Chinese winter tyres

mikeecho

I am not a fan of Ditch finders, absolutely refuse to have them on anything i drive .... however. .. Does anyone have Chinese Winter tyres?

I was thinking that i could have a set on steelies, and if / when the snow got really bad, i could pop them on.
Surely they would be some bit better than summer tyres while making your way thru a few inches of snow.

daheff

Gotta ask...where do you live that you have a few inches of snow so regular that you need winter tyres?

mikeecho

daheff wrote: »

Gotta ask...where do you live that you have a few inches of snow so regular that you need winter tyres?

i'll tell you where i live, but you'll have to bring Jaffa cakes

Its not regular snow.. its just to have a cheapo set of winters should the need arise.
I was thinking that they would be used short term... a week at a time, kinda thing.

I was hoping that i could get 4 wing wang land sails for the cost of what i currently pay for one rear tyre.

*edit: The way i see it: if i spend €300 on cheapo winter/snow tyres, that i use one a year for a week at a time, and that saves me one car park dent, or minor tip in traffic, over a 5yr period.. haven't they paid for themselves ?



btw.. i'm serious about the jaffa cakes

colm_mcm

A lot of part worns are winter tyres.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

daheff wrote: »

Gotta ask...where do you live that you have a few inches of snow so regular that you need winter tyres?

You don't need snow for winter tyres.

OP are you really going to change your tyres every time there's snow? Just put them on in November and take them off again in March

munchkin_utd

I've Michelin Cross Climates which are marketed as a summer tyre usable in winter and they are spot on.
The only proper snow I drove on was a field of snow at a ski school "car park" (nipped to the alps at lunchtime to see the young fella in a ski race for 5 year olds, as you do!) and I found them as grippy and good as normal winter tyres.

The way the winter is shaping up I'll be getting to test them a bit more this year, but I'm seriously considering just replacing the summer tyres with cross climates and ditching the separate winter pair altogether.

zilog_jones

daheff wrote: »

Gotta ask...where do you live that you have a few inches of snow so regular that you need winter tyres?

Winter tyres have softer compounds and will generally perform better than summer tyres at temperatures of below 7 degrees. They also have tread patterns better suited for ice and snow - we may not have much snow in this country, but we often get ice.

grogi

zilog_jones wrote: »

Winter tyres have softer compounds and will generally perform better than summer tyres at temperatures of below 7 degrees. They also have tread patterns better suited for ice and snow - we may not have much snow in this country, but we often get ice.

Softer compound does perform better in cold - but there is nothing that can deal with ice. Apart from spikes of course...

daheff

mikeecho wrote: »

i'll tell you where i live, but you'll have to bring Jaffa cakes


*edit: The way i see it: if i spend €300 on cheapo winter/snow tyres, that i use one a year for a week at a time, and that saves me one car park dent, or minor tip in traffic, over a 5yr period.. haven't they paid for themselves ?



btw.. i'm serious about the jaffa cakes

completely understand your point. Just could not justify the expense or effort myself.


I love Jaffa cakes too...cant beat them with a good cuppa coffee

Xmas is great...you get the metre long boxes of Jaffas now. I'll be round later.

tossy

grogi wrote: »

Softer compound does perform better in cold - but there is nothing that can deal with ice. Apart from spikes of course...

Here

we

go

again.

yawwwwwwn

Speaking from personal use - winter tyres can deal with ice and do so very effectively.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlYEMH10Z4s

grogi

tossy wrote: »

Speaking from personal use - winter tyres can deal with ice and do so very effectively.

Agreed. If driving 15 km/h means dealing with ice...

tossy

grogi wrote: »

Agreed. If driving 15 km/h means dealing with ice...

Right ok.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

grogi wrote: »

Agreed. If driving 15 km/h means dealing with ice...

How do you suggest one drives on ice? Winter tyres are better on ice, it doesn't mean one can drive at the limit on ice.

Winter tyres for <7 degrees Celsius
All season tyres for >7 degrees Celsius

Super simple.

grogi

Itzayana Full Bread wrote: »

Winter tyres are better on ice, it doesn't mean one can drive at the limit on ice.

Winter tyres for <7 degrees Celsius
All season tyres for >7 degrees Celsius

Super simple.

