Ibiza Cupra + Seat Alloys + Winter Tyres

[BenN]

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

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Thanks for the photos, great help - the seat catalogue doesn't do these justice with their shoddy images.

I think i have narrowed it down to either those 15" wheels or these 17" ones from the Seat catalogue:

http://www.seataccessories.co.uk/product/17%22_Silver_5_spoke_Alloy_Wheel_6J0071493

I have always tried to go down sizes to get the thicker sidewall and mainly for cost, however i've just checked the 15/16/17" tyres online, and they dont seem to differ that much in cost, so i might stay bigger this time! Its such a shame Seat dont sell 16" rims in their catalogue

I'm going to take a look at the other VAG non-seat alloys that are on offer and see if i can source some from eBay (thanks to ibizacupradan for the link), typically i am always cautious with buying second hand alloys tho incase of hairline cracks or damage that is not immediately obvious - some good quality sets i have seen can even be more expensive than the seat catalogue ones new!

As for aftermarket alloys, I have had quality issues in the past with these and always regret not spending that bit more and going for genuine manufacturer wheels, plus sometimes if the offset is wrong they can look out of place.

Anyone else had any experience of the ibiza in snow with 17" studless winter tyres on?

Thanks once again for all comments, the more the merrier!

Thanks,
Ben

 

[BenN]

So ive decided to go with 17" and mount the tyres on a seperate set of alloys - pricey, but if i plan to keep the car 3-3.5 years they will pay themselves off.
The two tyres i am looking at are (both studless for UK use)

Falken Eurowinter HS449 @ £89.20 each -or-
Vredestein WINTRAC XTREME @ £112.50 each

These prices are for 215/40/17 from mytyres.co.uk - anyone used this site before?
Has anyone got any experience with these or either brands (Falken/Vredestein). Ive only ever ran Hankook winters and they did the job. Any thoughts?

Also, does anyone know the bolt socket size for the Ibiza, is it 17mm like the Leon?

Thanks,
Ben

 

[DEAN0]

So ive decided to go with 17" and mount the tyres on a seperate set of alloys - pricey, but if i plan to keep the car 3-3.5 years they will pay themselves off.
The two tyres i am looking at are (both studless for UK use)

Falken Eurowinter HS449 @ £89.20 each -or-
Vredestein WINTRAC XTREME @ £112.50 each

These prices are for 215/40/17 from mytyres.co.uk - anyone used this site before?
Has anyone got any experience with these or either brands (Falken/Vredestein). Ive only ever ran Hankook winters and they did the job. Any thoughts?

Also, does anyone know the bolt socket size for the Ibiza, is it 17mm like the Leon?

Thanks,
Ben

Have used the Vredesteins before - they are typically fitted to hire cars in Germany - pretty impressed with them in the snow ( that's why I made a point to check what they were )

Yes the Ibiza is on 17mm bolt heads.

 

[Pyrres]

I don't know about vredestein but at least Hankook winter tires have been quite good budget choice but only when choosing specific sets and I have no idea what set is a good studless mid European winter set :/

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[BenN]

Ive been reading good reviews on the Nokian WR A3 winter tyre, i've not really heard much of Nokian tyres before, how do you guys rate them?

 

[Pyrres]

Ive been reading good reviews on the Nokian WR A3 winter tyre, i've not really heard much of Nokian tyres before, how do you guys rate them?

Dont know anything about that specific model but normally they are one of the best ones when grip is what you are after. Normally a bit on the soft side when cornering so they wallow a bit. That at least how their norther models like Hakkapeliitta 5 and newer models have been normally. Dont know about studless R2 but it has racked quite a lot of test victories. I personally have owned older Hakkapeliitta 4 and 5 tires and they grippes really well. And my driving school car had Nokias studless tires and yes they can't compare to studded tires but were quite ok.

Oh and dont think I'd be biased because Nokia is Finnish manufacturer, I cant normally stand their constant praise in local car magazines and I feel they are a bit overpriced because they know Finnish people will buy their products just because they are from Finland. I personally would not bother with their summer tires but they do make high gripping winter tires that are a good compromise in different things.

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[Wee-nemo]

I've used Nokians the last 2 winters, D3s the winter before last which were good in regular snow, and A3s most recently but rarely saw any snow. Very stable in snow and slush when it did fall though, the only problem being a fairly poor dry grip when it started to warm up. Wet grip was fair too.

 

[BenN]

I've used Nokians the last 2 winters, D3s the winter before last which were good in regular snow, and A3s most recently but rarely saw any snow. Very stable in snow and slush when it did fall though, the only problem being a fairly poor dry grip when it started to warm up. Wet grip was fair too.

Great, the A3s really have a great write up so im leaning more towards these i think. Did you have the A3's in 215/40 R17 XL version? Just wondering whether they have a rim protector built into the sidewall?

Thanks,
Ben

 

[Wee-nemo]

Think I got them in normal load pattern, not XL. I'd need to check them in the shed. I went with them too because of their combination of decent reviews and low price, got mine from Oponeo.co.uk as the price was unbeatable, be aware though that it ships in the tyres from Germany to order, so your order might take a couple of days. If you're ordering in plenty of time that shouldn't be a problem though.

