Winter Tyres?

[jaapv]

Adding to that, in my experience the Hankooks are excellent winter tyres.

 

[maddogsetc]

Hmmm, this is starting to get interesting now. I wonder if the UK dealers have access to these sort of deals as it would be much more convenient if we could all do this 'at home'. But at those prices I will have to have a serious think about crossing the channel.

It's just the logistics of getting back with two sets of wheels that makes it less attractive. Will mean the trip can't really be combined with pleasure as there won't be room for the family and that in turn will make it much harder to sell to SWMBO. And I doubt I can do this without her noticing

It seems to me that it might make sense to arrange this as a group buy from one helpful dealer. One person (which could be me :?: ) could hire a van and make the trip over to bring back several sets perhaps. Although to make it work we'd need to sort out transport in the UK too. And the cost of van hire, tunnel, fuel etc. would obviously have to be shared...

On the other hand I do have a contact who is very experienced at shipping sets of wheels within the UK at a reasonable cost (ISTR it was about £15-20 a wheel). Perhaps he might be able to help and it might even be cheaper that way.

Anyone else interested in doing something like this?

 

[Highspen]

I spent a few years in logistics and there is a huge capacity of cargo space available on returning trucks/vans to the UK. Added to that there are hundreds of Dutch freight/couriers servicing the UK and feeding into UK distribution hubs on a daily basis. Import Transport and UK distribution is not the issue, it is the purchasing deal from the supplier that we need to concentrate on.

Whoops, see how I slipped into business mode there

 

[Highspen]

Hey Jaap, looks like I might not get to fondle your Leicas after all. :lol:

 

[Highspen]

I have just been going through the Dutch PHEV accessory .pdf to look at the wheels options. A considerably broader range than the UK. Holland was the EU launch market so you are ahead of us by a few months, so hoping that the full range of accessories becomes available to us soon. It also makes sense to change every single incandescent bulb on the car to either an HID or LED to reduce the power consumption and extend the range/improve consumption. Or are the power savings negligible?

Thoughts anyone?

 

[gobiman]

I'd be in for a set of the 7 spoke 18s at Eu 1795.
Broadly happy to pay just over £100 on top to ship them back to UK if that helps.
Otherwise I was thinking about taking my 11 year old for a day or overnight trip at HT in November perhaps combined with a battlefield tour.
Eurotunnel do two day fares around £60-70 return, it's about 120 miles (2 hours) up to Vlissingen or Goes (the two nearest dealers on the map) and I suspect it makes sense to get them fitted and balanced at the dealer ie put the summers in the boot. I would put on my roof box so plenty of room for booze,chees, foie gras etc. Could even fit a few migrants inside. There are also plenty of good cheap places to stay overnight.

 

[jaapv]

I have just been going through the Dutch PHEV accessory .pdf to look at the wheels options. A considerably broader range than the UK. Holland was the EU launch market so you are ahead of us by a few months, so hoping that the full range of accessories becomes available to us soon. It also makes sense to change every single incandescent bulb on the car to either an HID or LED to reduce the power consumption and extend the range/improve consumption. Or are the power savings negligible?

Thoughts anyone?

The accessory list was like this from the beginning.(I.e early 2013)

 

[jdsx]

Hi
I'd definitely be interested in getting 4 winter tyres at the prices quoted (i.e. including 'delivery' to UK), so count me in! I usually prefer smaller tyres (16"), although not sure if my insurer would agree.... Does anyone know if it's sensible to go for the smaller tyres, or should I just stick to the 18"....

 

[gobiman]

My penny's worth.
The usual advice is to go for smaller wheels (nb the 16 and 18 refers to the wheel diameter or radius - can't remember which - not the tyre!). The prime reason is that they are narrower which works better in snow. Also, because there is proportionally more rubber to wheel (the overall size/circle/rolling radius remains the same), the ride can often be more comfortable.
I have 18 inch winter wheels on my X5 and 20 inch summers (which are serious beer barrels).
The tyres for the smaller wheels are also generally cheaper.
They can look a bit odd and generally cars with bigger wheels and thinner/lower profile tyres do tend to look better. If you go onto the Dutch PHEV website you can look at PHEVs with 16 (albeit alloy) and 18 inch wheels one above the other for comparison.
However the 18s on the PHEV are pretty sensible in the first place with reasonable sized sidewalls (unlike your average German SUV in "sport" trim) so I'd be inclined to stick with 18s.
Also the Dutch pricing for 16s is for steel wheels which in my view are pretty nasty.
There is a school of thought that likes having winter tyres on the smallest possible steel wheels (often in black) for a kind of utilitarian look (think Land Rover Defender!). On the Continent, there can be an almost inverse pride in how utilitarian your "winter" set can be and you will see plenty of £100k cars on 50 euro steel wheels.
I like something in the middle - smart/presentable (I want to leave them on for 6 months) but not ridiculously low profile to compromise snow ability.
I'm sure others will have a different view!

 

[Highspen]

Fully agree.

