Have just ordered a set of alloy wheels to run the winter boots on, and am about to order the tyres.

I'm sticking with exactly the same alloys for winter use - 17" Annapurnas. And I'm keeping the tyre size the same (225/50).

Tempted by the Vredesteins but think I'll go with a set of Dunlop WinterSport 3Ds - the reviews have been quite consistently good. I'm buying winter tyres mainly for the better low-temperature performance, and ability on cold, wet tarmac, standing water and slush. Traversing deep snowdrifts is not something I'm likely to be doing :-) However, if we do get another really bad winter, I can always venture up the road towards Brecon and see how they really handle the white stuff.

Am very interested to read people's views on how their wheel/tyre choice performs - both in raw grip, but also in terms of road noise and general refinement.

I had Continental TS810 and Dunlop Winter 3D on my VRS.

The Dunlops were far better than the Contis, more grip under snowy conditions, quieter and better under normal conditions. Even with the higher speed index on the dunlops. (VR instead of HR for the Contis)

Was so satisfied with the 3Ds that I just ordered a set (in 245/40VR18) for the audi. (just arrived at the tyre store, will pick them up tommorow)

I had Vredestein Snowtrac 2s on my Sedici and they were tremendously impressive.

Grip in the dry was OK but not outstanding

Handing in the dry was poor owing to the soft squidgy rubber, deep tread pattern and loads of sipes

Grip in the wet was very good

Handling in the wet was quite reasonable as although the car still felt a bit ‘soft’, the grip in the wet meant the car wa surprisingly chuckable, certainly more so than on standard tyres.

Grip on ice was superb considering that nothing without studs truly grips ice

Handling on ice was also much better than on standard tyres

Grip in snow was outstanding and with the centre diff locked, the car would easily go anywhere a Disco 3 would go and could even performed better, due to it’s light weight

Handling was also extraordinary compared with standard tyres

In slushy or muddy conditions the car was also in a different league to when it wore it’s standard rubber.

Noise was a little more intrusive, but only just.

The wear rate seemed very good too (I didn’t drive the car on the Snowtracs when the temps became warmer than 7C)

Edited 22 September, 201015 yr by Lady Elanore

Have just ordered a set of alloy wheels to run the winter boots on, and am about to order the tyres.

I'm sticking with exactly the same alloys for winter use - 17" Annapurnas. And I'm keeping the tyre size the same (225/50).

Tempted by the Vredesteins but think I'll go with a set of Dunlop WinterSport 3Ds - the reviews have been quite consistently good. I'm buying winter tyres mainly for the better low-temperature performance, and ability on cold, wet tarmac, standing water and slush. Traversing deep snowdrifts is not something I'm likely to be doing :-) However, if we do get another really bad winter, I can always venture up the road towards Brecon and see how they really handle the white stuff.

Am very interested to read people's views on how their wheel/tyre choice performs - both in raw grip, but also in terms of road noise and general refinement.

Im surprised nobody has come back at you on this to suggest that as you are buying the whole wheel and tyre option you would be better on smaller wheels and tyres for winter weather ?? (I know sod all about tyres am just wondering what those in the know think ?)

I have been down to see the chaps at Sheldons in Manchester and am about to order a set of Vredestein Nextremes and a set of Alloys from them. Decent replica wheels (S5/RS6 etc) with Audi centres should be around £400 fitted and swapped I reckon (the tyres are another matter). But my thinking is the tyres should last 3 winters and so use up a full cycle of normal tyre wear anyway and this leaves me with a set of alloys to flog at the end of it all. So as the tyres are not a fresh expense, I would hope to get say £150 for the wheels if they are in decent condition, costing my £250 over 3 years, or about £83 per year.

Obviously the cost comes down if you are buying 16"/17" wheels

Hang on a minute - you're thinking of buying replicas now, fitted with winter rubber?

Why don't you just buy a decent set of 17" proper Audi wheels, 2nd hand - then get the winter rubber fitted to those?

Im surprised nobody has come back at you on this to suggest that as you are buying the whole wheel and tyre option you would be better on smaller wheels and tyres for winter weather ?? (I know sod all about tyres am just wondering what those in the know think ?)

