Everybody seems to be talking about winter tyres and the benefits to using them, i'm completely on the fence to whether they are worth the extra money.

I think it depends on where you live/work in Britain. Drivers who have to cope with exremes of cold and snow in hilly counties will probably benefit but otherwise ordinary tyres with plenty of tread should cope.

The rubber compounds used in regular tyres stiffens below 7c-meaning there is less grip-winter tyres are made of a different compound which stays more pliant, even in freezing temperatures. In addition, they have a different tread pattern including wider grooves.These factors mean winter tyres accelerate, brake and handle better than regular tyres in cold weather.

However once the warmer weather arrives winter tyres have less grip, wear out more quickly, and cause the car to use more fuel. I used to travel from South Yorks. to Lincoln City centre every day for 3 years and never had problems with ordinary tyres but when I was sent to work in Carluke in Scotland I needed winter tyres.

A compromise is to run all-weather tyres throughout the year, but they have less grip than winter tyres in freezing conditions, as well as less grip than regular tyres at other times.

You pays your money and takes your choice.

Regards.

Up here in Scotland, our vans use many rural routes that are not always treated as well as the major roads.

At approx £150 a pair of 'winters', it is a small price to pay for giving ourselves the best chance of getting the job done.

During last years horrible winter we were able to operate close to 100% our services, whereas other operators who did not use 'winters' were having all sorts of problems. The time-consuming and potentially costly repercussions of not having 'winters' far outweighs the cost of having them.

We were able to 'save' 3 pairs of winter tyres last year as they were only 30-40% worn, these are now placed on our lower mileage vehicles. All our vans now have 'winters' on, ready and waiting for anything that is thrown at us!

As previously mentioned, once the dry weather returns (sooner rather than later!), its best to remove the winter tyres as soon as possible as they do wear quicker on dry tarmac.