I've got a MY12 RRS HSE and thought that an RRS would come with AllSeasons, but looking on the GoodYear website, the Excellence tyres that it came with are just summer tyres.

Not thought about extra sets for winter before but this snow has me thinking.

Ive got a set of winter wheels for two reasons, 1, so not to trash my diamond turned alloys and 2, so i can go out and have fun in the white stuff and be pretty sure i won't get stuck I must admit, the braking on winter tyres is also improved dramatically which is also a big +. I just hope mr knobhead behind me doesn't think he can stop as quick as me.

kryten22uk wrote:

I've got a MY12 RRS HSE and thought that an RRS would come with AllSeasons, but looking on the GoodYear website, the Excellence tyres that it came with are just summer tyres.

Not thought about extra sets for winter before but this snow has me thinking.

All Seasons may be more expensive, the saving on 1000's of vehicles sold is all benefit to LR. Summer tyre is fine for 95% of the year too, all season may wear quicker due to softer compound in all but coldest weather. 

"Roads ? Where we're going there are no roads." Back to the future.

Its an interesting question...

Since in the UK the temperature is below 7degrees C for 40% of the year and we are told we need 'winter' tyres for anything below 7 you could argue that the car is "not fit for purpose" if you bought it between March and November with 'summer' ribber. Conversely if it bought at any other time they should have the so-called "summer" tyres should be fitted.

It would seem to me that either the differences between the two types of tyre are so small that JLR consider their cars are useable all-year "out-of-thebox", as it were. If however the safety differences are as large as the tyre makers claim then the cars could only be considered "fit-for-purpose" in the UK if they were delivered with 'All weather' tyres..

'All weather' tyres are a compromise throughout the year so, in my opinion, its what any car retailled in the UK should be fiited with; otherwise, it could be argued, you must "modify" (as defined by the insurance industry) it to be sure that you have been as safe as you could be.

Its not hard to imagine that - given how hard insurers look a wriggling out of claims - that it might claimed, the driver was negligent because he/she had the wrong tyre for the time of year

drdelrrs wrote:

Since in the UK the temperature is below 7degrees C for 40% of the year and we are told we need 'winter' tyres for anything below 7 you could argue that the car is "not fit for purpose" if you bought it between March and November with 'summer' ribber. Conversely if it bought at any other time they should have the so-called "summer" tyres should be fitted.

That would apply to 100% (or very nearly) of cars sold in the UK. I have driven for 20 years in the UK on nothing other than summer tyres mostly, and never really felt that they weren't fit for purpose, except for the two/three days of snow we've been getting in the last three or four years. 

"Roads ? Where we're going there are no roads." Back to the future.

My views is that only high performance sports cars should be provided with summer tyres. Everything else from hatchbacks to 4x4 should be on more general use tyres e.g. all-season tyres.

The problem is that manufacturers and buyers seem to think that everything should be running on large wheels with shallow sidewall tyres. Great on smooth, dry, warm tarmac but hopeless on real roads (cracked/holed tarmac which is cold / wet for a lot of the year).

I'm coming to the conclusion that councils could save a whole load of money each year by not having to spread grit on so many roads. I'd much rather they spent the money fixing the roads rather than gritting them... 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

RRSTDV8 wrote:

The problem is that manufacturers and buyers seem to think that everything should be running on large wheels with shallow sidewall tyres.

I think the problem here might one of design constraints. Cars are much heavier nowadays due enhanced safety, comfort, etc... (compare a mk1 golf to the current model for example). As a result, bigger brakes are required, bigger discs, bigger calipers and hence larger wheels. Not sure it's 100% a fashion statement.

Sure, there are cars running on 22" when they drove off the factory line on 19", that's a different matter altogether

All season tyres won't last as long, will be noisier, consume more fuel, won't brake or corner as sharply, all these things taken into consideration will push manufacturers to choose what's best for marketing purposes. E.g. 0-60 with barely any fuel in the tank, engine maps with fuel dips at 56mpg for improved consumption, etc... 

"Roads ? Where we're going there are no roads." Back to the future.

Lots (most) of hatchback cars these days come with 15 or 16 inch wheels as standard except for the high performance versions. Most have brakes of less than 300mm diameter. They don't need 17, 18 or 19 inch wheels.

