YETI Winter tyres - Advice sought please

[Ajhas]

Hi fellow Yeti fans ,

I am planning to fit Skoda 16" steel wheels (7J x 16) together with 215/60/ R16 Winter tyres to my Yeti this autumn.

The summer wheels are 17 inch Annapurnas with Dunlop 225/50/R17 94W tyres

I believe it would be better to buy the winter tyres now during the summer as price and availability may be better

now than in the Autumn. Correct ? .

I have been looking at : -

Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip 215/60/R16 95H K at £128.72 each from Mytyres

or Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip 215/60/R16 99H XL again at £128.72 from mytyres

or Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D 215/60/R16 99H XL at £127.87 from mytyres

or Continental WinterContact TS830P 215/60/R16 99H XL BSW BSW at £119.61 from mytyres.

I have never bought winter tyres before so don't really know if these prices are good or not. Do you think

they may go lower during the summer ?.

Also does anyone have any particular recommendations from the above 4 types.

Not many tyre distributors seem to be listing Winter tyres at the moment apart from mytyres . Am I looking

to buy these too soon in the year perhaps ?.

Any advice or comments would be much appreciated . Many thanks

[oldstan]

Hi fellow Yeti fans ,

I am planning to fit Skoda 16" steel wheels (7J x 16) together with 215/60/ R16 Winter tyres to my Yeti this autumn.

The summer wheels are 17 inch Annapurnas with Dunlop 225/50/R17 94W tyres

I believe it would be better to buy the winter tyres now during the summer as price and availability may be better

now than in the Autumn. Correct ? .

I have been looking at : -

Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip 215/60/R16 95H K at £128.72 each from Mytyres

or Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip 215/60/R16 99H XL again at £128.72 from mytyres

or Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D 215/60/R16 99H XL at £127.87 from mytyres

or Continental WinterContact TS830P 215/60/R16 99H XL BSW BSW at £119.61 from mytyres.

I have never bought winter tyres before so don't really know if these prices are good or not. Do you think

they may go lower during the summer ?.

Also does anyone have any particular recommendations from the above 4 types.

Not many tyre distributors seem to be listing Winter tyres at the moment apart from mytyres . Am I looking

to buy these too soon in the year perhaps ?.

Any advice or comments would be much appreciated . Many thanks

I would urge you to scour all the previous winter tyre threads, if you haven't already. From my perspective, I'm pleased to see you've gone for that particular size, as opposed to the slightly smaller option. You will have seen, in one or two of the threads, that I formed a shortlist which nearly replicated your own. I recall that my shortlist also included, initially, the Michelins, the Avons and, as a possibility, the Nokians...but did reduce down to the second, third and fourth of your own choice. I bought the Dunlop M3's (now replaced by the 3D's in your list) and put them on Skoda steelies. They cost £107 each fitted and balanced. Don't think you'd get them now, however.

Looking at the price of the Conti's and bearing in mind the favourable reports (including the recent Auto Express comparison), I'd be tempted by them right now.........but very much doubt you'd be unhappy with any of those in your list.

You might want to research the ease of getting a single replacement should you damage one.....but I think you'll find a very variable supply in the UK and it will depend on the time of year. At present, UK stockists don't have many as they're waiting for supplies from Europe - and during the depths of winter, they'll all have sold out! So you might just have to take pot luck regarding a replacement should you need one on the quick.

[ginandtonic]

A winter tyre thread? But it's not even AUTUMN yet! :-)

I bought a set of Dunlop SP WinterSport 3D from tyres-pneus-online in September last year, total cost for all 4 including VAT and delivery was £570, so that works out at £140 each, all up.

That was for 17" 225s - and they worked absolutely BRILLIANTLY on the deep snow we had last year. I know lots of people go for narrower tyres, but I didn't feel the need, and didn't notice any problems. I got through drifts where the undertray was scraping the snow, as well as roads with heavily compacted snow and ice, and the grip was just amazing. I really doubt that narrower tyres would have been noticeably different.

