Winter Tyres

[HCH]

I'm contemplating keeping a 7 on the road through the winter using 16 inch HPC 5 spoke wheels for added ground clearance. I'm hoping for recommendations as to a good winter tyre that would suit a & on these rims. Car is Roadsport SV 1.8 K series, 140 brake. Thanks

 

Edited by - HCH on 7 Dec 2012 23:28:53

[Gridgway]

That's a poor choice of wheel from snow/traction perspective. Higher profile smaller dia rims be better.

 

What about a set of 13" steelies and tyres from mytyres.co.uk?

 

Graham

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

That must be one of the rarest questions ever asked on BC ?

 

I have just got some 16" rims and 60 profile Yokohama winter tyres - but for the tintop. Wouldn't like to try and guess how they would perform on a 500kg car ! Good luck.

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

That's another point - can you get 16" wheels under your front wings ? As above, 13" with tall profile tyres would be way better.

[Gridgway]

on mytres, I'd expect a good brand winter tyre and steel rim on 13" would be about £70

 

IIRC the 16s are 205x45x16. Tyres only from mytyres are over £100 each for decent brands (eg dunlop).

 

Graham

[Martin J]

Talking from experience go VERY easy with your right foot & short shift the gears in these slippery conditions.

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

..... or avoid driving through Buxted

[Martin J]

Quoting Stationary M25 Traveller: 

..... or avoid driving through Buxted

 

err...yes. 😳

[DougBaker]

My sister lives in Switzerland and one of her friends used to drive a Honda engined Elise through the year to ski resorts etc. So the tyres are available in the required sizes profiles and do work.

 

He only sold the car when he finally gave up with the battle of trying to register it locally.

 

Edited by - DougBaker on 7 Dec 2012 22:19:57

[Golf Juliet Tango]

Last year I put Nokian W+ (in 13" size) on the Crossflow.

I remain unconvinced that they gave better performance than Yoko 21s. They came off looking like new.

[HCH]

Thank's all. That's a good point re will they fit the car "Stationary on M25". They are wheels that I had with a 2003 Anniversary car but wish to fit them over winter onto a 2006 car currently running 15 inch anthracites with 195 / 45 15. Plan is to keep one of the hire cars on the road over winter to take advantage of the quiet Scottish roads and snow covered scenery on cold crisp clear days, hould we get? Inspired by Henry Catchpole EVO video in Alps.

[6speedmanual]

Like Mr GJTango, I've done a mile or two with my 7 on winter tyres.

I have to conclude (now they are worn out) (with a lot of effort, mind) that they are more fun than effective.

Sure they have some good points:

Ride quality

Standing water dispersal

Longevity

Cheaper than CR500 all year

Entertaining conversation piece

Increased ground clearance for snow

Fantastic oversteer launches from junctions (saves wear on steering rack)

Get deeply intimate with your 7's chassis dynamic and balance

 

Disadvantages:

Traction and grip in the dry

Traction and grip in the wet

Traction and grip in conditions other than dry or wet are there or there abouts more or less ok

Slightly mushy sidewalls encourage a 'predictive' approach to cornering - On one occasion I felt serving then written notice of a forthcoming road feature may have been advisable.

 

However, the CRUCIAL thing to know is that a 175/65x13 budget Kumho snow tyre can keep up with a very well driven, 200 pony power 7 on fat Toyo 888 ALL the way along Duke's Pass and most of the rest of Scotland... 😬 😬 😬

 

Enjoy!

 

Edited by - 6speedmanual on 8 Dec 2012 00:06:04

[Anton]

I've driven LE0 through all the winters since I bought it in 2005.

 

LE0 is an 1800K SV with 16inch 5 spokes and 205 Toyo 888s, which replaced standard Avons (RV3s?)

 

I've been able to find traction and keep going (and stopping!) most of the time. Just had to remember how light and powerful a 7 is. In bad snow I've made heavy use of the engine to slow down, rarely started in first, sometimes in third and tried to manoeuvre smoothly and gently, using the brakes as rarely as possible, and a long way back from where I wanted to stop.

 

The Toyos are pretty good, far better than the Avons. But I've never used winter tyres so I don't know if they would show that much of an improvement.

