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Conference terri::cars_uk

Title:	Cars in the UK
Notice:	Please read new conference charter 1.70
Moderator:	COMICS::SHELLEYELD

Created:	Sun Mar 06 1994
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	2584
Total number of notes:	63384

1617.0. "Winter tyres." by BERN02::OREILLY (There's a fish on top of Shandon swears he's Elvis.) Fri Nov 29 1991 10:28

Morning all,

I've just had winter tyres put on my car. The summer tyres are 165/70 R 13 and 
the garage has put 145 R 13 winter tyres on the same rims. I know its better 
to have narrower tyres for driving in the snow (hopefully we're going to get
some this year :-) but isn't this a little too narrow especially considering
the size of tyres that are normally on these rims.

Any thoughts ....

/Paul.

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
1617.1	Perhaps this should go under note 17, "Tyres" ?	CURRNT::PACE::RUTTER	Rut The Nut	`Fri Nov 29 1991 12:28`	13
	Are they just skinny tyres, or are they intended for winter use ? If just skinny, then yes they will be somewhat better in snow, but I would expect an M+S tyre (or a less agressive tread than that) to be of more use, whether of same size or narrower. What car are these fitted to, that may have some bearing on whether this size is really suitable or not. I would really expect that the garage should know what is best, but that isn't always the case, is it ? I certainly don't know what is best for a 'winter tyre', it does depend on the conditions you are likely to experience. J.R.
1617.2	Doesn't sound too bad.	NEWOA::SAXBY	Is Bart Simpson the anti-Christ?	`Fri Nov 29 1991 12:30`	5
	dropping 20mms doesn't sound like an excessive drop. 165 isn't really a very big tyre at all. Mark
1617.3	Same Circumference=same gearing	CHEFS::COLEMANM		`Fri Nov 29 1991 15:12`	7
	It seems to me that the garage fitted 145 R 13 tyres so that you have the same rolling circumference as your 165/70 13's ...... ie. both tyres will cover the same distance for one complete revolution. The 145's having a higher sidewall profile than your 'summer' tyres. Mark
1617.4	Just like having power steering ....	BERN02::OREILLY	There's a fish on top of Shandon swears he's Elvis.	`Fri Nov 29 1991 17:45`	21
	They should be proper winter/show tyres. I live in Switzerland so they are intended for road/snow use. I didn't check them in detail but they have a heavy tread. The're fitted to a Fiat Tipo. Yes, the one with the noisy clutch 8-( >>dropping 20mms doesn't sound like an excessive drop True, but dropping from 165 to 145 is quite a drop as 165 is, as you noted, not a big tyre. Re .3 Sorry Mark didn't quite understand your reply. I presumed the 145's have the same profile (70) as the 165's. I got the tyres as part of the deal when I bought the car and I'm wondering whether the garage just threw on the cheapest set they had. Anyboby know the pros and cons of such a narrow tyre in the wet, dry and at speed. Thanks for the replies so far. /Paul.
1617.5		NEWOA::SAXBY	Is Bart Simpson the anti-Christ?	`Fri Nov 29 1991 18:04`	9
	I doubt you'll notice a massive difference due to the size (maybe a bit better in the wet, but worse in the dry), but the snow tyres are probably designed more with gripping on snow in mind than in gripping dry tarmac (Hence the heavy tread), you'll probably find they're a lot more prone to squealing, but they shouldn't give you any nasty suprises (I think!). Mark
1617.6	I think I'd be happy with chunky tyres, this size, this car	CURRNT::PACE::RUTTER	Rut The Nut	`Fri Nov 29 1991 18:37`	8
	Since this is in a country which gets real snow, I would seriously hope that the garage knew what they were doing. As for profile, I would expect a winter tyre to have a higher profile than the 70-series normally fitted. If it isn't specified in the tyre designation, the 'standard' ratio is something like 82%. J.R.
1617.7		DCC::HAGARTY	Essen, Trinken und Shaggen...	`Sat Nov 30 1991 17:45`	3
1617.8	Which ratio ?	BERN02::OREILLY	There's a fish on top of Shandon swears he's Elvis.	`Mon Dec 02 1991 19:12`	3
	Which ratio are we talking about here guys ??? /Paul.
1617.9	Anyone know for sure what the figure is ?	CURRNT::PACE::RUTTER	Rut The Nut	`Mon Dec 02 1991 19:31`	13
	>>Which ratio are we talking about here guys ??? Aspect ratio of tyres (height to width). I think that the 'normal' ratio (ie, when it isn't included in the specification of the tyre, such as 185/70) is about 82%. (possibly another half-percent in there somewhere) T'other reply mentioned a slightly lower figure. Only of interest in comparison with the original tyre fitment. J.R.
1617.10	Advice needed	45549::BRODIE	it's hard to be brave when you're only a very small animal	`Wed Sep 27 1995 21:05`	23
	Hello, We are just thinking about getting some winter tyres ready for this year's ski trips. Rob has checked the manual and it recommends fitting 205/55 R 16 tyres front and rear on the standard 7J front and 8J rear rims. Talking with our local tyre depot, it seems that 16" is an unusual size for winter tyres (which are unusual enough in the UK anyway). They have come up with Semperit in this size. What worries Rob is that a) they won't actally state that they are M+S tyres, but just say they are a "blocky" tread, and b) they are Z-rated,m which he thinks seems unlikely for an M+S tyre. They didn't have any model info. Does anyone have experience of Semperit winter tyres ? Are these genuine winter tyres or just something they have lying around ? Alternatively, can anyone recommend winter tyres that would be available in this size ? Also, any comments (constructive ;-)) about fitting 205's on 8J rims ? Thanks, Diane