Winter tyres - a diesel app

[Husbandofstinky]

Last winter I bought my Wintersports and got them fitted on the standard 16" Passat alloys (the existing tyres were fairly well worn out), and then around March/April time as the weather was warming back up I bought a set of 17" alloys with a good set of Michelin Pilots for just over £200, off a chap on Briskoda...

I did think about dropping to 16" for the winter tyres but not too sure about it i.e. the additional block movement as well as the wall. So decided to stick with 17"'s

As someone whose already there, what are your views on the 16"/17" decision.

I even thought about some aftermarket RS6 18's for £300. A bit OTT but cheap enough.

 

[Willie]

It's the RS6 wheels I have which are 235-40-18 and very expensive for tyres

 

[jonjay]

I would stay away from replica alloys as they generally are very heavy so will probably kill your speed and mpg. Sticking with 17 is a good idea and wont compromise ride quality you currently have.

Have you thought about the leon fr alloys or the FR+ cupra r alloys? Sue they are a few kicking around..

 

[Husbandofstinky]

I know Pat wasn't overly happy with the quality of his aftermarket RS6's.

What do you reckon 17" Starfish and FR alloys go for? £200?

Be interesting to see what muddyboots thinks. 16"'s?

 

[muddyboots]

I did think about dropping to 16" for the winter tyres but not too sure about it i.e. the additional block movement as well as the wall. So decided to stick with 17"'s

As someone whose already there, what are your views on the 16"/17" decision.

I even thought about some aftermarket RS6 18's for £300. A bit OTT but cheap enough.

I only used the 16" as they were the standard alloys that the car already had at the time.

If it had had 17", I wouldn't have dropped down a size for winters, as I like the reduced sidewall flex that comes with larger diameter wheels & lower profile tyres, especially on a car that's pretty heavy and barge-like at the best of times...!

When I was looking for the set of 17s, I did keep looking at Audi wheels, but was never sure how much heavier replicas would be than genuine items, and how that might blunt acceleration & impact fuel consumption. Plus there weren't many in the right offset for the Passat and I didn't want the added expense of spacers & bolts. Ended up with a set of genuine 17" 5-spoke Solids from a Skoda Superb (which is just a rebadged Passat and uses exactly same offset & overall tyre diameter).

 

[jonjay]

I know Pat wasn't overly happy with the quality of his aftermarket RS6's.

What do you reckon 17" Starfish and FR alloys go for? £200?

Be interesting to see what muddyboots thinks. 16"'s?

Seeing as you got starfish already go for the FR ones. Might be an idea to get them painted matt black so you never have to clean them during winter months.

 

[Husbandofstinky]

Reviver of an old thread and basically we are ready to go. Now its just about timing.

A question I would like to ask members experienced with winter tyres is, what temperature whereby you would consider summer tyres to be the better option? As you'd expect I haven't got a clue and am gratetful if you would draw from your own personal experiences.

My concern is say we have a nice mild winter of 11oC and I'm running around on expensive winter tyres (realtive to summer tyres) which are performing worse and are basically getting chewed up (too warm?). Unfounded?

Looking at the temperature figures for the southeast it would appear the December through to March is best with average temps for London ranging from 6oC (Dec, Jan) through to 8oC in March. The minimum temperatures are obviously lower than this and more in line for to'ing anf fro'ing from work.

Looking at both Lees's link and the ADAC tests for 2009 it appears that the Dunlop Wintersport 3D's are the way to go for both the Pug and the Seat. In the end it was all a bit of too much information overload.

So is it bad news to run around on winter tyres on good clean roads when the temps about 10oC?

 

[Jim H]

A question I would like to ask members experienced with winter tyres is, what temperature whereby you would consider summer tyres to be the better option? As you'd expect I haven't got a clue and am gratetful if you would draw from your own personal experiences.

Tyre manufactures make the cross-over point from Summer to Winter tyres at 7°C. In our climate this usually means changing tyres at November and at Easter.

The alternative to winter tyres are All-season tyres which work with a higher temperature ranges than them both. These still work below 7°C (and usually have M&S markings) but don't give as much tread roll as heavy treaded (knobbly) winter tyres do.

 

[muddyboots]

Reviver of an old thread and basically we are ready to go. Now its just about timing.

A question I would like to ask members experienced with winter tyres is, what temperature whereby you would consider summer tyres to be the better option? As you'd expect I haven't got a clue and am gratetful if you would draw from your own personal experiences.

My concern is say we have a nice mild winter of 11oC and I'm running around on expensive winter tyres (realtive to summer tyres) which are performing worse and are basically getting chewed up (too warm?). Unfounded?

Looking at the temperature figures for the southeast it would appear the December through to March is best with average temps for London ranging from 6oC (Dec, Jan) through to 8oC in March. The minimum temperatures are obviously lower than this and more in line for to'ing anf fro'ing from work.

