To be honest: though it’s an interesting idea (for scandinavia with months of snow on the road) I don’t consider this a good one.

Three points:

1st: in the german forum a lot of guys already run on winter tyres. If you buy a tyre with rolling resistance “C” (Conti, Dunlop or Nokian) you won’t see a large range drop – the inability of the battery to recuperate large amounts of energy when cold kills your mileage much more than the rolling resistance of winter tyres.

2nd: summer tyres lose when it comes to breaking distance on temperatures below 7°C – a damaged car because of a not suitable breaking performance is much more expensive than a set of decent winter tyres (with rims you can go around 480-500 Euros in Germany, don’t know the UK prices)

3rd: what do you do when the ground changes rapidly (snow, cleared road, snow again)? Socks on, socks off, socks on? I’d be to lazy for that. 🙂

Regards
Umbi

About gears, they are meant as torque multiplier. So a lower gear will turn slower but in place will enable more torque. A higher gear will lower the torque but raise the speed. An electric engine needs no gears because torque is abundant and not related to a small rpm range. It’s like having a first gear that doesn’t stop pulling when you increase RPM. And it doesn’t stall, doesn’t need a minimum RPM. Perfect for slippery circumstances as long as throttle response is not too sensitive.

About winter tires, this has not only to do with snow (chains, socks or spikes are good for that), but more with the fact that summer rubber becomes too hard (not grippy) on cold asphalt (under 7 degrees). The socks could be handy for the occasional snowy, slopy driveway. But even then the difference between winter and summer tires is huge. This video shows it all: http://youtu.be/elP_34ltdWI

There are a couple of Zoe drivers in Holland that have gotten a pair of aftermarket wheels with winter tires already. We have test results from the Dutch consumer organisation that show the difference in endurance, noise, grip and fuel consumption. Depending on preference their choice is now Dunlop Winter Response-2 (best fuel consumption), Continental WinterCtc TS850 (better endurance, less noise, bit worse fuel consumption) and Goodyear Ultragrip 8 ( http://www.renaultforum.nl/forum/winterbanden-zoe-t15931-50.html ). I was undecided, but the video (I just found) was pretty convincing stuff (even though I have no hills here).

I agree with Umberto – snow socks are just not suitable for use in the UK. They’re only useful once the snow is already on the ground, at which point you’re going to have to crawl around on your knees in the freezing cold. Plus, the rest of the time, you’re going to be using summer tyres anyway which already puts you at a disadvantage.

I’ve just fitted a new set of alloys with winter tyres; yes, there’s an initial cost, but the benefits – to my mind – are worth it. I’ve got all season tyres on my C4 Grand Picasso due to the German laws about needing winter tyres in winter conditions (we drive there two or three times a year) and they’ve been a revelation*. I fitted a set of full winters to my Fiesta which were likewise useful, and having trading in for the Zoe it was a no-brainer. They’ve been on for two weeks now and although they probably need a bit more mileage to break in, they’re already a noticeable improvement on roundabouts in the near-freezing mornings we’ve had so far. And since the cost wasn’t much different, I fitted them to a set of “banging rims” as I believe the yoof call them. This makes them much easier to handle – come spring, you just swap the wheels over, job done.

*Although I could swap them out for the summer tyres again this year, I’ve decided to keep them on the Picasso year-round – it does less mileage now we have the Zoe and they don’t have the drawbacks of using winters in the summer.

I fitted Kumho KW23 tyres to the Zoe – they’re C rated for efficiency and roughly £66 each (inc VAT). A set of four alloys sets you back anything from £250ish upwards, so you can have a full set of wheels and tyres for around £500. I went for a slightly more expensive set of wheels ‘cos I liked them, in total I think I spent about £660.

Oh, they’re on 15″ rims – seems to be quite strong opinion that if you fit winters it’s a good idea to drop down a wheel size as well. I can’t vouch for that, but it saved a few quid…!

As for storing – if you go the wheels & tyres route, then you can get a “tyre tree” which basically lets you stack the wheels with the weight on the rims, not the rubber. As long as you’ve got a garden you’ll be fine, it’ll take up the same space as a water butt. You can also go for the tyres-only route, some fitters/garages will let you store your other set of tyres while they’re not in use but then you’ve a) got to pay for them to be refitted each time and b) got the risk of them getting lost (as has happened to one person I know). For me, the convenience of being able to swap out whenever I want is worth the extra – this spring I nearly swapped over in late March, only for temps to drop again for another month or so.

Oh, in case anyone’s interested, I used RTec – very helpful guys there, although it was the first time they’d worked on an EV!

• This reply was modified 12 years, 11 months ago by  Steamrunner.
• This reply was modified 12 years, 11 months ago by  Steamrunner.