Winter tyres

rushers · 25-10-2010,08:02 PM

I am thinking of getting a set of steel wheels and fitting them with special tyres for the winter ( I live up in the Yorkshire dales). As a 'motoring nerd' I would value learned opinion. Would I get away with just front wheel replacement?

**mmvw** · 25-10-2010,11:01 PM

I googled and found this info, attributed to Bridgestone tyres, sounds fair enough to me.

Can I put snow tires on just the drive wheels of my car?
A: Putting just two snow tires on your car is a bad idea. If you have a front-wheel-drive car and put snow tires on the front only, the back wheels won't have anywhere near as much grip as the front wheels. This will make the car much more likely to spin out while braking or cornering. Likewise, if you put snow tires on the just back wheels of a rear-wheel-drive car, the wheels that do the steering won't grip as well as those that provide the power, so the car may not respond when the steering wheel is turned -- it will simply plow straight ahead. Always install snow tires as a full set of four.

**andywell** · 26-10-2010,07:02 AM

Yeah, winter tyres all round or not at all. Grip, handling and braking will be seriously compromised if the winter tyres are just on the driven wheels.

I bought a set of steel wheels and winter tyres (Vredeestein Wintrac) for my Golf last winter and was amazed with the difference over ordinary 'summer' tyres.

I was planning to fit them to my Scirocco this winter but I have found out the offset is different so I'm on the search for either another set of set steel wheels or a 2nd hand set of alloys.

**Frelon** · 26-10-2010,02:16 PM

Winter tyres, excellent idea but only on all four wheels.

I bought a second hand set of steelies for my Golf Plus and some part worn Dunlop SP Winter tyres on eBay and voila! Excellent traction from December through to the end of February (or whenever it starts to get warmer) and my precious alloys are not being attacked by the salt from the roads.

The French and Germans have been doing this for some years and it seems eminently sensible to me. VW even have some nice bags in which you can store the alloys over the winter.

Having said that now is not the time to be looking for second hand steelies because everybody else is looking for them!!

**knt** · 10-11-2010,09:20 PM

Hi,

I'm also interested in doing this, but where can I buy some cheap rims and winter tyres from?

**SC03OTT** · 10-11-2010,09:27 PM

Worth a look for wheels here: http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_t...All-Categories

Tyres here: www.mytyres.co.uk

**knt** · 11-11-2010,09:53 PM

Thanks for that.

Do you know if winter tyres work better on 18" or 16"?

and

How well do they work on sonw?

As I might just buy the winter tyres and fit them on the 18" instead of buying 16" steel..