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Why aren't all-weather tyres with high speed ratings, like the Continental ExtremeContact DWS, available in the UK?
Unsurprisingly, I am again finding that summer tyres and ice don't mix. However, I am too lazy to want to swap between summer and winter tyres twice a year. If I were in North America, I would have options such as Continental ExtremeContact DWS that have the same speed rating as my original tyres, and are designed to be used all year round. This tyre seems to offer quite acceptable summer performance, and greatly improved winter performance, compared to a summer tyre. Why is it that tyres like these are unavailable in the UK, with only full winter tyres on sale?
Full winter tyres often have lower speed ratings than manufacturers fit as standard, which makes insurers nervous. I have contacted Continental, which responded that it had no plans to introduce the ExtremeContact DWS to the UK, and failed to recommend anything from its range for all-year use to replace my current PremiumContact 215/55 R16 93Ws.
Full winter tyres often have lower speed ratings than manufacturers fit as standard, which makes insurers nervous. I have contacted Continental, which responded that it had no plans to introduce the ExtremeContact DWS to the UK, and failed to recommend anything from its range for all-year use to replace my current PremiumContact 215/55 R16 93Ws.
Asked on 15 December 2010 by MR, Cambridge
Answered by
Honest John
They are. For example the Bridgestone A001. And anyway, full winter tyres such as Pirelli Sotto Zeros are rated at 130mph. I know. I've done it on them. The problem with full winter tyres in summer is that just as summer tyres don’t like extreme cold, winter tyres don’t like extreme heat, which can be 50 degrees centigrade at road level, even in Britain.
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