All season tyre choices

[pmknowles]

Front & back is fine. It's mixing on the same axle that's bad.

No, if you have one set of tyres which is gripping better than the other you can induce 'snaking' in the vehicle - check out HonestJohn and others

 

[securespark]

And more grippy at the rear is ok.

In the 80s and 90s, I used to put the deeper tread/ new rubber on the front. No tyre fitter told me different.

In the 2000s, I was told by tyre fitters it is recommended to fit the new or deeper tread on the rear to minimise the risk of oversteer (where the back end loses grip).

Oversteer is a lot harder to control than understeer, hence why new tyres are fitted to the back regardless of drive (front, rear or 4 WD).

If tyres on the front with less grip were to understeer (where the front end loses its grip), it would be less dangerous and easier to control.

Edited for clarity.

 

[tsedge]

Well I am in the waiting room while they are done, can't wait to see how it feels with the new rubber.

Spent ages looking for the locking wheel nut key until I remembered it didn't come with any locking wheel nuts!

 

[tsedge]

On the question of mixing all-season and other tyre types on two different axles and possible 'snaking', I am sceptical this is likely to be a problem. My car is rear drive only and this where the all seasons will be.

Front wheel braking should be unaffected as I am not changing the tyres there.

If the car doesn't feel happy or stable with the mix, I'll replace the fronts to match.

Anyway, I will report back and tell if I end up in a hedge!

 

[pmknowles]

And more grippy at the rear is ok.
Although I personally would not do it because I have a rubber fetish…

If you're driving on an icy road having grippy tyres on the back is fine until you come to a corner. If you turn the wheel and the front wheels lose grip you have no braking effort on the front and rear wheels gripping in a straight line to push you off the road....

 

[securespark]

The idea is that it is easier to control the loss of grip at the front end with grippier rubber behind.

 

[tsedge]

Well so far it drives really well, but only dry roads today. Seems quieter at the back, but I am not sure. Will report back when I've driven in all weathers.

The tracking was way out front and back, which I do wonder if it might have been like that from the factory. Didn't seem to have created asymmetrical wear though.

In terms of too much rear grip vs front, that's likely to promote understeer, which should be easy to detect. Really though, unless things are at the limit in tricky conditions I doubt it will be any different and I never take the car near the limit anyway.

 

[APMG]

Noticed my "rear" keeps kicking out after going round some round abouts / turning out of junctions even without giving it much welly.

Rear two are 3.5/4mm, fronts are 6.0 / 5.5.

I am going to get the rear to swapped as its very dodgy specially when the roads are slightly colder.

Cross Climates seem to be decent, what did most settle with?

 

[tsedge]

After a couple of weeks in all weathers, I can confirm I am still here with my rears on All Season Michelin Cross Climate 2s and the fronts still on the original Chinese summer tyres.

No handling issues, everything is great and rear grip seems better, no signs of slippage (used to spin a bit backing onto my drive with the old tires, none of that with the new ones).

So it may not be recommended to mix types, but I am not having any problems. YMMV.

 

[Joules]

After a couple of weeks in all weathers, I can confirm I am still here with my rears on All Season Michelin Cross Climate 2s and the fronts still on the original Chinese summer tyres.

No handling issues, everything is great and rear grip seems better, no signs of slippage (used to spin a bit backing onto my drive with the old tires, none of that with the new ones).

So it may not be recommended to mix types, but I am not having any problems. YMMV.

We've been having a similar discussion on 'MG4 tyres' thread and I'm heartened by your experience as it was suggested over there that mixing all seasons on the rear with summer tyres on the front was not a good idea, but is exactly what I'm planning as the Bridgestone Touranza's on the rear are getting very close to the markers after only sub 11000 miles. Apparently they reduce the tread depth on new cars to reduce road noise.

 

[siteguru]

Bear in mind that Tom (@tsedge) is in Devon, so the usual winter weather there is a far cry from what we get up here.

 

[securespark]

All winters are a far cry from what I remember as a yoof.

