Winter Weather tyres & wheels recommendations?

[bstginger]

Have a 2014 Octavia Estate 1.4. 

 

Current tyres 205/55/r16 91V

 

Am doing more cross country driving so want to swap out tyres for winter ones.

 

Anyone else done same? Could do with looking at recommendations - looking to buy wheels as well & storage for the summer ones.

[BigEjit]

Loads of discussions on here already.

 

Or check this out...

(Its still relevant)

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2016-Winter-Tyre-Guide.htm

 

[Gabbo]

If you have 16" wheels you first have a choice between steel wheels (cheaper) or another set of alloy.

You cant really go wrong with any premium brand of winter tyre.

 

Best way to give you an idea is to go on one of the tyre websites as often they will sell Wheel & tyre sets.

Put in your registration of Octavia détails & they will show you only wheels & tyres which are approved for your car.

You can have them delivered to your house to fit yourself or to a garage to have them swapped.

 

For storage, I bought a set of teh Skoda tyre bags (only about €30 from the Skoda dealer) and look really good & used a cheap €10 tyre tree to hold them.

[Gabbo]

These are the Tyre bags I bought

http://eshop.skoda-auto.com/cz/en/b2c/set-of-complete-wheel-covers-000073900bx

 

[logiclee]

Done the swap for the last ten years.

 

Now just fit Cross Climates and worry not.

 

Lee

[Trilogy]

Here are some links that may be of help.

 

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2018-Auto-Bild-Winter-Tyre-Test.htm

 

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2018-ADAC-Winter-Tyre-Test-205-55-R16.htm

 

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/winter-driving-special/93097/winter-tyres-test-best-tyre-brands-reviewed

 

Continental have come out top for the past few years but are very expensive.

The Hankook Winter icept RS2 is well regarded and is a good mid-price option and will probably buy them for the wife's car this year.

 

Although some swear by them, I personally would avoid the cheap Chinese tyres. Take a look at Auto Bild's wet braking tests to see why.

 

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2018-51-Winter-Tyre-Shootout.htm

 

Your choice will be dictated by your own personal set of circumstances.

 

I hope this will be of some help.

[ScoutCJB]

Hi bstginger,

 

I've got a set of summer alloys with Uniroyal Rainsport 3's and a set of Winter alloys with Continental Wintercontact TS860.

I opted for a second set of alloys as the standard rims on my Scout needed a refurb but I really wanted the Nivalis rims - I scored a deal on the Nivalis and stuck the Uniroyals on those.

 

The Contis aren't cheap but are very good and came out on top in the tyre test over the last few years.  It's not all about the traction, braking is just as important - there's enough on line vids you can watch.  Stick with known brands and look at the tyre tests, I would personally avoid anything budget.  As stated above look at the wet breaking/aqua planning tests of budget tyres.

 

I do a lot of cross country driving and can be on the road very early in the morning and over the winter months when it gets cold the traffic often hasn't had chance to break the grit in and the roads can be frosty / icy.  I've no idea what this winter will bring but if your going to do it don't wait till the cold weather hits as the prices can suddenly go up!

[carrock]

16 hours ago, logiclee said:

Done the swap for the last ten years.

 

Now just fit Cross Climates and worry not.

 

Lee

 

Exactly.

 

Cross Climate Plus tyres are almost as good as full winters. 

 

I have an Audi Quattro which still has a set of winter wheels and tyres, for high powered cars with large wheels its a compromise too far, but for a less powerful car with smaller wheels it really is sensible to just run Cross Climates all year round. Plus they are quiet and last for ages

 

[skippy41]

Have always fitted cross climates, since they have been available to my taxis, have done 30 K on the ones on my 1.4 tsi so far, they are at 3 mil front and 4 mil rear at the moment, will soon be getting new ones, and keeping 2 as spares

[penguin17]

17 hours ago, logiclee said:

Done the swap for the last ten years.

 

Now just fit Cross Climates and worry not.

 

Lee

+1.  I've ran separate Summer/Winter tyres/wheels for a few years and found it a ball ache.  I've been running all-season tyres for the last year and so far I can't actually say I've found the limits of the tyre across a range of conditions.  I've definitely not regretted switching to running one set of tyres all year.   I have Vredestein Quatrac 5's on my Superb. 

 

I've just fitted GY Vector 4 Seasons G2 to my wife's Golf GTI.  It was a toss up between those and the Cross Climates but I went for the GY's as they are meant to be a more Winter biased all-season tyre which is likely better for the road/weather conditions we get around the local area.   They feel pretty good so far and wet and dry braking in particular feels far superior to the Conti SC 5' which were on the Golf previously. 

 

I still think there's a strong case for using dedicated Winter tyres but only if you live in an area that is subjected to the extremes of Winter weather which we get in the UK and you NEED to keep mobile. 

[Rodge]

I'm still waiting for the original tyres on my 3yo car to wear out so that I can fit some Cross Climates. :-(

[bstginger]

All really useful comments - thank-you all. 

 

I live in the south so always felt winter tyres were overkill until I nearly ended up in a ditch last winter. Last job and my new job both mean I travel around 20 miles each way on small country roads that are notorious the moment temperature gets around freezing. My wife has a shorter but similar journey and I want her to be safe. Reading comments and thinking practically, cross climates are definitely the way to go for me and you've given me some good suggestions of which to look at. 

[AGFalco]

I have run the Vredestein Quatrac 5's for several years and also find them good.

 

Thanks AG Falco