Ibiza Cupra + Seat Alloys + Winter Tyres

[BenN]

Hi,

I won't take ownership of my Ibiza Cupra until November this year, so apologies for thinking ahead - however i have a question on Alloys for Winter tyres. Due to living in a remote village, it's almost essential for me to have these for getting to work, personally i swear by them when the snow and ice come to play!

I typically run a seperate set of winter tyres and alloys, and just do the swap on the drive when the time comes.

Having looked at the Technical Data section of the Ibiza brochure, The Ibiza Cupra comes with 288*25 front brakes and 232*9 rear (to my knowledge the car will come with standard brakes as I was told the racing brake pack has been discontinued). The brake setup appears to be the same as the 2.0 TDI 143PS FR, so naturally I am presuming that the 16" Stratos FR Alloys should fit?

Ideally, I would like to down size from the 17" Barcino Alloys to some Seat approved 16" wheels (staying Seat approved wheels means my insurance company don't care about the swap) However the dealers want an extortionate price for the 16" Stratos (approx £270 each with VAT based on discount for ordering 4).

The next option is to stay 17" and choose from the Seat Accessories alloy selection, these are coming in at about £150 a corner for the cheapest style, which i thought was OK?

What i was hoping for your help on is:

• Does anyone know the spec of the 17" Barcino Cupra Alloy (PCD, Offset etc...) all I know is it is a 7Jx17 alloy
• Same Question but for the 16" Stratos FR Alloy - All i know is 7Jx16.
• From the Seat Accessories Catalogue, I am looking at style '17" Silver 5 spoke - 6J0071493'
• OR '17" Silver Diamant Cut - 6J0071496'
• Finally, Does anyone have any of these alloys (would love to see a pic on the car), or know of any fitment issues for the Cupra?

*I wasnt sure whether i was allowed to post links to the alloy style, if so i can edit the post.

I am finding that the Seat sizing for 17" is a little uncommon (215 40 R17) so finding winter tyres is abit more problematic, I have however found Vredestein Wintrac 4 Xtreme tyres for approximately £100 a corner - obviously fitting on top.

It's alot of money, but an investment over the next 3 years so i don't mind. My delaership does the whole winter tyre hotel thing, where they store and swap your tyres - but no doubt the dealer will want about £200 a corner initially, then £100 a year to do the swap - then everytime you dismount the tyres you stress the sidewalls and ultimately it will be a similar cost over the period.

Sorry for such a long post, any thoughts, pics or help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Ben

 

[DEAN0]

I can tell you that a standard STEEL 15" spare wheel will fit over the 288mm brakes.

I have gone to the 312mm brakes and I needed a 16" STEEL spare to fit over those.

16" alloys will easily fit over the 288mm brakes.

 

[Wee-nemo]

Personally I stick with just the winter tyres and stock alloys and get my local back street garage to swap sets of tyres as necessary, usually costs me around £10-20 depending on who's in and how much spare time they have. Much cheaper than going to a branded place and I trust them unlike some apprentice fool who's barely able to operate a jacking trolley. I keep the spare tyres in my shed and haven't suffered any problems yet.

I would buy a set of alloys but have had 3 different cars in the last 5 winters with different wheel sizes, and buying alloys for each would just be wasted money for me. I've got this car for two more winters though so could be persuaded yet. Sorry but I really don't want to run steels on my Cupra

I agree about winter tyres, most people say they're a waste but the truth is it doesn't need to be snowing for them to grip much better than summer variants, plenty of testing and reviews back this up. How much longer, how many more accidents will it take for the UK to realise winter tyres are necessary? I don't work in an office but could lose my job if I can't make it to the departure airport when my company requires, so £400 of winters is an excellent investment if it only gets me through a snowstorm once in 3 years of owning them! Plus, once they've been bought you have each set on half as long so use each set half as fast, meaning overall tyre bills reduce slightly over the long term.

Oh, and nothing beats that smug feeling as you easily roll past a 4x4 helplessly spinning its wheels on the gentlest of icy inclines , can't understand why people scared of 2-3 snow drops a year rush out to buy a 4x4 then stick totally inappropriate summer tyres on it!

 

[Pyrres]

Actually Seats 15" basic five spoke alloys will fit over the stock brakes. At least thats what the dealer said and sold to me. And as a bonus the size offers more options for tires and for a cheaper price. I went for Continental Ice Contact studded winter tyres. And you can swap the tires yourself. Takes about 30-60mins done in a parking lot.

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[BenN]

Actually Seats 15" basic five spoke alloys will fit over the stock brakes. At least thats what the dealer said and sold to me. And as a bonus the size offers more options for tires and for a cheaper price. I went for Continental Ice Contact studded winter tyres. And you can swap the tires yourself. Takes about 30-60mins done in a parking lot.

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do you have a link to the ones your using - and maybe some pics of them on your car?

