My Winter Wheels Solution

[Excalpino]

Hi Guys, Thought I would share my choice of Winter Wheels.
My FR 184 came with 18" Performance Alloys fitted with Bridgestone Potenza S001. Having been 'converted' to the benefits of Winter Tyres for the last 4 years here in rural Perthshire I have been looking for the right choice. For my previous Honda Civic 2.2 I had steel 16" rims fitted with Michelin Alpins and managed to sell these (slightly corroded by salt) on Ebay after 16000 winter miles for £125 - ( still had 5.5-6mm tread). After much consultation with Seat CS I was advised against 16" rims for the 184 due to the limited clearance to the larger front disks. Having such a good looking car as the Leon I was reluctant to by new steel rims (they only seem to be available up to 16" anyway!). So here is my solution ( and pictures).
Enzo (W) 7 x 17 (5/112) ET38 fitted with Nokian WR-A3 225/45/R17/94H

This tool is useful when deciding on rim/tyre choice; http://tinyurl.com/lda4mtn

These cost (from MyTyres) a total of £746.80 including delivery from Hamburg!
The tyres alone are priced at £99.70 each on MyTyres which means that the alloys work out at £346.80 for the set of 4!

I was initially concerned with the difference in ET but on fitting they are just right.










Looking at the tread image it is possible to see the Nokian patented snowflake in the centre of the tread - this 'disappears' when tread depth is less than 4mm (minimum recommended for winter).

Although Winter Tyres might seem expensive remember that your 'summers' last twice as long! and if/when the snow comes you will really will find out why they are a legal requirement in most of northern Europe!

 

[andrewpain]

I've got a Leon with 17" wheels, and bought a second-hand set of 17" SEAT Dynamics with quite good (6mm+) Kumho tyres fitted (cost me 350), and got ETyres round to fit the Nokian W3s (500).
so I spent 100 more but I've got 4 almost-new rubbers in the garage for when I wear out my P7s. Or my daughter her 17£ ones on her Golf.
Bring on the snow!

 

[Biker]

Looking good mate!

Remember to let your insurance company know you have fitted winters though, best to keep everything above board.

 

[scut]

I've just started looking into similar options. Ideally ill pick up some second hand mk3 dynamic alloys (so wheels are unchanged and insurance company cant complain) and fit winter tyres to those but I'm struggling to find any at the minute.

Might ring the insurance company though and see what they say to aftermarket alloys with wintrr tyres.

 

[scut]

In case this of use to anyone else.

I asked Seat CS what winter tyre and wheel combinations they recommend for mk3 2.0 tdi FR 150.

Response is as below.

Many thanks for contacting SEAT UK Customer Services regarding the winter wheels and tyres for your vehicle.

I am delighted to confirm that I have liaised with our Parts Department and they have advised that the following winter wheel
and tyre combinations are suitable for your vehicle;

6.5Jx16 ET46 with tyres 205/55 R16
7Jx17 ET49 with tyres 225/45 R17
7.5Jx17 ET51 with tyres 225/45 R17
7,5Jx18 ET51 with tyres 225/40 R18

I hope this information is useful to you, if you wish to discuss this further, please contact me using the details below.

Kind regards

 

[Simmo11]

Thanks Scut, that’s just the information I was after!

 

[kmanmx]

Forgive me for being ignorant, I've never really looked into winter tyres before this year.

But is there any particular reason you need to get steel rims too ? Could you not just buy some winter tyres and swap them onto your alloys that you normally use ?

 

[scut]

Yep you could just fit winter tyres to your existing alloys. Then swap back in spring etc

We're planning on keeping the car a good while so I'd prefer a second set of wheels to avoid repeated time and cost for tyre changes.

If only I could track down some oem alloys. If anyone knows of anyone selling some mk3 17 inch dynamic alloys please let me know.

 

[neil_f225]

I just fitted my 225/40 18 Avon ice touring to the original 18" performance alloys. Bought the tyres for £340 for the set last year and used them on my Octavia vrs at that point. Still got 7mm of tread left and that way the car still looks good. I know some people say the winter wrecks your standard alloys. Never had any issues on my skoda which covered 4 winters and 64k miles and the wheels still looked good.

 

[ChrisG]

I did 3 winters swapping winter tyres back and forth onto my Beemer, its a pain in the arse. Firstly it's £40-50 a time to swap over (twice a year), and secondly its almost inevitable that one of those changes will eventually leave you with a little ding or mark on the alloys from an over enthusiastic tyre fitter/machine.

I've now got a second set of rims for winter tyres and its so much easier. It also works out cheaper in the long run as there's no annual cost of swapping tyres and I'll get my money back on the alloys when I decide to sell.

 

[kmanmx]

I did 3 winters swapping winter tyres back and forth onto my Beemer, its a pain in the arse. Firstly it's £40-50 a time to swap over (twice a year), and secondly its almost inevitable that one of those changes will eventually leave you with a little ding or mark on the alloys from an over enthusiastic tyre fitter/machine.

I've now got a second set of rims for winter tyres and its so much easier. It also works out cheaper in the long run as there's no annual cost of swapping tyres and I'll get my money back on the alloys when I decide to sell.

