Hi there.

buying some 14" 6" wide steel wheels and I'm going to fit winter tyres to them. what's the skinniest size I can fit on the wheels?

thanks in advance.

Motoract

Have a play about with this tyre calculator - looks like 155/70/14 is the narrowest you'll fit on 6 inch rim.

why do you want the skinniest tyres

i put 175/65/14 winter tyres on mine and they

are great 6 to 7 inches of snow early sat morning

and i live on a very steep hill no problems what so ever

been driving around last 2 days in varying amounts of

snow and ice and they have been brilliant no slding

around at all

came home for lunch and spent 45 minutes of it

watching 2 people trying to drive and push a brand new fiesta

up my hill then got in car and drove up wihout any fuss

Have a play about with this tyre calculator - looks like 155/70/14 is the narrowest you'll fit on 6 inch rim.

A 6j rim will accept tyre widths between 175-195

175/70/14's it is then. what do we reckon?

165/70 R14 is a stock size used by Skoda on this rim so probably the best one to go for.

.... because narrower tyres work better in snow

I will opt for 175/65/14 as that will be a closer match to 185/60/14

165/70 R14 is a stock size used by Skoda on this rim so probably the best one to go for.

Thats for the 5j rim, stock size for the 6j is 185/60/14

.... because narrower tyres work better in snow

Not all snow. Look at the monsters they put on vehicles that work in the North (think of the daft Hi Lux jobbies that Top Gear use) also snow shoes are designed to spread the load. personally I think it depends if you want to sit on the snow and grip it with your sipes, or dig right through it until you hit something solid, or even dig in and use the tyre like a skaters blade to help in turning. All imho of course and one of the reasons I stick to the OE tyres size when I buy Winter tyres. I want plenty of grip when I am driving on fast roads in perfectly dry conditions too

You might want to consider 'what very popular size will fit', as popular sizes are cheaper.

You might want to consider 'what very popular size will fit', as popular sizes are cheaper.

Excellent advice.

Thats for the 5j rim, stock size for the 6j is 185/60/14

Ah, fair enough. Well, I used them on 6J rims for chucking on the back of the mongrel when at the pod

Got my 185/60R14 Vredestein Snowtrac 3's at £56.00 a corner from Tyremen last Weds and fitted the same day by my friends Garage. Instantly noticed the better grip and shorter breaking distances in the colder weather. Mixture of Snow and Ice around where I live and so far they have been faultless.

In this country we don't tend to get drifts of soft snow several feet deep thaaaaat often so getting tyres that will sit on top of the snow isn't really that sensible. Also, to get something that would provide enough traction while sitting on top of snow you would really need to be getting proper knobbly 4x4 tyres. For the kind of snow we get the conventional logic is that the thinner the tyres the better.

In this country we don't tend to get drifts of soft snow several feet deep thaaaaat often so getting tyres that will sit on top of the snow isn't really that sensible. Also, to get something that would provide enough traction while sitting on top of snow you would really need to be getting proper knobbly 4x4 tyres. For the kind of snow we get the conventional logic is that the thinner the tyres the better.

All those extra sipes on winter tyres pinch the snow as the wheel moves over it. More sipes means more grip, so going for a narrower tyre or an aggressive knobbly tyre can work against you if it churns up the snow instead of finding purchase on it. Plus apart form the fe occasions where I need to find grip on snow, the other 99% of the time I need a tyre that grips the tarmac and skinny/knobbly tyres just won't be as safe :(

All those extra sipes on winter tyres pinch the snow as the wheel moves over it. More sipes means more grip, so going for a narrower tyre or an aggressive knobbly tyre can work against you if it churns up the snow instead of finding purchase on it. Plus apart form the fe occasions where I need to find grip on snow, the other 99% of the time I need a tyre that grips the tarmac and skinny/knobbly tyres just won't be as safe :(

Winter tyres don't have spikes. You don't want to be sat on top of slushy shoite, you want to be on the tarmac underneath really, hence narrow tyres. Won't be as grippy on dry roads no, but narrow winter tyres will be better than wide summer tyres throughout the winter months.

Winter tyres don't have spikes.

Did you misread sipes as spikes?

Winter tyres don't have spikes. You don't want to be sat on top of slushy shoite, you want to be on the tarmac underneath really, hence narrow tyres. Won't be as grippy on dry roads no, but narrow winter tyres will be better than wide summer tyres throughout the winter months.

I didn't say 'spikes' I said 'SIPES'. Part of the reason that winter tyres work. If you have narrow tyres you have less sipes.

I know that in slushy conditions I wont take my road bicycle out with it's narrow tyres, I will take my mountain bike out , with it's broader tyres. Plus as I have said before, i don't want to running round for 99% of the time on Robin Reliant tyres on dry or damp roads, which is what happens for most of us during a typical winter,