As the title says. I've got (nearly new) Vredstein Ultrac Centos on the back, and Kumhos approaching the legal limit on the front.

I can't afford separate winter and summer tyres, so I'm looking for an 'all season' tyre. Budgeting for no more than £85 a tyre.

There seem to be quite a few choices out there, and I'm starting to lose the will to live with all the various reviews from Micra drivers.

 

Hi,

I would avoid all season tyres in any temp above 5 -10'c.
The handling gets very wooly, wear is dramatically increased and braking distances increase.
Pls avoid the Chinese brands, they are cheap for a reason.
<<-- My location may give an indication of my experience of this

another point... I thought it wasnt a good idea to run any AWD vehicle with differing worn tyres front/rear, as it makes the centre diff work hard???
I might be mistaken about this..

Vik

 

I have just fitted Bridgestone A001 all weathers to my wifes car, really impressed with performance so far.
Dipster

 

All weather tires isn't really what I want, but I cant afford an entire new set of tyres for winter.

I've no interest in getting any ling long sing a song to cheer me up because i'm in a ditch type of tyre.

I just don't want a tyre solely dedicated to summer driving (wet and dry). I don't know if this is correct but i'm looking for something that will behave better in the few weeks of snow we might get than the previous Kumhos.

They seem to have really got through the last 3-4mm quite quickly.

 

London rarely gets snow.

 

How about slush then!

Every time we get that sort of weather, my road turns into and ice rink - black ice and white ice. Sliding at 5mph is still sliding, and living at the top of a hill does have its disadvantages in these conditions.

 

Currently running these on a Focus and they seem fine all year round http://www.clickontyres.com/Vredeste..._Quatrac_3_88H

 

Aren't f1ass 2 a all weather tyre?

 

Forgot to mention 205 / 50 / 16

 

Try 245 / 50 / 18

 

All season tyres are slightly different, and if you have ever run winter tyres then you would avoid summer tyres in the snow

OP, all season tyres are a compromise, no where near as good in snow as a winter tyre and far worse than a summer tyre in the warmer weather.
I personally would search eBay to see what tyre deals you can get, avoid the budget stuff as you can pick up decent brand's for not much more.
I have a full set of Pirelli winter tyres that I run now on the scoob in cold weather, the difference is night abducted day, especially in snow.

Tony

 

All season tyres are slightly different, and if you have ever run winter tyres then you would avoid summer tyres in the snow

OP, all season tyres are a compromise, no where near as good in snow as a winter tyre and far worse than a summer tyre in the warmer weather.
I personally would search eBay to see what tyre deals you can get, avoid the budget stuff as you can pick up decent brand's for not much more.
I have a full set of Pirelli winter tyres that I run now on the scoob in cold weather, the difference is night and day, especially in snow.

Tony

 

Hmm, might try and find a deal for winter orientated tyres then. I will leave the Vreds on the back and go for winters on the front. I'm thinking that as the steering and majority of breaking is done through the fronts, I'd be better off putting the rubber up front.

Its going to be an expensive month - 1 full service, 2/3 new tyres (nail in top of tyre near sidewall, yet to be evaluated) and insurance renewal at about £1700!

This is why I don't want to be spending more than is necessary for tyres.

 

Buy a set of winter tyres and a cheap set of wheels. That way they will last you a good few winters.

Paid £30 for mine.

 

I don't think it's recommended to fit winter tyres in 2's, believe you need to fit all 4.

 

You will need 4!

 

try hee best price iv'e found . bloody good tyre got em on the wifes seat gti
http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk/...7,87,V,XL.html
make sure you scroll down the page

 

http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rsh...110&sowigan=Wi

Mine are on the way!

 

Just seen the prices - not cheap!

 

The current Auto Express mag has a winter tyres review.

 

I'll second this... though winter tyres are not just about snow of course.

As far as a winter / all season tyre goes, I can heartily recommend Nokian WR G2s - I think they are just about the best tyre for UK winters as they are designed more for cold, wet and slushy conditions than an out an out snow tyre (some winter tyres need much colder average weather than we see in the UK).

They classify them as an all weather rather than all season tyre and I've certainly found them to be very good in all the conditions I've driven with them in.

