Opinions on going from winter tyres to all weather?
Discussion
For many years now, I've been using a spare set of rims with winter tyres so that I can swap all 4 wheels during the colder months. This has worked fine. I've known for a while that the old all season tyres were never really good all year round because they were rubbish in winter. However, I believe tyre technology has improved a lot and a new version of all year round tyres is actually pretty good. I believe these are marketed as all weather.
My current non-winter tyres are: Dunlop Enasave EC300
Winter tyres are: Michelin Alpin
Has anyone gone from running a summer + winter set of wheels to a single set of all weather?
What has your experience been and which tyres did you start from and which ones did you move to?
My primary concern with tyres is maximum safety and reliability for sensible road driving.
My current non-winter tyres are: Dunlop Enasave EC300
Winter tyres are: Michelin Alpin
Has anyone gone from running a summer + winter set of wheels to a single set of all weather?
What has your experience been and which tyres did you start from and which ones did you move to?
My primary concern with tyres is maximum safety and reliability for sensible road driving.
I replaced the old tyres (Dunlops) on my car when I bought it with MIchelin Cross Climates. They've been great driving across Europe in rain and snow, as well as here in the summer. They're rated for snow use and handled it well on mountains and pretty deep snow on side streets, as well as heavy rain at times. That said, it's an SUV and I don't throw it around, and drive fairly conservatively.
I can't speak for other makes/models, and I'm sure others will give their experience, but I'm happy with the Michelins.
I can't speak for other makes/models, and I'm sure others will give their experience, but I'm happy with the Michelins.
Being from the UK, there isn't many days of snow. Most of the winter issues are due to ice and freezing or near freezing conditions where typical summer tyre rubber might as well be hard plastic. Winter tyres work really well on those icy conditions, and all weather tyres may be good is snow but how are they on icy conditions?
trueblue4455 said:
Being from the UK, there isn't many days of snow. Most of the winter issues are due to ice and freezing or near freezing conditions where typical summer tyre rubber might as well be hard plastic. Winter tyres work really well on those icy conditions, and all weather tyres may be good is snow but how are they on icy conditions?
When you say "UK" it sounds like you are talking about England. Scotland gets plenty of snow.The girls in particular in my family i shod with with Vredestain Quatracs for several years, these proved to be good tyres whatever the weather and i am sure helped keep them mobile and out of the scenery during winter conditions.
Myself i'm using both.
One car has snowflake stamped all season all terrains, these are really good in wet weather and snow, can feel a little spongey in summer but increasing the pressure by 5 psi sorts that, Yokohama GO15 which i would buy again, not really a car tyre, meant for larger 4x4's.
The other car is also AWD but a warm Subaru, i already had an almost new set of winters on good alloys from the previous Subaru so it was a no brainer to use them on this one too, so pure summer tyres for the other season.
If i didn't already have the winter wheels/tyres then i would simply buy all season tyres and run them all year, having never had a bad Vredestein tyre i'd probably fit those again on the Scooby.
One thing to consider here is how salt proof your good set of alloys are, if they're diamond cut and laquered finish then even 1 winter can see them spoiled, in which case as you already have the winter wheels it would make sense to carry on as you are...if your normal alloys have a more robust finish then maybe not such a clear cut choice for you.
What will i do? well the normal Subaru alloys are robust so i could easily go all season, but not only are the winter tyres barely wearing (they must have seen 5 or 6 winters now, i didn't measure the tread new but might have come with 10mm or so) but being an inch smaller wheel size and higher aspect ratio (both sizes approved for car) plus the softer winter rubber gives a more compliant ride and helps reduce severe road shocks passing through steel such as springs at freezing temperatures, i store them in the dark so no deterioration to date.
So my choice isn't clear cut, and i'd suggest yours isn't either because you already have the winter set.
Myself i'm using both.
One car has snowflake stamped all season all terrains, these are really good in wet weather and snow, can feel a little spongey in summer but increasing the pressure by 5 psi sorts that, Yokohama GO15 which i would buy again, not really a car tyre, meant for larger 4x4's.
The other car is also AWD but a warm Subaru, i already had an almost new set of winters on good alloys from the previous Subaru so it was a no brainer to use them on this one too, so pure summer tyres for the other season.
If i didn't already have the winter wheels/tyres then i would simply buy all season tyres and run them all year, having never had a bad Vredestein tyre i'd probably fit those again on the Scooby.
One thing to consider here is how salt proof your good set of alloys are, if they're diamond cut and laquered finish then even 1 winter can see them spoiled, in which case as you already have the winter wheels it would make sense to carry on as you are...if your normal alloys have a more robust finish then maybe not such a clear cut choice for you.
What will i do? well the normal Subaru alloys are robust so i could easily go all season, but not only are the winter tyres barely wearing (they must have seen 5 or 6 winters now, i didn't measure the tread new but might have come with 10mm or so) but being an inch smaller wheel size and higher aspect ratio (both sizes approved for car) plus the softer winter rubber gives a more compliant ride and helps reduce severe road shocks passing through steel such as springs at freezing temperatures, i store them in the dark so no deterioration to date.
So my choice isn't clear cut, and i'd suggest yours isn't either because you already have the winter set.
Edited by Smint on Friday 3rd February 13:45
Edited by Smint on Friday 3rd February 13:47
I could just give a blanket opinion, but tyres, as with most things depends entirely on the use case. What I don’t know is what car you have, where you live and what kind of driving you do.
Saying all that, on my commuting car for the best part of the last decade, I have run all season tyres. I have found that generally, the all season tyres are absolutely fine in summer and actually wear better than summer tyres. In the dry, they are absolutely fine. Tyre dependent (as you would expect), they are not the sportiest, but they are better than cheap tyres and they are comfortable. They are also better in the wet than anything other than the absolute sportiest summer tyres, but get better when the temperature dips. They are no less efficient either and cost is equivalent to a decent summer tyre.
When it comes to the winter, I never get stuck. All season tyres may not have the absolute peak grip, but they work plenty well enough and they work in the range of winter tyres - a bad winter tyre will be worse. Also, whilst on holiday in Iceland, I got to experience studded winter tyres on a FWD car and the difference wasn’t that spectacular. I suspect the studs come into their own on ice under braking, but all seasons have been almost voodoo in how secure they feel.
So, if your car is a fairly typical car that does a fairly normal miles and experiences typical winter conditions in the UK, then yes, get a good set of all season tyres that fit your use profile.
Saying all that, on my commuting car for the best part of the last decade, I have run all season tyres. I have found that generally, the all season tyres are absolutely fine in summer and actually wear better than summer tyres. In the dry, they are absolutely fine. Tyre dependent (as you would expect), they are not the sportiest, but they are better than cheap tyres and they are comfortable. They are also better in the wet than anything other than the absolute sportiest summer tyres, but get better when the temperature dips. They are no less efficient either and cost is equivalent to a decent summer tyre.
When it comes to the winter, I never get stuck. All season tyres may not have the absolute peak grip, but they work plenty well enough and they work in the range of winter tyres - a bad winter tyre will be worse. Also, whilst on holiday in Iceland, I got to experience studded winter tyres on a FWD car and the difference wasn’t that spectacular. I suspect the studs come into their own on ice under braking, but all seasons have been almost voodoo in how secure they feel.
So, if your car is a fairly typical car that does a fairly normal miles and experiences typical winter conditions in the UK, then yes, get a good set of all season tyres that fit your use profile.
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