Winter Driving

All Ford Puma related discussions
garjas65
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2020 10:39 am

Post by garjas65 »

Hi all
Has anyone had their puma in any snow and if so how did it cope? I realise we didn't have hardly any last winter but im a big believer in changing my tyres over to full winters from early November to say April. Once you've experienced a full blown winter tyre (not an all season thingy) you are hooked believe me! The problem I have this time is that I'm maybe thinking of buying 17 inch rims and fitting 205/55/17 tyres which according to the tyre comparison sites is within the tolerances allowed so your speedo etc isn't affected greatly.
I could just do as I've done previously and just buy some 19 inch 225/40/19 winters but 1. They are pricey for a good brand (I will not buy budget tyres) 2. They need to be put on and off over the years which costs to swap them and risks damage to the alloys. At least if I bought steel rims which are relatively cheap then bought smaller size tyres which are not only cheaper but will perform better in the snow than wider ones i can then swap them myself.
Some people tell me they're a waste of money because of the amount of times you'll actually need them but I never missed a days work travelling 16 miles to work over moorland roads where people who lived locally struggled to get to work and lost money in the process. The other benefit is that during the 2 and half to 3 years that I will have the car I would need to buy a new set anyway and with the Goodyear eagles in my size being around 150 a corner it means that I can make them last the 3 years if I'm rotating them for 6 months a year with the winters.
Sorry for the long drawn out essay for a simple question but just tried to give as much info as to why I do it. But if someone was to say yes the car performs well in the snow I just might change my mind. Maybe 🤣

PaulD
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Joined: Wed Mar 11, 2020 2:25 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Post by PaulD »

I don,t know how the Puma performs in the snow.
But i also always use winter tires .
I have the wintertires on rims left from my former car ( Focus)
The Puma has 18 inch and the Focus 17 inch
They are a bit to small but Ford said it,s no problem.
So next winter i,m driving on wintertires.
Wintertires are not extra money because when they are on the car you don,t wear your summertires.
my 2 cents anyway
Ford Puma St-Line X first edition full options
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Stevep999
Posts: 374
Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2020 6:17 pm

Post by Stevep999 »

I had all season on my last awd Kuga, never saw hint of snow in 2 yes. U wait, snow this year !!!
Full fat ST in Magnetic, DAP, Performance pack, panorama & tailgate :-) - ordered end of March delivered end of May LOVE IT

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garjas65
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2020 10:39 am

Post by garjas65 »

PaulD wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2020 1:45 pm I don,t know how the Puma performs in the snow.
But i also always use winter tires .
I have the wintertires on rims left from my former car ( Focus)
The Puma has 18 inch and the Focus 17 inch
They are a bit to small but Ford said it,s no problem.
So next winter i,m driving on wintertires.
Wintertires are not extra money because when they are on the car you don,t wear your summertires.
my 2 cents anyway
Exactly. I will be on winters one way or another by November. I've mainly had the continentals but on my fiesta st line I put kleber krisalp 3 on and they were OK. They are made by michelin and out performed Michelins own winter tyre in tests. Also i left them on the car for 18 months and when I traded it in a month ago the fronts still had 4.5mm and rears 6.0mm. And they were still good all round in summer . Just make sure that the size change in wheel in within the tolerance of plus or minus 2% . There are lots of tyre calculators online that work it out for you. Your speedo will otherwise give false reading and could get you a ticket 😉
garjas65
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Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2020 10:39 am

Post by garjas65 »

Stevep999 wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2020 3:36 pm I had all season on my last awd Kuga, never saw hint of snow in 2 yes. U wait, snow this year !!!
Ha ha sods law! To be honest I think my puma with the big wide summer tyres will be atrocious in snow. My fiesta with 17 inch and 205mm width were no good but put winters on and it was totally different car. Each to there own i suppose but I'd rather be the one tootling on past the ones stuck on a slight gradient on my way to work. 😅
LeMans
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Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2020 10:31 pm

Post by LeMans »

Now that is coming into that time of the year I have been doing some research on this as I am a great believer in winter tyres not only for the snow but the grip on the damp and wet roads which you are more likely to be driving on through the winter the grip is far superior than summer tyres. At the first sight of snow, you would also take the 2wd drive car with winters over the Quattro car on summers.

I discussed winter tyres for the Puma with a tyre fitter earlier and he was saying that as the car has a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System you really need to stay with the wheel size that is on your car or it can cause all sorts of havoc. In my case, 18" 5 x 2 Matt Black with 215/50 R18 tyres.

He said that this tyre sizes was quite an unusual size and there was not a lot of selection.

In some instances you can use a smaller wheel but in this instance appears this is not possible.

On this basis in my instance, if you go for a like for like alloy this will set you back just under £200.00 each - thats with 20% off currently at ford uk shop.

Having checked Four of the big tyre centres online the tyre fitter was correct. The search either came back with no winter tyres found, a cross climate option and only one had the tyre I want, the ContiWinterContact TS 850. This also, is almost £200.00 a tyre - triple the price of my previous Ibiza. So you are looking at £1,600.00 for a set of Ford Alloys and Premium winter tyres.

I have a buyer interested in my Ibiza winter tyres and wheels and I got a good price when I sold the car so this will offset some of the initial cost. As with the Ibiza I intend to change over both the wheel and tyres early November and usually sees you through to April. Storing the summer set in the garage as I have the space and happy to do the swapping over myself.

Some of the other car manufactures offer winter tyre packages during the winter has anyone ever seen ford doing this?

At the minute, I am going to hold off with the tyres anyway it might be a bit early and the tyre fitter said he would keep an eye out as come the end of the month the tyre suppliers may start to offer more selection.

I am quite tempted at taking advantage of the 20% discount for the alloys so might take that up in first instance. Also means the car looks will be in line with the model edition all year round.
Wdf76
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Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2020 3:44 pm

Post by Wdf76 »

12 different tyres here for our wheel size. Are the contis at £80 per corner more than say the pirelli sottos @£120 really that much better?

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m11b0s9252p0 ... _215_50R18
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Sparks
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Location: Warwickshire

Post by Sparks »

I guess it depends on where you live, but, for me, I've never used winter tyres and never had a problem.
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Previous Puma ST-Line X First Edition.
sirius100
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Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2020 4:55 pm

Post by sirius100 »

I'm currently pondering the same thing, except living in Spain, winters are not too extreme so I'm hesitant to go full winter tyres as the minimum temperatures around the city probably don't drop under 0 except for very, very few days during the winter. I would want them mostly to be able to drive around to colder parts, possibly to other neighboring countries and not have to worry with my current summer tyres. Given this, it seems all-season tyres might be a better compromise and might suffer less on the warmer days around here, does anyone here have any experience with all-season tyres so that they can recommend a good brand? Having the 19 inch rims does not help as from what I've seen the selection is quite limited (at least for 225/40)
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Sparks
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Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2020 5:40 pm
Location: Warwickshire

Post by Sparks »

Review for the factory fitted option...... https://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Cont ... tact-6.htm

Video for those thinking about it.

I might think about some all season tyres after watching the video...
Ford Puma ST-Line Vignale 155 Automatic.
Driver Assistance Pack. Power Tailgate etc. etc....Frozen White. 🚷🚳
Wireless Android Auto. 8-)
Previous Puma ST-Line X First Edition.
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