I would like peoples opinions on a quandary I have, due to it  coming up to winter soon I will be fitting a set of winter tyres on my Octavia estate , I have the original 16" Crateris alloys on the car at the moment and I also have a set of 16" Spectrum alloys that came off a superb. Both sets of wheels are in very good condition.

 

Now I will (hopefully) have the winter tyres on for a shorter time than the summer tyres so was looking for opinions as to which wheels look best so that I can use the smarter ones  for summer tyres.

 

put both sets on the car today and took some pictures , what do you guys think?

 

Crateris or Spectrum for summer tyres?

 

Spectrum

 

Crateris

 

Spectrum

 

Crateris

 

I know this all comes down to personal choice but would like some feedback to help me make up my mind , thanks in advance

I cannot compare against other brands as both sets of my cold weather tyres have been Nokian.

I initially used Nokian WG2's on my 17 inch Proteus alloys, but last year bought a set of 16 inch steel wheels with Nokian A3 cold weather tyres. Cannot fault them, never left me stranded, or struggling on snow or ice.

The car was noticeably quieter than the Dunlop SP01's, (I now have Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance fitted which are also quieter).

I have emailed Nokian Customer Services twice for product information (they suggested a higher pressure than the one recommended by Skoda) and on both occasions received a response within 24hrs.

As said, cannot fault them at all.

OMHO but I would always put winter tyres on steel rims as I find that others corrode during winter and cause leaks around the rim.

I would say Crateris for summer and Spectrum for winter :-)

Personally I prefer the Spectrums

 

 

OMHO but I would always put winter tyres on steel rims as I find that others corrode during winter and cause leaks around the rim.

 

Keep them clean and scratch free and they will not corrode, I personally could not live with the car on steel wheels for (up to) 6 months of the year.

I would say Crateris for summer and Spectrum for winter :-)

Yup. Me too.

Keep them clean and scratch free and they will not corrode, I personally could not live with the car on steel wheels for (up to) 6 months of the year.

 

It's easy to say but not that easy to do. Probably in UK salt in wintertime is used like in any country with certain snow and ice possiblity. Even if the rims aren't  scratched, salt will destroy the protective coating of them. Probably the only solution is to wash the car after every ride but who does that?

Probably the only solution is to wash the car after every ride but who does that?

 

Nobody, but the wheels are painted in exactly the same way as the body panels so treat them the same... clean them with something that is not caustic and ideally seal them with a wax etc.

Another vote here for the Crateris during the summer and the Spectrum's for the winter.

 

The Octavia left the factory with the Crateris so it looks OEM. They never came with the Spectrum so it looks a little odd to me.

 

Which wheels are easier to clean? Put these on in the winter when they are likely to get dirty more often.

Keep them clean and scratch free and they will not corrode, I personally could not live with the car on steel wheels for (up to) 6 months of the year.

We've done this for the last five years and had no issues with corrosion.  Provided you don't leave the wheels in a filthy, salty state for any length of time you'll be fine - a weekly wash over the winter has proved to be enough preventative maintenance.

Steel wheels for winter wheels. Less prone to damage in the event of a skid.

Steel wheels for winter wheels. Less prone to damage in the event of a skid.

Good point, but some of us are to vain for that and I suspect the OP is in that boat as he has two sets of suitable alloys

Spectrums look better imho.

Crateris for summer, Spectrum for winter (easier to clean due to flat surfaced spokes, and not so open).

Before putting them on, degrease and clean them thorougly front and back and wax the front. Then they will withstand the harsh salty season better and are easier to clean. Do that regularly and they will stay nice for years. In fact, if you can rewax them during the winter, they will stay better protected for a longer period (easier to keep clean and better looking)!

Thank you for everyone's input on this , I was erring on the side of the Crateris for summer and Spectrum for winter myself but the Spectrums were taken off a superb very soon after the previous owner geting the car so they are as new with full depth tread on the (summer) tyres. 

This is mainly my reason for the original post , whether I should just use the Spectrums with new summer tyres for summer and get winters fitted to the Crateris because they are between 4 and 5mm depth or put the winters onto the Spectrums and then replace the worn tyres on the crateris with the new ones from the Spectrums once the old ones are worn?

 

Both sets of tyres are 205/55 r16 though the Spectrum wheel is slightly wider at 7J x 16 as opposed to the Crateris at 6.5J x 16, is there likely to be any problems with transferring the tyres from one to the other regarding any leaking around the flange of the wheel in the future?

 

There is also added cost of getting the tyres swopped over.

Edited 17 September, 201510 yr by millser

If the tyres and wheels are all in good condition there shouldn't be any issue swapping them over.  I'd be inclined to take the almost new tyres off the Spectrums and just store them until you're ready to replace the others (but do a bit of research on how best to store them).  If you don't have the space or inclination to do that, then put the best tyres on the Crateris, winters on the Spectrums and sell your part worns on gumtree - it's a popular size and should sell quickly enough if you price them right.