SWMBO is having loads of trouble with lack of traction in her fabia vrs, now I know that part of this will be down to the type of tyre fitted (Continental Conti Sport 2) and also the width of the tyre.

According to Alloy Wheels - Specialist supplier of alloy wheels and tyres packages, 0% Finance and Fast Delivery, Buy Online

I could fit 195/50/16 to the wheels as there is minimal difference to the rolling radius although I'm unsure if this size will fit the wheel OK.

Has anyone tried anything like this?

My intention is to buy another set of Fabia vrs alloys and fitting the narrowest winter/snow tyres I can get for this time of year.

My advice would be that the cold weather doesn't last very long and isn't very common; so is it actually worth the money you're likely to spend?

It is worth spending the money as we are hoping to move back to the Penistone area where the weather can be very extreme for quite a few months of the year.

Ideally we would like a mk2 octi 4x4 but this is the cheaper option & she needs x2 new tyres anyway.

Fair enough

the strange thing is I don't seem to have half the trouble she does and my tyres are also 205 wide but I have Kuhmo KU31 summer tyres fitted.

How about some cheap winter steelies?

Get winter tyres dont change your tyre sizes, simples

Bear in mind that your insurance is dependent on you fitting the correct tyre size for the rims I believe. I'm sure I've seen that discussed on here before when someone wanted to put wider tyres on the 16" rims as they were a bit cheaper.

I've used Car Bibles : The Wheel and Tyre Bible Page 2 of 2 in the past - its a useful site.

According to the tyre size calculator on there, you could run 175/55/16 and its only 1.35% bigger rollng radius than the standard 204/45/16. The rule of thumb is it should be within 3% IIRC.

The next thing to check is the width - using Chris's Rimwidthulator also on that site. For 175/55/16 it recommends a rim of between 5" and 6.5". I believe the standard Fabia vRS 16" alloys are 6.5 wide, so again this suggests you would be OK.

Finally are the tyres available? I suspect they are not common, but I did find some at BRIDGESTONE TYRES / CAR / BRIDGESTONE RE040 BRIDGESTONE RE 040 - 175/55R16 80W (BZ) :: £72.91 :: Car Tyres - MPV Tyres - People Carrier Tyres :: R16" - 175/55/16, 175/55 R 16 ::

Note: I'm no expert and I would suggest taking further advice from others on here, or from a professional tyre fitting company, before going to these extremes

Andy's right - it's a 6.5J rim.

I personally wouldn't drop below a 195/45/16 or 195/50. I'd get winter tyres and fit them to another two vRS alloys, if I was doing it. If you're willing to goto the lengths of dropping tyre sizes, it's surely worth picking a decent tyre capable of handling the conditions.

Steve

the conti's are rubbish in the snow becouse they have a parralel line tread pattern with no cross or v sections, so any winter tyre with the standard size is going to be alot better.

but for the ultimate winter wheel/tyre combo, get some narrower steel wheels and tyres to suit.

bearing in mind when i was across in finland, all the cars are reqired by law to change to winter tyres, most keeping the same width, and our winters are not as bad as theirs, yet!

Dave

Thanks all. I spoke to my local tyre specialist and he said replacing the conti's with anything would greatly improve traction.

We have decided to replace the conti's with another pair of Kuhmo KU31's to match the rears and then we are going to look around for another set of vrs wheels which we will fit some winter tyres too.

I know some people will say this is a little drastic etc but with the location that my wife works in it is too risky her loosing traction and crashing/not being able to get home etc as she works in a childrens day nursery and she will also have our kids in the car if I'm at work.

Good stuff Matt. It's a perfectly sensible idea to sort another set of winter rims/tyres

Steve