Stupid question, but i take it youve fitted the alloys to your car already - noticed you had a 2014 cupra so should be identical car to the one ive ordered. What tyre size did you go for?

I completely agree also about Winter tyres, we get alot of ice and snow around our remote village, so they come in handy more often than not in the winter months. Ive ran winters on my BMW for the past 2 years with no issues, ignore anyone that says RWD is rubbish in the snow, they are infact very fun also run winters on the wifes Leon Mk3 - just do the swap on the drive as you say!

Keen to hear from as many people running winters on a Cupra,

Thanks,
Ben

 

[BenN]

do you have a link to the ones your using - and maybe some pics of them on your car?

Stupid question, but i take it youve fitted the alloys to your car already - noticed you had a 2014 cupra so should be identical car to the one ive ordered. What tyre size did you go for?

I completely agree also about Winter tyres, we get alot of ice and snow around our remote village, so they come in handy more often than not in the winter months. Ive ran winters on my BMW for the past 2 years with no issues, ignore anyone that says RWD is rubbish in the snow, they are infact very fun also run winters on the wifes Leon Mk3 - just do the swap on the drive as you say!

Keen to hear from as many people running winters on a Cupra,

Thanks,
Ben

Was 1 post away from being able to post links. Are these the Alloys your using:

http://seat-ibiza.sgpetch.co.uk/pages/accessories/detail/model=435/category=alloy-wheels/accessory=15+Inch+Silver+Alloy+Wheel/id=13553

Thanks,
Ben

 

[Biker]

I wouldn't get too hung up on buying genuine Seat alloys, there are loads of alloy wheels from other VW group cars that will fit. I have ran a set of 15 inch Mk4 Golf GTI wheels with winter tyres on my Ibiza for the last three years. Plus it only cost me £100 for the set.
I have just bought a set of 18 inch Audi RS4 alloys for my new Leon, I paid £100 for the wheels and £300 having them powder coated but if you compare that to swapping tyres over twice a year at a cost of £15 a time, that is £360 over three years. And at the end of the three years if I buy a car with a different size wheel I can still sell these ones on, as I will be doing with the Ibiza winter wheels, so it works out cheeper than swapping tyres in my opinion.
Plus when I checked with my insurance company they weren't too bothered what the wheels where as long as the tyre section was the same. My summer tyres are 235/35X19 the winter tyres are 235/40X18 so the tread width and radius are identical.

 

[Wee-nemo]

I think you misinterpreted my post, I get the tyres swapped onto the same alloys and fitted for £10-20 the whole set each time. The garage isn't arsed if I call ahead to check when they'll be quiet, gives them something to do and doesn't take too long.

 

[Biker]

The figures I quoted are what my local tyre shop charge mate, the comparison is what I would have to pay.
I'm not saying don't swap tyres, do what you are happy with. But for me it works out cheaper overall to get a second set of alloys.

PLUS.......After three years my alloys should be like brand new as they will have never seen salt (provided I can avoid kerbs....lol)

 

[Pyrres]

Was 1 post away from being able to post links. Are these the Alloys your using:

http://seat-ibiza.sgpetch.co.uk/pag...accessory=15+Inch+Silver+Alloy+Wheel/id=13553

Thanks,
Ben

Yup, thats the one I have. And the car is brand new so have not fitted them yet but the dealer said that they have fitted that wheel to a few Cupras with no problems. And don't remember the exact size but its quite narrow. 185/something x15". And here the winter tires are a must and law requires to have them so we get quite a lot more different options and types of tires. Those just happened to be sold at a discount and did well in reviews so got them. The ones you call winter tires would not probably fare that well in here as they are more suitable for a mid European winters.

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[DEAN0]

Plus when I checked with my insurance company they weren't too bothered what the wheels where as long as the tyre section was the same.

Never worked out why the clowns do this.

It is a proven fact that winter tyres are far more effective when they are narrower.

They don't seem to have a problem with space savers being fitted any they are much smaller than the standard tyre width.

 

[BenN]

Never worked out why the clowns do this.

It is a proven fact that winter tyres are far more effective when they are narrower.

They don't seem to have a problem with space savers being fitted any they are much smaller than the standard tyre width.

Tell me about it, Insurance company's just out to make extra money.

Tbh, i've found most insurance company's don't mind u fitting Winter Tyres these days, however they do enjoy taking an admin fee for making a note on the policy.

I used to always run steels, which the insurance company didn't care about. It wasn't until I put aftermarket 16" alloys and winter tyres in replacement of the 18" MSport alloys on my BMW, that the insurance company claimed the alloys weren't original manufacturer and that they would have to mark it as a modification - ridiculous if you ask me - £40 hike in price over 3 months use. The aftermarket alloys were about 1 third of the price of the BMW ones too.

This is one of the reasons i'd like to stick to original seat equipment where possible (or VAG)

Anyone got any pics of their Cupra with any of the accessories catalogue alloys on, or alternatively whatever setup you run - aftermarket alloys, steels etc..?