Of course winters they are better. But it does not mean they are good enough to say they can deal with ice.

tossy

grogi wrote: »

Of course winters they are better. But it does not mean they are good enough to say they can deal with ice.

Are you talking from real world experience having used winter tyres ?

joujoujou

From my own experience, used winter tyres last 30 winters at least.

They're better than summer tyres in terms of (still very limited) grip on ice. They're SIGNIFICANTLY better in terms of dealing with snow/slush/low temperature conditions.

So, back to OP. Go for it! But buy new, not part worns.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I have a set of Continental Winter tyres on rims that have been on and off my cars numerous times over the last 6 years. There is still at least 70% thread remaining. First sign of snow or ice and I stick them on (front wheels only) and if it turns mild again I take them off. It takes 20 mins to swap them about and well worth it especially with the weather we currently have as I live on high ground. We had 4” of snow last Thursday night and there’s still at least 2” of it remaining. Without the tyres I’d be going no where.

I also have a set of Yokohama Ice-Guard tyres on my wife’s car. They’re proper snow/ice tyres and needed right now, I’ll probably pull them off again in the next day or two when the snow/ice all melts. I have them at least 7 years now and they will do another good few years yet.

grogi

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I have them at least 7 years now and they will do another good few years yet.

You probably don't see how they get stiffer and stiffer - but the grip is nowhere as good as it was when they were new.

When I was driving where there is winter, I would dispose (sell) the tyres when they turned 3 years old.

TeaBagMania

Itzayana Full Bread wrote: »

How do you suggest one drives on ice?

Chains

in Ireland you can easily get away with running winter tires year round.

My go-to year round tire is the BFG All-Terrain, excellent mud and snow tire, if you have a truck or 4x4 that is

Chinre tires? you get what you pay for, not worth it IMO

Cee-Jay-Cee

grogi wrote: »

You probably don't see how they get stiffer and stiffer - but the grip is nowhere as good as it was when they were new.

When I was driving where there is winter, I would dispose (sell) the tyres when they turned 3 years old.

I was expecting that too, the Continentals are probably a little harder than when new but the Yokohama’s are still very soft and rubbery even after all this time. They’re kept in a reasonably warm and dry garage when not in use which probably helps too.

ianobrien

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I was expecting that too, the Continentals are probably a little harder than when new but the Yokohama’s are still very soft and rubbery even after all this time. They’re kept in a reasonably warm and dry garage when not in use which probably helps too.

If they are gone a bit hard, get this.............



Demon Tweeks has it.

https://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Product.do?method=view&n=1792&g=245304&p=154740&d=124&c=4&l=2&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Tyre%20Treatments&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5NrAoLGC2AIVLLvtCh3HMA9dEAYYASABEgKlafD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Cee-Jay-Cee

ianobrien wrote: »

If they are gone a bit hard, get this.............



Demon Tweeks has it.

https://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Product.do?method=view&n=1792&g=245304&p=154740&d=124&c=4&l=2&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Tyre%20Treatments&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5NrAoLGC2AIVLLvtCh3HMA9dEAYYASABEgKlafD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Somehow I don't think it suited for normal everyday use, it says for Race/Track use which suggests short lived effects.

CiniO

mikeecho wrote: »

I am not a fan of Ditch finders, absolutely refuse to have them on anything i drive .... however. .. Does anyone have Chinese Winter tyres?

I was thinking that i could have a set on steelies, and if / when the snow got really bad, i could pop them on.
Surely they would be some bit better than summer tyres while making your way thru a few inches of snow.

colm_mcm wrote: »

A lot of part worns are winter tyres.

Problem with winter tyres is that they perform great on snow when new and plenty of tread.
Considering most part worns would be good couple years old and have maybe half tread left, then I definitely wouldn't recommend them for purposes OP needs them.

Answering OP in short, there should be some Chinese brands which do perform great on snow. Unforutnately I can't list any, as I have no experience with Chinese brands, but reading online reviews might help.

For purposes OP needs them, I would recommend retreaded winter tyres.
Most of those I've seen seem to perform great on snow, as they have very soft compound tread.
I've driven on few different brands of retreaded winter tyres in heavy winter conditions, and I was impressed.

Problem with them is that usually they don't perform great on dry and wet road, but that shouldn't be of OP's concern if he intends to use them only in winter conditions.
Also they can be got very cheap (way cheaper than chinese tyres).