Re050 In The Snow

[scoobywho]

Just used the car in the snow with these fitted today tyres are about 2k miles old and are shocking let the foot off the clutch and the 4 wheels span and the car stayed still going to stick my spare wheels on which were great last year and the year before running some Chinese Goodtread or something like that

[The Meat]

I use these tyres all year round and have to admit find them a bit of a let down on the snow. They're fine for the rest of the year though and as money is tight I can't justify a winter set of tyres as I still made it through last winter without getting stuck!!

[johns]

Winter tyres make a staggering difference to traction, and grip, especially under braking.

You can get incredibly cheap winter tyres now, and almost all of them will be a vast improvement over the standard "summer" type tyres in wintry conditions. A good set of winter tyres will last many years - I am running a set of Michelins now that are on their 9th winter. Tread now is down to about 3.5mm after about 26k miles.

If we are in for as bad a winter as predicted, then not fitting winter tyres could be a false economy in terms of excess payments and lost no claims bonus, as well as lost time at work due to not being able to get in etc. You can probably get by if you live in a city centre or not too far from a main road which gets well gritted.

[scoobywho]

Being in the trade i get tyres cost, so price not an issue but the budgets on my 18s were under 40 quid each to me and I flung them on today and the braking and pulling away has vastly improved. The Bridgestone were 80 each and are shocking for a tyre with mud and snow logo On the side

[boyward]

re050, mud and snow marked ... you sure? they're basically a summer tyre, very few blocks and mainly solid tread ... mine got taken off as i know they're rubbish in cold conditions, superb till about October though. Goodyear Ultragrip 8 Performance fitted now, Bridgestones are upstairs for spring time though

[scouk]

Got to admit I agree the Re050's are lethal in snow! I'd never driven a car that was so dangerous in snow than when I had them on the impreza for the first time in snow! Even the Toyo T1-r's I got later with their fancy V tread pattern was surprisingly better! Possibly because of the diagonal tread pattern whereas teh Re50's are mostly linear tread.

But with John (above) and a few others on here praising winter tyres for many years I took the plunge last year and got a spare set of alloys cleaned up and fitted some Nokian WRG2's. When people say winter tyres are like night and day, their not kidding! Where in most cases on snow/slush the car moves around a lot even taking it easy, it just feels much more stable on the winter grips and rarely step out of line, unless provoked . Their not miracle workers. you still NEED to adjust your driving style to be more careful but they are far better in every respect than the summer tyres. On 100% ice though, no rubber will help, only spikes/chains or maybe snowsocks. Had the fortune of driving in that sort of conditions last year through a local village. Think curling with around 1.4tons and near 300bhp.. Tricky, but surprisingly satisfying when you don't hit anything

I'm a total convert for winter tyres! I use them on both my cars now (Nokian WR G2's on teh Impreza and Vredestein Snowtrac's on the front of the focus). I agree cost of tyres isn't cheap! but if your thinking safety and long term, if your swapping tyres every 6 months it's going to take twice as long to wear them out. So other than the initial cost of spare wheels and the tires in the first place, it doesn't necessarily cost more over time and your MUCH safer over the winter months, note winter tyres are also superior in cold temperatures, not just the harshest of conditions! If your not keen on getting another set of wheels and storing them, some tyre fitters now offer a winter tyre swap, where you pop in and they'll swap your tyres over. But over you may find that's more costly than buying 2nd hand wheels unless you know a friendly local tyre fitter.

Edited December 3, 2012 by ScoUK

[scoobywho]

re050, mud and snow marked ... you sure? they're basically a summer tyre, very few blocks and mainly solid tread ... mine got taken off as i know they're rubbish in cold conditions, superb till about October though. Goodyear Ultragrip 8 Performance fitted now, Bridgestones are upstairs for spring time though

Yeah marked m&s next to the load rating

[The Don]

no mention of M&S in any reports I've seen ???

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Bridgestone/Potenza-RE050.htm

http://www.national.co.uk/tyres/brand/bridgestone/re050/

http://www.ctyres.co.uk/tyres/Bridgestone/RE050A.php

[scoobywho]

Will do when I get home

[scouk]

Sounds daft, but maybe you misread the 87W upside down as M&S ? I defiantly wouldn't say the RE050's are anything like a Mud and Snow tyre..

[scoobywho]

Yeah cause they are 91y lol couldn't get a good picture but says made in Poland next to it

[highlandflyer]

Yea totally agree Al, Nokians are great and last well too.

[G.Mac]

Had Kleber Quadraxers on the old van and decided just to leave them on all year round (we don't really get a summer), still gripped great in the dry and were night and day in the wet

Have the Nokian WRG2's on the van and canny wait for the snow!!!

Scoob parked up for the winter

edit

Oh aye, cheapest place I found was http://www.oponeo.co.uk/?gclid=CJK4oquWn7QCFXDLtAodVCUA1g

Graeme

Edited December 16, 2012 by G.Mac

[EricGregory]

Summer tires for summer, spring, fall. Snow tires for winter. The end.

All season tires do nothing well, and summer tires simply don't work in snow/sleet/ice.