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Winter Tyres Ordered


Hicardo
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Right, let's not have the usual pro / anti arguments about winter tyres ! (snore)

I've decided to fit them to my IQ this year. Last year only had winters on the missisus car, but they're just so much better in all conditions, its kind of a no-brainer for me, so gonna give them a try on the IQ.

The IQ is fairly light, which used to be considered a disadvantage on cold, slippery or wintery roads, so we'll see how I get on

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It's the best choice you make....

Soooo much better.....

Over 2 weeks mine are coming on the car... ;-)

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Good idea!

I put mine on when it starts getting frosty in the morning. So a bit to go yet but winter soon creeps up on you.

John

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Ours are going back on, on the 27th October, after the MOT has been done. We had them on for so long last year... and they feel good and dare I say -waiting for the nay-sayers to chime in here- they do improve the handling. Both my wife and I felt a lot more confident with the winter tyres on and could feel them grip better, which they are supposed to do of course. Obviously I am talking of their use in 'winter' conditions, which I believe entails the temp dropping below or at 9'C, yeah I could be wrong on the temperature, but I don't care, they are a great addition to the car for winter and I'm convinced they do as advertised, keep you safer on our crappy road network in winter. We have the Yokohama Winter tyres.

Keep on :driving:

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I used to run Nokian GR2's all year round on my Accord, couldn't say I noticed much difference in handling or increase stopping distances unless it was extremely hot (so maybe 2 or 3 days in the year).

All other times the car was sure footed in all weather from snow through ice / slush, rain and sun.

Plus they lasted over 30k miles, I have never had a tyre last that long before.

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I agree that snow tires had made winter driving safer for me over the last winter, but the 'ipike' 195/55/R16 did increase my gas milieage from 5.5 L/100km to 6.5L/100km. There could be other factors as well such as temperature, winter grade gasoline, and driving in winter road conditions.

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I will be waiting until start/mid November before thinking about putting them on the Leon, I wont bother with the iQ just no point doing two cars.

I did have Vred Wintrac Extreme's which are very good, but last year I put some Kleber Quadraxer (all weather) to replace two and have to say much much better. They did move around a fair bit in the dry, but when on wet roads, in heavy rain they just gripped like glue. We didn't have much in the way of snow, but this year there's a road trip to the Alps where they have to be fitted.

Fish

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We own more than 1 car too, but this year I'm curious to find out how the IQ goes on winter boots. It's actually my main car now, so I'm keen to enjoy driving it in all conditions.

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:clap: New winter tyres arrived. 4xNokian WR D3 175/65 R15 84T . Approx £220. Just got to get them fitted in the next week or two. Will report back once fitted and in use

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  • 2 months later...

Ok...had the winters on for 2 months, and they are spectacularly good. Initial slight tyre roar dared quickly. Now only great grip is what's apparent. Gives you a lot more confidence. Plenty of brake bite on wet slippery roads. Great decision.

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Had my set of Dunlop Winter sport SP tyres on the iQ for just over a month now I guess.

First impressions were, what have I done! I wheel spun so easily when leaving the tyre fitters and they were very slippery under braking. I think it was an oily or shiny coating on the tyres though as after a hundred miles or so they came to life and grip is much better now than my old, worn out Bridgstone B-250's were.

They are a bit noisier but I don't notice it now. Would really like some proper snow to give them a good trial. :)

Craig.

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Craig, clearly a frustrated wannabe F1 driver! Wheel spinning an IQ out of the tyre fitters ...tut tut...decorum please. In winter tyres too....is that what passes for cool in West Sussex? Hehe

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Ha, I did have my baseball cap on backwards and my jeans halfway down my butt.... :D

It could have been assisted by over inflation as I checked the pressures a few days later and all were at 38psi! I let them down to 30psi which helped the ride quality somewhat.

Looking forward to the summer actually and getting my 17" wheels and tyres fitted.

Craig.

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Hah...Now I know you have a reversed cap...everything makes more sense

Agreed 38 psi bit on the high side, plus the newness...equals poor grip.

Guess you'll be going for full low level underbody lighting to go with bling 17 inchers, and maybe a 20" sub?

Damn...can't get emoticons to work on me iPad .....

