Downsides Of Winter Tyres?

[BlueValour]

Most of the time in winter it is not actually frosty or snowy. What are the downsides of fitting winter tyres? Road noise? Fuel consumption? Increased wear?

[monya]

All of those + expense and hassle. Which is why most of us don't use them and why traffic stops at the first sign of a snowflake.

Or rather vehicles don't/can't stop and insurers start popping champagne prior to raising premiums

Edited November 23, 2010 by monya

[johalareewi]

The winter tyres I have got seem to holding up well. The mpg of the daily commute is still around 60mpg and they are a lot quieter than the stock tyres. I had to have new tyres anyway so there wasn't an extra cost or hassle factor getting them fitted. They are not your normal winter tyres but are designed for the cold and wet with some snow/slush/ice thrown in from time to time. Down here people are happy to drive around in winter with the barest of tyres then blame the council for not gritting the road when they skid off

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=118009