Winter Alloys and Tyres fitted

[ChrisRs]

Bought these alloys (Audi A6 16" from eBay)

There were in a bit of a sorry state so I refurbished them

Added Kumho KW27 Winter M&S Tyres

Alloys £125

Tyres £46 each

Paint 2 cans (inc. laquer)

Really pleased at the outcome.

We shall now see how the car copes between now and April

[jrw]

Looks good lol! Mine are in the garage waiting to go on. Isn't it still a bit warm for them as they work best below 5c iirc?

[bettsy]

i dont think you had these on when i clocked you on park road did you ??

[Gizmo]

Looks good lol! Mine are in the garage waiting to go on. Isn't it still a bit warm for them as they work best below 5c iirc?

Likewise mine are sitting here ready - but the car isn't .

Winter tyres are generally beneficial below 7 degrees.

Chris have you placed the vRS caps over the OE Audi ones? I have the same wheels for my Superb Combi.

[jrw]

I may put them on over the next couple of weeks - before the gritters come out in force basically to erode my alloys to bits.

[ChrisRs]

Likewise mine are sitting here ready - but the car isn't .

Winter tyres are generally beneficial below 7 degrees.

Chris have you placed the vRS caps over the OE Audi ones? I have the same wheels for my Superb Combi.

Yes. Cant find any other caps to fit. I fear these sticky badges will drop off TBH

BTW..I put the wheels on on because I'm away until Sunday night..then back to work...Clocks changed...etc..

Its bound to stay warm now..LOL

BUT these tyres are fine in higher temperatures as well. So not worried.

Thanks for looking

[Gizmo]

I know what you mean!

I bought a set of centre caps off eBay which turned up all smashed up - BUT the Skoda cap is alloy, so I prised it off the smashed caps (which TBH are pretty crap anyway) and with a little modification stuck them over the Audi caps, not perfect but they don't look too bad.

[ChrisRs]

i dont think you had these on when i clocked you on park road did you ??

No...Put them on on Monday

I'll show you round the car sometime

Cu around

[dilly]

Interesting that you have decided to use 16" wheels. Is that 1" or 2" less than your normal VRS wheels? Do you think the higher profile will alter (ruin?) the handling?

I've decided to buy some Goodyear Ultragrip 7 Plus winter tyres (described as "exemplary" by the Germans in tyrereviews.com) but I want a different set of wheels (since I don't know when Winter starts or ends but I do NOT want to get caught out by that snow again). My Elegance's normal tyres are 205/55/16 but I could run 195/65/15 which would have the same rolling radius.

Its a lot cheaper to buy 15" wheels (£48 each inc VAT at Skoda) and tyres £245 for 4, than using 16" wheels (£61.25 each) and tyres. But these are for the winter and I don't drive like a lunatic - especially in snow!

The question is: what is the downside of using a very slightly narrower and taller tyre?

dillbert

[jrw]

You would have to watch that the 15's would fit over the brakes.

I have got 16inch Skoda Alloys waiting to be fitted. 16's simply because of the price and narrower tyres will be better if it does snow.

The higher profile with undoubtedly spoil the handling but I am used to driving cars with higher profile tyres than my current 18's. If they are correctly inflated it shouldn't make too much difference. I don't drive like a loon much anyway and definately not in the wet/ice.

[Lady Elanore]

I think Winter tyres work OK above 7 degrees, it’s just the soft rubber and all those sipes generate too much heat and so the tyres will wear out at a much quicker rate. I work with a guy who left his Wintrac Extremes on his Discovery until May this year and shredded them :(

[ChrisRs]

These are M&S tyres Amanda..They will be fine in higher temperatures.

I'm not going to thrash the car in the winter months anyway

[ChrisRs]

Interesting that you have decided to use 16" wheels. Is that 1" or 2" less than your normal VRS wheels? Do you think the higher profile will alter (ruin?) the handling?

Not a lot...I wont be throwing it around in the winter.

I've decided to buy some Goodyear Ultragrip 7 Plus winter tyres (described as "exemplary" by the Germans in tyrereviews.com) but I want a different set of wheels (since I don't know when Winter starts or ends but I do NOT want to get caught out by that snow again). My Elegance's normal tyres are 205/55/16 but I could run 195/65/15 which would have the same rolling radius.