And there we have it, one line that has immediately convinced me I need to buy a second set of steel wheels for the winter tyres

 

[neil_f225]

I did 3 winters swapping winter tyres back and forth onto my Beemer, its a pain in the arse. Firstly it's £40-50 a time to swap over (twice a year), and secondly its almost inevitable that one of those changes will eventually leave you with a little ding or mark on the alloys from an over enthusiastic tyre fitter/machine.

I've now got a second set of rims for winter tyres and its so much easier. It also works out cheaper in the long run as there's no annual cost of swapping tyres and I'll get my money back on the alloys when I decide to sell.

Yeah it possibly is more convenient to have a second set of wheels to swap over (although I personally find it less hassle to have the tyres changed than jack my car in the driveway and swap over wheels.) I've got a local garage that I've used for years. They charge £20 a time , so costs me £40 a year to swap. In over 10 years they have never marked a wheel (yes there always is the risk they might at some point!). If you reckon new alloys would be at least £400, I'll only keep the car 3-4years and the chances of the wheels fitting the next car not guaranteed then for me it is more cost effective to use the original wheels (even accounting for selling the wheels on which you'll probably recoup half the initial cost at best).

Must admit the op's wheels are the best looking winter wheels I've seen posted so far. Really suit the car.

 

[neil_f225]

And there we have it, one line that has immediately convinced me I need to buy a second set of steel wheels for the winter tyres

You're possibly cheaper buying second hand alloys as it's suprising the cost of steel wheels. Alloys also look and maintain their appearance far better than steel wheels which will corrode after a few winters.

 

[ChrisG]

I've got a local garage that I've used for years. They charge £20 a time , so costs me £40 a year to swap. In over 10 years they have never marked a wheel (yes there always is the risk they might at some point!).

Yeh if you have a friendly tyre fitter that will do it for beer money and can be trusted to be careful it makes it less painful, but most tyre places charge £12-15 a tyre to a regular punter so can get very expensive.

Regarding the wheel resale, buying new you'd obviously lose out but I was referring to buying second hand which generally works out fairly cost neutral. As an example second hand set of 18's for my 123d/130i were ~£600-700 when I got the 123d about 5 years ago, and they're still a similar price now.

 

[niggle]

I just fitted my 225/40 18 Avon ice touring to the original 18" performance alloys. Bought the tyres for £340 for the set last year and used them on my Octavia vrs at that point. Still got 7mm of tread left and that way the car still looks good. I know some people say the winter wrecks your standard alloys. Never had any issues on my skoda which covered 4 winters and 64k miles and the wheels still looked good.

Just fitted a set of new Avons to some refurb'ed Audi A4 "Spider" wheels on my FR. I ran Toyo Snowprox S953s on A3 rims on my Golf for the last 3 winters and was very impressed. Hope the Avons are just as good.

Deep clean the wheels that you have removed at swap-over time (with fallout remover, claybar and polish) and then give them a couple of coats of synthetic wax or sealant and they will be good as new for many years to come.

 

[scut]

Well I spoke to tesco insurance this afternoon and for winter tyres I don't even need to tell them. For winter tyres on different alloys I just need to ring them and let them know. No charge as long as same size or smaller than originals.

Think I will be making a wheels and tyre package purchase from mytyres shortly. Seem like good value.

 

[Excalpino]

Looking good mate!

Remember to let your insurance company know you have fitted winters though, best to keep everything above board.

Cheers Biker - called Hastings Direct this afternoon - they just make a note of the call and all is well.

 

[scut]

Out of the various brands sold by my tyres, does anyone have any recommendations?

I've never bought aftermarket alloys before so have no idea. They sell AEZ, Dezent, DOTZ and Enzo.

Not particularly expecting oem quality at the low prices but don't want to spend money if the brands are known to be poor quality.

 

[Excalpino]

Out of the various brands sold by my tyres, does anyone have any recommendations?

I've never bought aftermarket alloys before so have no idea. They sell AEZ, Dezent, DOTZ and Enzo.

Not particularly expecting oem quality at the low prices but don't want to spend money if the brands are known to be poor quality.

The Enzo ( W) wheels, which I have, are a new line recommended for Winter. (Why for winter I do not know)
Enzo are the lower cost range made by AEZ. They came with a full set of wheel nuts and centring rings.
Do not be put off by the low prices - you can pay a lot more elsewhere for these wheels, and then have to pay for tyre fitting and balancing at your local tyre depot!


BTW I do NOT work for MyTyres!

 

[scut]

The Enzo ( W) wheels, which I have, are a new line recommended for Winter. (Why for winter I do not know)
Enzo are the lower cost range made by AEZ. They came with a full set of wheel nuts and centring rings.
Do not be put off by the low prices - you can pay a lot more elsewhere for these wheels, and then have to pay for tyre fitting and balancing at your local tyre depot!


BTW I do NOT work for MyTyres!

Thanks for the feedback. The My Tyres price are way lower than any uk suppliers I can find.

I like the Enzo W you have got and also the Dezent RE.

Decisions decisions!!!