My answer is no i don't need them but boy do i feel confident and safe with them, but i have 22" wheels for summer, and 19" wintrac xtreme 4's for winter, so much more grip in the wet conditions too, The reason ive got them is if i slid into a kerb with my 22's on it would cost me more to replace 1 wheel than buy a set of winter wheels and tyres

x5pea wrote:

do you even get snow in south englandshire ?

We live in one of the highest places in the south. It's more that I can guarantee that the sprogs decide to come after a heavy downfall!

Ashmansworth  MY10 3.0 HSE Santorini Black, Ivory Premium & extended leather, privacy, paddles, diamond turned alloys, Ipod lead that charges, tasmods, rrsport.co.uk stickers

Jeep 4.0 High Output XJ 94 6" teraflex lift, c/w rear coils, 9500lb winch, 35" TSL super swamper boggers, safari snorkel, custom made bumpers, tom woods custom double cardon driveshaft, twin electric fans. Don't follow it..............you wont make it. The first 4 x 4 by far.

asellers33 wrote:

x5pea wrote:

do you even get snow in south englandshire ?

We live in one of the highest places in the south. It's more that I can guarantee that the sprogs decide to come after a heavy downfall!

Highest Place in the South.... Ben Lomand ?  2011 MY- RRS HSE - Zermatt -Ebony-Piano .... its a monochrome world

2006- BMW Z4M Roadster -Titanium Silver

Club - Ex Defender & Disco 3

Hi All

I think the main issue whith the debate snow tyres or not, is if the road is blocked with jack knifed artics/BMWs/Mercs/non 4x4s you ain't going nowhere anyway



cheers Kiel

My boss has a Carrera 2 and a colleague a 3 series. Both called me at 7am this morning worried about the savage 2mm of snow that has fallen (and instantly disaapeared)

asellers33 wrote:

My boss has a Carrera 2 and a colleague a 3 series. Both called me at 7am this morning worried about the savage 2mm of snow that has fallen (and instantly disaapeared)

Did you tell them to buy a propper car then hung up

I would've, but my boss is doing payroll today so have to be nice

I would say that the benefit of having decent winter tyres is obvious to anyone that has experienced using both normal road tyres and winter tyres in the same conditions. A lot of people that have a Disco or Freelander and think that it managed perfectly well with it's standard tyre have not bothered to look at the ratings on those tyres. If they did they would see that in most cases the "standard" tyre fitted to those cars is already marked with the "M+S" symbol for Mud & Snow rated. This is not the case with the RRS. The standard tyres fitted are very much summer tyres and hence their performance in winter conditions a seriously deminished. Winter tyres are made from compounds designed to work at low temperatures and in the uk our temperature ranges mean that often a winter tyre is actually more effective on our roads for about 8 - 9 months of the year, not just in winter. If you look at the tread blocks of a winter tyre you will notice it has small serated slits cut into the tread. These are designed to pick up & retain snow on the tyre rather than expell it, which aids grip. I carry my most valuable assets in my RRS (my wife & 2 1/2 year old son) I would simply not take any chances with their safety that I didn't have too and so I think my Wintrac Xtremes are well worth the money. 2013 Discovery HSE Luxury - 3.0 SDV6 - Santorini Black
2013 Evoque 5 Door Pure Tech SD4 - Orkney Grey with Panoramic Roof (Mrs E's new baby)

GONE - RRS - 3.0 TDV6 HSE - Santorini (2010)
GONE - RRS - 2.7 TDV6 HSE - Java Black (2007)
GONE - Porsche Boxster S - 3.2 - Black

muddywheels wrote:

IFrom experience the 20's vear sideways if you hit standing water but the 19's don't

Supacat wrote:

muddywheels wrote:

IFrom experience the 20's vear sideways if you hit standing water but the 19's don't

Surely that has more to do with tread depth than anything else? Speaking from an experience - I ran my original Contis down to the tread depth markers and then some and had an aquaplaning incident on the A63 that left me facing backwards parked up an embankment after hitting standing water at 70mph. Changed the tyres soon afterwards and the same standing water was quite safe to drive through.

So you went back for another go at the same speed for a comparison with the new tyres on

My understanding is that M+S (Mud and Snow) markings on a tyre are just an indication that the tyres has a certain percentage of blocks/grooves so that the tread is quite open. It does not indicate a different rubber compound or extensive sipes as one would get with a winter tyre.

M+S just means "chunky tread" in effect and is an industry agreed designation. "Winter" tyres meet certain legal requirements. Big difference and important. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

RRSTDV8 wrote:

My understanding is that M+S (Mud and Snow) markings on a tyre are just an indication that the tyres has a certain percentage of blocks/grooves so that the tread is quite open. It does not indicate a different rubber compound or extensive sipes as one would get with a winter tyre.

M+S just means "chunky tread" in effect and is an industry agreed designation. "Winter" tyres meet certain legal requirements. Big difference and important.

I don't disagree with that at all, BUT, for the exact reason you describe, a tyre marked M+S has a better performance in snow than one that is not. I didn't say that M+S tyres are the same as Winter Tyres or that they have a different compound like Winters do. I was saying that the RRS does not have M+S rated tyres as standard, unlike most Freelanders or Disco's. 2013 Discovery HSE Luxury - 3.0 SDV6 - Santorini Black
2013 Evoque 5 Door Pure Tech SD4 - Orkney Grey with Panoramic Roof (Mrs E's new baby)

GONE - RRS - 3.0 TDV6 HSE - Santorini (2010)
GONE - RRS - 2.7 TDV6 HSE - Java Black (2007)
GONE - Porsche Boxster S - 3.2 - Black

One should never be surprised...

But...

If a manufacturer mark a tyre with snow I would kinda think that it was meant to be used in temperatures around freezing... Where I come from snow normally strangely enuff appears when it is cold... Not to mention that the Mud seems to dry up fairly well in the summertime compared to late fall and early spring...

On the other hand.. I would not be happy with a M+S tyre on my car in the middle of a hot summer... Smearing rubber on the streets sounds kinky to me... Then I prefer summer tires...

... and please please please let me find a proper set of M+S marked wheels to put on my RRS soon... RRS 2010 TDV6 HSE Santorini Black
Volvo V60R D5 2011 Black
Jaguar XKR Cab 2002 Blue
Polaris Ranger 800HD Green
John Deere 6430 Premium 2009 IVT, GPS, Very green
Volvo L30B Pro 2012 Yellow

The Vredestein Wintrac 4 Extremes currently fitted on my RRS are marked M+S as well as the correct winter tyre logo (snowflake). Or are you only interested in second hand tyres? 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed