Interesting thread. I have just put my winter wheels on (16" steel wheels with Avon Ice Touring tyres). This is my fourtj season with them. Two have 6mm tread and two have 7mm tread. That sounds like a reasonable annual cost and it means that my alloys are not going to be affected by salt, neither are they going top get kerbed if I slide.

I have to have winter tyres for trips to the alps - legal requirement.

Just thinking to get a set of winters put on a set of steels for my M-B C180.

Somethimes I have to go out, snow, rain or shine.

I'm up for anything that increases safety.

John

Just had mine re-mounted-Seat Altea alloys with almost entirely wrong 205/55 ts 830s. Second winter for £300 and something all in. (second hand from a lapsed member here.

Astonishingly secure road handling for the chilly months. I don't "need" them but my no claims bonus is better preserved this way. It would only take one better stop/tidier corner to cost many times as much.

Well done. I don't require or need winter tyres. If I did, I would certainly put them on a spare set of alloys instead of steelies, like you have done yourself. Anyway, why do people have to criticise someone who want to retain or better the appearance of their car. If you like steelies fine - if not then that's OK as well.

£572 for tyres + £612 for alloys is a lot of money just to look good. Winter tyres are fitted for a prctical/safety reason, not as a fashion accessory.

£572 for tyres + £612 for alloys is a lot of money just to look good. Winter tyres are fitted for a prctical/safety reason, not as a fashion accessory.

Hmmm - either you can ready this as a compliment for fitting winter tyres or an admonishment for spending lots of money! Kudos for the former and none-of-anyone-elses-business/everyone-is-entitled-to-their-opinion for the latter, I guess!

Safe winter motoring to all...

Well done. I don't require or need winter tyres. If I did, I would certainly put them on a spare set of alloys instead of steelies, like you have done yourself. Anyway, why do people have to criticise someone who want to retain or better the appearance of their car. If you like steelies fine - if not then that's OK as well.

Well said. In fact I'm finding the ride on the 16" spectrums much improved over the 17" alloys. Just a matter of personal choice I realise. As I now have two sets of alloys it gives me a far wider choice of options. Keep the 16" alloys on in the spring and simply switch the tyres? Flog the 17" on ebay? Or simply flip-flop capriciously throughout the year and switch them any damn time I like ? Hey! How about 17" front and 16" rear, or vice versa? Bloody hell, where's the smug face emoticon when you need it!

Edited 4 November, 201213 yr by Ooopnorth

Why don't all you guys that don't care about looks buy two of these? For the price of a 4X4 Yeti you could put winter tyres on one and summer tyres on the other and then you wouldn't have the inconvienience of changing the wheels and tyres!

http://www.markkey.co.uk/nivacar.html

(all done in jest!?)

Some interesting comments!

1. On the alloys, I actually like the Dolomites over the Spitzbergens the car came with hence wanting them for the winter rims. Been looking on ebay for a while but only managed to pick up one (for £40).If anyone is selling at these levels do please let me know!!!However that does help take the cost down and the cost at £150 each new is pretty cheap in comparison to my other cars (my x5 ones are thousands and the AMG ones on my wife's merc are astonishingly expensive - albeit very attractive). I'd say Yeti owners are lucky there.

2. Thanks for the comment (JohnYeti) on Bickertons - I'll try them in the morning. However all the research I've done suggests the list price is £249 inc VAT for a 17 Dolomite from a dealer - that's what I have been quoted by a couple in the West Midlands. If I can get them for £120 I would be delighted. That would make the comparative costings (new) of just over £200 vs £400 for steel vs alloys - in my view it's a no brainer but clearly understand others here who would rather have a spare £200.

Thanks for the information for a new member.

I ran my Yeti on the original tyres and 16" wheels during two of the snowiest winters we have had for a while in my part of Scotland. The performance was unbelievable, especially if the off-road button was pressed. I never got near being stuck even when the snow-plough ran off the road one night. I'm sure that winter tyres would have been even better, but I question the wisdom of going out or continuing in conditions so extreme that I would actually need dedicated winter tyres on my 4x4 Yeti with the off-road button (except in live or death situations)! In any event, the roads would probably be blocked by other vehicles not so well equipped.

I ran my Yeti on the summer tyres in the first of the two recent snowy years, and it was far better than the FWD Avensis I had before. However, it still didn't stop particularly quickly, especially downhill. The next year I had winter tyres on, and while the snow was just as bad the car was far better still - no wheelspin, vastly reduced stopping distances and better handling in the snow.

Added to that (as has been pointed out countless times), winter tyres aren't just for snow - they stop faster and grip better whenever it's under about 7° C.

