I do agree. Changing back from summer to stock winters made a lot of difference on my TA trekking. Consumption went up about 0,5l/100km, it's noisier and less confortable. Summers gave a much smoother ride. Can't wait to put them back

The Traction+ is awsome btw. It gives you much smoother ride then just ESC. I do recomend using it in icy/snow conditions.

mantababe said:

this is a silly question but is it expensive to get someone to change them for you?? and Ringa you store them in a shed, any precautions you need to do for that? or are they just fine put in there...

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It shouldn't cost more than a few ££ per corner to change them over, as they shouldn't need rebalancing. I do my own - it takes me about an hour to do all 4, but I don't have any power tools to put the wheel bolts on, and I stop for coffee!

They should be fine in a shed. Make sure you don't scuff the edges of the alloys (I put some sheets of polystyrene foam between mine) and remember to check the pressures when you refit them.

As others have said, running 2 sets of rims shouldn't cost you more over the lifetime of the car, provided you don't renew both sets of tyres just before you sell it

The main cost is buying a spare set of rims for the winter tyres, but if you use steel ones, they shouldn't cost much. I bought a set of steel rims second-hand off ebay for my DS3, and I paid under £100 for all 4, with a good set of Michelin tyres on them, which I then got over 25k miles from. Ker-Ching!

mantababe said:

this is a silly question but is it expensive to get someone to change them for you?? and Ringa you store them in a shed, any precautions you need to do for that? or are they just fine put in there....

so sorry for all these questions ive not had a decent car for years and i mean years, and i want get things right

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I pay € 57,50 Euro's for, changing, cleaning, balancing and storage, and that two time a year, spring and autumn.

The Pretender said:

I pay € 57,50 Euro's for, changing, cleaning, balancing and storage, and that two time a year, spring and autumn.

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thats bl@@dy good esp the storage part, ive got a shed but not sure i really want them in there

The storage is clean, dry and heated.

Unfortunately, tyre dealers in the UK are not so geared up for storing winter tyres for their customers, but that sounds about right for fitting and refitting, and if you replace each wheel on the same axle that it came off, you shouldn't need to have them rebalanced

so being a complete thickhead where cars are concerned what sort of wheels should i be looking for to put the summer tyres on?

I'd think before investing in summer wheels and tyres.
It's probably universally accepted that if you live in climates such as ours that if you only run one set of tyres that they should be winter/cold weather tyres, and you'll already have them.
As the video and the web link show a few posts back winter tyres make a massive improvement in the right conditions, but they aren't too far off the pace in warm weather.

I have 2 sets of wheels and tyres for my panda. The 1st set were the alloys with the continental cross contact winter tyres as supplied for the factory on all 4x4 (not cross) and trekking models.
My second set are the Fiat accessory wheels which are the same as fitted to the Panda Antarctica. If you've not seen them they are just like the standard alloys but painted in a satin grey and then diamond turned for shiny spoke. They look lovely. That's the main reason I went for them.
I also figured that I'd be saving my winter tread for when it's most needed. If you didn't know, winter tyres have little groves cut in the tread called sipes (I always think of most easterly pandas when we talk of this, haha) which grip into the snow and massively enhance grip. These wear away by around 4mm so its best to replace them by then if you are driving on snow.

As for economy, I've found that I get approx 5% better with the summer wheels, they have Michelin energy saver on them. However, all cars use more juice in colder weather so there's that to take into account.
Personally I think economy is not a good reason to buy summer tyres.
If you only have one set of rims, the cost of switching the rubber over twice a year will greatly outweigh any savings made from better mpg on the summer tyres and wear on the winter tyres.

If you still do want a second summer tyre and wheel set, you can buy complete steel sets from mytyres.com but they may not look as good as your alloys (unknown as they may look great as I've seen some cars with steels that look great, I've yet to see a Panda trekking/4x4) or you could go the accessory route like I did.
You could buy aftermarket alloys, but then that may bring insurance issues as some insurers shy away from any so called "modification"

You final option is you could buy my summer set of wheels and tyres if I do indeed ever get round to selling my 4x4. That may never happen though?

You final option is you could buy my summer set of wheels and tyres if I do indeed ever get round to selling my 4x4. That may never happen though? [/QUOTE]

now i think you should go and buy yourself a lovely 4x4 no ulterior motive of course :idea:

I use two sets of tyres and one alloys. It costs me 20€ to switch :shrug: