Tread patterns on some _snow_ tyres are (or at least used to be) designed to hold snow in the grooves and enable a snow-snow contact with can give more grip, but this clearly can only work where there's relatively fresh snow, and in any case the effect is very much secondary to that of the softer compound.
Quite so. It's not about the tread depth or pattern, but the compound from which the tyre is made. Normal (i.e. summer) tyres at low temperatures will be so solid that the carcass and tread is unable to move about, and it's this movement that helps a tyre to grip.
Most people in the car industry here seem to quote 15,000 km as the average annual mileage. Of course, it varies wildly; we (two drivers) put 60,000 km on one car last year, 12,000 km on a second, and less than 1,000 km on the third.
If only one could put the on and off like shoes in the mornings
I usually leave the winter-tires on when I know they won't be good enough for the following winter.
In a summer like the last one, I might change my habit though.
I was being conservative.....
A set of tyres lasts between 20-30k km depending on a whole lot of factors so the fact you need to change rubber every 5-6 years doesn't really matter as such as it is done anyway through normal usage
You make it sound as if as soon as it gets 4C the car will slide off the road :-)
BTW my summer tyres are at least ten years old and there's nothing wrong with them. My winters are like 9 years old and they still perform amazingly in cold or snowy conditions. No signs of cracking, hardening or distortion on any of them.
Austria and several other countries have a minimum tread depth for winter tyres so you need to be careful if you're heading out east.
BTW France has no requirement for winter tyres, but just like in Switzerland if you're heading out in wintery conditions it's best to be properly equipped.
All the requirements can be found very easily by using google.
I once went through 15 tires in one year!
(motorcycle tires, CHF 300 each!)
Tom
I hope you took notice of who produced the 16th and buy from them only now.
They were mostly Michelin, with some Avon bias plys, as I recall.
4k km each, 3k km for the Avons (only one bike used the Avons).
Tom
So 15 tyres, each doing 4k km makes 60k km in one season on a bike .....
Provided the bike has only one wheel ....
Do front tyres wear that quickly on a bike ?
About 5-10% longer than the rear.
Tom
30k if tires fully consumed at the end of the year, 25k in practice.
Also, on 5 five bikes, one of which had 10k alone. (so 6 tires).
Tom
The only part of your car that touches the road is the tires, why would you risk driving around on 10yr old rubber?? or old winter tires???
For the same reason that some people run their tyres down to the carcass, have half their lights not working and brake pads worn to the metal - money, or rather the lack thereof.
Doesn't justify it, of course, and if anyone ( like Landers?) is consciously choosing to do so then I'd agree with you that it's foolish and a false economy in the long term. Just one little ding from sliding into a kerb would cost you more than the savings you're making by running worn out tyres.
Old winter tyres in the summer, though, can make some sense, in that there's unlikely to be any risk of accident as a result. Wouldn't do it myself, but nor would I criticise anyone for doing so.
I do it if they won't be good for next winter.
And plenty of people around here run winter (and not just all-season) tires all year.
Only my wife's Fiesta gets a change of tires, the Boxster gets summer tires year round, but both 4x4 live on winter tires.
Tom
You forgot the burnouts
You haven't been over a speed bump in my car then.
don't you have a raise suspension button??
Or my sidecar.
Tom