Winter Tyres

[MA034001]

Hi all

The old Winter tyre question !!

I current have 235/40/18 tyres on my Passat, and I am considering just buying winter tyres for the "chicargo" 18" alloys that came with car or spending a little more and buying some 16" steels with winter tyres, say 205/55/16 ?

car has DSG box in so its never going to be great in the Winter ! but an improvement would be nice since I work in a hospital and need to get to work, whatever the weather (without replacing car for a 4x4)

Questions are >>
Car handling - how will car handle cornering etc with narrower tyres ?
Fuel consumption - how will this be affected with narrower wheels?
Rolling speed / Speedo - Will or how much will this be affected with different wheels / tyres?

cheers in advance for your help and comments, I'm still trying to get my head round the winter tyres issue..The way I see it, winter tyres are good and narrower would be better for grip ? but just really seeking more professional information? Ta

[mikeybutch]

I have both sets cos the 16s are standard a lloys on my A4 Quattro.I use the 18s cos they have had new tyres and the 16s are low.I have wondered about getting winter tyres but am not convinced and am hoping that we wont see another bad winter.So far so good!There is a lot of difference in the ride the 16s are much softer than the low profile of the 18s but handling s/b much the same.If you are worried I would look for a set of 16 alloys andget winter tyres fitted before they all go if the snow comes.Best to get 5 so you have the right spare.Steels dont seem nice and there lots of alloys on ebay