I have been thinking about this for a while but I have never had enough spare cash to follow it through. I have been thinking about getting some steel wheels with some decent winter tyres like Michelin Alpines or Vredesteins for the winter months e.g. november to early march. I then thought that I couldn't bare looking at my car on steelies so was wondering what other wheels also fit the octy?

I am guessing the 16" wheels from a mk4 golf will fit?

I was looking at something like these on ebay Wheels

or

wheels

What do you guys think a good idea?

I know it is coming up to summer and not winter but thought it might be a good idea to plan ahead!

Thanks

Edited 3 May, 201016 yr by christaylor

Has anybody else tried winter wheels and tyres on their car?

I have just got a set of 16" steel rims so i can get some winter tyres after the snow last year.

16" x 6.5j steel rims are et42

HTH

Cheers jay I am guessing that these wheels fit without any problems? Have you decided what winter tyres you are going to use yet?

I'm in the same situation as Jay. Got the 16" steelies, but need the tyres now.

Just as a heads up it might be worth buying the winter tyres during the summer, or pre-ordering them. Since there has never really been any demand in the UK, the supply chain is a bit limited. But last year people started to realise the advantages and they sold out nation-wide very quickly. I tried and failed to get some in January.

I actually think the 16"x6.5" ET42 5x100 steels are really nice! You have the added advantage that you can play with colours for the price of a can of paint!

These are them: http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Golf_IV--1.8T/Wheels/OEM_Steel/ES1866558/

Thanks bodge have you decided which winter tyres you are going to buy? I have looked at a few and the Nokian WR G2 seems like a good tyre at a decent price. I am thinking of getting the wheels and tyres now in preparation for another snowy winter!

Whatever I get it'll need a speed rating of atleast V, and they need to be proper snow tyres with the snowflake/snow topped mountain symbol.

Last time I checked I think I decided on:

Avon Ice Touring ST (205/55R16XL 94V)

or

Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme (205/55 R 16 94 V XL)

or

Cooper WeatherMaster Snow (205/55R16XL 94V)

Federal make some too, but only upto an H speed rating.

I do a fair bit of driving in Europe, so I like to press on in terms of speed, and there's no point in getting ones that don't carry the right symbol, as that means I'll get fined if I get caught short in the snow out there!

I run & recommend Avon Ice Tourers in winter,

although I went with 15" steelies on both my mkI & now my mkII

as a narrower tread gives more purchase in snowy conditions.

Only slight problem I've found (only on my mkII) is that they tend to get a little noisier as they wear down to 3-4mm,

however I'll replace them with new ones this winter anyway.

(mkII seem to cause particular "saw tooth" wear pattern on the tread blocks that my mkI didn't in my 100k experience)

cheers ... Darren