You may remember that I've just bought a new car. The tyres that came with it are [LIFTED] - Arrowspeed something or other.

I'm thinking I'll replace them with either Goodyear Vector 4Seasons or Vredestein Quatrac 3.

So the question is - where to get them from?

I bought my last couple from http://www.ears.co.uk/ - they were cheaper than anywhere else I tried. But my fitment is a little odd.
http://www.blackcircles.com/tyres is always worth checking too.

I have used camskills and lovetyres with excellent results each time (next business day delivery).

Blackcircles are good but the fitters are franchises and the last time I used them they made a complete mess of my gf's locking wheel nuts damaging 2 of them beyond use by using an airgun where not suitable (on tightening locking wheel nuts), took a long time to get a refund for the cost of replacement nuts and wheel brace from them.

That said I've heard good things about Camskill if you can get someone to fit them for you (purchased brake pads/discs from them before without issue)

All year tyres are better than summer tires in winter, but not as good as winter tyres, but in summer they are very poor at shopping - at least 30% more shopping distance than summer tyres on a dry road. My fiancé has all season on her car, they can just about cope with ice and snow, but you really notice the difference when you get in a car with winter tires. The same for summer tires.

If you can afford it. I'd go for two sets of rubber.

Which is great if you've got somewhere to keep the other set...

We have both been using BlackCircles for my car - mostly because KwikFit don’t stock the rear tyres I need, and when they did their prices were astronomical. Also, the local KwikFit is a dive of a hole and I would not take any car in there.

The tyres are fitted by the local Formula 1 people, and neither of us here have had any cause for complaint.

In northern Sweden the garages store them for you and when you change tyres they put the ones they take off into storage and swap them over. Obviously you have to go back for your tyres and there is fee for it, but I suspect it is worth it. Though down south around Stockholm they still struggle when it gets icy, so they probably use all year tyres.


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If I could afford a second set of rims and tyres for the winter I would.

I ran winters in the 30-40 degress of Italy for around 500m and no issues.

Depends how much driving you do and whether or not you really get an actual summer where you are. They work normally up to +15. How often do you exceed that in the UK for long periods of intense driving?

Anyway, Camskill for me.

My local handler changes them and stores the second set for 35€.

Under normal conditions they are okay. It is if you have to stop suddenly, then they take a lot longer to stop than summer tyres. They will still stop quicker than winter tyres on a hot road, but their capabilities are pretty poor in summer and winter.

Sounds like the scheme in Sweden.


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One of the big tyre places suggest that if you only have one tyre all year round (in this country) it should be a winter one. I do wonder though if because they contain more natural rubber (so are presumably a softer compound) they'll wear quicker and need replacing sooner?

It is giving me something to think about though as I live on top of a pretty steep hill and barely made it home on a couple of occasions last year.

Would winter tyres be better for your hill? If you had to replace them slightly more often it might still be cheaper than two separate sets of tyres. In Sweden where the roads effectively become compressed ice you need studded winter tyres or you are going nowhere. In the UK the differences are not so great. Though if you could afford them I would still opt for two sets as each will last longer and you will inevitably have to get a new set at some point anyway, and all you are doing is bringing forward that date.