But, going narrower might mean you can get a better/cheaper selection of rims and tyres.

[THEFOR2]

Here in the northern parts of Sweden, good winter tyres are crucial. Of the tyres you have been looking at Continental WinterContact often gets the best reviews.

I buy most of my tyres online from this online store:

Delticom

Tyres needs to be fresh. Buy them then you need them.

[rockhopper]

I went down the 16" Steel Skoda wheel route, but used my local tyre fitter for the tyres. ContiWinterContact TS810 at £111 each. From experience I now have 5 wheels and need another 2 tyres for this winter.

The TS 810 were brilliant. I think you will find that pretty much any winter tyre will be good, just varying degrees of difference. All will be much better than summer tyres. (Ducks to avoid the summer tyres being thrown at me from the summer only performed perfectly during the winter brigade)

Having hit a large metal object on the motorway at 70mph, I will not use alloys.....Also having had a side wall puncture in another, I want a full size spare with winter tyre for this year.

[oldstan]

Here in the northern parts of Sweden, good winter tyres are crucial. Of the tyres you have been looking at Continental WinterContact often gets the best reviews.

I buy most of my tyres online from this online store:

Delticom

Tyres needs to be fresh. Buy them then you need them.

Am sure you're right re. the Conti's. But regarding buying them fresh..........in the UK we don't have the luxury of buying them just when we want them as, as per my explanation above, they're either in short supply in the winter due to last minute/sudden need purchases and the majority of sales going to Europe, OR in the summer you can't get them from UK suppliers because they're out of stock awaiting supplies in the Autumn......and everyone else wants them then, so they're in short supply!

[Agerbundsen]

Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip 215/60/R16 95H

Those are eccelent tyres.

In the UK, you don't need to consider the northern Scandinavia conditions, as they are quite different from what you will experience in the uK

[Trevorminor]

I would definitely recommend searching through those old threads. There is a lot of very helpful information there.

I purchased 215/60/16 Falken winters for my Yeti and am very impressed with them. Mine came from Mytyre.co.uk (German based despite the website address)

My wife bought 195/60/15 Hankook winters for her Roomster from Camskill.co.uk and that car was brilliant in the snow,ice and slush of last winter 'despite' being front wheel drive rather than 4wd. She was not looking forward to another slippery winter but found the winter tyres gave her much more confidence.

I had very simple and straightforward transactions with both firms but I think a few others had the occasional hassle with Mytyres.

Looking at the price levels and the selection available, I reckon that choice will increase and prices reduce before we get to the 'panic' season as German motorists realise that they need new 'winters' in the late autumn. There again tyre costs have gone up due to higher oil prices and now might be a good time to buy.

If anyone tells you that winter tyres are a waste of money simply don't believe them. I was quite sceptical but am now totally converted.

[Bobdog]

I've not used winter tyres on my car (though I have driven them on hire cars in the Alps, and on a company minibus when I spent a few ski seasons working in France and Switzerland some years back). I'm pretty much convinced to switch for next winter.

Looking at the wear rate on my (summer) tyres, and anticipating my mileage I reckon I'll be needing to replace them anyway around about early/mid November. I'm therefore thinking of just going straight to winters on the standard 17" alloys on my Elegance CR170, and then worrying about going back to summers in late spring.

Any comments?

[The Plumber]

Have a look at the Tech Guide on rims and tyres;

My link

Listed brands recommended by owners who have used them on the Yeti, plus various links to reviews and on-line suppliers.

Regards,

TP

[roguebrit]

I can only endorse what others have said - they deliver such huge benfits, and peace of mind, in winter conditions. I have Contis - admittedly in the normal Annapurna size, since I prefer to keep the Alloys on - and they were a stiff price. I am slightly surprised how reasonable they are in your quote. i can only say mine are great - but they are my one and only experience in winter tyres!