I've not used them in the summer but I know a man who has and he's covered 20k+ miles on his set in both the summer and winter. His only comment was that on the very warmest of days, they did become a bit squishy but other than that they've been perfect.

 

Had to make a semi emergency purchase, as one tyre was going flat, and one was at the legal limit, and a trip to Gatwick at 1am is on the cards.

Avon ZV5 x2 @£200 balanced and fitted. From what I've read they don't seem to be a bad tyre, and the price isn't too bad considering a purchase from Camskill would cost £186 to the door. Factor in fitting that's not too bad, or is it?

 

I just paid £200 for a set of 4 winter tyres for my rover, shopping around saves a fair bit, kwik fit wanted £138 per tyre, i just laughed and walked out, the other cheapest was £88, i drove around a few places till i got a good deal.

Mixing tyres is a very bad idea, but hey it's your car and your money.

 

Never mix winter and normal tyres, and especially by putting the winters on the front. You'll lose the back end and you will be in that ditch.
Although your current setup stinks anyway, as mixing tyre brands on a 4 wheel drive car is never good as the performance difference between the tyres can be large. When I purchased my classic (long gone now) it had Nankangs (?) at one end and something else on the other and the end result was a mixture of variable under and oversteer when going round corners. It was lethal for anyone but an old fart.
In your position I would buy another pair of Vredesteins for the front as Vredestein tyres have a good rep in the wet and for the most part what we get in the winter is wet.
I put all-season tyres (Bridgestone A001) on my van briefly but took them off as they felt like blancmanges and gave zero feel when sliding it round corners wet or dry and now have Vredestein sportrac3's on it. I expect (and reviews suggest) the A001's would be better if it snows or if it's icy but 95% of the time there is no snow or ice is there?

 

I now have four new tyres - all within <1000 miles of each other. I know the set up of winters on the front and summers on the rear isn't the best, but i'm most concerned with having to stop the car rather than losing the back end on a roundabout or bend. In the wet and winter weather, I never push the performance of the tyres - not even remotely. That being said, should funds become available, the rears will be changed.

 

In my eyes that is utter craziness to mix summer and winter tyres on the same car..... I would even go as far to say it's sheer dangerous and stupidity.

I wouldn't even mix tyre models up between front and rear axel.

These are performance cars..... treat them with the respect and logic they deserve.

I don't understand peoples logic... this is THE most important part of your car imo, as it's the bit that's in contact with the road.

 

I would say having a winter/summer mix is actually worse than having all summers. You'll have a false sense of security and WILL end up having problems.

 

Actually, the long term forecast is for dry winters and wet summers

During our winters, we see average temps below 7 degrees (especially if you tend to drive early in the morning or late at night) so what you want is a compound that works in that temperature range irrespective of whether the tread pattern is designed for snow or not (in the UK, a tyre that works in the wet is a given requirement anyway, I'd say ).

Modern summer tyres do operate down to lower temps than they used to so for the most part you can get away without winter tyres and just take extra care in the snow and ice but winter tyres are definitely safer and personally I'd rather have the right tyre for the job... at the end of the day, whilst it is more expensive initially, it works out about the same price to have two sets of tyres in the long run - winter tyres generally last about 4 seasons and the summers are not getting worn down while the winters are on the car.


You will probably find your insurance is invalid if you have winters on one axle and summers on the other.

The great thing about winters is that if you have more control if have to react to something (e.g. a car on summer tyres sliding towards you, you have the grip to be able to swerve out of the way or brake in plenty of time). It's not always about whether you're the one who's car has lost control.

 

Indeed. An accident due to poor / incorrect tyres is much more expensive than the tyres themselves.

It's built into our ethos as a nation though to scrimp on car maintenance - tyre fitters (in my experience) often suggest the budget tyres first assuming the customer wishes to spend as little as possible.

 

That was my experience yesterday, I was initally asked if wanted some unbranded tyre, I had to ask specifically for a branded tyre, and the Avons were the only ones avaialbe, and in my price range.

In all my driving through winter, every problem i've had so far has been initiated by understeer on slush / snow. Ive never lost the back end (unless I wanted to ).

With that, I wanted tyres that would limit that, and seen as though I had no choice with having to get new tyres, I opted for tyres suited to the up coming season.

Heres hoping I don't need to take evasive action at any speed!