 

[BenN]

Think I got them in normal load pattern, not XL. I'd need to check them in the shed. I went with them too because of their combination of decent reviews and low price, got mine from Oponeo.co.uk as the price was unbeatable, be aware though that it ships in the tyres from Germany to order, so your order might take a couple of days. If you're ordering in plenty of time that shouldn't be a problem though.

Great thanks for the link. Ive just checked them out, even cheaper than lovetyres.com where i had found them the cheapest. I notice most of these sites are european, mainly based in germany. Do you know whether they are UK based company and have you ordered much from them?

Thanks,
Ben

 

[Wee-nemo]

I've ordered 3 sets of tyres from them, never had a problem yet. Tyres take maybe 2-3 days from the continent but are delivered by DPD, so you get package tracking and a text before delivery etc. They're a European company with warehouses across Europe, including the British part of their business which is based in their London warehouse. They deliver whatever they don't have in stock in the UK straight from the continent - most winter tyres come from the continent since they're more popular and hence cheaper over there.

http://www.oponeo.co.uk/about-us

 

[BenN]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all your help with this. Ive pulled the trigger and ordered the following:

Set of 4 17" Silver 5 spoke Alloy Wheels from Seat, 6J0071493 - http://www.seataccessories.co.uk/product/17%22_Silver_5_spoke_Alloy_Wheel_6J0071493

Set of 4 Nokian WR A3 tyres in size 215/40/R17 87V XL from oponeo.co.uk

Will mount them up and they can wait until my Cupra arrives in November I will put some pics up of the rims once they arrive as it might help someone else in the future!

 

[m1ateusz]

another good reason for buying another set of smaller rims is that smaller tyres with higher profile are far more cheaper, for example you can have Continental WinterContact for 15' wheels for £52 each, where 17' version 40 profile is £124, so savings of just 1 tyre can get you full set of 2nd hand alloys

 

[BenN]

Just an update, Tyres arrived today via DPD from oponeo, ordered on Friday last week, so pretty fast delivery i thought considering they came from Germany and had a week lead time on them. Appears they got here without damage, and they all look to be from the same build week (3913), so about a year old - which is fine by me!

The Nokian WRA3 tread pattern isnt directional, so just have inside/outside notation. I did notice this icon tho (car one) and wondered if anyone had seen it before? Its the same on all tyres, on the inside and outside.

Also, i've not ordered tyres on their own for some time - so should these winters have white rubbery dandruff on the sidewalls? Tyres feel very sticky tho, which will b their winter compound.

Still waiting on the Alloys to come into Seat, 3/4 have arrived so they say

 

[Pyrres]

No idea about the icon. Never seen one. Just put them like the markings say and you should be fine. And could the white stuff be something from the storage.

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[BenN]

No idea about the icon. Never seen one. Just put them like the markings say and you should be fine. And could the white stuff be something from the storage.

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Yeah could be, take it its nothing to be concerned about?

Is there anything i should look for (damage wise) before i hand these over to be mounted on the rims?

Thanks,
Ben

 

[Wee-nemo]

I've never seen that symbol either, at a guess it denotes the tyre as only suitable for four-wheeled vehicles (not trikes etc?) bit of a weird one, can't find anything on the net about it so I wouldn't worry too much. The white stuff is likely just from the storage or transport process, brush it off just in case though if your tyres are going to be sitting unused for a while.

I can't imagine there's much to check on the tyres, just have a look and make sure the tyres are properly round with no obvious deformation, and that the coloured stripe is intact all the way round the tread on each tyre (think these tyres had the green 'new' stripe on them. Check no dings or gouges in the sidewalls, beyond that I can't suggest much. They're new tyres so should be pretty much factory fresh, although they've been sitting on a shelf for a year (their website says they get stored in baskets that are shaped to support the weight rather than sitting on a small contact patch for months on end).

 

[Pyrres]

About the icon, could be what nemo said or be a reminder to fit 4 same kind of tires or anything between.

Oh and the person fitting the tires should know what to look for.

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[BenN]

Thanks Guys.

I will check for the strip, cant remember seeing anything tho, but the tread looks as fresh as anything, no white stuff on - and has the new tyre labels on. Do u guys think year old tyres are acceptable, they say that they can distribute upto 2 year old, with 3 years being the cut off for europe? Never really thought about age until buying this set, not too sure how old tyres would be if i'd gotten them from the dealer or a local tyre place (suppose they just order from a warehouse like i did).

Also, these appear to have the rim protector on - which im pleased about! Will get them fitted to the rims once they land, put some wheel bags over them and wait for the car to arrive

 

[Wee-nemo]

A year sat on a shelf in a controlled atmosphere is probably better than the six months my tyres have spent stacked up in the shed! Yeah I think 1/3rd of the EUs max time for tyres to be stored should be very safe. They haven't been degraded by chemical attack from road contaminants, UV light or deformation from sitting pressurised on a car for months on end.