Tyre storage bags

[Adrian E]

Hi folks

Just ordered up a set of Michelin Cross Climate 2's to go on the 18" 'winter' wheels for the Audi (and yes, I know they're not 'proper' winter tyres but all-season, but for down here they'll probably be the better option). The wheels are going in for refurb on Monday and they'll chuck the Dunlop Winter 3Ds that my wife managed to drive through a full box of discarded 4" screws (sticking half a dozen in 2 of the tyres!) on her way home last winter. The tyres are down to below 4mm tread so in winter terms are past their best.

When I first started switching wheels on it, I bought a set of wheel bags from Audi - they weren't expensive, but they also turned out to be of rather disappointing quality. Quite a few of the plastic buckles have broken and they were never that great in use.

Just wondered if anyone has bought any recently in the UK that are decent quality and not horrifically overpriced? Padded would be a bonus as the Audi ones are literally just nylon.

[HPsauce]

Hi Adrian, can't help with the bags (I don't bother with them) but I can say CC2s really do work all year, summer and winter.
I've had them on the Volvo (also 4WD, but Haldex not Torsen) for a while now and they're totally fine in ALL conditions, really do work as advertised, including in the Chiltern Hills in the snow.
Unless you're in icy conditions that need studded tyres they shouldn't let you down.

[tonupkid]

Driving on tyres that have suffered multiple punctures. Brave

[steamship]

Originally Posted by tonupkid

Driving on tyres that have suffered multiple punctures. Brave

He left all the screws in to get better grip. Studded tyres on the cheap.

[Adrian E]

Originally Posted by tonupkid

Driving on tyres that have suffered multiple punctures. Brave

Nope, they came off the car when they were punctured and have sat in the garage. Not worth attempting to repair due to level of wear at that point.

From memory 2 or 3 repairs are allowed but it can throw the balance out if they’re in the same area of the tyre. Given these had 2 in close proximity it was unlikely to be a flyer, even if I’d wanted to try

[Adrian E]

Originally Posted by HPsauce

Hi Adrian, can't help with the bags (I don't bother with them) but I can say CC2s really do work all year, summer and winter.

Thanks Andrew

Yeah, the reviews look positive for our kind of climate. It also saves the 20s being exposed to winter salt

Going to go for a slightly darker shade than they are now (the rims are A5 Coupe 5 spokes) to hide the brake dust and winter grot- from memory the wheel centre is a darker grey so might ask them to match that 👍

[ainarssems]

What's the reasoning behind bags? Seems pointless to me unless you move wheels around a lot and do not want to scratch them or if they are stored in direct sunlight and you want to protect them from UV.

+1 for CrossClimate. I have CC+ and very happy with them, CC2 is supposed to better in every way. CC+ did better than expected in both summer and winter. Obviously not as good PS in summer and not as good as PA in winter but very good overall, if you do not push them hard they wear considerably slower than PS and slightly slower than PA. They are good enough for single emergency brake in summer but if you push hard for longer time they loose grip and start wearing faster, I guess they heat up too much. If you drive easy good option all year round, if you push hard it's probably better to have PS in summer. I don't think there is much need for Pilot Alpin in South of UK/England and CC will do nicely. It's just a question if you wannt CC all year round or PS in summer and CC in winter.

There have been some bad feedback for CC as well but it seems it's mostly from low profile 45 or less tyres and 45 + are more positive. I have 235/55R18 and they have been very good apart from when pushed hard in summer

[Adrian E]

These are 245/40 18s, so hopefully the CC2s don’t suffer the same feedback!

The bag thing is mainly because the summer 20s are 275/30 so there’s next to no protection for the wheel from the tyre, so anything that helps is worthwhile. I do also tend to have to move them around a bit