25° was based on personal experience and talking to some tyre specialist friends. Tried finishing off some winter tyres several years ago. End May we had a heatwave and the ABS kicked in pretty well every time I braked.
Definitely before the local police are walking around checking. We received a warning (no fine, thank goodness) early on a Sunday in 1995...we've changed tires and cars several times since
Steve, there have been a number of threads about winter tires/tyres and when they need to be changed.
As mentioned, tire tread depth is only one of them. The second (and in my view the most important) is the age of the tire. The rubber on winter tires (I am using my own vocabulary) tend to dry out and harden so they do not grip as well. Stopping distance increases significantly as well as slippage when going up a hill.
You should check the manufacture date on the side of the tire (see photo). It is always - week and year i.e. 2212 is the 22nd week of 2012. If the tires are older than three years (some will say 4 or 5 is still ok), I would suggest you change them. There are a number of threads on where to get cheap tires. The cost is really worth if for your safety.
That's right, but if you endanger anybody or take into account an accident with insufficient tires during winter conditions (e.g. less than 4mm tread) you can be sentenced up to three years prison (Art. 93 SVG). Not to speak about the consequences of your insurances not covering your costs!
And by the way, snow on the street is not the only condition for "winter condition".
that is major BS right there, legal limit for any tyre is 1,6mm, so even if you have 1,61mm when you have an accident insurance and police can not say anything regarding tyres.
legal minimum is 1,6mm for summer AND winter tyres
Well,you are right about the legal minimum, but stupidly wrong about your interpretation. 1.6mm is just the absolute minimum. How should I express it? It is absolutely necessary, yes, but not sufficient in every case or condition, especially not in winter conditions (e.g. temperature below 7 C or even snow or ice on street). That's the point here.
It is nothing wrong with my statement, it is still valid. Art 26-29, 93 SVG say it clearly.
I think there is a difference between winter tyres vs 4mm depth. I.e. think 1.6mm winter tyres are probably legally "safe".
I have nothing against safe tyres. But when I think about how much raw materials goes into a 16 or 17 inch set of 4, energy to produce it and to transport, then I'm unwilling to throw them away.
Feelings being completely irrelevant, let's switch to facts instead. You actually want more tread depth in winter than less, though it has nothing to do with ice - and everything to do with snow.
Someone mentioned snow chains earlier in this thread. I take it that studded tyres are not allowed in (most of) Switzerland? I know this is the situation in many central European countries as the studs tend to eat the pavement a bit. Up here in the Nordics studs are a necessity at times.
I have never used snow chains in my life so I'm interested if someone can compare experiences between studless winter tyres, studded ones and chains.
The MAXIMUM speed limit in town is 50 kpmh, but the overiding phrase is "maximum" and you must adapt to prevailing condions, so if the local school is closing for lunch, whilst maxmum maybe 50 kph, prevailing conditions would dictate slower.
Snow/winter tyres are the same 1.6mm is "legal" but are they really adequate ?
Once they go under 4mm, off they go, i invested far too much in my familly to dick around for 2 or 3mm.....
Studs are allowed in CH but are only used on vehicles that are up in the mountains as they are restricted to 80km. You will see cars (often 4x4) that will have a white sticker on the back that shows a tire and 80km. These cars are using studded tires.
Generally, people use good winter tires (top of the line - rated by the TCS) and they tend to change them every 3-4 years even when there is tread left.
Legally in CH you need to have chains in the car even if you have a 4X4 car. Most police (if they are stopping people going up to a ski resort) will let you by if you have a 4x4. But, if they insist, you will need to put on chains like the rest of the people. This means you need chains (best to buy them in some place like Aldi - on special this week) or you will spend 5 times the money if you need them from a garage when it is snowing.
Putting chains on are a real pain so you should try at least once when it is dry and not snowing and dark. It is good to have a pair of those disposable gloves from the gas station. Will keep you hands dry and clean.
Given the importance of proper tires for road safety that's quite a ridiculous argument. If you're that worried about energy and resource consumption then drive less, get a fuel-sipping econobox or use public transport, but saving on tires for environmental reasons is just plain stupid.
They're allowed from November till April, maximum speed is 80 kph and they're not allowed on the Autobahn (freeways) except in the Gotthard tunnel and on the A13 between Thusis and Mesocco (IIRC).
Eh? Complete rubbish. There is certainty no general requirement to carry chains. Occasionally it may be compulsory to use them on certain mountain roads ( 4×4s sometimes excepted) but yhat is quite another matter.
Thanks for the info, some of the points sound similar to Finland or any cold country for that matter. Chains are not required in Finland and there is no speed limit specifically for studded tyres - just a general and slower winter limit on many roads. The allowed months of use are quite similar. I have my first set of studless winter tyres now, will be interesting to see how they compare. Might even get some chains just for the heck of it.