Reply to: This Winter's going to be a corker

[EternalOptimist]

With 2 winter tyres, all you are ensuring is that the vehicle will move.


thats the clincher. right there

[Paddy]

[darmstadt]

An abbreviated FAQ:

Can I drive on winter tyres in summer?

Yes, but the best thing to do is store them in the summer otherwise they’ll wear out quite quickly.
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What are the biggest benefits of winter tyres compared with normal tyres?

On rear wheel drive cars in particular, they improve all areas of performance. But the biggest differences are in braking and traction, and the differences are monumental, as in more than 50 per cent.
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Do I really need winter tyres on a front wheel drive car?

Yes, because although the improvements aren’t as great as they are on rear drive cars, they are still very significant indeed, especially in braking performance.
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Do winter tyres make any difference in the rain?

Yes, a huge difference In fact, they will improve the braking, traction and overall grip of your car at pretty much any temperature below 5-7 degrees C – even in the dry. And in the wet, in those sorts of temperatures the difference is chalk and cheese.
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What’s wrong with carrying a set of snow chains instead?

Best of luck fitting a set of those once you’ve slid to a halt on the hard shoulder on the uphill section of a busy motorway.
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Is it enough in winter just to drive more slowly?

Below 7°C you would stop 11 metres sooner than with summer tyres (when braking on an icy road from just 20mph). That is 4.8 metres shorter in wet conditions from 60mph.
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Why should I buy 4 tyres in a set?

Due to superior grip from winter tyres, cars should be fitted with 4 winter tyres or 4 summer tyres, of the same speed rating and the same load index.
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Are winter tyres really for when it snows?

They are designed for optimal safety in the cold, wet, ice and snow conditions below 7 degree
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Q: Can I put snow tires on just the drive wheels of my car?

A: Putting just two snow tires on your car is a bad idea. If you have a front-wheel-drive car and put snow tires on the front only, the back wheels won't have anywhere near as much grip as the front wheels. This will make the car much more likely to spin out while braking or cornering. Likewise, if you put snow tires on the just back wheels of a rear-wheel-drive car, the wheels that do the steering won't grip as well as those that provide the power, so the car may not respond when the steering wheel is turned -- it will simply plow straight ahead. Always install snow tires as a full set of four.
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There is often a temptation in winter to only fit winter tyres on the drive axle, to improve performance when pulling away. However, this is not enough to guarantee good performance and maximum safety. With 2 winter tyres, all you are ensuring is that the vehicle will move.

A front-wheel drive vehicle with winter tyres fitted on the front only is out of balance at the rear, and the vehicle is more prone to spinning.
A rear-wheel drive vehicle with winter tyres fitted at the back only is out of balance at the front, and may go straight on at corners.
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Are 2 winter tyres enough?
Although it seems logical and economical to fit M+S tyres on the drive wheels and keep the summer tyres on the free-running wheels, this approach does involve some very real risks. When braking the weight is transferred to the front wheels. Vehicles with rear wheel drive would then be slowed down mainly via the summer tyres on the front, which provide little grip.

So more for front wheel drive cars?
Again, no, because the difference in traction and lateral guidance would soon make the vehicle unstable in bends. Complete safety can therefore only be ensured when winter tyres are fitted on all four wheel positions.
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Okay?

[darmstadt]

Winter tyres aren't just there for the grip in the snow (don't forget to turn off traction control) but they are also a different compound which gives better grip in cold weather.

[d000hg]

Seriously, if you value your life either buy a full set of them or get some chains for when you are stuck in the car park and leave the car if the roads are really bad. Chances are if it's that bad that you need winter tyres on you'll end up sharing the road with people who don't have them anyway so it's probably safer.

Don't worry I told the wife to get the garage to fit a full set because a dick on the internet told me too (not meaning you )

I don't buy it completely - to me 2 wheels is still safer than none and if the back was going to slide at 5mph it would do so regardless - but of course 4 is safer than 2 and it isn't worth the hassle to find out the hard way!

If I had my driving game code still working I'd set up some tests but it doesn't compile on modern compilers!

[darmstadt]

In an interesting development, we just booked our car in for a service at a reputable garage and to get winter tyres fitted. Their advice was that on a car like ours, only to fit them on the front.

No doubt a soft southern middle manager who went on a skiing holiday once knows more about these things of course. I expect he'll post an in-depth analysis of the physics and mathematics, rather than a childish insult.