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  • 2 weeks later...

I agree that snow tires had made winter driving safer for me over the last winter, but the 'ipike' 195/55/R16 did increase my gas milieage from 5.5 L/100km to 6.5L/100km. There could be other factors as well such as temperature, winter grade gasoline, and driving in winter road conditions.

Liking the look of your iQ there Tony, and I do like the Burnt Orange colour. Have to say, I was never a fan of swapping tyres until we got the iQ, but what a difference they make. Luckily had the money to do it when we got the car.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm in a quandary about wheels and tyres, the tyres fitted to my 16"
wheels are Bridgestone B250s, I'm not really impressed with them. It may be the
175 width that's the problem? I can get the fronts to spin without really
trying, especially in the wet. I would like to go with a new set of wider rims
and tyres I know grip like a guy holding on to a daisy over a cliff.

It says in the user's manual that if different wheels and tyres are fitted

the TRC and VSC may not work properly! Is this talking about different rims or
tyres to only one or some of the four wheels, or does this apply to me fitting
a wider rim and suitable tyres to all four corners. any thoughts or comment gratefully
received.

I had Toyo Proxies T1Rs fitted to my old smart with 15" rims that were

much wider obviously to fit 205/45 to the rear and 195/45 on the front. (Smarts
have totally different offsets back and front as some of you probably know.)

Winter tyres? I had no problems with grip in the snow and ice with the

Toyos, I should hope that 205/50/16s all round on the IQ should work fine. I
may get away with 195s

Of course the other problem is

storing the original wheels, I don't think Toyota will store them for me as I
just can't afford their prices for wheels and I guess the sizing would be the
same 175/60/16.

Agaah, I don't know what to do now. 16" rims are big enough and wow,

that extra inch makes one hell of a price hike to the tyres. Yet the Rims I
like aren't that expensive.

Craig is getting 17s for the summer, that will be interesting to see how they perform.

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I've got marangonis which have lasted 3.5 seasons with very little wear. They make so much difference on ice and snow, especially going up hills. Although very deep snow they can't actually do anything, I had to dig my car out of its space on the road last March when we had that deep snow that fell in drifts because the snow had only been flattened by the cars down the centre of the road.

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I found, and sure others have that by going from the STD 16" rim to 17" rims you get far more choice in tyre and they start at a lot less in price. Mine retail at about £50 each, wheer the STD 16" were £125 each.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Trouble with that guy is he's hardly ever honest. Don't let the Trilby and pipe fool you...hehe

Joking aside, he may have a point as regards tyre compound technology, but that's only half the story. Typical winter tyres have a much more aggressive tread than summer tyres, and are quite clearly designed for a specific purpose

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Extract from the Continental website:

"It is recommended that you switch to winter tyres in the UK between October and April.
If you are reluctant to change tyres and have nowhere to store summer tyres when they are not in use, you are better off using winter tyres all year round.
Winter tyres are as quiet and comfortable as summer tyres and, thanks to sophisticated compound technology, do not wear any more quickly.
There is a slight trade off with stopping distances as a winter tyre does not stop as quickly in the dry as a summer tyre, however, on balance if it is not possible to switch tyres in the winter, experts say you are better off with winter tyres all year round. This is because the difference in stopping distances of summer tyres in winter is far greater than for winter tyres in the summer."

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My local toyota dealer does free swapping and storage for the tyres so its a no brainer for me with continuing to use proper winter tyres and swapping them. They have so far proved to be competitive on tyre prices compared with other places so I'll be purchasing tyres from them for the Aygo when the time comes.

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That's a good deal from Toyota if you are using standard size Toyota wheels. I don't think they would store any one elses make wheels/rims, I can't really blame them.

It's a good job I have space in my workshop to store my original wheels.

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Apparently they've only just been able to do it, they couldn't do it before due to them being a fire/health and safety risk.

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Laugh out loud!!! A health and safety risk!!!! What a load of shoe menders that is. I suppose all the wheels fitted to the cars have the same risk then.

Sometimes this health and safety is soooooo stupid. What about the fuel in the showroom cars and of course the hybrid batteries could explode any time. Sheesh!!!

A rouge customer could go mad and stab all the staff!!!

Sorry Guys, rant over.

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