Any owners yet invested in Winters .

 

Manufacturer and at what price for an 18 "" rim.  

 

Best all round performer.

 

Yes I have seen Autoexpress article but prefer horses mouth  actual experience.

Yep. Got mine on. Thankfully the same tyre size as my previous x-type. Continental ts830p not had any snow yet (typical!) but the last few years where we've had a fair dump of the white stuff I've been very very impressed with them.

If temperatures rise a wee bit you can feel the extra flex from the softer compound and the mpg does suffer slightly.

To be fair they're the only winter tyres I've used and I'm sure any proper winter tyres will perform in the white stuff but the conti's are far from a one trick pony!

I've got Goodyear Ultragrip 8s on my TDI vRS, put them on a week after I got the car last month.

 

Unfortunately we've not had great weather for winter tyres with temps regularly over 10deg C.  The Goodyears are no where near as good as the Continental Sport Contacts that came with the car over about 7deg C however the colder the weather the better the grip seems to get.

 

Very good in the wet as well though - was loads of surface water yesterday on the M8 and didn't have a problem.

 

I just wish I'd been able to get tyres and wheels combo rather than just changing the tyres.

I am running Nokian WD3 as per Auto Express and when the weather is cold enough they have loads of grip, but slip a bit when warmer it has been averaging around 9deg C. 

 

They are louder then the Pirellis that came off. 

 

Forgot this, a few on here like the Avon Ice touring tyres.

Edited 15 December, 201312 yr by Dempsek

Dempsek,

 

Who supplied them , what size and price each .

 

Note! Autoexpress quote £100 ea. but no size mentioned.

I too have nokian WR they are noisy but old 18" conti golus we're not that quiet lol seem great in wet cold but seem a bit soft when warm Dry roads heat them up

17" £102 delivered

I haven't got a VRS and used MyTyres for a set of steels with tyres.  Including shipping the order was just over £508 for all 4 wheel 16" with 205/55/16 H Nokian tyres.

 

If you are thinking of winters you need to do all four wheels, other wise the front have better grip than the back and the car can easily spin when breaking.

Thanks for the info so far.

Much appreciated.

The standard wheels and 225/40-18 Conti 2s tyres off my vRS TDi have now been stored in my garage for 2½ weeks and 225/45-17 Nokian WR D3s on Dezent RE wheels  fitted.  Since I changed the daytime temperature has hardly dipped below 9C and has often been 10-11C.  However, the Nokians are noticeably quieter than the standard tyres although the noise is now more of a drone than a roar.  The ride comfort has also improved, but not by much.  Traction on wet roads seems better and performance on dry roads seems adequate, but I haven't tried cornering 'on the door handles' or needed to carry out an emergency stop (that would just show lack of observation).

 

I really wanted Dezent U wheels but nowhere seemed to have them in stock in the correct size.  The RE wheels are OK (easy to clean) but the spokes project beyond the rims so care is needed when parking by high kerbs to avoid damaging any of the 5 spokes per wheel.

 

Tyres were £107 each and the wheels  £101 each (including spigot rings, bolts & centre caps).  Delivery was free (well, included) for wheels and tyres.  Fitting valves and tyres to the wheels and balancing cost £12 per wheel - this also included removing the existing wheels and mounting the winter tyres/wheels on the car.  I shall be keeping the car for 5 years or so and will change from winter-summer-winter myself in future. 

 

Although Continental and Dunlop tyres did receive better reviews than the Nokian WD3 I aimed to keep the price per tyre as near £100 as possible.

 

I did consider steel wheels but that meant fitting 16" wheels (17" steel wheels seem to cost £95 each!) and I was prepared to spend the little extra to have 17" alloys.

You won't get 16" wheels on a MkIII vRS - the front calipers are quite large .........

 

Luckily I can get 16" steelies over my piddly little brakes on my CR150 :-)

 

Continental TS850 tyres this year, I have had TS830 before and they were excellent.

 

Just need some snow now to try them out ..........

17" ATS Radials with 225/45 R17 94XL Conti Winter Contact TS850's.

Unfortunately one has been damaged thanks to a taxi driver in Guildford who forced me up a kerb, it's OK, but there's a nasty 3-4" of kerbing damage to the rim, so I'll be taking it to a local specialist to see how much it'll cost to repair. :(

17" ATS Radials with 225/45 R17 94XL Conti Winter Contact TS850's.

Unfortunately one has been damaged thanks to a taxi driver in Guildford who forced me up a kerb, it's OK, but there's a nasty 3-4" of kerbing damage to the rim, so I'll be taking it to a local specialist to see how much it'll cost to repair. :(

Thanks.

Sorry to hear that.

You won't get 16" wheels on a MkIII vRS - the front calipers are quite large .........

 

Luckily I can get 16" steelies over my piddly little brakes on my CR150 :-)

 

Continental TS850 tyres this year, I have had TS830 before and they were excellent.

