Member Since: 20 Jan 2006
Location: Germany
Posts: 25
Do you really need winter tyres
Will soon take delivery of a new Discovery. We do not have much snow here, but I am thinking about winter tyres. Is the Discovery well suited to winter conditions on summer tyres? I could imagine once it gets sliding it will slide longer and wider than most because of the weight. Does the Disco need winter tyres more than other cars? Any opinions?
Cheers
Jolly
17th Dec 2008 1:50 pm
luciogodoy
Member Since: 14 Apr 2008
Location: Windsor - UK
Posts: 356
Hi Jolly Jumper;
I drove to the Alps last year and where people were failing to start or stop, i was fine (without snow chains), I had Pirelli Scorpions, if you have the luxury to purchase winter tyres, i would, for the safety side of things.
The main diference between a normal tyre and a snow tyre (AFAIK) the snow tyre has deeper grooves and more sharp edges than the normal tyres to cut in to the snow.
Andy from AJS 4x4 site sponsor should be able to help you, give him a ring.
Regards
LucioI'm riding a R1250GSA Triple Back
Previous love: Disco 3 HSE MY07, D4 heated Steering/W, D4 rear cluster, D4 extended roof rack, D4 grille & air grille, D4 rear bumper, colour coded arches + front bumper, side-steps, Webasto timer/ remote control, De-Tangoed Xenon headlights + HID, LEDs all around, reverse CAM (RR hack) + brightness, DLR LEDs, 3-click indicator, SatNav on the move, EGR's done, front/rear antiroll bar Polybush, gearbox pan/filter + oil mega-flush.
Before you go for winter tyres - check what tyres the D3 comes with and you may fine that already are suitable i.e. have an M+S marking. All depends on what's fitted at the time.LRs are a fond memory, apart from the maintenance.
17th Dec 2008 2:53 pm
ad15
Member Since: 14 Dec 2008
Location: up that tree
Posts: 4866
have been living in the alps for over 10 years and have always used winter tyres, they are not just for snow, they are for generally lower temperatures, so they heat up quicker etc etc.
you can get snow oriented winter tyres and more wet weather oriented tyres... it always amazes me that no one uses them in this country.
FYI it is now LAW in austria for ALL cars to have winter tyres from dec 1st. even if you are a foreigner driving through they will stop you and fine you for wrong tyres... friendly warning.
17th Dec 2008 4:08 pm
ad15
Member Since: 14 Dec 2008
Location: up that tree
Posts: 4866
forgot to mention in last post, last winter did some pretty heavy snow driving in ds with standard tyres on an was pretty inpressed, although the traction control was working over time
17th Dec 2008 4:15 pm
Ian62
Member Since: 17 Mar 2007
Location: Cyprus
Posts: 238
Just for info but here in Germany it is not law that you must use/have winter tyres, although they say you must use tyres that suit the conditions so work that one out
MrH; M+S does not mean they are fit for snow, they are only deemed fit for snow if they also have a small snow flake in a triangle located next to it. So if you have that your ready to rumble
Jolly Jumper; Heading towards my second year with my D3 in snow and we had no problems what-so-ever last year on our normal road tyres and we went skiing nearly every weekend.
Must admit though I am thinking getting hold of a set of snow chains, just in case.Stadt Panzer Power
Sorry forgot to mention the snowflake symbol, I was aware of it Thank Ian LRs are a fond memory, apart from the maintenance.
17th Dec 2008 4:49 pm
garyr
Member Since: 29 Oct 2007
Location: Bucks
Posts: 182
I would absolutely get Winter Tyres. I have gone for Vredestein Wintrac 4 Extremes.
I agree that even in the UK they have been superb! We have had some cold snaps recently and on country lanes I am driving normally and everybody else is going 10mph!!
I am very surprised the UK market hasn't caught on to them and I will certainly change mine over each year.
If I was on the continent there is no way I would be driving without them. I am driving to Slovakia at weekend so Im well prepared.