Looking at both Lees's link and the ADAC tests for 2009 it appears that the Dunlop Wintersport 3D's are the way to go for both the Pug and the Seat. In the end it was all a bit of too much information overload.

So is it bad news to run around on winter tyres on good clean roads when the temps about 10oC?

I think in the past I've tended to switch either late November / early December, and then back again around March time. Although this year I didn't switch back until April (or might possibly have been May) - as I was still hunting for a new set of rims to put summer tyres on...so I ran them for a fair while when the temps were warming back up, and the wear wasn't as bad as I expected. I reckon I did at least 8k in the 4 months or so of use, and the fronts are only about half worn, which I think is pretty good going. Rears hardly worn at all. Better wear rate than I got from the Toyo SnowProx anyhow.

All depends on your typical driving patterns though, I drive early mornings (6-7ish) and then evenings when the temps are lower than during the day. I'll probably make the switch in a couple of weeks (unless the forecast turns grim and then I'll be out in the dark with the jack and wheelbrace swapping wheels...)

 

[tony19b]

I have just (last week) fitted a set of Kumho KW23s to my Toledo 2.0TDI DSG, and paradoxically the temperature has been rising into double figures since then! They do seem good in the wet, and I have not noticed any significant increase in road noise. Here on the edge of the Pennines we will inevitably see poor conditions before too long, and I'm hoping for a noticable improvement over my previous summer Bridgestones which were utterly hopeless and dangerous in the snow earlier this year.

 

[Husbandofstinky]

Lee. How did you find the performance once temperatures started hitting double figures back in April this year? Obviously not talking a banzai racing lap around Silverhatch (Hope Ed's into Rory ) but also concerned that might as well be wearing a set of Linglong ditchfinders? Not what we want either.

I assume that as you had your Dunlops on for an extended session, performance and wear were more than reasonable during April 2009.

 

[muddyboots]

Lee. How did you find the performance once temperatures started hitting double figures back in April this year? Obviously not talking a banzai racing lap around Silverhatch (Hope Ed's into Rory ) but also concerned that might as well be wearing a set of Linglong ditchfinders? Not what we want either.

I assume that as you had your Dunlops on for an extended session, performance and wear were more than reasonable during April 2009.

Can't really remember to be honest - I guess that means I wasn't too concerned !

 

[Hobbiniho]

i have just purchased a set of avon ice tourer st's from camskill for my standard 16's and hoping to get them fitted later this week when i get my alloys back from the painters

 

[Ess_Three]

I run Pirelli winter tyres on my car - normally from December to about March...and they are superb.
Pirelli SnowSports I think...far better grip on cold days.
I had them put on the standard wheels and use the aftermarket wheels in summer.
Job done!

 

[Ess_Three]

i have just purchased a set of avon ice tourer st's from camskill for my standard 16's and hoping to get them fitted later this week when i get my alloys back from the painters

My old man runs them on 16" wheels on his Golf GT and reckons they are pretty good.

 

[Husbandofstinky]

Just ordered two sets of winter rubber (Dunlop Winter Sports) from My Tyres - use that 8% discount before it runs out tomorrow. Plus Quidco (3%) and Credit card (1%) cash back

Still nearly £900 worth of rubber though

Both decent local garages couldn't get any so it had to be 'Mein Kampf' Tyres. Did not like giving money to zee Germans

 

[jonjay]

Just ordered two sets of winter rubber (Dunlop Winter Sports) from My Tyres - use that 8% discount before it runs out tomorrow. Plus Quidco (3%) and Credit card (1%) cash back

Still nearly £900 worth of rubber though

Both decent local garages couldn't get any so it had to be 'Mein Kampf' Tyres. Did not like giving money to zee Germans

Sorry not been keeping up with the other posts but 2 sets?????? One for the type r?

 

[Husbandofstinky]

Sorry Maz, just the Pug and the Seat this time.

Thought about the Accord but it really is hardly used once/twice a week, if the weather's that bad then it won't be used full stop.

They reckon that tyres have a five year used by date, if I had winters for the Honda too then the F1's will turn to to dust by the time wear out.

How are you getting on with the Toyo's?

 

[jonjay]

Sorry Maz, just the Pug and the Seat this time.

Thought about the Accord but it really is hardly used once/twice a week, if the weather's that bad then it won't be used full stop.

They reckon that tyres have a five year used by date, if I had winters for the Honda too then the F1's will turn to to dust by the time wear out.

How are you getting on with the Toyo's?

They are fine, I have noticed they ride bumps much better than the falkens did. You notice this even with them being on the rear and not the front. I suppose having coilovers you notice the chamges a lot more than usual.

Looks like you made a sound choice of tyre...I never owned a bad dunlop tyre.

 

[muddyboots]

Still nearly £900 worth of rubber though

Aye, but as long as you'll be keeping both cars for a while and would eventually have had to buy more tyres for them anyway - it's not cost you any more (except for spare rims).
When the winter tyres are on, the summer ones aren't wearing...