All season or winter tyres?

[Veyron_fan]

Anyone got any advice/experience with tyres for winter for a cupra 300?

Never bothered to change my summer pilot sports before but with the cupra I think I probably should.

I don't care at all about the snow/ice performance as always did fine on summer tyres lol. I just want the max dry and wet grip in the cold weather.

These Bridgestone A005's are my only "all season" option and sound like the best bet. Otherwise it has to be a "winter tyre" like a Michelin Alpine 4 which cost ALOT....

Am I right in thinking that the "all season" tyre should give much better performance than a "winter tyre" on everything but actual snow or ice?

I'd also rather not have to buy 4 new rims so will be looking to simply swap the tyres on the current rims and then swap back come spring.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2018-Auto-Bild-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm

Any opinions or advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[black_sheep]

If it costs £20 - £25 per tyre to swap over, that is £160 - £200 per annum just to swap tyres from summer to winter and back again.

Also, 19” winter/all season tyres will be more expensive than 18”. I have 17” rims on an Octavia that just squeeze over the front 340mm brake calliper set up - not too sure if they’ll fit on the Cupra, but willing to give it a go when it arrives.

I would personally look at a cheap set of winter alloys, that are easy to keep clean (ie. Dezent TD) at c£400 - they can then be stored on a tyre tree (but take up the same space as tyres only), and your summer rims will not be exposed to all of the winter grime/salt. Also, if unfortunate to have puncture or alloy damaged, you can swap wheels whilst repair takes place.

 

[Mr Pig]

I have another set of wheels with the winter tyres on, it works well. Saves the alloys from the pounding of the winter salt and ice. Saves the summer tyres so you get much longer out of them. Last year I hit a huge pothole which dented one of winter wheels, it would have totaled an alloy.

I'd recommend extra wheels and full winter tyres. Done it on two cars and don't regret it.

 

[Carbonara]

The Bridgestones are a sensible choice for 19" and the ones I would choose. As I had already got some 18s that fitted my Cupra, I chose the Conti All-seasonContact which is reported to be better in snow and ice, but only V rated. While I'm running the car in and going steady over its first winter, that's fine. I'd rather have something more robust and which doesn't owe me anything while I learn how the car handles as conditions become more wintry.

I don’t believe the OE Conti 19s last particularly long so I may follow you and fit the Bridgestones when the time comes as I can use a more appropriate (but less dynamic) car for snowy conditions fitted with Nokian Weatherproofs. Of course this depends how compromised the Bridgestones' summer performance is.

So, I would agree that in colder conditions (not peak summer) it should be a good choice in all but snow and ice. Picking the right tyre is about best fit for how you intend to use your car and what compromises you are willing to accept. For me that means choosing an alternative when the conditions are outside my preferred range for enjoying the Cupra experience.

Ideally we'd all choose the ideal tyre ( and vehicle) for daily conditions but that's just not practical. If I could only pick one set of tyres on original 19s, the Weather Control A005 would be my choice too as things currently stand.

 

[SteA]

I’ve not ran winters on my Cupra, but I have ran winters on high power RWD cars; my advice, don’t buy cheap winter tyres, buy the best high performance winter version you can. I would get spare wheels too.

 

[KXL]

Well if you have space to store the tyres or tyres plus rims (without paying to store them), then go for it. While you do this, you could also rotate the tyres when they are back on as the seasons changed. If you are in a place where snow is unilkely, the Bridgestone A005 should suffice, and if you are lazy to change them over when weather warms up, that's ok too! you may not even need any more tyres for the next 3-4 years with this set up. I didn't know the A005 came in Cupra friendly R19s, but I learn something new every day!

 

[Caffienated]

I ran a set of Nokian Weatherproofs on a Mini Cooper Clubman last winter. I live in the sticks out between Huddersfield and Penistone and I need to leave before any gritters etc have been in the morning, working crazy shifts. I didn’t miss a single day and drove through all the snow happily while everyone else was falling off the road, skidding into fields and unable to get traction. I’d happily recommend. Granted you wouldn’t want to on a Cupra but I actually left them on the Mini all year. They were a big improvement over the stock runflats, didn’t come with a MPG hit and while not as good as a really good summer tyre were still perfectly good for spirited driving...

 

[armd02]

After 7-8 years of swapping wheels/tyres 2 x per year, I got fed up of it and went to all seasons (Pirelli) when I got my new Leon ST last November. No regrets, I came through last winter no problems. Personally I would go for Cross Climates if they were available in your size but realise they may not be. My son used 235 Quatrac 5's for two years on a Focus ST with good results.

 

[Carbonara]

After 7-8 years of swapping wheels/tyres 2 x per year, I got fed up of it and went to all seasons (Pirelli) when I got my new Leon ST last November. No regrets, I came through last winter no problems. Personally I would go for Cross Climates if they were available in your size but realise they may not be. My son used 235 Quatrac 5's for two years on a Focus ST with good results.

Only for non Performance Packed Cupras with 18" wheels unless you can find suitable wheels to fit the PP Brembos. Only 19s are 255/35 19 so 7mm taller than 235s - a bit of a gamble when there are 19" alternatives. Good tyre though.