what would you think about buying winter tyres for driving in Limerick

banjobongo

what would you think about buying winter tyres for driving in Limerick? We have just had a cold spell, we are in thaw mode now, but the weather forecasters predict another cold spell with snow and ice this weekend. We had a long cold spell last winter. I know drivers in France, Germany etc put them on every winter. Does anybody on this forum use them, how did you find them, where can you get them in Limerick and most important, how much!

bazz26

Big debate on the motors forum around winter tyres:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055788724

phill106

Personally i would think with the minimal amount of snow we get, along with the availabilty of city gritting trucks, I would just get good all season ones rather then snow/winter tyres.
Unless you live up a mountain or something.

Auzirish

In australia we use snow chains that just strap to existing tyres when driving on snowy/icy roads... maybe try these? they can be put on pretty quickly.

badboyblake

banjobongo wrote: »

what would you think about buying winter tyres for driving in Limerick? We have just had a cold spell, we are in thaw mode now, but the weather forecasters predict another cold spell with snow and ice this weekend. We had a long cold spell last winter. I know drivers in France, Germany etc put them on every winter. Does anybody on this forum use them, how did you find them, where can you get them in Limerick and most important, how much!

Couldn't get them in the republic for love nor money so I got them two weeks ago in Newry NI - I am very happy with them and the service I received.
The grip on the tyres is amazing - compared with normal tyres it's like the difference between night and day.
Best to book an appointment to get them.
http://www.kwik-fit.com/

TestTransmission

Buy online from camskill

witless_steve

I'm getting a pair of winter tyres on Saturday, looking forward to trying them out on a nice long drive in the cold to see how good they are. Besides I hear that winter tyres are superb in the wet as long as the air temp is under 10 C, after that they're a bit too soft and would wear out too fast. The city might get gritted but I've come along the main roads into the city on the days when the council didn't get a chance to grit them and it's like a skating rink out there sometimes. Cars spinning and sliding about like they're ina demented car ad.

banjobongo

witless_steve wrote: »

I'm getting a pair of winter tyres on Saturday, looking forward to trying them out on a nice long drive in the cold to see how good they are. Besides I hear that winter tyres are superb in the wet as long as the air temp is under 10 C, after that they're a bit too soft and would wear out too fast. The city might get gritted but I've come along the main roads into the city on the days when the council didn't get a chance to grit them and it's like a skating rink out there sometimes. Cars spinning and sliding about like they're ina demented car ad.

any chance you can report back here after you have had a chance to use your new winter tyres in icy conditions?

witless_steve

As requested I'm back now I have the tyres fitted. I took the car for a little spin to get a feel for the new tyres. I found a shaded carpark with a few patches of ice on it and tried out some hard braking, fast turning, etc. The winter tyres bite into the ice much better than the old tyres, I can still slip and slide if I try to go to fast but I can go at least 50% faster than I could before. Braking on ice is always tricky, but the winter tyres made it a lot easier. I had to brake a bit harder but the tread brought me to a safe stop every time, much shorter distance than I used to cover. It's only one small test but based on this I won't be afraid of the road conditions more of my fellow drivers. For now I'm giving the tyres two thumbs up, pricey little things but they really take a lot of the fear out of winter driving. For the record I went for Dunlop Winter Sports 3D.

langdang

Where did you get them? what size, how much?