Winter Tires in the UK

Tire noob and long time lurker here,

I recently moved to Mildenhall, UK and my 22 Sport is expected to arrive sometime later this year, time will tell if I made a good decision or not. I've seen quite a few Tacomas on base so hopefully there's some fellow local owners on this forum.

My question is would there be any benefit to getting a set of winter tires in this area? I know it rarely stays below 45f in the daytime in the winter months with almost no snow. There tends to be black ice and sub 40s in the mornings and evenings (my expected driving times) around Dec-Mar.

Are winter tires going to help me in that scenario or am I better off throwing some weight in the bed? I'm running the stock open country all season tires.

 

Welcome to the forum

If you are in an area where there is rarely any snow and seldom below 45 it probably isn't worth the bother to run snow tires. A light foot and a few sand bags will probably do it. Do what the locals do.

 

IMO studded tries are about the only thing to really help with ice. That said check on local regulations - I have no idea if there may be any restrictions on what you can run and during what time of year.

 

Not needed

 

Not needed. Of course cautious driving is reasonable when the possibility of black ice exists.

You may find your OE tires just fine. But a set of really good in rain tires, like Michelin Defenders, are a consideration.

 

I wouldn't bother. Just drive to conditions


I'm a big supporter of dedicated winters, and telling people they should have dedicated winters, but I wouldn't bother in your situation.