Snow is here anyone having problems getting around

[Anonymous]

Hi Guys, Fitted Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme 235/35 19 all round last week. My first impression was apprehension as I was not sure what to expect and had I done the correct thing spending a lot of money on something that was going to be useless. Boy was I wrong. These tyres are FANTASTIC. They are slightly softer above 7 deg but have the same level of grip as original Continentals. In the rain or should that be RIVER they were ten times better. I negotiated endless roundabouts really hard to try them out with no under steer at all. As for braking, acceleration, road noise all fantastic. I now don’t understand the need for expensive high performance tyres when these are so good in every condition and I speak as a tyre fanatic. I can’t wait for the snow! :thumbup: :greetings-wavingblue:

Yeh that's my exact winter tyres!! Did you read my comments on them on other threads? I'm so glad I went for the 35s instead of 40s to be able to fit the Vredesteins. I love my winter shoes :dance: :dance:

I had them on my previous 207, my Dad has them on his 307, my OH has them on the Focus RS (although I don't know how long they'll last on a FWD motor sitting at 450bhp :eusa-think: . Brill brill brill!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi donnajdlh, Yes it was as a direct result after reading your thread that I choose the Vredestein wintrac xtreme 235/35/19 although I have read many recommendations and have been researching winter tyres for some time. I purchased 5 tyres and had them all balanced and filled with nitrogen for a total cost £1077. The spare fits in the boot fully inflated. This poses another question. Why didn’t Peugeot fit 35s instead of 40s? To get the original tyre size would have meant spending a lot more money as only the top brands such as Michelin, Dunlop, Pirelli make my tyre size and are around £250 plus per tyre. I was getting to the point where I was thinking about changing my original front tyres and once removed I found a nail in one of the rears. The cost will even out over a few years. I may even choose to buy the new all season tyre that Vredestein has developed. :greetings-wavingblue:

 

[Anonymous]

Why didn’t Peugeot fit 35s instead of 40s? To get the original tyre size would have meant spending a lot more money as only the top brands such as Michelin, Dunlop, Pirelli make my tyre size and are around £250 plus per tyre.

I've wondered that too! Think someone on here did mention that Pug specifically chose that stupid size based on prefered handling blah blah blah.

I'm contemplating (when the time comes) to change over all 4 summer tyres to 35s as I think the handling and ride quality isn't compromised at all and like you say the tyres are so much cheaper and such a wider range to choose from.

When I bought my 4 winters, I was chuffed that I got them online for £620 (then cost £57 to fit) as opposed to ~£1400 I was going to be for the correct sized Michelins or Contis. Also I knew the Vreds through experience.

I was also equally pleased when I phoned the inurance about the tyres (seen as they're technically a modification) to be told there's no change to the policy as it's seen as a safety modification despite lowering the profile :clap:

Only bummer is that the alloys are closer to the kerbs now with 35s :eusa-whistle: :eusa-whistle: ....

 

[Anonymous]

Hi donnajdlh, I totally agree, the 35s feel better in the corners as there is no roll whatsoever. I’m still having a really good play with them to try and find a weakness, I can’t find any. They are totally unbelievable.
I was unable to find any premium tyres at the very good price you paid as the price is rocketing by the day and stock is selling out fast.
The tyre fitters (who were drooling over my car) said that demand for winter tyres had gone off the scale and stock was very limited. During fitting I was asked if I wanted the tyres filled with nitrogen. The nitrogen will prevent the tyre from moving, will hold the tread onto the road and return better fuel mileage. At £2 per tyre I thought I may as well give it a try. I now have green valves fitted to show they are nitrogen filled. If I got a puncture all I had to do was return to them and they will repair and re-fill.
Sorry to see in the news all the bad weather you have been receiving over the last week. I really don’t wish it on anyone. I’m back on the road tonight in my truck and not looking forward to it.
Thanks for the info and watch those alloys. :greetings-wavingblue:

 

[Anonymous]

I have heard that snow socks are very good, thay can be fitted in 2 mins, I've been looking at buying a pair, approx £60 wil get you a set of decent snow socks, good luck

 

[Anonymous]

Hi shers, Snow socks will only work on snow. As soon as you get off the snow the socks begin to shred themselves to pieces, therefore you have to keep fitting and removing them as the conditions change. You are going to get really dirty and wet with all the changing. Also in order to fit the snow socks they are fitted to the exposed section of the tyre first and then the vehicle has to be driven in order to roll the tyre so that the sock can be fully fitted over the rest of the tyre, that’s if the vehicle can be moved. On a demonstration video I watched the tester said that although this sounds very easy to do it actually took the tester several attempts in order to fit one sock. The video showed the socks worked very well when on actual snow. I think they are good in an emergency but do not offer the same flexibility and performance as cold weather/winter tyres. :greetings-wavingblue: