Show us your winter wheels

[piotrl]

My winter wheels

205/55 R16 - Tekno RK7 Black - Nokian WG R2

[Guest]

Peope are putting winter tyres on now. It's early November.

Winter tyres are recommended for temperatures below seven degree's celcius.

The average temperature across the UK during April this year was 6.3 degree's celcius, with some places as low as 2.5 degree's celcius.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17925527

November, December, January, February, March and April = 6 months.

And I did say up to 6 months.

From Volkswagen's UK website which also suggests 6 months can be the norm...

"Winter tyres are designed to work when the temperature drops to 7C and below. The tread design and compound formulation are better than summer tyres at these temperatures, so they improve grip, traction, handling and braking. The Met office state the average temperatures between October and March are generally below 7C therefore it makes perfect sense to fit winter tyres."

I put mine on at beginning of Dec last year and took them off at the beginning of March because the temps were consistently above 7 degrees and it was like driving in treacle with them on. All season tyres don't all of a sudden become totally ineffectual below 7 degrees remember and in the months of Oct, Nov and March whilst it may fluctuate above and below 7 degrees it typically didn't reach freezing temperatures which is where the winter tyres really add value. Whilst you can quote average temperatures this includes the night time i.e 11pm to 6am, where it's typically colder than day time. Most people drive during the day and less often at night.

[Sonic_Vrs]

Put mine on yesterday. First time I've used trolley jack so after I found durable places it was done in about an hour.

Nankang SV-2 on skoda steel wheels. No idea what trims they are but I like them!

Bring on the snow/ice

Edited 11 November, 2012 by Sonic_Vrs

[OU51]

The standard bolts are radiused. Some aftermarket wheels need tapered bolts. Take a look at the wheel and you'll see what type of bolt you need, or just offer up one of your bolts and see if it seats properly in the wheel

Thanks JulieD, pleased to report that the mytyres steel wheels have "radius seat" holes so my normal bolts worked fine.

[nudger2000]

It's just me, I don't actually mind wheel trims to be fair, but I do hate the cheaper non-OEM trims.

I have an eye for detail and can spot them a mile away. I know OEM trims are stupidly expensive but I think I'd rather pay it than go for a set of Halford's specials.

What doesn't help with the Scout is the dark grey plastic wheel arches, this exagerates the gap between the wheel and the bodywork so winters on a Scout look pretty bad!

Like I mentioned earlier though we all have different priorities, I get the benefits of winter tyres but I think I'd look to fit a set to my exisitng wheels so that I could avoid the 'something ain't right with that car' look.

Agreed. The Scout's wheel arches are less forgiving, cosmetically, when you put smaller wheels on.

These trims will do for now, but I'm still browsing the web for the next purchase!

I guess it partly comes down to cost. 17" tyres and bi-annual fitting costs vs the much cheaper combo of 16" tyres and 16" steels with a no ongoing fitting costs. But a slightly worse looking car. And I suppose you're right, you can't put a price on that…

[easypug]

I went for the Audi A6 option, I managed to get the wheels off ebay from a dealer for £80 for 5. Not a mark on them either. I do have to put up with people asking why I have Audi wheels on a Skoda though. I believe it is possible to get Skoda centre caps for them but I'm not too bothered about the badge miss match.

[JulieD]

I went for the Audi A6 option, I managed to get the wheels off ebay from a dealer for £80 for 5. Not a mark on them either. I do have to put up with people asking why I have Audi wheels on a Skoda though. I believe it is possible to get Skoda centre caps for them but I'm not too bothered about the badge miss match.

Good choice especially at that price, though I'm a bit biased - we have the same on our Octavia! With an offset of ET35 they fill the arches out nicely.

[matt.will]

I went for the Audi A6 option, I managed to get the wheels off ebay from a dealer for £80 for 5. Not a mark on them either. I do have to put up with people asking why I have Audi wheels on a Skoda though. I believe it is possible to get Skoda centre caps for them but I'm not too bothered about the badge miss match.

I couldn't find any Skoda centre caps the same diameter as the Audi ones - I ended up supergluing some domed resin Skoda logo stickers over the Audi caps. Look pretty decent tbh.

[foo]

I couldn't find any Skoda centre caps the same diameter as the Audi ones - I ended up supergluing some domed resin Skoda logo stickers over the Audi caps. Look pretty decent tbh.

I pulled the Audi badges off, filled and sprayed them.

Mine went back on yesterday. Dib dib dib.

[Wardy]

Nearly ready to go on...

Just the usual issue of when exactly to fit them. Wish we had more defined seasons! Above average temps at the moment, around here at least...

[Gizmo]

Be interesting to see if they look any better on the Octavia than they do on the TT… although that would not be hard IMO.

[ChrisRs]

Sods Law strikes again

Both cars fitted with Winters now...Above average temperatures!!

[Wardy]

Be interesting to see if they look any better on the Octavia than they do on the TT… although that would not be hard IMO.

Certainly hope so! You not a fan of them on the TT?

And as they're an 8J and a lower offset they'll work better on mine too.

[Jockdooshbag]

My winter wheels

205/55 R16 - Tekno RK7 Black - Nokian WG R2

As someone else said this car above and the red one look underwheeled. I put steelies on my beemer as by using alloys some people might think i used these all year as i like them. They are too small and make car look like a skateboard. At least steelies its pretty obvious you have winters on but alloys just looks like you have poor taste and couldnt afford bigger alloys.

just my opinion but i like my 18" alloys and dont want smaller ones as they look pants. If i go for winter tyres it would be on steelies or i would swap the tyres onto the current rims i.e get winters the same size as my summers.

This maybe a bit vane but if none of us were a little bit vane we wouldnt have 18" wheels in the first place. Underwheeling a car is the quickest way to make it look garbage. Even steel wheels at 18" look good. Size matters as they say. IMO anyway.

I know we change our tyres for safety reasons but 18" winters are available so there is no need to compromise. If you want to compromise then get steelies and make it obvious you have merely fittted temporary wheels. Small aftermarket alloys makes you look like a boy racer who shops at halfords.

[Wardy]

You're looking at £130-200 a corner for 225/40/18 winter tyres. That's one of the issues.

The other is that you might want a narrower tyre and wheel width during the winter months, plus some more sidewall compliance.

That's why I've stuck with 17" winters. Not too much compromise on size and looks, cheaper tyre costs and the opportunity to run a 45-profile tyre compared to 40 on my 18s. And those are still quite low-profile for winter tyres, relatively.

Plus there is the chance that people don't mind running a 15 or 16" wheel, that is their choice after all

[Jockdooshbag]

You're looking at £130-200 a corner for 225/40/18 winter tyres. That's one of the issues.

The other is that you might want a narrower tyre and wheel width during the winter months, plus some more sidewall compliance.

That's why I've stuck with 17" winters. Not too much compromise on size and looks, cheaper tyre costs and the opportunity to run a 45-profile tyre compared to 40 on my 18s. And those are still quite low-profile for winter tyres, relatively.

Plus there is the chance that people don't mind running a 15 or 16" wheel, that is their choice after all

I fully agree with the above but i just couldnt run smaller alloys on mine. I must be to vane or certainly more than most it seems. I actually liked the steelies when i had them on with my winter tyres as it just looked sorted as if it was in its winter spec. Its the same as when you get a crappy courtesy car, i would always rather have one plastered with "courtesy car" stickers in case someone thought i actually bought the poxy stupid little car with my own money.

Yes definately vanity it seems but then i cant be that bad seeing as i did trade my beemer is for the skoda

[FUBAR]

I have just caught up on this thread and am having a giggle at the what should be now outdated irony that Skoda owners care what others think. If someone thinks I am trying to make my Skoda look like an Audi with my winter alloys or doesn't like them on, they are free to. I am happy with mine and my personal preference is not to go all Robocop and run on black steelies others rather them that way thats all good but to hell with anyone else's opinion on your own car.

[Gizmo]

Certainly hope so! You not a fan of them on the TT?

They are the only OE wheel that doesn’t suit the TT IMO, not sure why as i usually love most 5 spoke wheels.

[Jockdooshbag]

I have just caught up on this thread and am having a giggle at the what should be now outdated irony that Skoda owners care what others think. If someone thinks I am trying to make my Skoda look like an Audi with my winter alloys or doesn't like them on, they are free to. I am happy with mine and my personal preference is not to go all Robocop and run on black steelies others rather them that way thats all good but to hell with anyone else's opinion on your own car.

I dont think small alloys look good on any car not just skodas. As i stated, just my opinion, dont take it personally. Not sure what you mean by trying to make you skoda look like an Audi i dont think that was discussed just that the small wheels doesnt look as good. Whatever car im driving or owning i just like to have it looking its best and small wheels just make any car look tragic. If i owned a car that had 16" wheels as standard then i wouldnt mind it but a VRS just looks silly on 16" alloys. Black steel wheels with black tyres even with smaller rims dont look as small as the same size alloys IMO as everything is black so it disguises the rim size somewhat. As i say its just my opinion as clearly some prefer having smaller alloys rather than steel wheels. A work collegue actually got his winter tyres to fit his original rims on his BMW for the same price as i paid for smaller winters and steel wheels on my BMW so it can be done at no extra cost. Considering his rear tyres were 255 sections and he got the 4 of them for £540 i think thats pretty good.

[piotrl]

As someone else said this car above and the red one look underwheeled. I put steelies on my beemer as by using alloys some people might think i used these all year as i like them. They are too small and make car look like a skateboard. At least steelies its pretty obvious you have winters on but alloys just looks like you have poor taste and couldnt afford bigger alloys.

just my opinion but i like my 18" alloys and dont want smaller ones as they look pants. If i go for winter tyres it would be on steelies or i would swap the tyres onto the current rims i.e get winters the same size as my summers.

This maybe a bit vane but if none of us were a little bit vane we wouldnt have 18" wheels in the first place. Underwheeling a car is the quickest way to make it look garbage. Even steel wheels at 18" look good. Size matters as they say. IMO anyway.

I know we change our tyres for safety reasons but 18" winters are available so there is no need to compromise. If you want to compromise then get steelies and make it obvious you have merely fittted temporary wheels. Small aftermarket alloys makes you look like a boy racer who shops at halfords.

My standard summer wheels are 16 inches, so and winter wheels and tires are the same size

[Jockdooshbag]

My standard summer wheels are 16 inches, so and winter wheels and tires are the same size

Thats not really my point though is it. I did actually state in a later post that if my car had 16" wheels as standard then fitting 16" winters wouldnt be an issue. Your car is not a VRS though hence why i said that on a car like a VRS which runs on 18" wheels then fitting smaller wheels ruins the look of the car. Your car would however look better with bigger wheels than the standard 16" wheels but the look cant be ruined as you dont. That is what im getting at. Generally to improve your cars appearance fitting bigger wheels is one of the first and cheapest mods you can make so therefore the reverse is true i.e the easiest and cheapest way to make your car look worse is to fit smaller than standard wheels.

[andyoctavia]

I have just caught up on this thread and am having a giggle at the what should be now outdated irony that Skoda owners care what others think. If someone thinks I am trying to make my Skoda look like an Audi with my winter alloys or doesn't like them on, they are free to. I am happy with mine and my personal preference is not to go all Robocop and run on black steelies others rather them that way thats all good but to hell with anyone else's opinion on your own car.

Exactly!

Why spend all the time worrying what everyone else thinks - it will drive you mad in the end, and probably end up costing a load of money. We are talking about winter wheels, and whilst it is nice to have the car looking as good as possible, most of the time it will be dark, and they will be covered in grit, mud, snow and anything else the Winter can throw at them.

[Jockdooshbag]

Exactly!

Why spend all the time worrying what everyone else thinks - it will drive you mad in the end, and probably end up costing a load of money. We are talking about winter wheels, and whilst it is nice to have the car looking as good as possible, most of the time it will be dark, and they will be covered in grit, mud, snow and anything else the Winter can throw at them.

Not exactly.

I dont wnat my car looking pants when i can retain its looks for the same money. I dont want my car to look like a skateboard. I also dont want others to think it looks pants either but this is almost insignificant compared to the fact that i dont want it to look any more pants than it needs to. I dont care what others think but i would rather they liked my car rather than thinking it looked underwheeled. If they hate it fine but i think everyone would prefer their car to be admired but it certainly doesnt "worry " me if they dont.

If money is you main consideration then dont buy winter tyres and wheels in the first place. If you dont care about the look of your car then why have a VRS in the first place as a lot of the money spent on the VRS is attributed to the bigger wheels and bodykit etc? You picked a more aggressive styled model of car as you wanted it and you like the way it looks so you obvioulsy care enough about its appearance so why then spoil it unecessarily?

[Jockdooshbag]

If you dont care about what other think then why not fit steel wheels? Steel wheels means you dont care about looks and have merely swapped wheels and tyres for safety reasons.

Fitting smaller aftermarket alloys shows you clearly do care about the looks and probably what other think otherwise why bother with the alloys? Unfortunately small alloys just looks like you are trying but have failed or have bad taste as you didnt realise that small wheels ruined the cars look.

No need to develop this into an argument but the thread is about opinions on wheels after all and in my opinion small alloys is a no no but small steelies looks ok.

[Wardy]

Think we may be drifting off-topic with this one - seeing as no winter wheels photos are being shown

Can we agree to disagree and take it to a fresh post if we want to discuss wheel aesthetics?