(T) Autobahn experience

thought so, how much would this set me back roughly? Just adding it all up to see if its worth it or not

Well all depends on how much you can get a set for. I paid £30 or £40 for a used set of Punto wheels. Have a look on ebay

yeah i had a quick look on ebay, none locally at the moment. Would you say, £40 for steelies, £175 for set of 4 tyres fitted to steelies and £10 for balancing about right?

also, is it better to get 13" or 14" or no difference?

Looking at tyre sites, there's very little choice in tyres for the 13" rims on the Panda so I'd go for 14's

4 Vredestein Snowtrac 3's are £180 and fitting is usually between 20 and 30 pounds. All depends on how cheaply you can get some 14" rims. Just make sure to check in your handbook what width and offset you need. You should be alright with any Fiat 14" wheel but you don't want to buy something you can't use!!!!

It might seem like an expense, but in the end your winter tyres were going to wear in the winter and in fact summer tyres wear more in the winter than they do in the summer, fuel economy can increase because you're getting less wheelspin and you can maintain more speed through corners so don't need to brake as much and of course there's the fact that you're less likely to have a crash or get stuck in bad weather.

You also need to let your insurance know that you're car has deviated from the standard factory spec too - even though steelies make it less deisrable. If you were to have an accident then you might have a battle on your hands pleading your case of improved safety in winter conditions. If you want to use tyres year round then buy an all season tyre, which is a compromise, but not so much as a winter tyre in warm temps or a summer tyre in snow.

It's not a deviation from the standard specification though, it's in the handbook.

hi thre just a quick line to say that snotrack 3,s ARE the dogs wonder,s
and they come in (h) rated 118 mph and they are quiet!
only just taken mine after the white stuff has now gone..

Your insurance cover is based on either a standard factory spec car or if your declared factory fitted exras then those as well. I cant remember your spec but if your car is a lounge or sport trim, or has uprated wheels on the invoice then the insurance company expects to see those in the event of a claim. Granted its perhaps petty to question steel wheels as they are in essence a degrade of the std spec of ''your'' car, and certainly are a safer option than say fitting 17" aftermarket wheels. But needless to say the car isn;t what it says on your order and invoice.

I offer the advice based on both my cars having winter wheels set ups, both factory approved wheels and tyres. When i swap from my factory fit optional extra summer wheels (declared on the insurance) to the winter wheels i have to tell the insurance company. One car's a Porsche, the other a humble VW Golf, and are insured with different companies. In fact both cars have been insured with different companies every year and everytime i ask i get told to advise them when i change, one even asking for a premium !

Its up to individuals to ask the question - i post the advice to hopefully avoid someone having a total loss claim rejected by the ins co saying they'd invalidated their policy. Whether you query yours is up to you.

And apologies for taking the thread slightly off topic - i offer the advice based on my experiences only.

I'm happy to take them to court. They can say whatever they want to, BUT they need to demonstrate that the changes you make open them up to a greater risk. They'll have a hard time arguing that winter tyres and steel rims open them up to greater risk OR having to pay out more in the event of a claim. I could understand if I was lowering the car or putting some blingly 17" wheels on. In the unlikely event that I do have to claim and they do pick up the fact that it's not on the wheels and tyres it came on I'm happy to fight it

If you're happy with that then thats your decision, not everyone perhaps shares your view of risks ?

For what its worth i have 11 tyre and wheel set ups in the Porsche handbook, only one of those is std fit, all others are factory extras and are in the case of both my winter and summer selection loaded accordingly on my premium.

Some people don't declare remaps, exhaust, air filters etc etc - its their choice.

Advice over.

An Vredstein winter tyres are excellent on the Golf too btw

Fair play to you!! Keep the pedal to the metal and fly the flag for our little pandas!!

People will die early stressing about safety all the time. Nanny state! How do world records ever get broken eh?

Do you think when the 'Mallard' broke the steam engine record in '38 the driver said, oh we better back off a bit in case something breaks!!

As humans it is in our nature to push boundrys.

Glad you had fun, I would have done the same thing.

I'm not a safety freak, in fact I chose not to have ESP on my 500, I just don't think it's sensible to travel at those speeds in this weather. Next you'll be going on about freedom or something!

<trainspotter>
IIRC I believe he did. Problems with Gresley's conjugated valve gear running at high speeds meant the bearing on the centre cylinder started to fail.
</trainspotter>

Fair enough, maybe that wasn't a great example, but i think it would be unhealthy for everyone to be too safe. How would our children ever learn. They would not have to think about anything soon, because they will think, 'that cant be dangous, a health and safety officer will have risk assessed that!'

Pottering along at 40mph, I will fall asleep on the motorway/autobahn. This is dangerous. However at 85mph in bad conditions, I will be on adreline, feeling ever twitch and bump, getting to my destination.

Just my opinion, mind!