Quote:
Originally Posted by Rb79
When do you switch from winter to summer?
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There has to be a bit of 'give and take' and watching the weather trends. Last spring it was middle of April, as we had some late frosts and snow. But then it went very warm in a day or so, requiring a quick change. Normally judge it right, but did get caught out several years ago, when a cold blast came down from the north unexpected, and I was on the way to Inverness on summer tyres and we hit heavy snow that wasn't forecast.
This end of the season I'm watching the forecast, as this weekend is said to be going colder, but local forecasts still hint at it being too warm for fitting the winter tyres. Nights are colder, but still getting mid teens in the day.
But winter tyres will cope reasonably well with warmer temperatures as long as you don't drive at the limits. I change them myself, as I store them in my shed, so no real difficulty to do it when I judge it the best time.
One of the biggest risks up here is icing, and where most accidents occur. We have large signs with "roads liable to icing" displayed. Winter tyres do make a big difference and I've been saved from the ditch when the car in front went out of control on black ice, and I had to brake mid bend. A little bit of a twitch, but so different than a summer tyre.
I had a chance to try my 330d on smooth but solid ice in my lane. Tried both sets of wheels for grip, acceleration and braking. It was good to find how different the limits in a controlled manner, rather than find how they work in anger.
HighlandPete