Winter Tyres

[gogzy01]

Was just wondering if any of you guys had switched to winter tyres 235/40/18 and if so what make did you go for and how did you rate them.

I'm seriously considering a set but seem to be hard to come by just now for obvious reasons. Anybody use any other options??

[ayeaye]

I've got some 16" steel wheels and 205/55 winter tyres on order (in transit somewhere) - would rather just swap the entire wheel/tyre than have them changing tyres over twice a year and increase the risk of damage to the alloys.

[Andy-GTI]

I've got some 16" steel wheels and 205/55 winter tyres on order (in transit somewhere) - would rather just swap the entire wheel/tyre than have them changing tyres over twice a year and increase the risk of damage to the alloys.

But your car will look like an utter shed with balloon 16" wheels for the months you have them fitted.

To hell with that.

just fitted 4 225/40/18 Cooper weather masters to my A4 quattro, seem decent enough, although the snow was thawing bythe time i got them fitted.

Rocco ain't getting used over the winter bought another MK2 Golf GTI for that.

[gogzy01]

I've got some 16" steel wheels and 205/55 winter tyres on order (in transit somewhere) - would rather just swap the entire wheel/tyre than have them changing tyres over twice a year and increase the risk of damage to the alloys.

But your car will look like an utter shed with balloon 16" wheels for the months you have them fitted.

To hell with that.

just fitted 4 225/40/18 Cooper weather masters to my A4 quattro, seem decent enough, although the snow was thawing bythe time i got them fitted.

Rocco ain't getting used over the winter bought another MK2 Golf GTI for that.

I'm think the same as you. I'd rather change tyres and keep my 18" Inters on i think

[Andy-GTI]

Correct, there is also absoltuely no risk of damage to the wheels swapping tyres unless you use an utter cowboy to do it.

[robmx]

The only risk is being a numpty yourself and clipping a kerb you can't see in the snow.

[Shaun]

I have Vredestein wintracs on my spare rims :-) , as you can see i am not keen on the look of the smaller size wheels either LOL

[scirocco]

Winter tyres must be getting popular in the UK. My neighbour is the owner of a large tyre distribution company, he was saying they sold 5000 sets last week to the trade. One point to note apparently you should notify your insurer if you make the transisition to winter tyres as it can void your policy. Its apparently regarded as a modification by some insurers which seems crazy!

[Shaun]

Winter tyres must be getting popular in the UK. My neighbour is the owner of a large tyre distribution company, he was saying they sold 5000 sets last week to the trade. One point to note apparently you should notify your insurer if you make the transisition to winter tyres as it can void your policy. Its apparently regarded as a modification by some insurers which seems crazy!

If they charge you then bin them http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11969958" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Andy-GTI]

HOWEVER, those of you who choose to fit different wheels, and or smaller tyres etc ARE modifying the car.

Also worth noting/watching that the smaller diameter winter tyres tend to have lower speed ratings, which means, technically, they aren't suitable for the car.

Although, all of you fitting 16's on steels would have checked that yeah?

[skyblues11]

i have just ordered mine as 234/45/r17. i can;t afford a new set of rims, so just have to change them over for now.

i know they are the same size, but i am more concerned about the cold and icy tarmac , rather than cutting into deep snow a la scotland.

here in the midlands i don;t think we will get that much snow. so i am more interested in the softer compound.

i have fitted some to my mum;s car during this Jan 2010's big freeze. i would def. recommend them and it lessens the chance of abandoning the car.

my only regret is i did not buy mine in the summer, when the winter tyres were much cheaper...

[Caput Mortuum]

Hey Mikko,

Front muds are standard on Finnish Roccos? Didn't know that..

I'm also in Finland and will be getting my Scirocco in February, so I'll need to get me some winter tyres too.
Sooo, I was wondering what did you get? I can make out from the picture that they are 205/50 R 17 - but what brand are they. Are they studded? Are you happy with them?
What rims are those? So they must be 6,5 J x 17? How much were they?

