General Which winter tyres are people going for

[306maxi]

That's a totally personal choice. If you want the alloys rather than steel wheels then go for it. If you have the money, who is to judge?

Completely right. If it were me I'd stick with steels as they're going to be far more resistant to buckling and if you kerb on you just stick a wheel cover over and it looks like brand new. Cheaper alloys will be more likely to buckle if you whack a kerb or hit a pothole as well.

As Hellcat said though, tis your choice

If you're buying from mytyres be sure to go through topcashback and you'll get 3% off (which adds up when it comes to buying wheels and tyres)

Also, personally I would buy Continental TS800's. Tests have come out since me buying my Vredestein's which show the Conti's to be a bit better than the Vred's. The Vredestein's are not bad at all, the Conti's are just better.

 

[arorat]

Thanks Hellcat, Maxi knows my style now and is good for bouncing ideas and further thoughts... as an example, I would not have thought about cheap alloys buckling.

Maxi.. yes I registered this morning using above link posted elsewhere, going back via topcashback to get the steels, will look at Conti's.

Cheers

Edit : now ordered...

 

[Super Uwe]

Thanks Hellcat, Maxi knows my style now and is good for bouncing ideas and further thoughts... as an example, I would not have thought about cheap alloys buckling.

Maxi.. yes I registered this morning using above link posted elsewhere, going back via topcashback to get the steels, will look at Conti's.

Cheers

Edit : now ordered...

Good work!

Now all you have to do is sit back and wait for them to come...will be interesting to see the turn-around time as mine took less than three days (back in early September).

How much did they come to in the end (if you don't mind me asking?).

 

[306maxi]

What did you order arorat?

 

[arorat]

cheers guys, here is the info from email... postage is steep. btw when I last looked the price was £5 p/tyre cheaper but that was in Sep 11.


Steel wheels with winter tyres (LK 4 x 98.00 x 58.00)
Continental WinterContact TS 800 BSW 175/65 R14 86T
Fiat 500 TWINAIR 312 875ccm 63 kW 11.2010-
Amount: 4 Price: £ 95.90
------------------------------------------
Total VAT included: £ 383.60
Shipping: 39.60 £
Shipping costs amounting to 39.60 £, 4 complete wheels.
------------------------------------------
Total Amount: £ 423.20

 

[306maxi]

cheers guys, here is the info from email... postage is steep. btw when I last looked the price was £5 p/tyre cheaper but that was in Sep 11.


Steel wheels with winter tyres (LK 4 x 98.00 x 58.00)
Continental WinterContact TS 800 BSW 175/65 R14 86T
Fiat 500 TWINAIR 312 875ccm 63 kW 11.2010-
Amount: 4 Price: £ 95.90
------------------------------------------
Total VAT included: £ 383.60
Shipping: 39.60 £
Shipping costs amounting to 39.60 £, 4 complete wheels.
------------------------------------------
Total Amount: £ 423.20

Nice price Weight rating is a bit higher than you need but it's no big deal.

Look forward to what you make of them as they may be what I'll be buying next winter or the winter after

 

[arorat]

Nice price Weight rating is a bit higher than you need but it's no big deal.

Look forward to what you make of them as they may be what I'll be buying next winter or the winter after

How do you mean weight rating ?
I guess they will be cheaper in Summer, how many winters do they last, know its based on milage and road surface ..

 

[306maxi]

How do you mean weight rating ?
I guess they will be cheaper in Summer, how many winters do they last, know its based on milage and road surface ..

Tyres have a weight rating that's what the 86 before the t is

As long as it's a higher rating you're absolutely fine Depends on your mileage and road surface. So far mine have done maybe 7 or 8 thousand miles I think and they're looking good for this winter and probably another.

 

[Hellcat]

Tyres and wheels in car.

Not sure if I should get them fitted right there and then, or just mounted for now?

 

[306maxi]

Tyres and wheels in car.

Not sure if I should get them fitted right there and then, or just mounted for now?

If you're paranoid about your sills and them doing damage to your locking wheelnuts etc etc I'd fit them yourself, if you trust them then it's probably easiest just to get it done there and then.

 

[Hellcat]

They're a good place. Always hand tighten, and actually look for the jacking point rather than just going for the sill....

