Taxi Driver Online

Don't know if i need them or not, current tyres are Michelin, done 8k miles, need advice from E7 owners on wether i need or don't need winter tyres, also what kind are best, how long they will last and how much?

Answers on a christmas card

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Alway's been about Tightening the Grip!

I found the Michelins crap and couldn't wait to get rid of them, over hyped, overpriced, prone to punctures and mileage from them shockingly poor (18,000mls on the back).....I've got budget ones on the front and rear same as last year and used them through the winter without any probs, Triangle Talon Sport. Current set has been on since April and have hardly any wear on them at all. were fine in the snow and ice but you've got all the weight over the front driven wheels which helps most.

Personally I find winter tyres a bit of a con. All they do, due to the softer compound, is give better grip in the cold on hard, bare surfaces. If the road has a covering of snow or ice there is no difference between them and ordinary tyres, there might be a slight benefit in the wet if the temps below a certain level but not much.

The only time you need good grip in the winter is when cornering and braking, and I've never had a problem doing this on standard tyres when it's cold. I will concede that in an emergency when you have to brake hard the winter tyres will be better (if the road is bare tarmac), but I can't remember the last time I had to do an emergency stop. And on high speed corners there will be a benefit, but again you should reduce your speed accordingly in such conditions.

In all my years of motoring I've never been in a situation where winter tyres would have provided a benefit, nor have I been in an incident where afterwards I'd wished I'd had winter tyres on.

This is Scotland we are talking about not England where things grind to a halt with a slight dusting
I use vredesteins all seasons, good grip in all conditions, and I only lost one days work due to the council not clearing our hill that had 2 foot of snow on it

Triangle Talon Sport where would sell these and how much/milage etc?

My Michelins should last at least another 10k so taking me through this winter hopefully.

Thanks for the info

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Alway's been about Tightening the Grip!

I think the Last Winter tyres I had on the Dispatch were Wanli Snowgrips, cheap and cheerful with enough sidewall strength to be safe. and as a Back iup i keep a pair of Tyre snow socks in the vehicle which really do save your bacon in deep slippy snow..they're awesome.

I bought mine from Allied (Glasgow) and got them fitted by my mate's garage as I don't trust many places to balance them properly. IIRC they were about 50 quid each. Allied will fit them if you want but call them first to make sure they have them in stock. They're quite a common make so you may be able to get them locally, worth phoning around. Got 30K+ out of them on the front and 40K on the back last time they were changed which I think is good for a budget tyre. All depends how hard/careful your driving is.