Narrower the better as I understand it (thats for deeper snow though which we dont get too much of) but if someone wants to stick with 17's for other reasons - aesthetical ones maybe - then thats up to them. :yes: The 17's at 225 with winter rubber have to be more effective than 225 summer tyres on 17's surely.

Im surprised nobody has come back at you on this to suggest that as you are buying the whole wheel and tyre option you would be better on smaller wheels and tyres for winter weather ?? (I know sod all about tyres am just wondering what those in the know think ?)

Winter weather in the UK is mostly just cold and wet - I don't expect to be bashing through great big snowdrifts. And besides, if we're all experimenting with narrower tyres, you need a control group on standard width to compare to - that would be me :-)

If we do get very bad snow this year I will happily report back on how well (or not) they perform though...

So, if I decide to go for a complete set of 16" wheels with winter some nice dunlop sp winter sport 3d booties on, where would folk recommend I get the wheels from that arent sill expensive ??

So, if I decide to go for a complete set of 16" wheels with winter some nice dunlop sp winter sport 3d booties on, where would folk recommend I get the wheels from that arent sill expensive ??

Where I did... mytyres.co.uk?

Ebay is your best bet, 5x112 PCD wheels are fitted to lots of VAG cars and the Ford Galaxy (as it's basically a re-badged VW Sharran)

You are looking for 5x112 PCD with a centre bore of 57.1mm (all VAG cars have this bore) try to keep the ET as close as possible to the std ET for the Yeti if in doubt use this calculator to see if they will fit.

Some of the cars to steer clear from are (as they use 5x100 PCD):

MKI A3

MK4 Golf

Polo

Octavia MKI

Fabia

there is no reason at all why you cannot pick up a set of wheels for between £50 -£100, even alloys can be bought for this price. Stick to GENUINE VAG (VW Audi Seat Skoda and the Galaxy) and you wont go far wrong

Where I did... mytyres.co.uk?

They are probably the easiest place, but they can cost up to £60 per wheel from them.

See here

Edit: the wrong poster.

Edited 23 September, 201015 yr by Gizmo68

Hang on a minute - you're thinking of buying replicas now, fitted with winter rubber?

Why don't you just buy a decent set of 17" proper Audi wheels, 2nd hand - then get the winter rubber fitted to those?

I was always wanting to buy a second set of wheels as the tyres pay for themselves and the wheels will have a slight secondhand value, it shouldn't be too expensive over 3 years. My insurance will charge me for dropping a size . Besides, for the driving I will be doing, the drop won’t make a huge difference. I think I might be able to negotiate a decent deal on a set of alloys too, so as long as I can flog them afterwards (3 years) for a moderate amount, they should work out OK.

Edited 23 September, 201015 yr by Lady Elanore

They are probably the easiest place, but wasn't it you that paid £60 per wheel from them?

Err, no. :S Im the OP of this thread so all my details (price wise) are in the first post.

Ah here it it is

So, if I decide to go for a complete set of 16" wheels with winter some nice dunlop sp winter sport 3d booties on, where would folk recommend I get the wheels from that arent sill expensive ??

Bought my rim's from the dealer (who kindly gave me some discount), tyres from mytyres and fitting locally for a very reasonable total of £30. This at the time saved me about £40 - £50 in comparison to a delivered fitted package from mytyres.

TP

So Plumber....so I don;t have to read ALL of your excellent wheel and tyre quide.....

You have 16" steel wheels from the dealer - yes? I called my dealer today the only steel wheel they do is 16" - I assume the same one as the one if you order a 'full size spare'

If yes...what tyres do you have fitted to them?

Thanks

So Plumber....so I don;t have to read ALL of your excellent wheel and tyre quide.....

You have 16" steel wheels from the dealer - yes? I called my dealer today the only steel wheel they do is 16" - I assume the same one as the one if you order a 'full size spare'

If yes...what tyres do you have fitted to them?

Thanks

Taken from TP's signature "Winter boots:- Nokian WR G2 205/55 R16 94H XL * M+S on 7Jx16 ET45 Skoda steel rims"

Taken from TP's signature "Winter boots:- Nokian WR G2 205/55 R16 94H XL * M+S on 7Jx16 ET45 Skoda steel rims"

AHA!

Thanks FocusZtec..maybe should have looked a little closer huh

So Plumber....so I don;t have to read ALL of your excellent wheel and tyre quide.....

