Steel wheels

[eltawater]

So then...
After experiencing the buttock clenching excitement of coaxing my pride and joy through the slush and ice before christmas, I have come to the realisation that I really really could do with some winter tyres just to get out of my road, avoiding sliding down the hill and

a) sliding into the t-junction at the bottom of said hill and being t-boned by the traffic from either side
b) avoiding the traffic from both sides, but sliding head on into the very solid building across the t-junction.

I've been totting up some nokian wrg2s from mytyres.co.uk on some ready made steel wheels, but have discovered that annoyingly in the past week, not only have the nokians disappeared off the price list, the price of everything else has gone up by 20 quid

I can pick up some vreds from camskill, but don't have the foggiest idea of where to start for some steel wheels to put them onto.

The listing I got from mytyres was:

Steel wheels with winter tyres (LK 5 x 112.00 x 57.00)
Nokian WR G2 205/55 R16 91H

Can anyone advise as to where I can source 4x steel wheels (and more importantly what I should be asking for?)
for a 2008 leon fr tdi, currently running on 17" alloys, preferably from around the herts / cambridge area?

Many thanks in advance

 

[Chan_P1_TDi_FR]

i'm considering this for future after killing 3 tyres and 3 alloys due to black ice. But my problem is i need minumum 18" wheels over my front brakes. Been searching for studded tyres, due to the roads in scotland being frozen for the last week and half.

 

[Nath.]

^^^^^Studded tyres are not road legal, same as tyre chains IIRC.

 

[coggie]

You can use chains, so long as there is sufficient snow on the road so that you are not causing damage to the road surface. When the conditions inprove they must be removed.


Realisticly, not to be used in the UK. Go with the winter tyres.

 

[GainfulShrimp]

I had to use chains on my Golf TDI to get home one night last year - just the last 4 miles of hilly country back lanes. It had snowed heavily and the road surface was fresh snow on top of compacted snow. I didn't have winter tyres - in fact, didn't know that they existed - but the snow chains did their job just fine. You wouldn't want to keep them on for any longer than needed, though - they feel very bumpy and uncomfortable even if they turn your car into a tank. Driving past abandoned 4x4s gives one a certain sense of smugness.

 

[Fl@pper]

So then...
After experiencing the buttock clenching excitement of coaxing my pride and joy through the slush and ice before christmas, I have come to the realisation that I really really could do with some winter tyres just to get out of my road, avoiding sliding down the hill and

a) sliding into the t-junction at the bottom of said hill and being t-boned by the traffic from either side
b) avoiding the traffic from both sides, but sliding head on into the very solid building across the t-junction.

if you have to travel out in this weather why not park down the road around the corner?

 

[eltawater]

if you have to travel out in this weather why not park down the road around the corner?

An excellent suggestion sir, with just two small unsurmountable issues:

1) The road around the corner is the main road through town, and is a double yellow for a good reason (it carries pretty much all of the traffic heading for/from the M11, and anyone parking on the road would cause a massive tailback very quickly)

2) Getting out of my road is only the first step. There are at least six other big hills on the way to work along the A120, A10 and A602

I do have snow chains but they're a bit of PITA, and won't help as my commute mixes a DC and some NSL sections which will be partially cleared.

 

[eltawater]

Managed to source some nearly-new 16 steel wheels from those great guys at Letchworth autoways.

Eventually managed to source some of tyres from event mobile tyres (after to-ing and fro-ing with various suppliers who did have stock, then didn't, then ooh we have some more expensive ones if you want them).

These bad boys are Avon Ice touring STs in 205/55/R16

Yes yes yes I know the snow has gone, but my present driving conditions are between 0 and 4 degrees C in damp or wet conditions.

And boy are these things awesome in the wet Can't say I've noticed any difference in road noise, but switching to a higher profile 16 inch tyre has made the ride much more comfy

 

[Leigh15]

Have you just fitted them using the same bolts from the alloys?

I ask as I have some nice new steel wheels and tyres on their way to me from mytyres at the moment!

 

[eltawater]

Yup, all went one fine.

 

[GainfulShrimp]

Have you just fitted them using the same bolts from the alloys?

I ask as I have some nice new steel wheels and tyres on their way to me from mytyres at the moment!

My steel wheels were also from mytyres.co.uk and I used the original bolts without issue. Which tyres did you plump for in the end?

eltawater - nice pic!

 

[Tam]

anyone know the minimum wheel size you can go for if you have a cupra (i.e. to clear the bigger brakes still).

 

[Leigh15]

My steel wheels were also from mytyres.co.uk and I used the original bolts without issue. Which tyres did you plump for in the end?

eltawater - nice pic!

Good Year Ultragrip 7+ - they're M+S marked making them legal for use in countries that require it, plus I'm a bit of a Good Year fan boy!

http://eu.goodyear.com/uk_en/tires/repository/ug7plus/index.jsp?page=benefits

I'm putting them on the A3 rather than the Leon though.

They should be here Friday!