 

[jaapv]

My penny's worth.
The usual advice is to go for smaller wheels (nb the 16 and 18 refers to the wheel diameter or radius - can't remember which - not the tyre!). The prime reason is that they are narrower which works better in snow. Also, because there is proportionally more rubber to wheel (the overall size/circle/rolling radius remains the same), the ride can often be more comfortable.
I have 18 inch winter wheels on my X5 and 20 inch summers (which are serious beer barrels).
The tyres for the smaller wheels are also generally cheaper.
They can look a bit odd and generally cars with bigger wheels and thinner/lower profile tyres do tend to look better. If you go onto the Dutch PHEV website you can look at PHEVs with 16 (albeit alloy) and 18 inch wheels one above the other for comparison.
However the 18s on the PHEV are pretty sensible in the first place with reasonable sized sidewalls (unlike your average German SUV in "sport" trim) so I'd be inclined to stick with 18s.
Also the Dutch pricing for 16s is for steel wheels which in my view are pretty nasty.
There is a school of thought that likes having winter tyres on the smallest possible steel wheels (often in black) for a kind of utilitarian look (think Land Rover Defender!). On the Continent, there can be an almost inverse pride in how utilitarian your "winter" set can be and you will see plenty of £100k cars on 50 euro steel wheels.
I like something in the middle - smart/presentable (I want to leave them on for 6 months) but not ridiculously low profile to compromise snow ability.
I'm sure others will have a different view!

I prefer alloys, but steel wheels make sense in harsh conditions; they can stand more of a beating.
If you get third-party wheels make sure they are rated for winter use: I.e. corrosion resistant against salt on the road.

 

[jdsx]

So is anyone up for actually organising this ??? Realise it would be a fair amount of hassle, so can understand if not.... :?

 

[maddogsetc]

I might be, but want to see what, if anything, my dealer in the UK can do first.

I've been in contact with the transport guy I know, who confirms he can arrange shipping from Holland if needs be. We'd need addresses at both ends for him to come up with costs and we've talked about either point to point costs per single set or the possibility of bringing multiple sets back to a single UK address and distributing from there.

The latter will obviously only work if we were to get firm commitments for a reasonable number of sets.

 

[Hypermiler]

I also might be, but would need to speak to OH first.

Is it definitely preferable to buy actual wheels rather than just tyres (before we all get carried away!) or is it just that all you guys are planning to fit them yourselves (although presumably they need balancing by a garage)?

I would also want to be sure that we are getting the best possible price - especially if we are buying a few sets AND going to the trouble of getting them from the continent, and how would payment work- would we all order individually from a dealer in NL and then each pay the transport person? Who would be responsible for them in transit - would the transporter insure them? Just not sure how the logistics are going to work...

Do we need to check with our insurer before committing?

Should we give it a few more weeks as there were supposed to be some offers coming out in October?? (I appreciate it will take a little time to organise them to arrive, but the weather doesn't usually get too cold here till fairly late on - famous last words).

Cheers
H

 

[greendwarf]

I also might be, but would need to speak to OH first.

Is it definitely preferable to buy actual wheels rather than just tyres (before we all get carried away!) or is it just that all you guys are planning to fit them yourselves (although presumably they need balancing by a garage)?

I would also want to be sure that we are getting the best possible price - especially if we are buying a few sets AND going to the trouble of getting them from the continent, and how would payment work- would we all order individually from a dealer in NL and then each pay the transport person? Who would be responsible for them in transit - would the transporter insure them? Just not sure how the logistics are going to work...

Do we need to check with our insurer before committing?

Should we give it a few more weeks as there were supposed to be some offers coming out in October?? (I appreciate it will take a little time to organise them to arrive, but the weather doesn't usually get too cold here till fairly late on - famous last words).

Cheers
H

Here are the cheapest Hankook I've found http://www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre-details/hankook-icebear-w-310-225-55-r18-102-v-xl#70795990 So if we assume Kwik-fit will charge me £10 per wheel twice a year to change over it will take 10+ years to match the Dutch price for an extra set of wheels & tyres. I'm not sure it's worth it.

Here is a useful link about insurance, https://www.abi.org.uk/Insurance-and-savings/Products/Motor-insurance/Winter-tyres especially the PDF regarding individual firms.

 

[jaapv]

I was talking about the EVO 1 by Hankook. Do make sure this variant is designed to handle the weight of a SUV.

 

[maddogsetc]

Very good point Jaapv, I recommend sticking to the weight and speed rating of the OEM tyres which, if I'm reading it correctly, is 98H.

For UK drivers, here is the list I mentioned previously which tells you if you need to notify your insurer. It's out of date very soon so I would assume it will be updated in the near future, but it's a good starting point:

https://www.abi.org.uk/~/media/Files/Documents/Publications/Public/Migrated/Motor/ABI%20guide%20to%20winter%20tyres%20The%20motor%20insurance%20commitment.ashx

 

[maby]

It's a funny old world, isn't it? That document from the insurers association focusses on saying "don't worry, we are good guys and we probably will not increase your premium or reduce your level of cover if you put winter tyres on!"

 

[maddogsetc]

Yes, it's good to know that they have our best interests at heart isn't it! :roll:

 

[jaapv]

It is great business model: reduce the risk and hike the price, I wish I could do that....