Roger

[London Les]

I've just bought some 17" winters for my Octavia Scout. I don't think there's much prospect of prices going down before autumn with oil prices and general inflation doing their stuff. I got some Dunlop WinterSport 4D which have just been launched. I noticed in the AutoExpress test that the Dunlops did well on most counts except rolling resistance, but apparently that's improved in the new version. Also one dimension better!

Also Goodyear have launched Ultragrip 8 which claim to be better all round than the old 7s.

As previous posts I think any of the branded ones would be worth a punt as so much better than summer tyres - you might even be able to get the old 3Ds and Ultragrip 7s at a discount.

[London Les]

P.s. Mytyres are doing a May 5% discount. Clock is ticking!

[Ajhas]

Hi fellow Yeti fans ,

I am planning to fit Skoda 16" steel wheels (7J x 16) together with 215/60/ R16 Winter tyres to my Yeti this autumn.

The summer wheels are 17 inch Annapurnas with Dunlop 225/50/R17 94W tyres

I believe it would be better to buy the winter tyres now during the summer as price and availability may be better

now than in the Autumn. Correct ? .

I have been looking at : -

Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip 215/60/R16 95H K at £128.72 each from Mytyres

or Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip 215/60/R16 99H XL again at £128.72 from mytyres

or Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D 215/60/R16 99H XL at £127.87 from mytyres

or Continental WinterContact TS830P 215/60/R16 99H XL BSW BSW at £119.61 from mytyres.

I have never bought winter tyres before so don't really know if these prices are good or not. Do you think

they may go lower during the summer ?.

Also does anyone have any particular recommendations from the above 4 types.

Not many tyre distributors seem to be listing Winter tyres at the moment apart from mytyres . Am I looking

to buy these too soon in the year perhaps ?.

Any advice or comments would be much appreciated . Many thanks

Many thanks to everyone who replied to my post above.

Your replies were very useful and appreciated. I am now going ahead with the Goodyear winters I think

[RO0]

I have some winter alloys and tyres for sale on here that would be perfect for the Yeti.

[bilun777]

I have some winter alloys and tyres for sale on here that would be perfect for the Yeti.

Are they the 18" wheels you have for sale?

I think you'll find all the Yeti'ers will be looking for 16".:yes:

[Sandy.Rogers]

For your info - price comparison at the time of writing:

Wintrac Xtreme 205/55 R16 94V XL

£381.11 incl VAT & delivery from reifen .com

£448.40 incl VAT & delivery from mytyres.co.uk (delti.com)

Nokian WR G2 205/55 R16 94V XL

£390.32 incl VAT & delivery from FebiShop (H speed rating)

£410.00 incl VAT & delivery from mytyres.co.uk (delti.com) (H speed rating)

£569.97 incl VAT & delivery from reifen .com

Continental WinterContact TS830 205/55 R16 94V XL

£567.60 incl VAT & delivery from mytyres.co.uk (delti.com)

£748.14 incl VAT & delivery from reifen.com

The Continentals seem to have a very good write up for European use. Wintracs and Nokians seem to be close in comparison but not as good as the Continentals.

I hasten to add even though I lived in Germany for 13 years I have never driven on Winter Tyres (or Snow Tyres, or Studded Tyres, or Snow Chains) and have only read the 'shed loads' of tyre reviews on the Internet. It did however help that during my residency I was drving a mixture of Landrovers, Ferrets and Stalwarts!!

[Tristar 1011]

Hi fellow Yeti fans ,

I am planning to fit Skoda 16" steel wheels (7J x 16) together with 215/60/ R16 Winter tyres to my Yeti this autumn.

The summer wheels are 17 inch Annapurnas with Dunlop 225/50/R17 94W tyres

I believe it would be better to buy the winter tyres now during the summer as price and availability may be better

now than in the Autumn. Correct ? .

