I have just watched some video comparisons of Winter vs All Weather vs Summer tyres, and found the differences quite an eye opener !!!

Will be finding some winter tyres for my beast this year now ! Asking the same question again but will just fitting a good winter tyre on my 17" wheels be OK rather than getting a set of 16" wheels to put them on, or would the recommendation be that you just have a complete set of winter wheels ready to be fitted without faffing about taking tyres on and off ??

Also what temp ranges do most winter tyres work at ?

Sorry for rehashing stuff that has gone before, but winter is looming on the horizon, and some early predictions of winter 2011 from those who got it right last time, are for an even colder winter than last one (not a met office forecast I hasten to add, but rather from people who know the weather !).

:|

Winter tyres are a question of safety - being able to steer and brake when it is cold and wet - and yes also being able to go somewhere if and when it snows.

My personal choice is focused on wet handling performance, as that is the most common problem - not lots of snow.

That says that it is OK to put winter boots on your existing wheels.

I personaly do not like to take tyres of and on twice a year, but it will save you the cost of a set of wheels, but add the cost of the changing the tyres.

If you go for another set of wheels, then you have the choice of changing size to 16", which are probably a little cheaper. In real winter condition, taller and narrower is better than wide, so the 16 inchers seem to be the logical choice. I have a thing about stamped steel wheels - they are not always perfectly round - alloys are, as they are machined in manufacture. I do a bit of high speed travel in winter too, so prefer the smoother rolling alloys also for winter. I believe they offer lower rolling resistance and better economy, but I have no objective measurement to prove it.

I had the choice the other way round, as Snehvide was delivered in December with 16" winter tyres. When it came to getting summer wheels, I stuck with the 16" - initially for economic reasons - but it has turned out very well. I have none of the pitching and rough ride that some with 17" wheels complain about. I am quite happy with the winter tyre choice - see below - both in wet, dry and snowy conditions. The Conti summer tyres are also OK, except that they have a tendency to grip longitudinal grooves and ridges in the road. They will eventually be replaced with something NOT with the pronuonced circumferential groove tread pattern.

Hi,

went for steel 16" rim's and 205/55 tyres (winter tyre size given in handbook) for reasons of cost. The four rims were about the same price as one alloy and the 205/55 R16 tyre is probably one of the most common winter sizes available so again not to expensive. Only drawback of the 205/55 tyre size is that you clock slightly more miles than you are actually doing.

edit: oh yes winters are best for temperatures below 7 deg C

TP

Edited 3 September, 201015 yr by The Plumber

Hi,

went for steel 16" rim's and 205/55 tyres (winter tyre size given in handbook) for reasons of cost. The four rims were about the same price as one alloy and the 205/55 R16 tyre is probably one of the most common winter sizes available so again not to expensive. Only drawback of the 205/55 tyre size is that you clock slightly more miles than you are actually doing.

edit: oh yes winters are best for temperatures below 7 deg C

TP

Yer fergot the C-word, Tim. Was that not why you picked the 205'S? Come on now, fess up

So I guess what you are saying is that it would probably be better just to have an extra set of 16" wheels with winter boots on ??

What about tyres after that when it warms up again ? - go back to summer tyres or wait until the existing ones need replacing then go for an all season tyre which would be better in the wet anyway ?

:|

So I guess what you are saying is that it would probably be better just to have an extra set of 16" wheels with winter boots on ??

What about tyres after that when it warms up again ? - go back to summer tyres or wait until the existing ones need replacing then go for an all season tyre which would be better in the wet anyway ?

:|

I am sure you addressed this to Tim, but here is my 2 cents' worth:

I agree with your first statement, but not the second. All season tyres are not as good as summer tyres in summer and not as good as winter tyres in winter. They are particularly poor in wet conditions both summer and winter. I think what is really lacking is a test comparison between witnet and summer tyre wet performance. Summer tyres are tested for summer and winter for winter, but it would be interesting to see how well winter tyres perform in the wet in summer conditions. If winter tyres do well in summer rains, they may in fact be a good all year choice, as dry performance really has much more leeway in adhesion than most people need.

Might be a controversial statement, and certainly will not sell more tyres.

I am sure you addressed this to Tim, but here is my 2 cents' worth:

I agree with your first statement, but not the second. All season tyres are not as good as summer tyres in summer and not as good as winter tyres in winter. They are particularly poor in wet conditions both summer and winter. I think what is really lacking is a test comparison between witnet and summer tyre wet performance. Summer tyres are tested for summer and winter for winter, but it would be interesting to see how well winter tyres perform in the wet in summer conditions. If winter tyres do well in summer rains, they may in fact be a good all year choice, as dry performance really has much more leeway in adhesion than most people need.

Might be a controversial statement, and certainly will not sell more tyres.

