Winter Rubber

Need some help here people in respect of winter rubber.

I currently have the standard 19" wheels with the awesome Pirellis all round. The rears have done 8500 miles and need a change for the winter.

Now my dilemma. March time next year for my birthday I'm looking to get some replacement wheels and hopefully going down the 20" route so at this stage I dont want to go nuts on buying Michelins when I will be buying new wheels and tyres then.

My other thought is that as my car is the daily I was hoping to have some summer wheels and winter wheels, therefore once I buy the new wheels the current ones will be in the garage awaiting next winter.

If the prices become too much then I may just have to go down the Michelin route but was looking at other alternatives.

thanks in advance.

My car is a daily driver and do around 8k a year, and I don't change my tyres, if your current Pirellis will last until next March, then I wouldn't bother buying winter tyres/wheels, so you can save money and storage space.

I managed less than 6k on my rear tyres though.........

Thanks. If I was not using the car for the winter I would just leave it. As it stands now you could almost say that the rears are nearing being slicks - as the Pirellis are dire in the wet I need to purchase some tyres and would not chance the car as it is for the winter.

I span it this morning with the roads being mildly damp and not even giving it large :eyebulge:

I've come down in favour of Garaging the EB and getting a runabout. You can get something pretty decent for the price of another set of rims and winter tyres.

i just dropped money on new 275 michys keeping the EBs square setup but going to 275s from2 55s. got a good deal ont he 4 (same as buying 2!!) and be cheaper than a run around, also the michys on the back worked wonders last winter so should be fine!

i'll be sticking with the pzero's same as last winter its not really any more difficult to handle than in the wet / mornings anyway even with ice just drive within your limits and learn not to floor it and you'll be fine.

As much as I would love to spend more money and get another car as the Winter mobile, this is not going to happen as I have the wifes Volvo and the use of my son's Fiesta if needed but I do want to carry on with using my car at times.

manders, where did you get the Michelins from as may have to go this route.

Many thanks

Harebear72 said:

As much as I would love to spend more money and get another car as the Winter mobile, this is not going to happen as I have the wifes Volvo and the use of my son's Fiesta if needed but I do want to carry on with using my car at times.

manders, where did you get the Michelins from as may have to go this route.

Many thanks

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They were second hand (UNUSED) ex AMG oem ones from germany. Managed to find them off a reputable german company for £540 for 4! There's none left now as i bought them >ALL< lol, check mytires etc they were next cheapest.

I'm liking the way I continually loose traction f*** to driving within your limits always push boundaries j/k :lol:

On a serious note get your 20's for Christmas instead of you birthday or just hang on until march. Waste of a set of 19's getting them now even if money was no object (and from the sounds of manders and others reviews Michelin's are good all rounder so you only need the one set)

*Don't buy second hand tyres

Harebear72 said:

As much as I would love to spend more money and get another car as the Winter mobile, this is not going to happen as I have the wifes Volvo and the use of my son's Fiesta if needed but I do want to carry on with using my car at times.

manders, where did you get the Michelins from as may have to go this route.

Many thanks

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i got my MPSS from blackcircles, £220 a corner :headbonk:

did the rears this time last year and the fronts last week. Over 10,000 miles and the rears are still at 5.7mm

Harebear72 said:

Thanks. If I was not using the car for the winter I would just leave it. As it stands now you could almost say that the rears are nearing being slicks - as the Pirellis are dire in the wet I need to purchase some tyres and would not chance the car as it is for the winter.

I span it this morning with the roads being mildly damp and not even giving it large :eyebulge:

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I have just taken the car in Snow, Sleet, Ice, up the 5 Swiss passes on the original P Zero's and have done 8k, and the tread is fine.
I can't believe there can be a world of difference between the summer and my A/S ones? can there?

Certainly my experience of living in Canada shows that winters are simply brilliant in cold and snowy conditions. Difference is night and day.

As I don't want to drive anything else (ie I'm not buying a shit heap for winter), got myself another set of the standard nickel 19" wheels, then fitted TPMs and Nokian full winter tyres. Now I can swap over between sets of wheels myself when the seasons change. Especially in this part of Scotland it's gonna be cold from now until April, and even without snow the winter tyres give more security. Plus I can take the car up to the various ski hills with no worries.

I had a freebie day at Porsche silverstone on their track and skid pans. There was an astonishing difference between Pirelli summer and winter tyres, a lot more grip with the winters on the skid pans. I’ve only driven 40 k on summer tyres though through the winters and touch wood been ok so far, Pirelli’s on mustangs are a much different prospect looking at last winters crashes.

goldengooner said:

I have just taken the car in Snow, Sleet, Ice, up the 5 Swiss passes on the original P Zero's and have done 8k, and the tread is fine.
I can't believe there can be a world of difference between the summer and my A/S ones? can there?

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There is. P Zero is a brand really, rather than a type of tyre, hence the Formula 1 tyres not just having 'Pirelli' on them, but 'P Zero'. There are P Zeros with a mud and snow rating (possibly yours) through to ours that are stated not to function properly below 7 degrees and everything in between. Replacement P Zeros bought in the UK may be a better match than the OEM ones because there could be differences in compound for our (after)market. Your tyres are a better match for our cars in the UK overall but then there would have been a load of bitching about UK cars getting an inferior summer tyre to the US. Ford didn't think through the right tyre for a world car; which they've now sorted by selecting the PS4S for the MY18.

slowhand99 said:

There is. P Zero is a brand really, rather than a type of tyre, hence the Formula 1 tyres not just having 'Pirelli' on them, but 'P Zero'. There are P Zeros with a mud and snow rating (possibly yours) through to ours that are stated not to function properly below 7 degrees and everything in between. Replacement P Zeros bought in the UK may be a better match than the OEM ones because there could be differences in compound for our (after)market. Your tyres are a better match for our cars in the UK overall but then there would have been a load of bitching about UK cars getting an inferior summer tyre to the US. Ford didn't think through the right tyre for a world car; which they've now sorted by selecting the PS4S for the MY18.

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ok, thanks Ben for explaining
but when you think the weather in the UK is worse then a lot of places in the US, it would have made perfect sense to put on the A/S for the UK.