Where to buy 4x4 tyres in Russia
 

Hi

I'm quite experienced in driving around Russia (speak some Russian, have lots of friends there), but I've never had to buy tyres.

I'm making a long winter trip through Russia starting in September (hopefully), and ending in April, with lots of ice roads.

I need proper, studded winter tyres (once drove across Russia in winter with summer tyres, which was a nightmare). I am pretty sure it would be illegal to drive through Europe in September with studded tyres, so I plan on buying a set of five or six in Russia (265 70 R16 or 235 80 R16). I don't have the space to carry around an extra set, so I will need to ditch or store my summer tyres (which are pretty much end-of-life anyway).

I imagine Moscow is cheapest, but I'll then be driving across Russia in dry conditions with metal studs. On the other hand, I imagine tyres would be much more expensive in, say, Novosibirsk or Vladivostok??

How about comparing prices between Europe and Russia? I have my eye on a set of Nokian (Finnish) tyres.

Can anyone tell me more or add some good ideas??

Cheers

EO

Eurasia,

I don't know anything about 4x4 stuff, but you probably speak enough Russian to do some searching on the Russian web (try "4x4 шины"). Here are some links:
Внедорожные шины для внедорожников, купить в интернет-магазине Шмурдяк.рф

Купить шины для внедорожников в Москве. Шины BFGoodrich, шины COOPER, шины DICK CEPEK и MICKEY THOMPSON. Резина всесезонная для внедорожника

http://4x4shop.ru/

Within each site, you should be able to search for the brand/type of tire you want. I'd be very surprised if any of the providers would not ship the tires wherever in Russia you want them.

As I'm sure you know, 4x4s are very popular in Russia, and I'm sure you'll be able to find some kind of tires in any largish city, but in many cities outside of Moscow maybe only the cheap Chinese tires; also I have no idea about the range/availability of sizes, etc.

[EDIT] I think the term for studded tires is "Шипованные шины"

Hi. I got no idea on type prices in EU, but in Russia there should be no big price difference between major cities. Moscow may be cheaper. Or may be not.

This will be a good starting point (the site is the biggest in Russia shopping aggregator akin to google shopping): https://market.yandex.ru/catalog/544...444&in-stock=1 (use google translate if you don't read cyrillic).