I don't think I would take the gamble on AT's as they are classified "F" (the worst) rating for wet and braking performance according to Blackcircle Tyres.

http://www.blackcircles.com/order/tyres/search MY 09 GS manual in Lago Grey, Wood Co arm rest and side bumper strips - now sold.

MY 15 SD4 SE Auto Orkney Grey with colour coded Bumper Door Mouldings

tenet wrote:

I don't think I would take the gamble on AT's as they are classified "F" (the worst) rating for wet and braking performance according to Blackcircle Tyres.

http://www.blackcircles.com/order/tyres/search

agreed,

thats how I found them to be, noisy with no grip in the wet.

seems the EU got something right.... 

tenet wrote:

AT's ... are classified "F" (the worst) rating for wet and braking performance

Mine are fine in the wet, and have no problems stopping. It's driven daily enthusiastically and never puts a foot wrong, I don't think they are noisy either. You can just turn the stereo up if needs be!

I'm tending to think the General Grabber UHP is a happy compromise........better for road use which is 97% of my driving.
AT's are showing as poor performers in wet and lets face it we have a fair bit of rain in the UK so my boots need to be good in the wet!!

AT's pattern is designed for the wet, to displace water better.

I just had 2 general uhp tyres fitted about a month ago. Seem to handle nicely in the wet and stopping feels good. 2002 Honda VFR800
2002 Toyota Celica 140 Silver (mid life crisis - again!)
2007 FL2 GS Manual Army Reconnaissance Green + freel2.com sticker
2004 Toyota Celica 140 Black - Gone
2000 Toyota Celica 140 Silver - Gone
1998 Toyota Celica ST Pearl Green - Gone
1996 Nissan Primera 1.6 - Gone
1994 Rover Montego 1.6 Auto - Gone

Landy: I think the AT's look good and with a tread pattern they have I find it hard to believe, but there are independant tests done showing poor performance in the wet which is a worry given we have far more rain than snow! A number of reviews also quote poor wet performance, this is all down to the tread pattern being more suitable for off road I suspect?
I've also been concerned re road noise, fuel efficiency and having seen the new EU test data for AT's they are poor on all 3 counts which isnt a particuliarly good selling point if your new tyres cost more in fuel, dont stop you in the wet and make too much noise you cant hear ACDC in the background!! EU data: F F & 73dB for AT's & E C & 72dB for UHP.

One has to understand that wet braking performance is measured under defined and controlled conditions. It is likely that under certain conditions different from the test conditions (specifically, large amounts of standing water) the ATs would perform better.

Bottom line is, if you only drive on the road, get a road tyre. If you want/need off-road performance then you need to decide on your priorities. ATs will get you further off road, but at a cost in on-road performance. Only you can choose what's important to you.

That said, I've had General ATs on an Isuzu years ago and based on that experience would have them again now.

Again, note that the wet braking performance of the standard-fit Wranglers is only E, the Continentals one step better at C. (Yep, in EU tyre terms C is one step better than E - they don't currently use D aiui!) So you're comparing the ATs F with Cs and Es, not As and Bs. So they're 'worse', but not by that much.

Well the test are wrong IMHO, I am on my second set now and I can't fault them one bit!! I would say in wet they are are there best!

The misses and I changed cars recently,

She who drove the freelander ended up with a golf blue motion, I who drove a Subaru WRX Waggon ended up with the freelander.

The freelander previously had a mix of toyo's on the back and grabbers on the front which made it prone to lift off oversteer even while following traffic at 30mph.

Since I have lost the Subaru (traded against the golf, separate topic) I took on the freelander had it shod with general grabbers all round. All I can say is, it rides nice, brakes, turns in, can be made to dance and corner faster than you would give a freelander credit for when really pushing on. On the times you are just coasting along it also rides well, I think the side walls are softer than the toyo's so it is less jiggly over uneven Tarmac roads.

For the price you can't go wrong.

As I am 95+% on tarmac, when I have to change my tyres I shall opt for Grabber UHP's.
Used them on my Touareg and found them to be excellent all round tyres and well priced. Had
no trouble in the heavy snowfall a couple of winters ago and had 30k+ miles out of them. I'm
on 235x65x17.

I'm running General Grabber UHP's been good tyres done 25000miles on them, front ones will need changing before mot in April but rears still have a good few mm left, will probably fit same again as they are a good price online..

The General Grabber has now changed its tread pattern it no longer looks like the BF tyres,our local tyre place say they are even better and are selling very well

After playtime today I can say I am very pleased with the Grabber AT's in the snow.