XC60 AWD & 2WD Tyres & Winter
 

I know there are a lot of threads, that I have read, about tyres and peoples varying views as to whether they should fit winter tyres and whether AWD/4WD and summer tyres is better than 2WD on winter tyres. Stopping distances etc being just the same for 2WD AWD and 4WD irrespective of grip.

When I mention winter tyres I dont mean all season or M+S

My own view is that AWD / 4WD or 2WD on winter tyres is the probable best solution in winter. Looking at Vredestein.

Just wondering how many have used their XC AWD and found it alright on summer tyres in winter having due regard to getting moving , going uphill etc.

Or have you got winter tyres on your 2WD XC60 and find it better or as good as AWD XC60 on summer tyres.

What tyre make have you all got?

Regards

As you say this has been done to death several times already in various threads.

For what it's worth, where I abide I found my AWD to be as much use a chocolate teapot on the snow covered winter roads when I had summer tyres fitted.

I am also aware that there as many people out there who will agree with this statement as there are those that will disagree. My conclusion is that if you have suffered you consider summer tyres to be of limited capability in winter, if you managed to get through with no problems then you cannot see the reason that others had problems.

my experience is that braking or fast cornering on snow or ice on summer tyres in an awd is absolute pants. getting going and uphill and downhill (using the "downhill" button) are no trouble.

i noticed little difference from warmer weather in other conditions, but am aware that winter tyres should outperform summer on all conditions except dry under 7oC. there's a lot of evidence which supports this.

Whether you have 2 or 4 wheel drive - the car will perform much better in snow and ice on winter tyres than not. Obviously a 4 wheel drive on winters will perform better than a 2 wheel drive on winters but a 2 wheel drive on winters will easily outperform a 4 wheel drive on summers in snow and ice conditions like we've seen the last few years. I run vredesteins wintracs all year round as the wear and performance was not degraded in summer. They are a lower speed rating but unless you are running at 130mph on a regular basis they'll be ok.

A lower speed rating than the design specification for the car invalidates your insurance as the type approval is given on the speed rating provided by the manufacturer and supplied as OEM tyres when delivered.

Might be worth thinking about.

Looked into that and the wording is 'SHOULD be of the same speed rating etc etc.....the exception being when winter tyres are fitted etc etc'. No 'MUST be' and doesn't specify when the winter tyres should be put on or removed. A solicitor would have a field day on this I expect should it come to that!

possibly so, though I suspect that the insurance pockets are deeper than yours and the cost of hiring a solicitor to fight a case would be a lot more than buying tyres with the same speed rating as OEM tyres ;)

Also, I'm not sure how you would get on from an insurance point of view if you had an accident in the summer on a wet road, and it was noted that the car was on winter tyres with poorer wet grip? Again this could be an insurance nightmare? I think that in most counties where the fitting of winter tyres is compulsory, it is also compulsory to fit summer tyres on the car for the warmer months. Certainly you would only get away with lower speed rated tyres during the winter.

on braking and cornering yes. on getting moving, no.

compared to what? summer tyres? in most conditions, unlikely.

Hi Guys

Thanks so far for your responses

My understanding is that winter tyres on a 2 wheel drive car will grip corner and stop better than a 4 wheel drive (or AWD) on summers but you will not be able to get going as well. Obviously it goes without saying 4 winter tyres on a 4WD (AWD) will be the best of the bunch. Winter tyres on any car in summer will not stop as well as the same car with summer tyres.As Wimorrison quite rightly says this has been exhausted in previous threads on general cars

However what my OP is about is what is your personal experience with summer / winter tyres on XC60 2WD or AWD in the winter in the cold and wet and ice.
Just wondering how many have used their XC60 AWD and found it alright on summer tyres in winter having due regard to getting moving , going uphill etc. Or have you got winter tyres on your 2WD XC60 and find it better or as good as AWD XC60 on summer tyres.What tyre make have you all got?

Regards