I have been looking at : -

Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip 215/60/R16 95H K at £128.72 each from Mytyres

or Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip 215/60/R16 99H XL again at £128.72 from mytyres

or Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D 215/60/R16 99H XL at £127.87 from mytyres

or Continental WinterContact TS830P 215/60/R16 99H XL BSW BSW at £119.61 from mytyres.

I have never bought winter tyres before so don't really know if these prices are good or not. Do you think

they may go lower during the summer ?.

Also does anyone have any particular recommendations from the above 4 types.

Not many tyre distributors seem to be listing Winter tyres at the moment apart from mytyres . Am I looking

to buy these too soon in the year perhaps ?.

Any advice or comments would be much appreciated . Many thanks

Hi All,

I have bought direct from Skodaparts 4 skoda steel wheels (7J x 16) + winter tyres - Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip GW3 205/60/R16/92H for £699 + £30 delivery. I did not deliberately choose these tyres it was all that Skodaparts could provide. Tyre size comparison sites show these to be less than 1% smaller. The write up on winter tyres show that the Goodyears are one of the better winter tyres... I live 1400' up in the Welsh hills, where we get a lot of snow, and not many snowploughs! - That's about 10 miles from "Llanigraham". Oh, one thing I forgot - I don't have a Yeti yet!! - due December...

Edited 5 June, 2011 by Tristar 1011

[servicepoint]

Sorry to invade this thread but how do you know your Yeti is due in December, I'm asking because I ordered mine 3 weeks ago and haven't received a build week but was hoping for delivery in November. I being too much of an optimist/

[bahnstormer vrs]

I've not used winter tyres on my car (though I have driven them on hire cars in the Alps, and on a company minibus when I spent a few ski seasons working in France and Switzerland some years back). I'm pretty much convinced to switch for next winter.

Looking at the wear rate on my (summer) tyres, and anticipating my mileage I reckon I'll be needing to replace them anyway around about early/mid November. I'm therefore thinking of just going straight to winters on the standard 17" alloys on my Elegance CR170, and then worrying about going back to summers in late spring.

Any comments?

I'd go for Winter tyres in your 225/50 17 size to fit standard alloys; I did when I got Kevin back in January.

I look upon it this way - I want the benefit of winter tyres for better general grip etc. but do not want to sacrifice handling/roadholding by going to 16" rims with associated taller sidwall and narrower tread.

This is particularly relevant in that, for winter use in the UK, the amount of time you will be driving in snow (certainly in southern England) can be limited and therefore with 'normal' road conditions for most of the time I'd rather be on fatter/lower profile tyres.

OK; the cost of 225/50 17 winter tyres is anywhere between £125 - £175 each but then I'm content to pay this price (you have to for 225/50 17 summer tyres so why not for winters).

PS> I've gone in the other direction with my summer tyres being 225/45 18s!

[bohmer]

Hi fellow Yeti fans ,

I am planning to fit Skoda 16" steel wheels (7J x 16) together with 215/60/ R16 Winter tyres to my Yeti this autumn.

The summer wheels are 17 inch Annapurnas with Dunlop 225/50/R17 94W tyres

I believe it would be better to buy the winter tyres now during the summer as price and availability may be better

now than in the Autumn. Correct ? .

I have been looking at : -

Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip 215/60/R16 95H K at £128.72 each from Mytyres

or Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip 215/60/R16 99H XL again at £128.72 from mytyres

or Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D 215/60/R16 99H XL at £127.87 from mytyres

or Continental WinterContact TS830P 215/60/R16 99H XL BSW BSW at £119.61 from mytyres.

I have never bought winter tyres before so don't really know if these prices are good or not. Do you think

they may go lower during the summer ?.

Also does anyone have any particular recommendations from the above 4 types.

ot many tyre distributors seem to be listing Winter tyres at the moment apart from mytyres . Am I looking

to buy these too soon in the year perhaps ?.

Any advice or comments would be much appreciated . Many thanks

I have sent you a PM re.tyres Tony