As for roads being blocked by other cars, or the car behind not having winter tyres and thus running in the back, in either instance you're better off with winter tyres - you may be able to get around stranded cars, and you're better off being hit from behind by a car than not being able to stop and therefore running straight into a river or tree. Cars have crumple zones!

Winter & Cold weather tyres are without doubt better in weather which is cold & roads that are slippy.

The stop faster bit in these threads always interest me.

It was - 4 celsius air temperature this morning, (Ground/grass temperature was -7 celcius)

the roads were not treated last night because it was Sunday & the temperature was too low early and the roads were dry.

(people obviously have not cleared windows or are putting on lights.

Muppets have on DRL's on grey/silver cars without a thought the rear lights are not on & they are near invisible to muppets that have not cleared their windows or defrosted.)

So this morning on Winter tyres i have been out & away out again,

I do no use my brakes tho, well hardly ever,

i winter cold weather drive.

Slow and easy & use the gears to decelerate, engine braking, even in an automatic.

Manual changes down the gear, overdrive button on and off to drop gears etc.

The brakes do get used to come to a gradual or complete stop, but not so as to lock the wheels of slide.

Its winter driving as i have done for decades, front wheel drive or rear wheel drive and especially with a 4 wheel drive,

that is because of the greater weight and the need to keep traction with wheels turning and not locked and the vehicle sliding like a big sledge.

Not teaching granny to suck eggs, but some need to get out onto a big frozen car park or empty space and try their vehicle no matter if winter/colds weather tyres fitted & see just how bad stopping is from 40 mph, even with winters fitted.

Slow & use the gears, maybe swith off the electrics & even with ABS, modulate the Brake pedal like in the old days.

Emergency stops on ice and poor traction surfaces still need you on off the pedal , steer or take actions to stop a collision.

Do not lock brakes or have loss of tracion, you need the tyres turning.

Use the gears with any brakes when slowing, or do not use the brakes unless with great care and thought..

Go practice.

JMO obviously.

george

The deed is done. Just ordered Anzio Waves and Uniroyals from http://www.tyremen.co.uk....£695 fitted to rims, balanced and delivered

Seemed very helpful .... time will tell....spanners and jacks out on Wednesday

I went for 215/60/16.

I did try for Hankooks but no stock

(P.S. Given that the Yeti SE with alloys costs £500 more then the E with steels, I utterly fail to see how steel wheels make a £20K car look like a £12K car - by my maths they make it look like a £19.5K car!

Exactly!

Exactly!

Have you tried that theory with a girl and dress + shoes........?

While pondering winter wheels n Skugg boots for Jana I noticed a couple of things that seemed a tad odd. The steel and the alloy wheels and those shown from TPs' tyre and rim guide the offset for our snow monsters is 45. However browsing for some alloys as an option to the steel wheels....

Looking at some MSW wheels http://www.wheelbase...oy_Wheels__2714 that look similar to the Elegance alloys I noticed that the offset is 48. Not sure what difference this would make to the steering and handling compared to 45 offset.

Other sites like http://ssl.delti.com.../komplettrad.pl show a good range of feet but with a range of offsets.

I guess that 48 offset is OK for the car in so far as it will not 'modify' the wheel arches given 16" and are slightly slimmer than the standard 17" donuts. I'd guess a lower number could end up with involuntary chafing of the Yeti.

Thoughts as always welcome.

Edited 5 November, 201213 yr by Hairball

Unless you're running with wider than the standard 225 width tyres you're not going to have an issue with the 3mm difference in the offset. I have the MSW 22s from Wheelbase (because they were the closest to the Elegance's Spitzbergs I could find in my budget) with 205/55/16s and there's plenty of clearance. The tightest point is between the brake calliper on the hub and the balancing weights on the wheel, with a gap of around 3mm - on any other Yeti than the 170 (with the 312mm discs) even this wouldn't be tight.

http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible_pg4.html has a handy offset calculator that tells you if the replacement wheel/tyre combo is likely to cause issues.

Note that the MSWs are listed on that page as 7J, but are in fact 6.5J. The centre hole is spot on for the Yeti hubs too - I rang them up after receiving the wheels as there were no spigot rings included with the free fitting kit, to be told they weren't needed.

The stop faster bit in these threads always interest me.

I absolutely agree that (especially in winter, and even more so on snow or ice) it's far better to look and plan ahead and keep all changes of speed and direction gentle. However, it's still possible to need to stop faster than expected - for example there's a hill leading down from the end of my road with parked cars usually down a fair bit of one side and a sharpish turn at the end.

Quite often you can start down this hill only to have a bus appear coming the other way - and the buses around here tend to regard every occasion as their right of way. There's no amount of planning that can deal with a bus you couldn't see until you're halfway down the hill. Being at a sensible speed obviously helps, but you do sometimes have to duck into a space, and in such situations having that bit more stopping ability helps.

