All season / winter tyre choice dilemma

Nexen Winguard sport for me (215/40/17), I've been through only one set and am just on my second set since I started using winter tyres (severe snow in 2011 comes to mind) - only used for a few weeks a year and since I have a second set of alloys I just switch them over when needed.
The only "issue" is that they last so long that they are past the recommended age limit before they wear out. The deeper initial tread makes them last longer, however, I guess that for winter use that I should not have worn them down to the limit, though I do like to get my money's worth. ;)

My wife prefers all seasons since Nokian weatherproof were on her car when she got it but we have also used Maxxis AP2 which are cheaper and that's what she will be going replace the Nokians on the front with this winter.
Not that we get much snow for long nowadays but when it does come, for those few days winter tyres make a huge difference (at least when you are not stuck in traffic because other drivers can't get moving).
 
My never-ending rebuild is nearing completion and I'm on the lookout for a set of 15" pepperpots. Question then is, with what rubber to shod them?

I'm tempted by a set of CrossClimates but I don't see them listed in anything other than high Load Index & XL ratings, which isn't going to do the ride quality any favours in a light car like the A2. I want something for comfortable winter driving and may well get some proper summer rubber next year for the set of 16" SE wheels that are on the car at the moment. For the pepperpots though, Goodyear Vector 4Seasons can be had in lower LI (84T) and so can the Continental TS860. I'm surprised to see that the Conti's are cheaper than the Goodyears in spite of their excellent reputation as a true Winter tyre, which is usually a sure sign of a higher price tag. 185/60 size seems to be a sweet spot for pricing; a good choice of brands, speed ratings etc.

Does anyone have a recommendation, or if you've recently bought similar tyres, can you let me know what you went with?

Im also looking for a 15 inch winter tyre with an 84 t/h or lower weight index for better ride.

Im likely to buy from Camskill as they have a number of options which tally with the recommended tyre listings on our A2 Forum wheels and tyres definative giude.

Im looking at Goodyear ultra grip 175 60 15 81T, £51.45 each delivered or 185 60 15 Dunlop winter response 84T at £50.90 or Toyo s943 at 51.49.

All 3 above have good fuel efficiency, stopping and noise ratings.
 
I’ve been running Michelin Alpin 4s for 4/5 years on mine, and before then on another car. Always found them very comfy and certainly do the job in the snow.

As I do low miles I just leave them on all year round. Doesn’t seem to affect fuel economy in the summer one iota - on journeys more than 15 miles on 60mph roads I was regularly getting 70 mpg or more in the diesel one and 50mpg in the 1.4 petrol version.

If you live somewhere that gets really hot in summer and drive aggressively (tailgating closely and racing round sharp bends) the this strategy may not work for you. However, it has been ideal and very cost effective for my circumstance. Michelins always seem to last an age compared to other brands.
 
Update: I went with the Goodyear 4Seasons in 84T flavour. The wheels have been fully cleaned up and given a couple of coats of wax since I took the photo, so are ready to go on the car when I get a spare moment. I'll update the thread with my thoughts in a couple of months.

One observation - the pepperpots aren't the paragon of lightness that many here make them out to be. With valves fitted but no balance weights or centre caps, they tip the scales at almost dead-on 6kg. Light-ish, but not true featherweight. The centre caps are a shade over 100g. For comparison, a bare 16" SE alloy is approx. 9.5kg - a bit of a porker - so in that sense the pepperpots are lightweight. The Goodyear's are commendably parsimonious, coming in at 7.7kg, giving an all-up weight once balanced of under 14kg.

IMG_8311.JPG
 
Last edited:
I swear by the Michelin crossclimate in fact I was talking to the tyre guy while they were being fitted and he said Michelin are miles head in the compounds.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
i always use budget winter tyres and cannot be more pleased
just swapped over my VW caravelle and skoda roomster and Audi A6
over the years i have tried them all and the expensive ones last too long and go hard
buy hey this is just my experience (just bought 12 of these tyres) fantastic !
bought these...
www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre-details/imperial-snowdragon-3-235-55-r17-103-v-xl on my VW caravelle
www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre-details/imperial-snowdragon-3-255-40-r19-100-v-xl on my cousins Audi A6
www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre-details/imperial-snowdragon-3-205-45-r16-87-h-xl on my skoda roomster and i would deffo use these on the A2
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Tsu
I swear by the Michelin crossclimate in fact I was talking to the tyre guy while they were being fitted and he said Michelin are miles head in the compounds.

