all season tire test in the next few days, keep your eyes peeled!
There's also plenty of good reviews here: http://www.tirereviews.co.u...
Good rite up, couldnt find any all seasons anywhere in my size so went with a set of ultragrip 8s. 30 degree heat but they didn't seem too bad!