Is this your car then?



Personally I think they're talking tulip. I drove 80km in snow today with winter tyres and now and then I could feel the car move sideways. I expect that with only 2 winter tyres on I would have done a graceful twirl into the central reservation. Do what they say, have an accident and then you can sue them for giving you misleading advice

[doodab]

In an interesting development, we just booked our car in for a service at a reputable garage and to get winter tyres fitted. Their advice was that on a car like ours, only to fit them on the front.

No doubt a soft southern middle manager who went on a skiing holiday once knows more about these things of course. I expect he'll post an in-depth analysis of the physics and mathematics, rather than a childish insult.

They are wrong, and unless you plan on not actually driving in the snow they will quite possibly kill you.

With winter tyres on just the driving wheels you may well be able to pull away and accelerate in conditions that might otherwise leave you stranded. In those sort of conditions if you don't have them on the rear wheels then it's VERY LIKELY that your car will spin when you go round a corner, brake, or even just lift off the throttle, especially going downhill. Once it starts it will keep spinning until you come to a stop or hit something. This will happen even at very low speeds and you will have no control whatsoever. I have practical experience of this (having done a season in the Alps in a front wheel drive car where I started out with just chains and no winter tyres) and it can be quite scary. On one occasion I was rolling downhill around a corner at about 5 mph and I span 720 degrees (with no barrier on the downhill side). On a couple of other occasions the car just started rotating and span 90, 180 degrees or whatever. I was never doing more than 10mph on any of these occasions.

I've done a fair bit of other driving in snow as well, in front, rear and all wheel drive cars, but only in places where winter tyres (on all wheels) are legally required, and I've never had a problem, so I don't think it's me driving like a knob.

Can I fit winter tyres to just two wheels? - Telegraph

Video Can you fit just 2 winter tyres | the online tyre guide

Seriously, if you value your life either buy a full set of them or get some chains for when you are stuck in the car park and leave the car if the roads are really bad. Chances are if it's that bad that you need winter tyres on you'll end up sharing the road with people who don't have them anyway so it's probably safer.

[MyUserName]

He's more likely to come back with a really poor comeback. See above.

Oh yeah, I guess he could do that

[d000hg]

Isn't he more likely to accuse you of lying?

He's more likely to come back with a really poor comeback. See above.

[sasguru]

In an interesting development, we just booked our car in for a service at a reputable garage and to get winter tyres fitted. Their advice was that on a car like ours, only to fit them on the front.

Finally! Proof that there is a God.
God, please let it snow this winter, so you can finally clasp Doogie to thy bosom.

[MyUserName]

In an interesting development, we just booked our car in for a service at a reputable garage and to get winter tyres fitted. Their advice was that on a car like ours, only to fit them on the front.

No doubt a soft southern middle manager who went on a skiing holiday once knows more about these things of course. I expect he'll post an in-depth analysis of the physics and mathematics, rather than a childish insult.

Isn't he more likely to accuse you of lying?

[d000hg]

In an interesting development, we just booked our car in for a service at a reputable garage and to get winter tyres fitted. Their advice was that on a car like ours, only to fit them on the front.

No doubt a soft southern middle manager who went on a skiing holiday once knows more about these things of course. I expect he'll post an in-depth analysis of the physics and mathematics, rather than a childish insult.

[Old Hack]

The idea a person could live in Switzerland is not fantastical, the idea a boring idiot like yourself would a)be offered it b)have the stones to accept is however.

But the more 'facts' you add, the more enthralling it becomes so do continue. Maybe you and MF could team up.

The effete religious zealot pacifist calls another man out for not having stones.

Couldn't make it up

[eek]

It's no surprise to me that working in Switzerland seems fantastical to a mediocre cretin like you.
You could try for a janitor's job if you wanted to go ...

Oh and another thing - the contract I was on offered first-class flights to and from Basle on Monday and Friday and my own apartment in Basle. HTH

Only because it was cheaper to ship you in an out weekly and pay you a pittance compared to the real local rates.

[d000hg]

The idea a person could live in Switzerland is not fantastical, the idea a boring idiot like yourself would a)be offered it b)have the stones to accept is however.

But the more 'facts' you add, the more enthralling it becomes so do continue. Maybe you and MF could team up.