Summer tyres tested in Snow tonight

Well tonight we had some snow, infact we have had snow most of the day.

So tonight i just decided to see just to see how good the Evoque performed in the snow on summer tyres. My car has the 20" michelin latitude sport summer tyres. I was dubious that this was even going to work at all, after i have had these sort of michelin tyres on other 2wd car and they were beyond useless.

So i decided to venture out to North yorks moors which gets its fair share of snow.

I went upto a place called captain cooks monument , to get up here you have to go uphill for a couple of miles & then attack a steep incline with a hairpin in the middle. Followed by a steep single track road probably 1 in 4, this was heavily snow covered upto 3 inches . The hairpin had been gritted a bit which helped and a liile bit had been thrown down on the steepest part.

Well using normal mode the car got upto the top of the incline without too much bother, once we got to the moor top it looked like i was the only one that had been up there since the fresh snow. Once into the powder it had no problems , so i next decided to try getting the car up the steep snow covered car parks at the top.

So i tried using grass gravel snow and normal mode.

Ggs setting was brilliant , i only managed to get the car stuck once by going half way up the steepest car park and stopping dead and setting off again ( it just spin all 4 wheels up and eventually just slid backwards)

With a little bit of initial momentum it vever got stuck , i used hdc in forwards and reverse and it was brilliant.

So after messing about for 30mins i decided it was time to go home, i used HDC to go back down the steep snow covered inclines until it was safe to disengage it.

It just a shame it does not steer or stop that well with the summer tyres on the slippy roads winter tyres are king.

So for normal snowy driving will the Evoque get stuck , i doubt it .

Are winter tyre better deffo yes, will i be fitting them not for the time being.

Here is a pic from the Moor top

Great - wish I had snow to play in!

Mud and ruts, I find to be better in deeper snow than GGS.

(05-12-2012 10:57pm)Jonathon555 Wrote:  Well tonight we had some snow, infact we have had snow most of the day.

So tonight i just decided to see just to see how good the Evoque performed in the snow on summer tyres. My car has the 20" michelin latitude sport summer tyres. I was dubious that this was even going to work at all, after i have had these sort of michelin tyres on other 2wd car and they were beyond useless.

So i decided to venture out to North yorks moors which gets its fair share of snow.

I went upto a place called captain cooks monument , to get up here you have to go uphill for a couple of miles & then attack a steep incline with a hairpin in the middle. Followed by a steep single track road probably 1 in 4, this was heavily snow covered upto 3 inches . The hairpin had been gritted a bit which helped and a liile bit had been thrown down on the steepest part.

Well using normal mode the car got upto the top of the incline without too much bother, once we got to the moor top it looked like i was the only one that had been up there since the fresh snow. Once into the powder it had no problems , so i next decided to try getting the car up the steep snow covered car parks at the top.

So i tried using grass gravel snow and normal mode.

Ggs setting was brilliant , i only managed to get the car stuck once by going half way up the steepest car park and stopping dead and setting off again ( it just spin all 4 wheels up and eventually just slid backwards)

With a little bit of initial momentum it vever got stuck , i used hdc in forwards and reverse and it was brilliant.

So after messing about for 30mins i decided it was time to go home, i used HDC to go back down the steep snow covered inclines until it was safe to disengage it.

It just a shame it does not steer or stop that well with the summer tyres on the slippy roads winter tyres are king.

So for normal snowy driving will the Evoque get stuck , i doubt it .

Are winter tyre better deffo yes, will i be fitting them not for the time being.

Here is a pic from the Moor top

You are a brave man! I've been debating whether to go for winter tyres, but after reading this I don't think I'll bother. I live near the coast and the snow we get (only very occasionally!) is nowhere near that deep!

Thanks!

This looks like fun!
I am a bit confused though, and hopefully someone can advise?
There are several posts calling the Michelin Latitude Sport tyres 'summer' tyres.
I spoke with Michelin and they do not classify these as summer, but all year round tyres. It was said that it would be extremely unlikely any car manufacturer would release a car in the UK with summer tyres due to the varying weather conditions. They say summer tyres are totally different.
What is the difference exactly?

(06-12-2012 08:44am)Bodlyfunctions Wrote:  This looks like fun!
I am a bit confused though, and hopefully someone can advise?
There are several posts calling the Michelin Latitude Sport tyres 'summer' tyres.
I spoke with Michelin and they do not classify these as summer, but all year round tyres. It was said that it would be extremely unlikely any car manufacturer would release a car in the UK with summer tyres due to the varying weather conditions. They say summer tyres are totally different.
What is the difference exactly?

The pirelli scorpion verde are all season tyre that come on the 18" and sometime 19" wheel options. The compound of that tyre is suitable for below .7 deg c , but it won,t work as well as a genuine winter tyre.

These Michelin latitude sport do not work well below 7 deg c , the compound of the rubber is more for high speed performance. You can use them in winter on snowy roads but the grip is vastly compromIsed for stopping an steering.

Heres a link with a nice sunshine symbol on from the michelin site

http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/michelin-latitude-sport

(06-12-2012 08:44am)Bodlyfunctions Wrote:  This looks like fun!
I am a bit confused though, and hopefully someone can advise?
There are several posts calling the Michelin Latitude Sport tyres 'summer' tyres.
I spoke with Michelin and they do not classify these as summer, but all year round tyres. It was said that it would be extremely unlikely any car manufacturer would release a car in the UK with summer tyres due to the varying weather conditions. They say summer tyres are totally different.
What is the difference exactly?

Alpin is the Michelin Latitude winter tyre (with snow symbol).

There is a difference between "not getting stuck" and braking! I fit winters because most 4x4s I see locally don't get stuck but end up in ditches by the freeways from not being able to stop on non winter rubber.
I'm not sure why anyone willing to fork out premium dollars on the Evoque for the latest style and technology would defer/not fit winter tires. Don't you want your vehicle to not plow through a red light - or not hit that person crossing the street? Maybe you think your driving skills are good enough to counter the laws of physics? I did manage to drive a smart car home one night during an early surprise snowstorm when other vehicles were in great bother - but it was stupid luck and I never tried that again (just landed from Australia).
Your Evoque deserves the best equipment for the task - in some wintery lands winter tires should almost be on the list of options we see when we order.

Sorry about the lecture - there was a time when I too thought a 4 x 4 with all seasons would make the grade.
And yes; I do work in a hospital and like bikers to wear full face helmets

I am afraid you do not understand how it is in the U.K , you can sometimes be penalised by your insurance company for having winter tyres.

If you crash because you skid through a Red light on summer tyres at -5 deg c there is no problem ! Apart from a crumpled car. But if you have a crash whilst running winter tyres and your insurance company decide to say the tyres are not the correct spec for the car . You have a big problem.

So if you can get away without them , even though it does not makes any sense.

You do it

Think they've woken up a bit as to to how ridiculous they were being now. Many don't mind at all now, while some just want to be told when you've switched so they can put it down as a modification (but won't charge anything extra). Might still be a few who do charge for the modification but think they are the exception rather than the rule. Check with your insurer to see what their policy on them is.

Direct line just wanted to be told but didn't charge anything extra - though they did go to the trouble of issuing new documentation to reflect the "modification". Overall I feel it's a worthwhile investment knowing that the braking distance will be substantially better in low temperatures than if I'd left on the Michelin latitude sports (plus ~4 months of not wearing down the expensive 20" tyres!)