Winter Tyres

[JulianHJ]

Stuck my winters on yesterday.

I got back from holiday in the USA at the weekend, and bought back some snow chains I was apparently legally required to carry whilst driving in the Colorado Rockies. I bought a pair for $110 from the US equivalent of Halfords, but they were non-refundable. Is there likely to be any market for a single pair (as opposed to a full set of four) of these? I'm considering sticking them on Ebay, but I've got no idea whether I'll get a decent price for them.

[RicksAlfas]

Jaged said:

he advised winter tyres normally run at higher pressures.
I'd be interested in other PH'er opinions on this

Yes, I run mine a couple of psi higher. It actually specifies it in our Alfa handbook to do this.

[RicksAlfas]

GTIR said:

ETA. It's still not cold enough for winters!

Maybe it depends where you are...!

[ATM]

I swapped over to my winter wheels + tyres this weekend. Now I notice some fairly obvious understeer. I inflated to the same pressure as stated on my door jam sticker. I might try adding a couple of psi to see if this improves their feel. I expect a little bit less grip but this seems excessive to me. I'm only driving on normal roads at around 30mph. Its entering round abouts where I notice it.

[g3org3y]

ATM said:

I swapped over to my winter wheels + tyres this weekend. Now I notice some fairly obvious understeer. I inflated to the same pressure as stated on my door jam sticker. I might try adding a couple of psi to see if this improves their feel. I expect a little bit less grip but this seems excessive to me. I'm only driving on normal roads at around 30mph. Its entering round abouts where I notice it.

What are you running?

[Jaged]

ATM said:

I swapped over to my winter wheels + tyres this weekend. Now I notice some fairly obvious understeer. I inflated to the same pressure as stated on my door jam sticker. I might try adding a couple of psi to see if this improves their feel. I expect a little bit less grip but this seems excessive to me. I'm only driving on normal roads at around 30mph. Its entering round abouts where I notice it.

Don't forget if they are new you need to run them for a while to settle in as with all new tyres.

[ATM]

Before and After

235 40 18 Mich Sport
225 50 17 Nankangs - ran these last year so not brand new

Click for full size

[GTIR]

Haven't you already posted those pics or is there a glitch in the Matrix?

[Cupramax]

ATM said:

Before and After

235 40 18 Mich Sport
225 50 17 Nankangs - ran these last year so not brand new

You do realise the correct size for 17's on a B7 is 235/45

[Rosscow]

I have to say that your car actually looks much nicer on the 17" alloys than it does the 18"

[ATM]

GTIR said:

Haven't you already posted those pics or is there a glitch in the Matrix?

On the 2012 - 2013 thread.

[ATM]

Cupramax said:

ATM said:

Before and After

235 40 18 Mich Sport
225 50 17 Nankangs - ran these last year so not brand new

You do realise the correct size for 17's on a B7 is 235/45

Yes but I bought these off ebay in a hurry when I first bought the car as it was wearing 18 inch turds. They fit ok with no rubbing.

[LongLiveTazio]

What are mytyres' steel wheels like? They seem to be the only place that supply them with winter tyres for a resonable price. Anyone else worth looking at?

[FiF]

If you still have the V50 T5 with the big discs and calipers I'd make doubly doubly certain of your spigot size and the clearance you need for the calipers, and doubly and trebly (if that is a word) check with Mytyres that the wheels will fit.

Sadly, just to rub it in, sorry, I've just sold a set of PCW alloys and Conti winters that would have fitted yours.

You may find a tyre depot / shop that sells and fits alloys maybe has a stock of cheap steelies out the back. Try some Focus ones, I think the 5 stud PCD is the same, not sure at all about spigot size.

[Cupramax]

ATM said:

Yes but I bought these off ebay in a hurry when I first bought the car as it was wearing 18 inch turds. They fit ok with no rubbing.

Rubbing won't be an issue, running non standard size tyres will be though, it'll invalidate your insurance.

[aww999]

I've never bothered with winter tyres before as I don't need to use the car for commuting, so getting snowed in is not a major concern. The wife has just passed her test however, and will be driving the kid around on occasion, so I am getting a set of Goodyear Vector 4Seasons to replace the £15-a-corner crap that's on our Focus at the moment. I should have done it when we first bought the car; wet grip is diabolical on these cheap tyres, and the car has no ABS, so I'm hoping the all-seasons tyres will give a useful improvement in grip for typical winter conditions. They will be fine for the summer too from what I read, certainly for a low mileage low-power shopping car! I'm not worried about performance in deep snow (I'll just stay indoors for those three days of the year) and I don't want to muck about changing tyres so this seems like a good compromise.

I've been reading reviews, tests etc here:

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2012-Auto-Bil...

[vrsmxtb]

Had my winters put on today - so much smoother and quieter than my summers with only the slightest, barely perceptible loss of steering feel.

[MoelyCrio]

LongLiveTazio said:

What are mytyres' steel wheels like? They seem to be the only place that supply them with winter tyres for a resonable price. Anyone else worth looking at?

They're black,round, made of steel and have 4/5 holes in them! HTH!

[mad4amanda]

MoelyCrio said:

LongLiveTazio said:

What are mytyres' steel wheels like? They seem to be the only place that supply them with winter tyres for a resonable price. Anyone else worth looking at?

They're black,round, made of steel and have 4/5 holes in them! HTH!

Mine surprised me when they arrived as they were silver, round, made of steel and have 4/5 holes in them!

[5678]

mad4amanda said:

MoelyCrio said:

LongLiveTazio said:

What are mytyres' steel wheels like? They seem to be the only place that supply them with winter tyres for a resonable price. Anyone else worth looking at?

They're black,round, made of steel and have 4/5 holes in them! HTH!

Mine surprised me when they arrived as they were silver, round, made of steel and have 4/5 holes in them!

Hope mine are black!