Sorry for all the questions. If you could find the time to answer, I'd really appreciate it.

caput

[Mikko]

Caput,

Tyres are 205/50 R 17 Continental studded winter tyres, don't recall the exact model. I've been happy with them, they seem to work quite well, have a good grip at least on hard snow and on ice, and are suprisingly quiet.

The rims are VW's own 17" (6,5 J x 17) rims, named Sima. The were part of the overall "package" so I don't have the exact price just for them. The winter tyres with rims were quoted to cost me 1500 euros with all the labour included. I think the normal price for these rims is about 180 euros/each.

[Caput Mortuum]

Excellent, just what I was looking for!
Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer, Mikko.

caput

[Anakin]

I was going to order some , can get the OEM winter wheels for the Rocco R
Winterräder "St. Moritz", 4 Leichtmetallräder, 6 1/2 J x 17, Mobilitätswinterreifen 205/50 R 17 H, VW UK charge £319 per wheel. My problem was I could not find a single supplier who had the winter tyres in stock.

[Richard A]

HOWEVER, those of you who choose to fit different wheels, and or smaller tyres etc ARE modifying the car.

Also worth noting/watching that the smaller diameter winter tyres tend to have lower speed ratings, which means, technically, they aren't suitable for the car.

Although, all of you fitting 16's on steels would have checked that yeah?

205/55 H on 16s are a standard VW spec for winter tyres, at least on the TDI 170. Just look in the filler cap. I bought a set of official steels when I got the car. I use steels because I don't want to mess about protecting alloys from salt, and I like driving on high profile tyres now and then to give me a chance to play around a bit with drift at lower speeds. I really couldn't care what they look like as long as they do the job, and they do the job, seriously well. Yes, they do have a slightly smaller rolling radius, and yes, I could exceed the H rating at Vmax, but who I am I to question VW's wisdom on the matter? As far as my insurance company is concerned if they are manufacturer spec, which they are, they are not subject to a higher premium.

See also --> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11969958" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re-reading what I have written, it seems a bit defensive, but maybe that's because I struggle to understand the somewhat reactionary response to the fitting of winter tyres which seems to pervade so many UK car enthusiast discussion boards at this time of the year.

[skyblues11]

i am in the process of putting the summer ones away ( factory fitted Bridgestone Potenza RE050A) , but noticed it had 'extra load' written on the side. Does this mean its an XL tyre? it was really small and only noticed it as i was wrapping it.

and i have just fitted some winters but they are not XL. are they ok to run?

i am a bit confused by this issue. I thought the XLs are for big, mean heavy saloons?

are the rocs comes with XL tyres as standard?

[Chungster]

XL tyres I think mean they can maintain their load rating at higher inflation pressures.

Useful for sports cars as spirited driving will heat the tyre up causing the pressures to rise (unless you use nitrogen in your tyres)

So for winter non XL tyres will be fine but make sure it's the same load rating number (88 or 91 for roccos I think)

[Deacon]

XL tyres I think mean they can maintain their load rating at higher inflation pressures.

Useful for sports cars as spirited driving will heat the tyre up causing the pressures to rise (unless you use nitrogen in your tyres)

So for winter non XL tyres will be fine but make sure it's the same load rating number (88 or 91 for roccos I think)

Load rating on reo50a's is 97 and, having just changed a couple of tyres and being unsure on this, i spoke to the uniroyal technical department (actually the continental technical department it turns out) who advised that if the vehical came with 97 tyres you should ensure that new tyres also had this load rating. So the rainsport 2's i had fitted had to be the xl's as they are the only 97 load rated ones.

Deacon

[Chungster]

97 seems a bit high for a mere rocco....unless you're carrying a lot of people and baggage all the time!

thats 730kg per corner! so 2.8 tonnes all in!!

bit of overkill.... lol

87 or 91 is normal i would have have thought.