[HCH]

Thanks Anton, now thinking of Michelin Alpin 4 on 14 inch rims?

 

[Q Catcher]

I have 16" 5-spokers like you, and I've fitted Vredestein 205 M+S for the winter. Haven't used them on the Seven before, but I've used them on two others (Fiat Coupe and Ford Focus) and they were excellent, as in go-anywhere on snow.

 

We live up a narrow lane and fit winter tyres to most of our family's cars. Even my M3 on winter tyres is better than other locals' 4x4s on summer tyres in the snow. I'll see how the Seven does.

 

Edited by - Q Catcher on 11 Dec 2012 11:42:00

 

Edited by - Q Catcher on 11 Dec 2012 11:45:11

[Mort]

At the risk of provoking howls of protest, I drive on Caterham sourced 185/70 R13 Avon CR322s all year round. They're certainly not a performance tyre (understatement of the year), and neither are they a winter tyre, but they do clear huge amounts of water when it's wet, and they are reasonably stable in Winter conditions as long as you don't push it too much. They'll also last you the lifetime of your car too! 😬

 

I should point out that I have never driven on them in snow (why would I when we have a Jeep?), and I don't like using the Seven when there's salt on the road (for obvious reasons), but I do run the Seven most weeks throughout the year, and I have been pleasantly surprised by these tyres, which have a fearsome reputation that is not entirely deserved.

[rgrigsby]

I'd certainly steer clear of CR500's in the snow, based on experience they are hopeless. Plenty of good suggestions on this thread but just to add another one Yoko 021R's seemed to work quite well in the snow (certainly a lot better than CR500's).

[Eugene]

I drive Eugene all year round on 021Rs...

 

Never had a major problem, although once or twice I've not been able to get out the drive - but then nothing less than SWMBO's truck would have made it 😳

 

😬 😬 😬

[HCH]

Decision made following a change of plan as a result of sound council from you guys, thanks. Going with 185/60 R14 Michelin Alpin PA4's on 14 inch Minators. Again, thanks to all and I'll post to let you know what they are like in my and any hirers opinions.

[6speedmanual]

Hi HCH

 

Does what you've written imply you offer Caterham hire?

In which region are you based?

 

Incidentally, just bought a set of lightly worn Mich Alpine A4 for my (Oleopneumatique - Merde Alors) Xantia. I shall be interested to hear your feedback.

 

I have yet to decide which tyres to run on my 7 for my annual puddle-jumping trip round Scotland in Springtime.

 

Peter

 

[HCH]

Hi Peter.

 

Yes we do, based in Elgin, Morayshire. It's not appropriate to advertise on the forum I believe, but if you wanted more info Google will find us for you?!!

 

I ran Michelin Alpin 3's on an Audi Allroad a couple of winters back and was very impressed and have just put sets onto my wife's Scenic and daughters Clio.

 

As a good all round summer tyre (in view of what can be a damp climate up here!!!!) I have been really impressed with Uniroyal Rainsport 2's on the hire cars. They are very good in the wet yet still feel nice in the dry and seem to be wearing well.

 

Rgds

 

Boyd

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

Second the Uniroyal Rainsport 2 on the tintops. Great tyre.

[6speedmanual]

Just had a set of Michelin Alpin A4 GreenX fitted to my Xantia.

These were bought on ebay as part worn. The car they were fitted to died mechanically, unrepairable. These are so new they still had moulding pips showing. 4211 DOT code. Tripped in with a bid sniper at closing time and hooked a bit of a bargain.

 

I'm blown away!

Extreme wet on motorway and dual cabbage way on way home. Very splashy and muddy lanes to a Xmas concert tonight.

Grippy giving a whole lot more just when on a wet suface you would expect all to let go.

Feelsome steering

Smooth ride

Quiet (purr rather than whoosh of the summer tyres)

It has been quite a revelation playing with them and provoking then toward loss of grip.

 

'Roll on' part worn tyres! These are a premium product with outstanding performance. Fitted cost for set of 4 equal to 1.5 new Michelin Energy (another excellent tyre) for same car.

 

Sorry for such a gushing posting. Just feeling very wowed by this purchase and wanted to share!

 

Peter