 

Just need some snow now to try them out ..........

 

The MK III vRS still has 312mm brakes yes?

 

If so 16" alloys (Vega at least) and steels fit just fine over the 312mm brakes and disks.

The MK III vRS still has 312mm brakes yes?

If so 16" alloys (Vega at least) and steels fit just fine over the 312mm brakes and disks.

Nope, they're 340mm, the same as the current S3 and Golf GTi if you spec the performance pack. You need atleast 17's to fit over the caliper.

Edited 16 December, 201312 yr by Neily03

Nope, they're 340mm, the same as the current S3 and Golf GTi if you spec the performance pack. You need atleast 17's to fit over the caliper.

 

So 340mm only with the performance pack on a golf GTI and standard on the vRS?

 

Interesting. Another whole pile of unsprung weight, which seems a bit nuts considering the MK3 is lighter than the MK2.

Edited 16 December, 201312 yr by cheezemonkhai

I was going to get 15" wheels for my 1.4 Elegance, until the dealer said do not go more than one wheel size smaller than fitted for no problems.

 

So I have 17" summer alloys and tyres and 16" steel wheels with tyres.

 

To be safe then a VRS with 18" wheels should go no smaller then 17" for winter tyres.

 

Don't forget you need the correct profile of tyre otherwise your spedo will be incorrect. My summers are 225/45/17 and my winters are 205/55/16 giving and almost identical circumference to the summer tyres. 

 

 

 

 

Very pleased with the Dunlop Wintersport 4D on my Scout - only slightly noiser than the Dunlop SP01 summer tyres and very reassuring in the snow and wet. 

I was going to get 15" wheels for my 1.4 Elegance, until the dealer said do not go more than one wheel size smaller than fitted for no problems.

 

So I have 17" summer alloys and tyres and 16" steel wheels with tyres.

 

To be safe then a VRS with 18" wheels should go no smaller then 17" for winter tyres.

 

Don't forget you need the correct profile of tyre otherwise your spedo will be incorrect. My summers are 225/45/17 and my winters are 205/55/16 giving and almost identical circumference to the summer tyres. 

 

You can't physically go any smaller than 17" on the VRS, as it has already been stated a couple of posts up.

 

I have 225/45/R17 94XL Conti TS850 on mine with some random Dezent wheels I managed to get cheaply. They look surprisingly good on the car, but there's barely any space left between the front brake calipers and the rims.

Edited 17 December, 201312 yr by TudorM

Thanks for the latest info- now getting my brain around it .

All "winter" wheeled/tyre photo gratefully received.

 

Cheers all.

So 340mm only with the performance pack on a golf GTI and standard on the vRS?

 

Yes but you also get vented rear discs with the performance pack on the golf.

Just fitted winter wheels and tyres to my vRS estate. They're Wolfrace GB DH 17 inch alloys fitted with Avon Ice Touring 205/50R17 93H XL tyres. Here are the before and after pics.

 

Before:

 

After:

 

I chose the Wolfrace because they look similar to the OEM alloys. I've only done a short test drive but the ride seems smoother and quieter than on the 18 inch OEMs.

Edited 17 December, 201312 yr by Gary_UK

Gary_UK,

 

Thanks for that, looks good.

 

I've currently got Pictoris with Race Blue.

 

Do like the Black as well

Gary_UK,

 

Thanks for that, looks good.

 

I've currently got Pictoris with Race Blue.

 

Do like the Black as well

 

The only other thing I needed were spigot rings as the wheels are for Mercedes hub size of 66.6mm and the Skoda is 57.1mm. The alloy wheel seller forgot to include these, but I bought them from Ebay for under a fiver.

Just fitted winter wheels and tyres to my vRS estate. They're Wolfrace GB DH 17 inch alloys fitted with Avon Ice Touring 205/50R17 93H XL tyres. Here are the before and after pics.

Before:

_SDI0203.jpg

After:

_SDI0205.jpg

I chose the Wolfrace because they look similar to the OEM alloys. I've only done a short test drive but the ride seems smoother and quieter than on the 18 inch OEMs.

Hi fella - would be very grateful for a lead to where you purchased the wheels and tyres ? Not found any 850 contis up for grabs. Cheers !!!!

I was going to get 15" wheels for my 1.4 Elegance, until the dealer said do not go more than one wheel size smaller than fitted for no problems.

Sorry, that is a load of rubbish from your dealer. There is an approved list of sizes for winter wheels, based on engine size and physical constraints such as caliper clearance.

My Elegance came with 18" Alloys, but is approved for 16" steels for winters with my engine. With a smaller engine that has smaller front discs 15" steels are approved.

Nothing to do with just going down one size, Skoda have approved sizes for winter wheels and to save on any insurance issues it is best to stick to the approved sizes.

Sent from my phone so please excuse brevity and spelling