blackwolf wrote:

A very interesting review, thanks for posting. I wonder if he could be persuaded to repeat the tests in a Defender with a selection of the most popular AT and MT tyres?

90 Dreamer wrote:

yes was an interesting vid and has persuaded me to most likely put some "cross climates" on the dog shed / wifes car as it does so few miles every year albeit it is around 300ponies............

only thing that no-one seems to answer is how good the cross climates are in 'normal' (dry) summer use if you use the loud pedal a little more

90 Dreamer wrote:

Yes that's why i wanted something else that was a good year round tyre......car is lucky to do 2000miles most years so having 2x sets of wheels is a nonsense for this vehicle (and i have just a few others to look out for)

The go-to reviews of winter tyres (indeed all tyres, as far as I’m aware) is the German ADAC test or the Autobild test. As you’d expect from the Germans, very comprehensive, highly respected and have been conducted for years. Here’s last year’s for winter tyres, but they do other’s for 4x4s, summer tyres etc, just do a Google search.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2019-...e-Test.htm

https://www.oponeo.co.uk/blog/adac-2019-2020-winter-tyre-tests

With regard to using winter tyres year-round, you of course can and many people locally who have tighter budgets do. But if you can afford two sets, then I’d recommend for three main reasons:

1. Winter tyre sipes are completely different to summer (or normal) tyres which have much better patterns for water extraction and better compounds for dry grip. Winter tyres can be quite unpleasant in rain, even on damp roads where they squirm. Given the amount of rain in the UK, or damp conditions, this is worth considering.

2. On dry, warm roads they also perform less well. The compounds in winter tyres are designed to work best at 5c or less, and are a softer compound that grip better on snow once the sipes have filled with snow. As such, with excessive heat, their grip levels get worse. Indeed this is a problem in winter too, when people barrel down motorways to ski resorts and then head straight up snow-covered mountain roads. Whilst they can still work, they are not ‘optimum’. Often advised to pull to one side, grab a coffee and let the tyres return to working temps before heading up the hill. So, in summer, or in fact most of the year under ‘normal driving’, they will be less effective than standard tyres or all-year tyres.

3. Finally, for the reasons mentioned in point 2, (soft compound), winter tyres wear very quickly if driven throughout the year and will need replacing more quickly than an equivalent set of normal/summer tyres.

Based on where you live, if you can afford only one tyre, you should look at how many dry days you have, damp days, wet days and sub-5c days. That’ll govern which tyre you buy, with an all-year tyre perhaps being best if you only have cash for one set. And it’s worth noting that I’ve driven a huge variety of winter tyres (Hankook, Michelin, Vredstein, Continentals, Goodyear, cheapo-things), plus Cooper and BFG year-round 4x4 tyres, and they can vary wildly in ability across all test areas: rain handling/braking, snow handling/braking, ice etc etc. Think really clearly about likely usage type/style/season/car and decide from there. No tyre does it all, good research will govern which suits your usage best, and Nokian Hakkepeliittas may not be the ones for you.  Monsieur Le Grenadier

I've not been everywhere, but it's on my list.....

2011 Puma 110DC - Corris Grey

ericvv wrote:

Monsieur Le Grenadier, if I remember well, you just installed a set of new Nokian winter tires. So how do you like those new LT2?
Eric

90 Dreamer wrote:

yes was an interesting vid and has persuaded me to most likely put some "cross climates" on the dog shed / wifes car as it does so few miles every year albeit it is around 300ponies............

only thing that no-one seems to answer is how good the cross climates are in 'normal' (dry) summer use if you use the loud pedal a little more

90 Dreamer wrote:

yes was an interesting vid and has persuaded me to most likely put some "cross climates" on the dog shed / wifes car as it does so few miles every year albeit it is around 300ponies............

only thing that no-one seems to answer is how good the cross climates are in 'normal' (dry) summer use if you use the loud pedal a little more