Hi I'm thinking about getting a set of winter tyres for my forthcoming dynamic but I'm wondering if I'm better getting another set of wheels to put the winter tyres onto or just put them onto my new shadow chromes then swop tyres back after the winter. Never done this before so wondering what people's thoughts were.
(15-09-2011 10:45pm)PJ Wrote: [ -> ]Hi I'm thinking about getting a set of winter tyres for my forthcoming dynamic but I'm wondering if I'm better getting another set of wheels to put the winter tyres onto or just put them onto my new shadow chromes then swop tyres back after the winter. Never done this before so wondering what people's thoughts were.
Why would you need winter tyres on a Range Rover?
I ask I live in the wilderness of Scotland and have never suffered a problem getting around in any Range or Land Rover car on their standard M&S tyres and I can't see the Evoque being anything but utterly capable, IMHO of course...
Have had the same thought myself, second hand set of wheels and winter tyres just to keep the 20" shadows in tip top condition.
Do we think that any RR/LR wheel will fit?
You do not need to fit winter tyres to a Land Rover, but they do make a difference.
I used to run my RRS on winter wheels and tyres from October through to March, makes a big difference to braking in the snow and on frosty roads due to the special tread pattern. A 4WD car can get good traction in the snow BUT it cannot stop any better on summer or all season tyres than any other vehicle.
The advantage of running on a 2nd set of wheels is that it is
a) quicker to change the wheels and tyres as one than to loose you car for a day when the tyre shop has to take all 4 wheels off, remove the tyres put the new tyres on, balance them and then put them back on.
b) If you have kerbed the summer wheels you can leave them at a wheel repair place for refurbing/ repair while running on the winter wheels
c) Having a winter set of wheels also means that when they salt the roads, if your summer wheels do have kerb rash on them then the road salt will not get under the sealer coat and start corrosion
d) The drawback of having a set of winter wheels is storage - it's best to have somewhere dark and dry to store 4 wheel and tyres when they are not in use, down the bottom of the garden behind the compost heap isn't good for them!
e) One advantage to having a second set of wheels and tyres is that, as happened to me, I damaged two nearside wheels and tyres in one incident - the winter tyres can actually be used year round but they will wear more rapidly in warmer weather as the tyre compound is softer than that used for summer tyres. In my case the incident happened on a Sunday afternoon, 12 hours before I was to drive from Scotland to London. Land Rover Assist drove me 10 miles to my house, we collected the 4 winter wheels and tyres and took them back to the car and he fitted them at the road side. I them drove to my friendly tyre shop who took the 2 damaged wheels and tyres off me, arranged for 1 replacement wheel and 1 wheel refurb + 2 new tyres while I was away for 4 days in London. I would have been stuck for 24 hours had I not had the 2nd set of wheels to fit. In 30 years of driving though that has only happened to me once....... I hope it never happens again!
"Why would you need winter tyres on a Range Rover?"
There is a very odd misconception out there about the ability of 4 x 4s on snowy/icy roads. We have very brief periods of such wintery conditions here, but every year its the same old thing. 4 x 4s crashed into ditches off the major freeway - while sedans with winter tyres merrily drive past! Part of it might be the cocky attitude of the 4 x4 drivers assuming they have the grip on their M/S tires - but the truth of the matter is that winter tyre rubber grip is proven to exhibit improved braking/grip at temperatures below 7 degrees C.
So many people here are spending thousands of $ on non safety, sometimes cosmetic add ons - I value my own life and those of my loved ones enough to spend the extra on safety items.
In Germany, Austria and Switzerland IIRC it is now compulsory to run winter tyres on all cars between certain dates, and in Germany I think it is, if you don't fit them your insurance is invalid
The vid is an X5...it won't happen to us....and the snow programme on the terrain setting is an excellent bit of kit. We will have a problem if the snow is over the wheel height, but then any vehicle will, except Defender with four chains fitted....!
(16-09-2011 08:10pm)defender_uk Wrote: [ -> ]The vid is an X5...it won't happen to us....and the snow programme on the terrain setting is an excellent bit of kit. We will have a problem if the snow is over the wheel height, but then any vehicle will, except Defender with four chains fitted....!
I have a Subaru outback with m+s tyres and it had no problem stopping and restarting on snowy roads last winter. I expect it would have been even better with winter tyrrs
