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      04-11-2013, 07:10 PM   #13
UKMS
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Drives: X7 40i
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sfax View Post
That's when wet. Stopping distances are increased when dry with winter tyres but back to the 5%.

Do you know what the % difference is in stopping distances between a tyre that is down to 4mm and one that is down to 2mm? Or the difference between 8mm (new) and 1.6mm (legal min)? It's more like a 40% decrease. 5% is often quoted but it's never put into context. Emperor's New Clothes.

And this is coming from someone who has spent over £2,000 on a set of winter wheels and tyres. They are useful for snow and ice but any safety improvements on wet or dry roads in 5C are negligible in comparison to improvement you get from simply replacing your summer or all season tyres sooner



I'm pretty fussy about tyres and their condition and probably change my tyres earlier than most and never skimp on quality, mainly because of having a blow out a number of years ago due to a defective tyre that I shouldn't have been driving on, rolled the car and nearly died as a result (lesson learnt)

I've used winter tyres in the UK for the last four winters, I have never bothered buying wheels I just have the tyres changed over and store them. Like most others I have looked at YouTube videos of tyre tests and read numerous articles and reviews, some of which are impressive others not so. The end result is that I'm no more expert about the subject of winter tyres than anyone else posting on this forum but what I would say is that for me even if its a 1% improvement whilst I'm travelling at 70mph on a motorway, that's good enough for me because that may well save mine or someone elses life or at the least save a damaged car.

I accept that buying a complete wheel set is an investment but having two sets of tyres doesn't actually cost any more because while using your winters you are saving the summers .... so overall very little if any additional cost (unless my maths is wrong)

Just my 2c worth

MS
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