Winter Tyres

mcd90

Daz McD
Nov 27, 2011
744
1
Montrose, Scotland
Had a search in here and nothing came up so..

I've never had winter tyres before therefore have no idea on price or which brands are recommended. Its for the front 2 wheels on my ibiza so 205 45 17.

What sort of price range should i be looking at so i dont get ripped off anywhere.

cheers
 

abbotsmike

Active Member
Dec 17, 2011
418
1
Uxbridge
Don't buy just two, unless you really fancy heading backwards into a tree in the near future.

Price range varies. oponeo is good for purchasing, just need to find a fitter. Blackcircles fur purchase and fitting is another good choice.

I have nexen winguard sports in the garage which are going back on very soon, did me proud last winter in some fairly heavy snow and ice. Cost me £200 plus £30 to have them changed over from summer tyes, and £30 back at the end of the winter!
 

Jarre

Active Member
Dec 9, 2011
5,365
11
Stockton-On-Tees
As above, get all 4 done. Initial investment is high really you aren't spending more on tyres because they get used for a few months then in the shed, meaning they'll last a good few years.
 

Biker

Full Member
Oct 6, 2003
1,593
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Northumberland
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I have Kumho I'Zen KW23's. Not the cheapest but a very good tyre. I got the price of mine down by playing around with the sizes. The standard on mine is 215/45/16 but I bought a cheap set of 15 inch alloys off ebay and went for some 195/60/15 tyres. That saved about £30 a corner on the tyres.
 

Blanco92

www.racedriversinc.com
Apr 11, 2010
2,496
4
Bournemouth/Cheshire
205/40/17 winters would be very pricey. It looks like 205/45/16s are £30 a corner cheaper. In an ideal world, you'd get a second set of 15" or 16" wheels mate
 

Jarre

Active Member
Dec 9, 2011
5,365
11
Stockton-On-Tees
Go for thinner tyres like 185 or 195. The idea of winter tyres it to have more grip. You get more grip through a greater pressure, (force/area), so the smaller your area is, the greater the pressure.

I think the ones for my leon are 195 wide on 16" passat wheels that I bought for £200.
nyse6ahu.jpg
 
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mcd90

Daz McD
Nov 27, 2011
744
1
Montrose, Scotland
Ok 4 tyres sounds better then, as you said they will last a couple of winters hopefully.

I would of thought a wider tyre would give you more grip though :confused: And to get more grip folk let air out of their tyres (at 1/4 mile events) Unless thats completely different.

Dont think i could afford to get another set of alloys to be honest. Im on mytyres.co.uk and Avon DOT2010 ice touring st are on offer... Iv also seen Nokian tyres are supposed to be good. 50 profile should fit ok...? They are cheaper than the 45 by £20 a tyre.

I was offered 'Sunnys' at Seat yesterday but they told me they were just a budget tyre so think i will stay clear of that.
 
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Jarre

Active Member
Dec 9, 2011
5,365
11
Stockton-On-Tees
Yes but in winter you need to get the biggest force over the smallest area to create traction. If you put tyres twice as wide on you've got twice the area so half the pressure. No good for trying to get moving when you're stuck in the snow!
 

Biker

Full Member
Oct 6, 2003
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Northumberland
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Dont think i could afford to get another set of alloys to be honest.

It can work out cheaper in the long term to get a second set of alloys. I know there is the outlay now to buy them but if you shop around you can pick up some bargains. I bought a set of Mk4 Golf alloys off ebay for £100 and this is the third year I have used them. As abbotsmike says above it costs him £30 a time to swap the tyres over, so in three years it would have cost me £180, plus I have the alloys to sell on when I am done with them.

On the downside they are the ugliest alloys on the planet (my opinion) see for yourself...lol

IMAG0280_zps09ea5095.jpg
 

abbotsmike

Active Member
Dec 17, 2011
418
1
Uxbridge
205/40/17 winters would be very pricey. It looks like 205/45/16s are £30 a corner cheaper. In an ideal world, you'd get a second set of 15" or 16" wheels mate

Not really. Mine were just under £60 a corner. Did several thousand miles on them last winter, and I'd say there are easily 2 more winters left in them.

