winter tyres or summer tyres?

Question

I need to get 4 new tyres for my car here in Ireland. Given that we don't have to deal with much snow at all, are summer tyres the best bet for all year round or perhaps winter tyres?
Thanks

Thanks for the replies, some more info:
It's a VW Bora 90bhp TDI. The size I have is 205/55 R16 91V.

I do motorway driving and country roads in equal measure, as well as sitting in city traffic each morning.
I'm a small bit speedy in that I like to take advantage of an open road!
I'm interested in comfort more than speed.

Also, the tyres currently on the car are Jupiter Radial DH-55. I can't find much info on these. I think they are all-weather as they have 4 symbols representing all the seasons on them.

Are all-weather tyres the way to go perhaps?

Answer 1

I drive and M3 and have found that my summer sport tyres are no good in freezing conditions

Answer 2

Andrew, I don't know if this brand is available in Ireland but you may want to check them out on the "net." Nokian makes the following tires:
#1. Summer
#2. All Season *
#3. Winter - With and without carbide winter studs.
These tires originally come from Sweden and are available in the states. My wife and I purchased a used car with these tires and she felt completely at ease driving in the winter months in Up State New York. We've replaced the terrible Bridgestone RE-92 tires that came new on her 04 Toyota Camry to Nokian tires with100% satisfaction.
There is a great website here in the states: tire rack.com that sells very close to 20 brands of tires . If you look at any given tire there is a review, test and specification page you can access. I find it particularly interesting because I think it will cover all your concerns.
I've been purchasing tires from them for 24 yrs. ad absolutely depend on that chart when changing tire models within a certain brand.
Without knowing your winter situation and the number of miles you drive per year I'd be "shooting from the hip" if I suggested anything.
There are no snow only tires here that have a mileage warranty because of their open aggressive relative soft rubber tread design.
If you would e-mail me with specific tires avalable to you I would do a little research for you.
When you go to the Nokian site it will list dealers close to you if they are avalable. You're so close to Sweden I would think they would be avalable. As you probaly already know
The Norwegen people" know snow".

Good Luck what ever your choice may be!

Answer 3

Winter tire tread is too soft - it will wear quickly at temperatures much above freezing.

You want an all season tire, with sporty aspirations, and good wet weather performance.

I run Yokohama Advan S.4.'s. They are an ultra high performance all season tire - perfect for a sporty car with a comfortable, quiet ride, and a lot of grip in the wet or dry. They will even do OK in light snow if you take it easy, as they have a uni-directional tread pattern.

Answer 4

Depends on what kind of tires you are specifically talking about.

For instance, if you drive a very sporty car. You can buy some summer only performance tires. They stick well to the road, but tend to wear out sooner than you would expect. Some of them are also almost useless if the temp drops to about freezing.

Winter specific tires generally have a deep lug for going through deep snow, and have a compound that stays flexable in cold weather. These tires also generally wear out faster than you would expect on dry pavement. Many tend to be noisy at high speed.

Many times for an average driver, a good set of all season radials makes a good buy, because they are designed to perform well (not the best, but well) in all types of weather, hot cold, wet, dry, snow. etc.

Tirerack.com has some great rating materials on various tires, I have used them for research even if I wasn't buying from them

Answer 5

i get rain tyres i live on london
cus u be a prat to loose conyrol in the dry
so get the wet 1's

Answer 6

You don't need "summer" or "winter" tyres, you need tyres with a good wet-weather performance.

Answer 7

if you dont get alot of snow then get summer tyres and drive carefully when you do get snow, doesnt really matter which you go for though, both work in both conditions

Answer 8

There are such things as all-weather tires.