Agree about buses, we have a similar situation here, probably like you, with cars parked on the downhill side.

In those circumstances the bus coming up the hill would have right of way of course, Its going up hill and the obstruction would be on your side (going down) so the onus is on the vehicle descending the hill to stop.

Where I live the buses seem to think they have right of way coming down as well, which sometimes makes for interesting conversations if I think the bus is too far over my side of the road and I am feeling disinclined to scrub my tyres against the kerb.

I find stopping in the carriageway with just not quite enough space for them to pass often makes them think a bit.

And before anyone asks I have driven stage carriage buses in the past and am quite aware of the issues that that occupation brings.

Being rude to other drivers is not a job requirement!

Unless you're running with wider than the standard 225 width tyres you're not going to have an issue with the 3mm difference in the offset. I have the MSW 22s from Wheelbase (because they were the closest to the Elegance's Spitzbergs I could find in my budget) with 205/55/16s and there's plenty of clearance. The tightest point is between the brake calliper on the hub and the balancing weights on the wheel, with a gap of around 3mm - on any other Yeti than the 170 (with the 312mm discs) even this wouldn't be tight.

http://www.carbibles..._bible_pg4.html has a handy offset calculator that tells you if the replacement wheel/tyre combo is likely to cause issues.

Note that the MSWs are listed on that page as 7J, but are in fact 6.5J. The centre hole is spot on for the Yeti hubs too - I rang them up after receiving the wheels as there were no spigot rings included with the free fitting kit, to be told they weren't needed.

I thought the bigger issue with the Yeti was that it placed the inside of the OE 17" ET45 alloy and 225/50 tyre very close to the damper body. A higher ET would surely start taking things closer still?

I have spent my whole driving life going by the rule, 'Give way to the driver coming down the hill'.

Go to some North East Scottish Towns and Villages like Macduff, Gardenstown, Crovie, Pennan etc & you will understand why.

(many vehicles have little chance of being able to stop, & thats not just 50 years ago, its as true today,

then it was brakes, now it is tyres,

so best get out the way.)

I Googled to see the Highway Code or Rules of the road.

Unbelievable to me the comments like

'Give way to the vehicle coming up, its harder to do a Hill start'.

Well sometimes that vehicle going up, might just end up going backwards out of control so another car coming up better get out of the way, or act as a stopper.

george

I thought the bigger issue with the Yeti was that it placed the inside of the OE 17" ET45 alloy and 225/50 tyre very close to the damper body. A higher ET would surely start taking things closer still?

The slimmer tyre and 6.5J wheel more than compensate for the slightly higher offset (for these wheels at least). If the profile were any wider than 225 it might have more of an impact.

In those circumstances the bus coming up the hill would have right of way of course, Its going up hill and the obstruction would be on your side (going down) so the onus is on the vehicle descending the hill to stop.

I tend to look at it that if the car coming the other way is already in the narrow bit I might as well regard them as having priority - it'll be quicker and happier for everyone to let them through. I am unsure of the legal perspective though.

I have spent my whole driving life going by the rule, 'Give way to the driver coming down the hill'.

That seems eminently sensible.

The slimmer tyre and 6.5J wheel more than compensate for the slightly higher offset (for these wheels at least). If the profile were any wider than 225 it might have more of an impact.

Ah, didnt see your note about them being slimmer at 6.5J

The deed is done. Just ordered Anzio Waves and Uniroyals from http://www.tyremen.co.uk....£695 fitted to rims, balanced and delivered

Seemed very helpful .... time will tell....spanners and jacks out on Wednesday

I went for 215/60/16.

I did try for Hankooks but no stock

Had my winter wheels and tyres on for 2 weeks now - 4 degrees this morning. Tyres are Nokian D3's, seem to drive/handle/corner just like summer my Continental Conti 2's but I think they are a little 'rumblier' over some road surfaces. Anyone else noticed a change in road noise with winters?

Other than a slightly softer feel going into corners my Nokian A3s match or outperform the OEM Dunlops for comfort & grip. They're quieter on the concrete sections of the M1 round here, which is about the only time tyre noise really intrudes.

Had my winter Continental 830s on for nearly a week now.

I'm very pleased with their performance on our frosty/greasy/muddy Lincolnshire roads.

Surprisingly they have much quicker turn in,and are noticeably quieter than the summer fit Continental 205/55/16 ecocontacts that were standard on our Greenline.

Had my winters tyres (Dunlop Winter Sport 215/60/16) on for week. Most noticeable was the improvement in ride comfort compared to the 17" tyres fitted new. No snow yet here in Hertfordshire and it's the first time I'm looking forward to some snowy weather to see how they perform.