 

[dave]

a lot of places will use the wheel jacks points for a trolly jack, that is not good

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

a lot of places will use the wheel jacks points for a trolly jack, that is not good

Wheel jack point

 

[dave]

Wheel jack point

jack points in the manual are for the jack you get with the car to change a wheel, on a lot of newer cars if you put a trolley jack there you will do damage from removing paint/rust protection to crushing the car as they lift higher putting more than just a little weight onto one point.

service data will say where trolley jack goes

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Ah right I'm with you. I always use the trolly jack on the sub frames.

 

[Hellcat]

Yes, I meant the trolley/post jacking points - not the sill points for the scissor jack.

I've got the Goodyear Ultragrip 8s fitted. They're like slick tyres for wet roads. I can't believe how much they are gripping. I've not pushed the car but I can feel it's sticking to the roads more.

Perhaps what we now need is a thread on how to care for/maintain your winter tyres? Should you avoid long motorway driving when it's above a certain temperature? Tyre pressures etc etc etc.

 

[306maxi]

Yes, I meant the trolley/post jacking points - not the sill points for the scissor jack.

I've got the Goodyear Ultragrip 8s fitted. They're like slick tyres for wet roads. I can't believe how much they are gripping. I've not pushed the car but I can feel it's sticking to the roads more.

Perhaps what we now need is a thread on how to care for/maintain your winter tyres? Should you avoid long motorway driving when it's above a certain temperature? Tyre pressures etc etc etc.

Just be gentle with them is all I'll say. If the temp goes up to 15 then don't go barrelling into roundabouts and so on. It really is much the same as taking care of summer tyres, if you want your tyres to last long here are a few things to avoid

1. Dry steering. That is the car being stationary and you cranking on the steering wheel to turn. Obviously if someone has parked you in and you have to then you have to, but if you don't need to then don't as it wears your tyres needlessly and puts extra strain on steering components.
2. Braking harshly. Some people (my wife is one) seem to like to do a lot oftheir braking in the last few metres which means she has to brake more sharply and braking more sharply causes the front suspension to dive and means puts more of a load through your front tyres.
3. Drive according to the temperature. When it's 15 degrees and you've taken a long drive on the motorway there will be a fair bit of heat in your tyres and the treadblocks will be quite soft so if you leave the motorway to go onto another road then perhaps cornering on the doorhandles isn't the best. Same applies when cornering and so on.
4. Keep an eye on pressures. Obviously temps are into the high teens now, but if it drops to minus 5 then you need to be changing pressures. Personally I set the pressures when it's coldest. Obviously if the trend is towards higher or lower temps then set your pressures when the weather is more as it will be in the near future.

 

[RobinPJ]

if it drops to minus 5 then you need to be changing pressures.

I'm probably being dumb but which way? More pressure when colder or less? And why?

 

[RobW]

Just be gentle with them is all I'll say. If the temp goes up to 15 then don't go barrelling into roundabouts and so on. It really is much the same as taking care of summer tyres, if you want your tyres to last long here are a few things to avoid

1. Dry steering. That is the car being stationary and you cranking on the steering wheel to turn. Obviously if someone has parked you in and you have to then you have to, but if you don't need to then don't as it wears your tyres needlessly and puts extra strain on steering components.
2. Braking harshly. Some people (my wife is one) seem to like to do a lot oftheir braking in the last few metres which means she has to brake more sharply and braking more sharply causes the front suspension to dive and means puts more of a load through your front tyres.
   [*]Drive according to the temperature. When it's 15 degrees and you've taken a long drive on the motorway there will be a fair bit of heat in your tyres and the treadblocks will be quite soft so if you leave the motorway to go onto another road then perhaps cornering on the doorhandles isn't the best. Same applies when cornering and so on.
3. Keep an eye on pressures. Obviously temps are into the high teens now, but if it drops to minus 5 then you need to be changing pressures. Personally I set the pressures when it's coldest. Obviously if the trend is towards higher or lower temps then set your pressures when the weather is more as it will be in the near future.

i see you finally agree with the point i was trying to make a few weeks ago about winter tyres being the wrong tyre when temps are around 15ºC

 

[306maxi]

i see you finally agree with the point i was trying to make a few weeks ago about winter tyres being the wrong tyre when temps are around 15ºC

There's not ideal and then there's unsafe. I wouldn't run a brand new seat of winters through the summer, with all the tipes and tread depth you'll get a lot of heat building up in them.

You follow motorsport so you'll know very well that there is seldom the best tyre at all points during in a 40 minute stint of a race let alone for months at a time