There was an interesting piece in Evo magazine a year or so ago. They pointed out that even though most car reviews mention that the new vehicle rides better with the smaller of the available wheels, most are sold with larger diameter wheels. That's all about style and / or assumed resale value.

And just because a vehicle has large diameter wheels fitted doesn't preclude the use of tyres that are suited to the actual conditions rather than those found in southern Europe. There is also no reason that an all-season tyre is automatically noisier than a summer tyre, nor will it automatically have worse service life. Indeed, when one looks at the service life range for summer tyres, any one version of all-season tyre might be better than some and worse than others - as one would expect.

High performance tyres on average hatchbacks don't really bring anything useful and, for at least 4 months of the year, they're a positive liability. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Industry reviews seem to think that All-Season are just as good as Winter tyres except for extreme conditions. So given that I never go offroad or on snowy/treacherous roads, does that mean that I'd be better suited to buying All-Season tyres instead of keeping my current Goodyear Excellence summer tyres and swapping to winters in the cold months?

I had the same issue with the 2012 FFRR that we recently purchased. Here is the link I posted on another Land Rover site...

http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic14194....0715645fa8

We have lots of customers who have either winter tyres or a spare set of winter tyres/wheels to fit for the winter months, it does not have to be that expensive.

When you have a heavy very valuable 4x4 why not look after it, had a few coverts this winter who after damaging their pride and joy have seen the light.

Winter tyres are the way foward, and it makes a fantastic difference.  Please call us 01737 241370 for the quickest response

www.ajstyres.co.uk

I fitted all Pirelli Scorpion all season tyres this year having used 20" conti tyres summer and 19" wrangler M+S winter for last 2 years without any scary moments

I normally avoid the roads in winter when bad as per the "only travel if absolutely necessary" advice not because I doubted the capability of my LR's but because I did not want to be hit by white van man or boy racers sliding into me and I understand the laws of physics when it comes to stopping a big 4x4 unlike some people I see flying along like it is a normal day

The 20" all season tyres have been a disappointment on soft snow compared to the smaller sizes used in the past and I have concluded that a set of 19" winter tyres would be beneficial if I plan to use my RRS in snow/ice but as I try to avoid this I will need to consider the expense but in an emergency I would definitely want them

Conclusion - if you can afford them they are better than all season tyres and I would fit 19" to ride the potholes better. With hindsight I would probably have kept the 20" summer tyres too as the only time I off road is with the van in farm fields and stands to reason if the winter tyres are better in winter the summer tyres would be better in summer

Having seen this and driven our mini yesterday in snow/ice with normal tyres - I am convinced  Wanted a Series 2 LR since childhood but previously owned MY16 Disco Sport HSE TD4 Auto, MY13 RR Sport Black Edition TDV6 Auto, MY10 RR Sport HSE TDV6 Auto, 2007 Freelander 1 Freestyle TD4 Soft Top, 2009 Freelander 2 GS TD4 Auto, 2007 Freelander 2 GS TD4, 2004 Disco 2 Metropolis Auto, 2002 Disco 2 GS, 2000 Freelander 1 SE TD4 SW

Still hoping for a S2 one day!

Well put Muddywheels; tis what I was trying to get across in my earlier post.

If you have the cash and the inclination to put up with changing wheels then winter and summer tyres will give you improvements between March and November and April to October; respectively.

If you don't want the hassle but want an average level of compromise a 4x4 would be better on a set of All-Weather rubber.

Either way you'll still have to drive and allow for the fact that the vehicles around you may not be so well equipped.

The cost difference between running one set of tyres all year or summer/winter as appropriate is minimal. The tyres last longer (in terms of years) because each set is doing half a year. Sure, you have to pay to get them changed (unless you have spare alloys and do it yourself).

I have a set of winter tyres and a set of AT tyres too. Both in 19in format. I have them swapped on the samw set of alloys because I have to store them in the loft and a 19in alloy + tyre is f'ing heavy to lift in to the loft!

I think, however, that once this set of tyres needs changing I'll probably go for a set of Grabber AT and run them all year.

The Vred Wintracs have been very good this year though  2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

+1 for Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme 4's They really are great in the snow, i'd be very surprised if there is anything out there to beat them for grip comfort and wear. I'm fortunate enough to have somewhere to store a second set of wheels & tyres so its just a quick pitstop for me when i decide to change them over. (well not me personally )