Its a lot cheaper to buy 15" wheels (£48 each inc VAT at Skoda) and tyres £245 for 4, than using 16" wheels (£61.25 each) and tyres. But these are for the winter and I don't drive like a lunatic - especially in snow!

15" might not fit...They certainly wont fit the vRS!!

The question is: what is the downside of using a very slightly narrower and taller tyre?

There isnt one...Narrower and taller are better in snow....if we get some.

If I were you, just get some 16 55 205 's Youll be fine..Honest

dillbert

As above

[vRS_Pagey]

Ok, share the secret! Where did you get the Kumho tyres for £46 each????? :S

[Lady Elanore]

These are M&S tyres Amanda..They will be fine in higher temperatures.

I'm not going to thrash the car in the winter months anyway

I’m still waiting for mine to appear :( but as they are full Winters I will give them a few more weeks before chasing up on them. Mind you with the weather we have these days, who knows when the temp will drop. Looking at the tread pattern of my current Dunlop Sportmaxx GT tyres, I can't see me moving much if it freezes

[blueR36]

Lovely mild warm weather today Chris! get some snowchains on as well then we can have a heatwave!

Edit, I can vouch for the fact he is not thrashing it, He is Thrashing his wife's New Fabia VRS while she is away :yes:

Edited 27 October, 2010 by bluvrs2

[ChrisRs]

Lovely mild warm weather today Chris! get some snowchains on as well then we can have a heatwave!

Edit, I can vouch for the fact he is not thrashing it, He is Thrashing his wife's New Fabia VRS while she is away :yes:

:moon:

[ChrisRs]

Ok, share the secret! Where did you get the Kumho tyres for £46 each????? :S

www.camskill.co.uk

BUT..They are sold out of Kumho's ATM

[dilly]

Camskill appeared to be utterly hopeless.

mytyres.co.uk allied with tyrereviews.co.uk seemed to be best.

dillikins

[Wardy]

Camskill - utterly hopeless how??

Look good Chris - apart from the fact they look tiny! Good size for winters though, and you got a good deal on the tyres

Hope to see you soon, and have a look over the car - well, both new cars actually, if they can be in the same place at the same time!

Cheers,

Steve

[vRS_Pagey]

I've used Camskill in the past and never had a problem, can't find any winter tyres close to 46 quid each though!

[Wardy]

Same here, that's why I was interested in some clarification on the comment.

If it's an issue of winter tyre stocks, then it's not really their fault. People will understandably be more wary than they were last year. Demand must have risen significantly.

Steve

[L&Ken]

Me too. I'm finding it quite frustrating to read about tyres cheaper than my own extensive searching has found. those Goodyears for example, I couldn't find any cheaper than £67ish each.

Just to raise the question of what size wheels will fit on which car again, or rather to ask the correct question, or at least the questions which are likely to get the most meaningful answers.

1. Does the entire range of the Octy use the same size brake discs/calipers, with the exception of the vRs using larger 312mm (?) discs?

For example, I know that the basic diesel model comes with 15" steel wheels as standard, because I've seen a million private hire taxis.

If the Ambiente, Elegance and L&K use the same discs/calipers as the basic then it stands to reason that 15" rims will also fit.

2. If the brakes are not common, what is the largest size of brake disc that will allow a 15" wheel? (and similarly, the largest disc size for a 16" wheel)

[jrw]

Me too. I'm finding it quite frustrating to read about tyres cheaper than my own extensive searching has found. those Goodyears for example, I couldn't find any cheaper than £67ish each.

Just to raise the question of what size wheels will fit on which car again, or rather to ask the correct question, or at least the questions which are likely to get the most meaningful answers.

1. Does the entire range of the Octy use the same size brake discs/calipers, with the exception of the vRs using larger 312mm (?) discs?

For example, I know that the basic diesel model comes with 15" steel wheels as standard, because I've seen a million private hire taxis.

If the Ambiente, Elegance and L&K use the same discs/calipers as the basic then it stands to reason that 15" rims will also fit.

2. If the brakes are not common, what is the largest size of brake disc that will allow a 15" wheel? (and similarly, the largest disc size for a 16" wheel)

If you have the 140 diesel then the 15's will not fit as they will have 280 or 288mm discs. The 100 or 105bhp you might get lucky!

[Dexterous]

Looks good, about the same as I'm doing. What offset are those wheels?

I just need to get my tyres fitted to the 16's I've bought, will post some pics when they are on the car.