I think 09 or 10 was an exception. I remember we were told to carry on as normal by bosses and then 3 days later, after a couple of hundred prangs, they decided to make it emergency jobs only.

 

[tsedge]

We've been having a similar discussion on 'MG4 tyres' thread and I'm heartened by your experience as it was suggested over there that mixing all seasons on the rear with summer tyres on the front was not a good idea, but is exactly what I'm planning as the Bridgestone Touranza's on the rear are getting very close to the markers after only sub 11000 miles. Apparently they reduce the tread depth on new cars to reduce road noise.

It is true that it isn't recommended, due to the differing levels of grip in different situations potentially causing an issue.

However, I've had the mix for months now and never had the slightest issue in any conditions including heavy rain.

It is true that we only get snow every 20 years or so and usually only a dusting then. But the main issue with snow is rear traction from the drive wheels which should be much better. Could it overwhelm the fronts? Possibly, but that's not something I am likely to experience - with the severe hills here driving in snow is basically a no no anyway.

I can't do anything beyond share my own experience and note that it isn't recommended, you need to make your own judgement.

 

[Tuareg]

All season/winyer tyres have nothing to do with being for 'snow'. Thy provide much more grip in colder weather, typically below 7C, especially when the roads are damp or wet. They will give good grip in snow but the main advantage in countries such as the UK is the substantually improved grip in cold & wet conditions. When we lived in the UK, we always had two sets of wheels for all of our cars, winter & summer, swapped over in November and then again in March every year since the late 1980s.

 

[tsedge]

All tyres behave differently in snow, regardless of temperature.

 

[Tuareg]

All tyres behave differently in snow, regardless of temperature.

Well, yes of course, that's why winter tyres are recommended for temperatures below 7C, whether the road is dry, wet or has a covering if snow. They make a massive difference in these conditions. This is why in countries such as Germany and Austria, everyone (by law) changed their wheel sets in November to those shod with winter tyres and back again in March.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

CC2 fans should note that Michelin now make CC3 instead.

 

[pmknowles]

It is true that it isn't recommended, due to the differing levels of grip in different situations potentially causing an issue.

However, I've had the mix for months now and never had the slightest issue in any conditions including heavy rain.

It is true that we only get snow every 20 years or so and usually only a dusting then. But the main issue with snow is rear traction from the drive wheels which should be much better. Could it overwhelm the fronts? Possibly, but that's not something I am likely to experience - with the severe hills here driving in snow is basically a no no anyway.

I can't do anything beyond share my own experience and note that it isn't recommended, you need to make your own judgement.

If it's 'not recommended' and you have an accident you might find that you are uninsured. It's not about snow it's about ice too. MG4s are RWD. If you have the rear wheels 'pushing' you into a corner and the front wheels lose grip no amount of extra grip at the rear is going to help you. I live in the North East, we have snow every year and I have a set of winter wheels I put on at the end of October every year. When I had a Saab 9-3 I could get up snowy hills that 4x4s (with normal tyres) couldn't get up. My driving instructor told me (50 years ago) 'no slower than 20 - no faster than 30'

 

[securespark]

CC2 fans should note that Michelin now make CC3 instead.

Yes, I did mention that somewhere, but there are a few tyre threads and it's probably floating around in the ether somewhere. At the time of release, Michelin sent me an email announcing the launch, but my local tyre fitter was still advertising CC2.
They still are today. Just for fun, I plugged in the MG4 and it came back with an eye watering price of £202 per corner for CC2, not including a 10% discount for 2 or a 15% discount for 4.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

Yes, I did mention that somewhere, but there are a few tyre threads and it's probably floating around in the ether somewhere. At the time of release, Michelin sent me an email announcing the launch, but my local tyre fitter was still advertising CC2.
They still are today. Just for fun, I plugged in the MG4 and it came back with an eye watering price of £202 per corner for CC2, not including a 10% discount for 2 or a 15% discount for 4.

I used Black Circles and paid around £650 for all 4 a few months back