Winter Tyres

[12string]

Anyone taken the plunge with winter tyres ? I am thinking about getting some as the last couple of years have been horrible. Never actually got stuck in the Leon but with now having the Exeo thinking about buying some steel wheels & winter tyres.
Looks like 16" wheels will fit after looking at mytyres.co.uk where they will sell you a complete steel wheel & winter tyre deal.

 

[12string]

Well I have just ordered 2 wheel/tyres with Avon Ice Touring ST 205/55 R16 91T tyres for £263 including shipping to Highlands (£112 per wheel/tyre).
Hope it is a good investment !!

 

[OLDOILER]

Interesting site that, and their prices c/w steel wheels seems very good [ had a look in the hand book and I cannot see any x ref to allowable tyre sizes ?@!] where did you get the 7J X16 X ET45 from?? = 205/55-r16-91V ?

 

[12string]

had a look in the hand book and I cannot see any x ref to allowable tyre sizes ?@!] where did you get the 7J X16 X ET45 from?? = 205/55-r16-91V ?

Checked the Seat website and looked at the PDF Exeo brochure which shows that an Exeo S has ;
WHEELS
16" ‘Dante’ alloy wheels + 205/55 R16 91V tyres

Brake size is - Front brakes (mm) 288 X 25 on all except TDi170

Wheel spec from this site;
http://www.wheelfitment.eu/steekmaat.php?merk=Seat&type=Exeo&merk2=Seat
which shows PCD 5x112 , 57.1mm bore & 45 offset.

Not really bothered that they are basic steel wheels as the purpose is to keep mobile in the snow that will ultimately appear this winter and I have a couple off weekends away at end of Nov & early Dec and want to get there without worrying about getting stuck with the normal tyres. (Had to cancel two trips last year)
They can be taken off & put on easily by me instead of having to pay the tyre centre to swap over when winter is over, kept in garage & put on again next winter.

Will let you know when they arrive and update as weather gets worse & I use them.

 

[ather`s]

Interesting site that, and their prices c/w steel wheels seems very good [ had a look in the hand book and I cannot see any x ref to allowable tyre sizes ?@!] where did you get the 7J X16 X ET45 from?? = 205/55-r16-91V ?

isnt this the size of the spare wheel? i would go out and have a look but boot full of crap.

 

[Irksome]

OK completely OT as I couldn't care less about Winter Tyres, but 12string referred to Brake size for all exept the 170TDI ... so is it larger for the 170TDI (and presumably the TSI too???) because I think the car needs more brakes (170TDI obviously).

 

[andyj]

200TFIS & 170CR have 312mm brakes, and the other lower models have 288mm brakes, IIRC

 

[HarveyWoods]

Has anyone tried the compromise of all season tyres on an Exeo? If so have they been on them through last winter and how did you get on?

I have just put them on my Yeti as my normal tyres needed changing and I thought they would do a better job than standard tyres but leave me without the hassle of changing back and forth. I do however have the advantage of 4wd already so it is not a completely fair test.

I'm asking this as I am about to test drive an Exeo. If I decide to order one I may ultimately ask the dealer to change the standard tyres for all season ones before I pick it up. If they are not good enough then I will fall back on the usual summer/winter tyre switch as I drive on roads that are often untreated in the winter.

 

[Leodis]

All season tyres are good, not as good as Summer tyres in summer and not as good as winter tyres in winter. But on AWD they may be a good compromise. I would suggest you investigate Nokian for there all season tyres, All weathers are there new ones.

 

[SELUX]

Just fitted a full set of GY Ultragrip winters today on OE 18" alloys. Company car so they wouldn't go for the steel option but I will let you know how they go as the first frost arrived over the weekend!

 

[HarveyWoods]

All season tyres are good, not as good as Summer tyres in summer and not as good as winter tyres in winter. But on AWD they may be a good compromise. I would suggest you investigate Nokian for there all season tyres, All weathers are there new ones.

Interesting that you mention Nokian as that is the make I went for. Hopefully they will do a good job this winter.

 

[SELUX]

Ok 1k miles on my winter tyres and OMG! Its turned mild again - the car moves around so much more and I have lost all confidence in the corners as it feels so skitish. Obviously with so many more tread blocks they will move around more especially on extra load sidewalls on the 18's but I have seen my mpg improve as I don't want to drive it swiftly. On the motorway all is fine and they are quiet and smooth and it feels more planted when braking in a straight line although luckily not had to test that fact in a serious situation yet. Aquaplaning is also nearly erradicated completely to! So good and bad but I suppose the real test will come when we get consistantly below that magic 7 degree mark!

 

[12string]

My wheels & tyres finally arrived today from mytyres.com.
However - I will have to go to a local tyre centre and get one tyre turned around as they have a directional tread on the Avon's and the muppet fitter at mytyres depot put them both on the same way !
OK if I wanted them both on the passenger side DOH !!

E-mailed and told them I want a refund on the cost of this since it was their fault.

At least it isn't cold enough consistantly to require needing them on the car just yet but last year we got hit at end Nov with first heavy snow.

Will keep updated........

 

[Dave_]

Almost cold enough. What sort of temperatures are you seeing in Inverness?

Not long now.

 

[12string]

Temperatures are a bit all over the place up here. Cold & frosty at start of last week with night -2c and high of 5c then at end of week 9c at night and 15c daytime high.

Not needing to fit the winter tyres just yet. Just as well since I need to get one rotated before fitting thanks to mytyres fitter !

 

[12string]

Well winter has arrived in style here in Inverness ! Fitted the wheels/tyres on Sunday morning as forecast was snow and it was right for once , 3 inches of snow Sunday night followed by another 2-3 inches Monday night.
The Avon Ice Touring tyres have performed superbly and the traction light has not even flickered on the dash !
Really pleased with my investment in these. Ideally you would fit all 4 wheels but I opted for 2 for the front only which is to stop me scrabbling for grip in snow & ice and as long as I remember that the rear end can still slide in icy conditions everything will be fine.

Maybe the wife should have got some for her Zafira as she broke the front suspension & steering rods Monday morning when she whacked a kerb hard while trying to turn into our road ! Had to phone insurance & get it loaded on a recovery truck for assessment & repairs !!
She should have stuck with her Altea which never gave her any bother in snow & ice. She now hates the Zafira & it will be going once repaired.

 

[rllmuk]

Maybe the wife should have got some for her Zafira as she broke the front suspension & steering rods Monday morning when she whacked a kerb hard while trying to turn into our road ! Had to phone insurance & get it loaded on a recovery truck for assessment & repairs !!

They seem expensive, until things like that happen.

Good to see there is more take-up of winters now

 

[SELUX]

I have to agree with the comments above. My Goodyear Ultrgrip Winter have been amazing in the snow last week and equally good on frosty mornings. Steering has never gone that light way when you know the roads not been gritted. Good in the wet to so all in a result. My office is up an untreated road and the exeo wouldn't look at it last year in the snow on normal rubber but didn't even break traction on the winters. Overall very much worth the investment imho.

 

[OLDOILER]

They seem expensive, until things like that happen.

Good to see there is more take-up of winters now

It's also good to know that the EXEO steel rims also fit the Skoda Superb, Yeti and A5/6 too - just in case you change cars !!

 

[Tam]

Well I have just ordered 2 wheel/tyres with Avon Ice Touring ST 205/55 R16 91T tyres for £263 including shipping to Highlands (£112 per wheel/tyre).
Hope it is a good investment !!

2 ????

You have 4 tyres on your car, you fit 4 winter tyres or you fit none.

The traction difference between winter and summer is massive. you will crash .. very quickly if you have mixed and matched.