Studded tyres in Helsinki

[2cvfred]

Hi,

I am looking for a place where I can get my tyres studded in Helsinki (Close to the ferry port is a bonus).

I also heard that hiring studded tyres would be possible in Helsinki, but I cannot seem to get this confirmed.

Not for a bike by the way, taking a car this time.

Any ideas?

Thanks a lot!

Fred

[Capo Sakke]

Hi,

So you are coming by car ?

VIANOR near ferry terminal

Vanha Talvitie 13, 00580 Helsinki

Or others

You should order tyres on advance to be sure you will get it on arrival.

[2cvfred]

Hey, thanks for the quick reply!

I tried contacting Vianor via the chat function on their website (vianor.fi), but the guy on the other end said they do not rent out tyres or fit studs to existing tyres.

I will give your two suggestions a ring tomorrow. I hope they speak English as my Finnish is nonexisting..

Do you think I could risk to just show up and have my tyres studded immediatelly?

Thanks again.

Frederik
PS. Any tips on must-see or todo's or nice routes are most welcome. We will be travelling in a kitted out 4x4 (and sleeping in it).

[Tony P]

Never seen chains in Russia.
The standard thing here, and I am sure Capo Sakki (Hi) will confirm to be the same in Finland, is to keep and use winter tyres, usually studded, on a separate set of cheap steel wheels. It certainly looked that way when I drove to Helsinki for a few days last winter.

Cars that do not really go outside the treated roads of the city in winter tend to use unstudded winter tyres slightly more. They are quieter and give a little better grip on dry, clear roads, but neither excel in warmer weather!

The cost was lower than I expected - under GBP 400 for 4 studded tyres, wheels, fitting and balancing, plus cleaning and wrapping the summer set.

(They were also very useful when I drove back to and in UK last December where very few drivers even bother with winter tyres - hence traditional roads paralysis after under an inch of dry snow!)
By coincidence I changed back onto them yesterday.

[Capo Sakke]

Hi Fredrik,

And Hi, Tony P how is life in Moscow ???

First when you are coming and where your are going ?

Do you think I could risk to just show up and have my tyres studded immediatelly?

And don't show up and try that just waste of time.

Now we have snow only in north = Lapland, but roads are icy on mornings. Looking on the legal side you only need tyres mark with M + S.
Like Tony P said chains aren't common here we don't have snow problem on the roads.
On 4 x 4 you can go with out studs no problem just be ware of "black ice".
What 4 x 4 car and rim size you have ? Is't 6 x 139,5 ?
What tyre size you need ?
I can look what I have in garage..and check used ones from Offroad forums...

[2cvfred]

Hi!

We will arrive 26/12 in Helsinki by boat. Our car is a Landcruiser HZJ79 on BF Goodrich A/T tyres in 265/75r16, I would have to check the rim size. it's a 5 bolt pattern.

I don't mind having my exisitng tyres studded, or renting other tyres. Whatever is the cheapest ;-) I do want to go studded as we plan on taking the backroads.

The plan for the trip is that there is no plan ;-) But we do intend to head north. Probably focussing on the area north of Kuusamo. We might go for a swim in the Barents Sea as well.

I appreciate the help here! Thanks a lot!

[Capo Sakke]

Ok.
Your rims should be 7x16 / 5x120 / +20 7JR1000.
So 5 x 120 bolt partition / +20 offset.
What about load capacity do you need C2 for heavy load?

Sorry I only have standard Japan's rim + tyres sets in garage for Pajero 6 x 139,7.

Actually on the back roads you better go for M/T tyres there is hopefully snow that time. 4 x 4 you need studs only for ice covered tarmac to avoid sliding.

I will keep my eyes open if I can found used set for you.
Normal winter tyres are bit more narrow than A/T tyres. You can get more grip cause you have more pressure and less surface to the ground.

Or one possibility is BEST Grip studs what you can screw on tyres.

[2cvfred]

I've looked at thoe best-grip studs before. Looks interesting and there is a local distributor in Belgium. The plus would be that I can use them after our Finland trip and try them on the tyres of my bike!

The only downside is that I will have to spend a few hours getting them fitted on some car park in Helsinki or so.

Do you have any experience with them, are they any good for long distance travelling?

Thanks for the feedback thus far!

[Capo Sakke]

Hi,
No I don't have any experience of Best Grip's.
Here in north we use real studded ones and bike tyres studs are also glued in that they don't come off.


After ICE BUTT 1000 mile /24 h

[Tony P]

Originally Posted by 2cvfred

The only downside is that I will have to spend a few hours getting them fitted on some car park in Helsinki or so.

That need not be as uncomfortable as it sounds. In the very centre of town there is an underground car park below The Forum Centre.

I assume it is heated as when I returned after 3 or 4 hours, apart from the puddles of slush fallen from the underside of my car, the screen washers worked. They had been frozen solid for several weeks, me having failed to change the water to winter liquid when the cold winter weather came!!

[Capo Sakke]

Originally Posted by Tony P

That need not be as uncomfortable as it sounds. In the very centre of town there is an underground car park below The Forum Centre.

I assume it is heated as when I returned after 3 or 4 hours, apart from the puddles of slush fallen from the underside of my car, the screen washers worked. They had been frozen solid for several weeks, me having failed to change the water to winter liquid when the cold winter weather came!!

It's warm car park and there is many of them in down town. Also if you want to go for tyre change in tyre shop that will take time as well.
One problem is you rims they aren't so common here all Lancruisers and Japan's 4x4 are using 139,7 mm bolt partition rims.
You should check if VW Transporter or BMW rims fit to your Landy?
They use 5x120 bolt partition rims but centre opening diameter can be different.
If so I can found set of Winter tyres on rims 250-300€.
Or if you come week later we can do tyre change in my garage..

[pecha72]

Sorry I´m really no expert on car tyres, so cannot add to what´s already been said here (personally I haven´t heard about an option to rent winter tyres here, but on the other hand, I´ve never looked to rent them, either!)... and I´ve got my bike in a shared garage, that´s fully packed with bikes during winter, so probably unable to fit a car there. But anyway, I live about 20 kms from Helsinki, so if you´ll need any help, please just let me know!

(Everything here will probably be closed because of Christmas, until Tuesday 27th Dec – I´ll be elsewhere on holidays, too, but should be back by 27th!)

[2cvfred]

First off: thanks to all that replied. It was very helpful.

As I did not succeed in reliably finding a supplier for 'rented' studded tyres I decided to go for the best-grip DIY studs. I recommend the UK supplier for ordering, I used another one but regret it now - but that is not important.

Today I received my shipment of 500 studs, which should be sufficient. I plan on studding my spare tyre at home. That way I only need to stud 3 more tyres upon arrival in Helsinki (I guess they will not let me do it on the ferry) and I already get the feel of mounting these at the comfort of my own garage.

I will post a follow-up on these studs after the trip.

I bought these: [url=http://www.best-grip.se/bestgrip-1350/55-0]BestGrip 1350 - Skruvdubb f