I wasnt really talking about using winter tyres in summer, but the 4 season tyres suggest that they would be a better all round alternative to just summer tyres, particularly where rain is concerned ?

I wasnt really talking about using winter tyres in summer, but the 4 season tyres suggest that they would be a better all round alternative to just summer tyres, particularly where rain is concerned ?

ADAC says no - all Year were poorer than the summer tyres in summer and poorer than winter tyres in winter. Since they weight wet performance highly, one can conclude that all round are not as good in the wet as summer tyres.

I know you were not suggesting winter tyres in summer, but I was questioning IF they were as good in the rain as the summer tyres? As far as I know, no one has done the comparison that way.

Edited 3 September, 201015 yr by Agerbundsen

I wasnt really talking about using winter tyres in summer, but the 4 season tyres suggest that they would be a better all round alternative to just summer tyres, particularly where rain is concerned ?

Personally I will be sticking with fitting full winter tyres between December and March as they worked really well this last winter in all conditions.

For the rest of the year after wearing out the original Goodyears I'm considering the Nokian eNtyre. This is a new cold weather / all season tyre but the manufacture appears to have biased it towards wet rather than snow capability if their literature is to be believed.

As Agerbundsen quite rightly points out though the perception is that all season tyres are a compromise (neither one thing or another). However I think these new Nokian's are worth trying out, as the wider profile high speed rated summer tyres fitted to the Yeti 17" rims from my prospective anyway only appear at there best in the warm months of June, July and August, which surely is also a compromise.

Other options could be for example be a rain tyre say from Uniroyal or the Goodyear Optigrip which changes it's tread pattern as it wears down to optimise grip in relation to tread depth. Goodyear also have a all year tyre the 4 Season but this is more snow capable to the extent that it carries the winter snowflake logo. You can also get the Bridgestone Duler H/P Sport in 225/50 R17 size; this is a road orientated SUV tyre as fitted to the Qashqai.

All these tyres can currently be found on the mytyres site My link

One thing is for sure though I won't be fitting what I have now on the Dolomites once they need replacing.

TP

Having read most of the threads with reference to Winter Tyres I would like to look around now even though I don't have a Yeti to put them on yet!

What would be the best phrase I should use to google for the correct steel rim please?

Yeti 4x4 2.0 110 SE

OR, what car should I look to strip at a scrap yard?

Would these fit?

16" STEEL WHEEL RIMS 6.5J X 16

5 STUD FIXINGS

pitch circle diameter 120mm

61/2Jx16H2 ET51 KPZ V061612

DE DOT D16x6.5 POZ4F

7H0601027C

Though the PCD on a Yeti was 5x112mm, not 5x120mm - check with the technical guides for wheels/tyres.

Would these fit?

16" STEEL WHEEL RIMS 6.5J X 16

5 STUD FIXINGS

pitch circle diameter 120mm

61/2Jx16H2 ET51 KPZ V061612

DE DOT D16x6.5 POZ4F

7H0601027C

Try The Plumbers Rim & Tyre Guide.......all the info is in there.

My link

Thanks for the replies - I am now working out what will do and what won't!

(Posted to several related Topics)

After all the help I've received I thought I'd try and give a little back. So I thought this link I've come across may be of use to those looking for extra (Winter) or alternate (Prettier!) wheels to fit the SM:

Wheel Fitment

Sandy

What was the outcome of this? I thought you needed ET45 offset wheels with a 112mm diameter for the Yeti?

For the rest of the year after wearing out the original Goodyears I'm considering the Nokian eNtyre. This is a new cold weather / all season tyre but the manufacture appears to have biased it towards wet rather than snow capability if their literature is to be believed.

Nokian Entyres are the worst Nokians I have ever bought, understeer and skid in the wet is what defines them. Will not buy Entyres again. You have been warned.

I like Nokians, have been using the following: summer H, V, Z, Z G2, winter/all-weather: WR, Entyre

By all means get Nokian WRs, they will last well and offer excellent traction on ice/snow/slush.

On my Octavia, I use Nokian WRs on front axle in winter, and put them onto rear axle for summer. They last at least 15k miles (to 3mm thread) when used in this manner, which is a lot considering that they're softer than normal summer tyres. With ESP on the car and some common sense to expect oversteer when entering roundabouts in deep snow, the setup works very well. The other tyre pair is Entyres at the moment and I will not buy them again for their wet handling.

On the other car (Superb Mk1 that goes across Europe often), I have all 4 winter wheels, Pirelli Wintersports, they are much thicker thread and so more capable in the snow.

But for UK weather, it is hard to beat Nokian WRs.

What was the outcome of this? I thought you needed ET45 offset wheels with a 112mm diameter for the Yeti?

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