I couldn't find any 16" steels at sensible money, and found that 16" tyres were no cheaper. I also couldn't confirm that 15" wheels would go over the FR brakes.

WRT grip, whilst narrower is better, I had absolutely no trouble on 205s, and had to overtake several 4x4's stuck on hills spinning all four of their summer tyres.
 

Jarre

Active Member
Dec 9, 2011
5,365
11
Stockton-On-Tees
Yeah I agree with you Biker. Mine were £200 but it saves me swapping tyres twice a year at £30 a time. So £60 a year to swap tyres and I've made my money back in just over 3 years, and still have genuine alloys to sell on. It also reduces hassle as I don't have to travel to a tyre place and wait for them to be swapped. I also used my winter tyres when I got my 18s refurbished, and lent them to a friend when he got his refurbished, so they've come in pretty handy, and the chances are they'll fit my next car too.
 

abbotsmike

Active Member
Dec 17, 2011
418
1
Uxbridge
As abbotsmike says above it costs him £30 a time to swap the tyres over, so in three years it would have cost me £180, plus I have the alloys to sell on when I am done with them.
IMAG0280_zps09ea5095.jpg

Definitely the downside, and the reason I'm always on the lookout for a set of cheap fr alloys. Not like they'd take up more space in the garage!
 

mcd90

Daz McD
Nov 27, 2011
744
1
Montrose, Scotland
Definitely the downside, and the reason I'm always on the lookout for a set of cheap fr alloys. Not like they'd take up more space in the garage!

Someone on another certain ibiza forum is selling cheap fr alloys. Too far away for me but might be nearer to you.

I appreciate all the replies anyway. Just need to decide on a brand of tyre now before the bad weather really comes in.
 

JR_130

Active Member
Mar 24, 2009
127
1
last year I got a cheap set of 15" alloys on ebay for £40 and got 185/55R15 Continental TS850 for £84 each (delivered to Northern Ireland) from Camskill, and they are fantastic
They finished highest on the winter tyre review on http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2012-Winter-Tyre-Buying-Guide.htm last year

I would say find out what size you are going to get then find some reviews, then do some window shopping (camskill, blackcircles, openeo, mytyres, local tyre fitter) for something in your budget.

My Ibiza is a TDI sport, so has the same brakes as the FR (288mm) so 15" wheels will fit over the brakes as long as they are the right offset
 

mcd90

Daz McD
Nov 27, 2011
744
1
Montrose, Scotland
Thats a good link, will have a read through cheers. Only thing with my FR is i have the audi tt 312mm disc set up so 15's are not likely to fit. I had 16's few years back which i wish i kept now!
 

abbotsmike

Active Member
Dec 17, 2011
418
1
Uxbridge
Someone on another certain ibiza forum is selling cheap fr alloys. Too far away for me but might be nearer to you.

I appreciate all the replies anyway. Just need to decide on a brand of tyre now before the bad weather really comes in.

Hmm, got myself signed up, damn post number based rules! Cheers
 

FR_MATT

Active Member
Jun 2, 2010
1,388
3
Probably going to get my winter wheels on this week. In a way I'm looking forward to the comfort of 45 profiles after running slightly stretched 195/40s all summer lol

I doubt the 195 - 205 change mentioned makes a noticeable difference 99% of the time. I remember from when I was looking for my summer tyres, there's more than that much difference between different manufacturers for the same size labelled tyre
 

Jarre

Active Member
Dec 9, 2011
5,365
11
Stockton-On-Tees
I was merely pointing out that if you haven't yet bought your winter tyres, then it may be best to consider that 195 will be better than 205. If you're going to spend the money you might as well try and make sure you get the most out of them.
 

FR_MATT

Active Member
Jun 2, 2010
1,388
3
I probably should have concluded with so it's probably not worth paying a lot more for 195 over 205.

I in fact have 195/45 winters on my steel wheels for the reason you mentioned Jarre, but also because they were cheaper and so they wouldn't bulge over the sides of the wheel as much
 
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