By the way as already mentioned its not just snow that is the issue. It is ice and temperature.
Hope that helps!! 56 Tonga Green HSE.
17th Dec 2008 7:01 pm
ad15
Member Since: 14 Dec 2008
Location: up that tree
Posts: 4866
they also feel better in the wet, more so than any other tyre i have ever used..
Must say I didn't know that Vredestein even did a tyre this size let alone a winter tyre....
In the former life that I used Volvo's in Ireland (North & South) Vredestiens were a life saver for me.....I also found that as a make they had a long life unlike a set of Gislaved winter tyres (that Volvo gave me)
Transforming a very capable car (Rear Wheel drive 240's are superb in bad snowy, Icey bad weather).....Ireland presents plenty of this with the majority of the roads in rural districts un-salted & un-gritted.
The standard of driving of the majority there is just awesome....everybody just copes with the situation - quite unlike here in the UK where 1/2" of snow & the place comes to a standstil
Now I know that Vredestein Wintrac 4 Extremes are available I will be going that way for the impending 1st tyre change...BREXIT - done properly.
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Morris Minor..original DIPSTICK technology..and a real KEY.
17th Dec 2008 8:22 pm
NJF
Member Since: 05 Oct 2007
Location: Gone
Posts: 2466
My summer tyres are General Grabber AT2, which say "M&S". I discussed this with AJS a while ago, including how the AT2 is better suited to wet and snow conditions than my previous tyres, which were Scorpion Zero. If I visited Europe briefly and only once a year, I'd probably stick with the AT2s and drive like a granny when it's very cold.
But, I live in a part of Europe that can get very cold and I'm not yet a granny (not likely, either, since I'm a bloke with no plans to be anything else). My winter tyres are Scorpion Snow+Ice. The tread is nowhere near as aggressive as AT2, but it's chunky enough and it contains more sipes, which help grip (a bit like deck shows). Also, it's well suited to low temperature use, which suits me when the temperature is below zero.
See here for pictures of the AT2 and Scorpion Snow+Ice tread:
Member Since: 14 Dec 2008
Location: up that tree
Posts: 4866
well put bffarrar... having lived in the mountains for years it never ceases to amaze me that we could get a couple of feet of snow and life would just carry on as usual, yet when back in the uk if the temp drops to anywhere near 0' or anything vaguely resembling white was around the common british drivers ability or lack of goes completely out the window.
last winter i happily drove a 2 FWD VW transporter for 30 miles on the autobahn in nearly a foot of fresh without incident. no other cars piled up on the side of the road, everyone jsut going about their business, it was very early in the morning too so no plows or gritters.
yet only 10 days ago driving from cornwall to bristol we hit a bit of a hail storm, in the space of 10 mins and 2 miles there were no less than 6 cars crashed and 2 cars went past me at over 100mph.......
17th Dec 2008 10:28 pm
Duncster
Member Since: 25 Nov 2006
Location: Midlands
Posts: 755
I think the difference is snow offers more traction than ice - you are just not going to get any traction in ice unless you have studs or chains.
I have to say the roads over the last week are worse than I have ever seen them, I think the temprature has been hovering at freezing and this can build up quite a lot of ice on untreated roads.
The problem in the UK is we dont have extremes15 3.0 RRS HSE - Silver
05 2.7TDV6 S AUTO Silver - Retro-fitted Leather.
17th Dec 2008 10:37 pm
AndrewW
Member Since: 06 Aug 2007
Location: Saddleworth
Posts: 2302
Sounds like a good plan...2006 D3 finally swapped for a 2016 D4 Graphite in Graphite grey. No mods
17th Dec 2008 10:59 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73089
How do snow tyres compare with MTRs, esp on ice??? I know the Crosier peeps use MTRs and can just leave my MTRs on but I have a set of 18"ers doing nowt that I could put proper winters on, Unfortunately I live on a slight slope that the council do not ever grit, getting out can be a bit hairy (down hill), getting back can be even more interesting.
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so work that one out 
Thank Ian 