Yes, they are good - probably the best All Season tyre available by all accounts. BUT they are only available in XL ratings (no matter what the tyre size or profile) and that is the last thing that the A2 needs, especially when it's already struggling with compromised suspension design.
 
Yes, they are good - probably the best All Season tyre available by all accounts. BUT they are only available in XL ratings (no matter what the tyre size or profile) and that is the last thing that the A2 needs, especially when it's already struggling with compromised suspension design.

They make the ride very comfortable to be honest, must better than my 16” and 17” wheel. CCs on 15” is like being on a cloud


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Michelin crossclimate get good ratings in Holland. I would like to try 185 R 15 65. Comments welcome. 185 R 15 60 appears to be allowed, is 165 over the limit??
 
Bret - I'm supporting your analysis that they're probably too big, but are they not 8% bigger rather than 5%? If my understanding of profile parameters is correct, 65% of the tyre width is ~8% bigger than 60% of the tyre width rather than the pure 65-60 calculation.
 
the 185/60 are already "too big"; reference is 175/60R15. I was referring from 185/60 to 185/65, as you supposed.

- Bret
 
Am now running on 175/60 R15. Speedometer is reading 54kph against GPS reading 50kph. That is 8% difference.

185/65 R15 compared to 175/60 R15 is 621,5mm radius / 591,0mm radius an extra 5,1%. I read above that they give a more comfortable ride.

Thanks for the comments.
 
The Law of Sod dictated that no sooner had I fitted my new wheels and tyres, than my need to clock up miles abated. So it's taken a bit longer than I anticipated to bed everything in. However, with 300+ miles now put on them, these are my thoughts on the pepperpot/Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen2 combo:

First off, when I fitted the tyres to the rims I noticed that the section of sidewall nearest to the tread, around 30-40mm high, is very flexible. Whether this is what gives these tyres their lower 84 load index I'm not sure, but even the chap who helped me fit them commented on it and he's fitted a lot more tyres than I (it was his kit I was using). Balancing was time consuming - this guy's a perfectionist, well beyond what you'd expect at a tyre fitters, but the end result was good and not many weights were needed once he'd figured out where to put them.

On the car, they now feel as though they insulate you from the road surface. That's the best word I can think of to describe it, as distinct from isolate. They're certainly not the last word in communicating road feel but I wasn't expecting to be able to feel the gravel at my fingertips through a 60 profile tyre. Something that has struck me is that they let very little road surface noise through to the cabin. Even the horrible concrete-surfaced sections of the M27 sound very little different to the newly tarmac'd bits. Stability is good - the car doesn't wander. They don't tramline, though with their type of tread pattern I wouldn't expect them to. They are very quiet at motorway speeds. Coupled with the much higher gearing of the JDD 'box, the most noticeable noises are now the various minor creaks and rattles from interior body trim, and a muted (but annoying!) whistle that sounds as though it's coming from somewhere around the top/centre of the windscreen; things that I didn't notice as much previously but they were obviously there, so I deduce from that that the car as a whole must be quite a bit quieter.

Handling is safe and predictable, if a little detached, but my experience of the steering on A2's is that they're not the best in that department anyway. They seem almost immune to the effects of standing water - there wasn't so much as a twitch through the wheel on the two occasions I've hit deep, large puddles at speed. I've not had the chance to drive on mud, ice or snow yet, so comments on that will have to wait a while longer. It's also way too early to judge their effect on fuel consumption, but as I changed both the gearbox and the wheels at the same time, it'll be hard to credit any improvement to the tyres alone. I no longer have to brace myself when I'm unable to avoid a pothole and speed bumps etc are soaked up with aplomb.

All in all, my early impressions are that they are a decent Winter/All Seasons tyre and well suited to the A2 if you are after a cosseting ride, at the expense of some handling sharpness.
 
Last edited:
just put these on our steves A2

i think mals just put these on his pepperpots yesterday
 
On similar note we are running these 185 60 15 all year round on one of the a2s can’t speak highly enough ..comfy ride super in muddy wet weather
 

Attachments

  • 7F89DF6A-0E08-4E21-8449-D6BE520F1DF0.jpeg
    7F89DF6A-0E08-4E21-8449-D6BE520F1DF0.jpeg
    343.1 KB · Views: 250
Back
Top