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Winter tyres vs Continental M+S

12K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  WalterKirk 
#1 ·
I've been a bit surprised by how easily the Contintal Contacts Aquaplane on my HSE Dynamic (265/45/21).

As im heading to the Alps in Feb I did a bit of research on the snow perfomance of the Conti's ...and the results were not good.

I have found someone selling a set of Pirelli Scorpion Ice+Snow 265/45/21 on ebay with 7mm tread left for £429.00 + £40 delivery. Local tyre shop will fit for £70.00 all in.

Will let you know how i get on but the supplier tells me he has 40 sets if anyone else fancies a set.
P.S if you think all season tyres are good enough just look at this:



Ebay;
[URL=https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F223256176076][url]https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F223256176076
 
#2 ·
Agreed

All season tyres are pretty good. But not great
They are a compromise between summer and winter.
I run summer then winter tyres. Much better
 
#3 ·
I agree that summer/winter tyres will out perform an all season tyre in their respective environments, but the YouTube video compares summer to winter tyres, no mention of all season.
From tyre review website: "Continental sees the new AllSeasonContact as a tyre suitable for drivers who cover lower mileage and drive in and around urban areas in moderate weather conditions. For all other drivers, in the interests of maximum road safety Continental continues to recommend fitting tyres that have been specially developed for the relevant season."
 
#4 ·
The link below is probably a more relevant comparison as it also compares All Season tyres with reference full summer and winter tyres.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2018-Auto-Bild-SUV-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm

For some reason the US designate their tyres differently than the UK and Europe. From some of the descriptions and videos I have seen, US All Season tyres or more like European Summer tyres in that they are not designed to be used at sub zero temperatures, whereas European All Season tyres are, possibly not as low temperatures as full winters but definitely sub-zero (-5deg C according to Goodyear.co.uk).

Many if the YouTube videos are talking about Tires not Tyres and my suspicion is they are comparing US All Season Tyres not the European ones.

This is also why some tyres designated as All Season by their manufacturers on their US web sites are designated as Summer tyres on the same manufacturers UK web site. Examples of this are:

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric
Goodyear.com = All Season https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/eagle-f1-asymmetric-all-season?cta=BBCardTireName
Goodyear.co.uk = Summer https://www.goodyear.eu/en_gb/consumer/tires/summer.html#/ (Various versions listed, all summer tyres)

Goodyear Wrangler HP All Weather
Goodyear.com = All Season https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/wrangler-hp?cta=BBCardTireName
Goodyear.co.uk = Summer https://www.goodyear.eu/en_gb/consumer/tires/wrangler_hp_all_weather.WRLHPAW.html

Goodyear.co.uk do offer All Season tyres but can't find any for the Velar https://www.goodyear.eu/en_gb/consumer/tires/all-season.html#/

Michelin Latitude Tour HP
michelinman.com = All Season https://www.michelinman.com/season/all (for some reason the tyre specific page won't load)
michelin.co.uk = Summer https://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/michelin-latitude-tour-hp

Michelin.co.uk offer All Weather tyres, just not for the 20" wheels I will be getting https://www.michelin.co.uk/suv-4x4-tyre-range?usage=road&season=all-weather

I assume the different designation is to do with the temperature range capabilities of the tyres.

It will be interesting to see what tyres my Velar will come with as it was ordered and will be delivered within the UK and I have selected All Season tyres.

For my F-Pace I replaced the Pirelli P Zero tyres (not very impressed with them and wasn't with my previous 2 Jaguars) with the only fully compliant 255/55 R19 111W All Season tyres I could find - Vredestein Quatrac 5 which have been a huge improvement in cold/slush/snow/ice and fine through the summer. The Quatrac 5's are also 3 peak and M+S rated but not available in 255/50 R20.
 
#6 ·
I recently fitted Conti ts850 winter tyres.
They are great in the cold n wet.
 
#7 ·
moonlitknight said:
I'm glad it's not just me. I've aquaplaned 3 times in 6 months. First time in 40 years of driving.
It surprised me as I've always been a big Continental fan. Just hitting water at 70-80 feels very skitty though. Be interested to see how winter tyres perform
 
#8 ·
So here are the original Conti's. They seem very well made inside with strong ribbing





The Pirelli Scorpion Snow and Ice look a bit more chunky, have a bit more road noise, noticeable but not too intrusive. They seem a lot more planted but havent had chance to try in heavy rain yet.











 
#9 ·
Ok, now had a chance to drive in heavy rain. Massive difference. No aquaplaning at all.

I can feel the road a bit more, very noticeable on Dynamic but that's a worthwhile trade off against the safety of cutting through standing water at high speed. Now just need some snow to test on
 
#10 ·
I'm very interested to hear what the thoughts are on new tyres. I've just topped 18.000 and I'm due a new set soon. I wi t be doing winter tyres but wanted to put in a good new set of all weather.
What's the thoughts?
By the way - I was told that if there's a lot of water pop it into snow and ice mode - will cut out any aqauplaning.
 
#11 ·
Crabacle said:
By the way - I was told that if there's a lot of water pop it into snow and ice mode - will cut out any aqauplaning.
THAT is interesting, will try it if I find myself in those conditions. Personally I've not had aquaplaning problems but the 22s are very wide and tread not especially deep so I could see how it could happen.

I don't use cruise control when it's very wet, that's known to give control issues if you hit standing water.
 
#12 ·
WalterKirk said:
Ok, now had a chance to drive in heavy rain. Massive difference. No aquaplaning at all.

I can feel the road a bit more, very noticeable on Dynamic but that's a worthwhile trade off against the safety of cutting through standing water at high speed. Now just need some snow to test on
Really interesting to hear the difference.

I am about to shell out 1k for the same tyres you have had fitted as the aqua planing is just nasty. Thanks for the feedback, it's really appreciated.
 
#14 ·
I know this is an old thread - but it caught my interest.

My previous Evoque was running Conti Cross Contacts, with good tread and Aquaplaned on the motorway and hit the central reservation. Thankfully it sounds like you guys haven't had quite such dramatic experiences - but I'd never buy a Conti again.

I'd like to add that M&S doesn't mean it's a winter tyre. It usually means it has a self clearing tread pattern (flings out the Mud and Snow) a winter tyre will have a snowflake symbol in a 3 peak mountain - this denotes a softer compound AND is a legal requirement in Europe where winter tyres are mandatory.

When buying used Winters - 6MM is the legal minimum tread depth in some EU countries, so if you're nipping down to The Alps - you wouldn't want to buy tyres with 7mm left as they only have 1mm useable.

Black Motor vehicle Automotive design Grille Asphalt
 

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#16 ·
Never apologise for ressurecting an old thread:)

I did 2 trips in the Alps with pre-owned Pirelli Ice & Snow. They were very good on the white stuff. I left them on over summer to get some wear out of them before binning them - probably not a great idea as softer compound and squishy on corners.

I was trying to get a new winter set, but neither main dealers nor National or Kwik Fit could source them. In the end I bought a set from mytyres.co.uk. Got Continental 850. Took 14 days to arrive but at least they did arrive. Just been out in deep water at 70 (ish???!). Absolutely rock solid. I'm so impressed.

Off to Morzine on Sat!
 
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