Thanks,
Ben

 

[nightflight]

I have a cheapo set of 15" alloys that came from an audi a2, before that I had some 15" BBS alloys off an old golf ('til they got nicked). Most (all?) the small VW range use the same 5x100 pcd and similar enough offsets that it doesn't matter what you use.
Mine's on the standard 288mm brakes.

old alloys with I think it was 65 profile tyres (cheaper and so comfortable)

 

[BenN]

Yup, thats the one I have. And the car is brand new so have not fitted them yet but the dealer said that they have fitted that wheel to a few Cupras with no problems. And don't remember the exact size but its quite narrow. 185/something x15". And here the winter tires are a must and law requires to have them so we get quite a lot more different options and types of tires. Those just happened to be sold at a discount and did well in reviews so got them. The ones you call winter tires would not probably fare that well in here as they are more suitable for a mid European winters.

Sent from my HTC One_M8

Great, Would it be possible for you to upload a few photos of this alloy please - theres not much on the web about them and all the images are terrible. Would be nice to see them in the flesh, with or without tyres mounted, don't have to be on the car

Can i also confirm the part number the my local parts department gave me: 6J0 071 495 A
I guess the tyre size would be 185/60 R15?

Its tempting to go for 15", as i'd usually drop 2 sizes, anyone rekon it would ruin the ride and road holding on the cupra?

Thanks,
Ben

 

[Pyrres]

Great, Would it be possible for you to upload a few photos of this alloy please - theres not much on the web about them and all the images are terrible. Would be nice to see them in the flesh, with or without tyres mounted, don't have to be on the car

Can i also confirm the part number the my local parts department gave me: 6J0 071 495 A
I guess the tyre size would be 185/60 R15?

Its tempting to go for 15", as i'd usually drop 2 sizes, anyone rekon it would ruin the ride and road holding on the cupra?

Thanks,
Ben

Id say roadhold is gone definitely. At least that has happened to all of my cars. It grips ok but there is a delay in every steering input and you will ruin the tires really easily when driving fast. But at least there is some grip in the tires, sadly I don't think that will help much when trying to go anywhere fast.

I try to remember to take a photo of the rims. Pm me if I don't post a photo today . And the rims look much better in the flesh than in the pictures.

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[ibizacupradan]

http://www.wheelfitment.eu/car/Seat/Ibiza (2008 - )/

Take your pic from there lol. My dad's old boc ran the standard 15" mk1 Leon alloys with winters a few years ago and they (just) fitted

 

[BenN]

Thanks for all the replys, really good to hear everyones experience - and of course find out what will and won't fit!

Does anyone have any experience of driving their Ibiza, on the 17" 215/40R17 size with Winter studless tyres in fairly deep snow (not enough to cover the sills, but enough to cover the tyre sidewalls).

Wondered how it drove? Ive always dropped atleast 2 sizes in tyres to get the sticky thicker sidewalls. Ideally tho, this time around, I'd like to stay with the 17" rim as im always disappointed with the road hold on past cars (thanks to pyrres for confirmation on the ibiza) .... so im hoping theres still plenty of grip

also how does a DSG drive in the snow, any pitfalls?

Thanks,
Ben

 

[Pyrres]

Ill send you the pics today. Forgot completely. And I had that size Hankook studded tires in mk1 Focus ST witch is only little bigger than Ibiza and it went surprisingly well in deep deep snow (that was my one of the easier mornings as there was not as much snow as usual compared to other days that winter: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tmrpvpqt134vls9/vlcsnap-2014-09-04-20h03m39s215.png?dl=0 ). So no worries about the size causing problems in the grip department. Its the tire itself that must be good to get you anywhere.

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[Pyrres]

Here you go. 185/60x15 size. Original spare tire is 195/60x15 so you can compare.

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[RUM4MO]

A bit late and not an Ibiza owner, but I go for the winter wheels and tyres combo as long as you can find somewhere to store the "other" set. Secondhand "smaller" alloys you should be able to pick up on ebay as people upgrade their alloys, then get them refurbished, ie powder coated, the smaller wheel size will make the winter tyres cheaper as well. Always remember, the winter wheels/tyres avoid you getting your "best" wheels damaged, save so wear on your summer tyres and give you safer grip in cold/wet/ice/snow conditions and not only during actual snowfall. My wife's Michelin Alpins have lasted four winters so far, saves a bit of regular digging out of the driveway and saves wasting my salt/grit - so save time in the early morning - win win win. Unfortunately wife's next car will need different winter wheels - another reason to run it for one more winter, though it only has "mytyres" supplied steel wheels. Also only consider fitting winter tyres all round!

I think that the OP is correct to sort this out now, three years ago, buying winter tyres in winter was no possible - sold out, maybe things have changed a bit now. This is the time I started buying things when I bought my current B8 S4, warning, ebay sellers do tend to be a bit optimistic when describing secondhand alloys!