Let it Snow – Time For Winter Tyres
With winter on its way and all this talk of the weather getting worse, I thought I’d use my
lazy Sunday to do a bit of research on winter tyres. I’ve been using my trusty Hankook
W440s for years now and thought it was about time I splashed out on a new set.
Even though the Hankooks have never let me down, I fancied a change. I’ve had my eye on
Vredestein tyres for a while now, after reading and hearing everyone rave about them. After
spending all afternoon on car tyre forums (even if you’re a car nut, there are better ways
to spend your Sunday afternoons, trust me!), I eventually bought a set of Wintrac Xtremes
from Tyremen.
It might be wishful thinking, but I don’t think I’ll look back. From what I’ve read, the
Wintracs have excellent grip in the snow and can take a beating in terms of wear, both in
Winter and Summer. The only downside I took away was that they can be pretty noisy, but
that’s no biggie – with my 3 year old son singing, talking and generally being a little tinker in
the back seat, I’m sure I won’t even hear the tyres!
It’s early days and I haven’t had chance to give them a proper test run yet (I think they’ll
probably need a good few hundred miles in the BMW), but I think the Wintracs will be
worth every penny. So, that’s the tyres sorted, all I need now is a new set of winter wheels…
Jamie Doutt is a new blogger with a keen interest in anything to do with cars. He has a particular passion for road and tyre safety. The products reviewed in this post can be found here.
Gearing up for Winter, Do I Buy Winter Wheels
So, with the new set of tyres now sorted (the excellent Vredestein Wintrac Xtremes), I went
about ordering some Winter wheels to go with them. I’ve been testing out the new tyres
on the BMW on the Summer wheels and, to be honest, I don’t think it’ll be practical to just
have the one set of wheels. Having to keep swapping them is already a pain in the rear, not
to mention the risk of damaging the tyres every time I swap over. With payday looming, I set
my sights on a set of Alutec alloys.
After a bit of research, I narrowed it down to two sets: the E and V designs. Both were in
my price range (or there about!) and came recommended. The reviews and forums I read
pretty much confirmed what I’d heard before – German quality, durable and tough in winter
weather, and worth the extra money. The fact that they both were TUV approved and came
with a 5 year warranty sealed it for me.
Although the 7-spoke V set were a little cheaper, I’ve always preferred the look of 5-spoke
wheels. The E designs are definitely the best looking I’ve seen in a while, so I thought I’d
stretch the budget a little further. You only live once, eh?
I ordered them from Tyremen yesterday and managed to get a pretty good deal, so
hopefully they’ll be here in time for this weekend. I’m itching to get them on the BMW with
the Vredestein tyres to get my money’s worth of them! We’re not going to get any snow any
time soon, but I can definitely test them out in the rain. Mind you, with the weather we’ve
been having lately you can’t be certain what this Winter will be like. Let’s just hope we have
plenty of snow!
Jamie Doutt is a new blogger with a keen interest in anything to do with cars. He has a particular passion for road and tyre safety. The products reviewed in this post can be found here.