You have 16" steel wheels from the dealer - yes? I called my dealer today the only steel wheel they do is 16" - I assume the same one as the one if you order a 'full size spare'

If yes...what tyres do you have fitted to them?

Thanks

Hi,

to clarify regard 16" steel rims; there are two sizes available 7J x16 ET45, which is the standard road going size used on the Yeti 'E' (and the alloys of the 'S'). The other being 6J x16 ET50 which is the same size as the spare wheel rim.

Both can be used for a winter wheel fit, however the narrower 6J x16 should only be fitted with the 205/55 tyre size (7J can have either 205/55 or 215/60).

Hope thats of help,

TP

to clarify regard 16" steel rims; there are two sizes available 7J x16 ET45, which is the standard road going size used on the Yeti 'E' (and the alloys of the 'S'). The other being 6J x16 ET50 which is the same size as the spare wheel rim.

Do Skoda UK supply both sizes?

(I thought it was only the 7J x 16 ET45)

Mytyres tell me their steel wheels are approved by Skoda.

Does this simply mean they match the size specification or that Skoda have actually approved the product?

Do Skoda UK supply both sizes?

(I thought it was only the 7J x 16 ET45)

Mytyres tell me their steel wheels are approved by Skoda.

Does this simply mean they match the size specification or that Skoda have actually approved the product?

Hi,

yes they should be able to as the spare is a UK option, however my dealers supply system found the 7J x16 by default when I asked for steel wheels for a Yeti.

Mytyres offer both options with their assembled winter wheel packages, although I personally would go for the 7J as it's the standard road going size and you can opt for either tyre size; which ever suits.

Regards,

TP

Hi,

yes they should be able to as the spare is a UK option, however my dealers supply system found the 7J x16 by default when I asked for steel wheels for a Yeti.

Mytyres offer both options with their assembled winter wheel packages, although I personally would go for the 7J as it's the standard road going size and you can opt for either tyre size; which ever suits.

Regards,

TP

The thing that has changed recently with mytryes, is that the cheaper tyres are only offered with 6 x 16 ET 50 rims. Nokian WR G2 205/55 with 7 x 16 ET45 are £143.00 each and with 6 x 16 ET 50 are £117.10 each. I would sooner have the 7x16 ET 45 rims. I've found mytryes not very good if you try to ask for different options, no reply to emails.

We, like some others here, are also sticking with exactly the same size winter tyres on our 17" alloys, 225/50. We live in Switzerland and still actually only 10% of our winter driving is on snow, 90% is on wet, damp, cold roads, etc.. I figure if the manufacturers consider 225 a good size, we'll stay with it. Sure, narrower is better for snow, but like I said, for us that is a very small proportion of our driving.

Hi T.P.

Silly question of the day?

A 225/50 R17 is shown as having a 657 mm nominal diameter.

A 205/60 R16 is shown as having a 652 mm nominal diameter

whereas for the two sizes usually recommended

a 205/55 R16 is shown as having a 632 mm nominal diameter

and a 215/60 R16 is shown as having a 664 mm nominal diameter

So since its a closer match in size, why can't I use a eNTYRE 205/60 R16 96T XL BSW as my mild winter/cold weather tyre rather than the two sizes normally recommended?

What am I missing here? :S

BTW this is for a 1.2 TSI, that Skoda may decide to let me have some time in the new year, so not high performance and driven to maximise mpg not mph.

Hi T.P.

Silly question of the day?

A 225/50 R17 is shown as having a 657 mm nominal diameter.

A 205/60 R16 is shown as having a 652 mm nominal diameter

whereas for the two sizes usually recommended

a 205/55 R16 is shown as having a 632 mm nominal diameter

and a 215/60 R16 is shown as having a 664 mm nominal diameter

So since its a closer match in size, why can't I use a eNTYRE 205/60 R16 96T XL BSW as my mild winter/cold weather tyre rather than the two sizes normally recommended?

What am I missing here? :S

BTW this is for a 1.2 TSI, that Skoda may decide to let me have some time in the new year, so not high performance and driven to maximise mpg not mph.

No physical reason at all stopping you using this tyre that I can think of. The only issue probably will be with insurance if you had an accident and it came to light you were on a tyre size not recommended by the manufacturer. Unless of course you informed them beforehand and their happy.

Regards,

TP