UKC

Seriously considering investing in a set of winter wheels for my car. Just wondering what the general consensus is. E.g. do i get a set with steel rims the exact same size as my usual sumemr tyres or do i buy a narrower set for better grip? Are there any other major nuances that i need to be aware of when buying winter tyres & rims to go with them? Thanks

In reply to Frank4short:

Whatever you change to, make sure the overall circumference is the same as for your summer tyres. Plenty of online charts with the figures, if your dealer can't advise.

I'm sticking with summer tyres and snowchains.

In reply to Frank4short: I have gone for swapping my tyres over on to the original rims until I can afford some more wheels. Also check with your insurance company as mine said they had to be roughly the same dimensions but speed rating didn't matter

In reply to Frank4short:

People in the know reckon narrow tyres are better in the snow as they cut through it rather than ride on top.

But the cheapest way to go, is too visit the local scrap yard & buy a set off a scrapped vehicle as long as you have run of the mill common car. Picked up a replacement set last summer for my car with 4 decent tyres & just changed them over for the snow tyres.

In reply to Frank4short: Winter tyres work better - giving more grip - in low temperatures (7 celsius or below) and on wet roads than "summer" tyres, whether or not there is snow around.

It would be wise to check what wheel/tyre size & rating combinations are approved for your car. If it doesn't tell you in the owner's manual then contact the manufacturer's customer service department. If you do choose to fit non-approved sizes/ratings then you should definitely let your insurers know as it would constitute a modification. Even if you fit approved size & rating wheels/tyres, if they are different to the size/rating originally fitted you should probably let your insurers know anyway (some may try and charge you a service fee simply for noting the fact against your policy, which is a bit rich). If you just get winter tyres of the same size and rating as your summer tyres then there's no need to tell them anything.

Having your winter tyres on their own set of wheels makes it easy to swap them on and off yourself. Steel wheels are cheaper than alloys, and you won't need to worry about bashing your expensive alloys against a kerb if you do happen to find yourself sliding towards the side of the road! The supposed handling penalties of a heavier wheel are hardly worth worrying about in severe weather.

Most of the wholesalers in the UK seem to be out of stock of winter tyres just now, surprisingly. I have ordered a set of steel wheels and winter tyres from these people: http://www.mytyres.co.uk who are based in Germany where winter tyres are a legal requirement and so the suppliers are used to keeping them in stock. Unfortunately mine aren't due to arrive until next week! When they do get here they will be an approved size & rating for my car, but a slightly narrower profile then the original ones, which is generally regarded as being better for snow. I can also fit snow chains to them if I need to, which the owners manual says I can't to the ones supplied from new, presumably because of clearance in the wheel arch.

The main reason why you might want to match the diameter of the original tyres is that it affects your speedometer & odometer readings. A smaller radius tyre means that your speedo will over-read, ie you will actually be going a bit slower than the speedo says. So long as the error is only a couple of % you are OK - you're allowed to have a speedo which over-reads by up to about 10%. If the new tyres are larger in radius than the originals then your speedo may under-read, which is illegal.

In reply to Frank4short:

This formula in MS Excel produces a result for overall tyre diameter.

=sectionwidth*aspectratio/50+(wheeldiameter*25.4)

Wheel rims should be about 80% of the sectionwidth figure: maybe +/-5%. Tyres in mm and wheel rims in inches!

=sectionwidth*0.8/25.4

Example
195/65 R 15 91V

sectionwidth = 195
aspectratio = 65
wheeldiameter = 15

result for nominal tyre diameter = 635mm

result for wheel rim (80%) = 6.14 inches (nearest real rim is 6 inches)


It doesn't matter that the calculated diameter is not the same as the actual rolling diameter. It is a good enough figure to use for comparison with other tyre sizes.

For instance, 165 R 15 has the old default 80 aspect ratio. The calculated diameter is 645mm which is within 2% and therefore close enough.

The calculated wheel rim is 5.2 inches and the nearest real rim is 5 inches.

You then have to determine what is available and what can be afforded.

These days, narrower is always good. In winter, it's very good, and it also makes it easier to fit chains. However, the starting point is the size you have fitted as standard and this may be the cheapest option. Although as a general rule big tyres are more costly than little tyres there are some market influences that distort that so look carefully at the costs for different sizes.

Email me if you want a copy of a spread sheet already set up for some tyre ranges.

In reply to Frank4short: A useful consolidated set of information here: http://honestjohn.co.uk/news/parts-and-accessories/2010-11/snowtyres

In reply to Frank4short: ....there was a good thread on this a while back: see my recommendations after using them in the Alps for a couple of decades...yes, deeper profile (we go from 60% to 65%) and then 15inch rather than 16inch rims (which are the summer alloys) and yes narrower (195 instead of 205). Best model pirelli snow controls through mytyres. Important that both sizes of rims and tyres (205 16 60 and 195 15 65 are standard on this car (vw touran).

In reply to Frank4short: ...as above see this thread and my listing of tyres which we've had experience of....

In reply to Frank4short:
i get my winter tyres swapped over by local tyre man £20 for all 4. Vredestein wintrac extremes - go anywhere, good in rain, leave them on from november till april.

In reply to timO: b****r didn't copy - just search 'tyre speed ratings' in the search box and the old thread will come up, with lots of useful stuff in it