[Closed] Winter Car Tyres

https://www.wheel-size.com/

You also need to check the wheel offset, eg ET45

You also need to look at the center bore size, different manufacturers will have the same PCD, but may have different center bores.

Just look on ebay for your make/model. There's so many on there it's not worth trying to figure it out.

If the same car came with various rim sizes then they will probably all fit (so the 19" wheels off a Focus RS will still fit on C-max with standard 16" rims). Going the other way, check what the smallest rims your car was spec'd with, beyond a point the disk calliper will foul the rim but that would only be on a sporty car (e.g. the reverse of the above, C-max 16" steel wheels might not fit on a Focus RS).

Unless you have silly 20" summer rims and / or are likely to need to drop your tyres to <15 PSI to get out of snowdrifts then I don't really see the point of getting different rims.

As for the tyres, judging by the reviews it wasn't worth being picky between brands or models, just avoid the chinese ditchfinders. BRaking distance tests might be within 10% between the branded tyres for example , and +50% for whatever crap Kwikfit bought in last winter.

What car is it for?

I recently did this and went from a standard 20" to an 18" and maintained the same rolling radius. All the info i found online from various sources.

If the car comes with a TPMS (gives you actual tyre pressure readouts) then you will have to fit them for MOT purposes. I bought a mew set to save fannying around with removing them from the summer set.

The continental (as in European) tyre and wheel websites have better information on alternative sizes, PCD, offsets etc as there is a much bigger market for them there.

I bought a brand new set of wheels, tyres and sensors for not much more than the summer tyres cost

Unless you have silly 20″ summer rims and / or are likely to need to drop your tyres to <15 PSI to get out of snowdrifts then I don’t really see the point of getting different rims.

The slight advantage of smaller rims allied to higher profile tyres is you just get a little more protection for the rims if you smash through a whopping great pot hole, which you're arguably more likely to do in winter plus a slightly more comfortable ride, though that obviously depends a bit on how much smaller the winter rims are.

The advantage of smaller rims allied to higher profile tyres is you just get a little more protection for the rims if you smash through a whopping great pot hole, which you’re arguably more likely to do in winter plus a slightly more comfortable ride, though that obviously depends a bit on how much smaller the winter rims are.

Arguable, you could smash your rims or cut your tyre on a pothole at any time of the year even if they're worse in winter.

car is a Mini countryman Cooper S from last year. will keep an eye out for a like for like replacement without trying to be smart for a sake of a couple of quid. thanks folks.

eBay search for mini winter wheels got me a used set for £90

Arguable, you could smash your rims or cut your tyre on a pothole at any time of the year even if they’re worse in winter.

Yeah, of course, potholes aren't just for Christmas. I was just saying that having a higher profile tyre on smaller wheel gives your car a little more protection if you do hit a pothole.

Autoexpress seems to agree talking about the pros and cons of low profile tyres: 'And if the bumps are severe - especially crashing into potholes - then there's a greater risk of either the tyre or wheel suffering damage as a result, as a low-profile tyre doesn't have as much ability to absorb the impact as a standard tyre.'

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/102767/low-profile-tyres-everything-you-need-to-know

I'm sure it's not a big deal either way.

Arguable, you could smash your rims or cut your tyre on a pothole at any time of the year even if they’re worse in winter.

Lots more potholes are created in winter due to freeze/thaw cycles and are more easily hidden under slushy puddles too so I guess there's a greater chance of hitting one in winter.

In a FB group for my car, many run the "cool" 17-18" rims. There's at least one post a week asking where to get dents knocked out of them.

I recently went through all this myself. For a Merc E Class W212.

Your starting point is the owners handbook for the car this should have a section with a table on it with compatible Winter wheel and tyre sizes, as alternatives to your current wheel / tyre size, depending on the model variant / spec of the car. My Merc also had this info. on the inside of the fuel filler flap.

Secondly there are various online wheel / tyre size calculators, which will calculate the rolling circumference difference and speedo error, between the original tyre size and your proposed winter tyre size. https://tiresize.com/tyre-size-calculator/ is the calculator i used. Generally you are looking for no more than a 2% difference in rolling circumference between the original tyre size and the proposed alternative size. Some of the online calculators also use the wheel offset dimension to calculate the suspension clearance and external protrusion.

you will also need to consider TPMS as others have said. Most cars registered after 2012 have TPMS fitted as an EU requirement. If you don't have sensors fitted or incompatible sensros fitted then this will show a warning message on the dash which will be an MoT fail.

On some cars, The TPMS will need to be programmed to the car. Other cars are self learning. Fortunatley in my case they were self learning. I think BMW are also self learning, so Mini may well be as well?

I ended up buying a set of New old stock genuine Merc accessory, winter wheel and tyre package combo complete with TPMS for a heavily discounted price off ebay, and have had no problems.

Where do you live OP?

If its not the Scottish Highlands, or anywhere else where heavy snow is a given every year then I'd consider just getting something like Michelin CrossClimates and running them all year round.

Saves the hassle of changing wheels and worrying about all the stuff mentioned above

Very normal for winter rims to be smaller so that's not unusual.
Tyre sizing confuses the hell out of most people as it is a mash up of metric and imperial measurements with the height element expressed as a percentage of the width.
Eg 225/50 16 is 225mm wide, the side wall height is 50% of the width measurement (125mm) and it fits on a 16 inch rim.
Most Owners Handbooks list the allowable sizes and usually show a winter fitment.

I have a Merc Estate (S212), needed 2 new rear tyres, put some Michelin Cross Climates on. That's why it's now so mild!

My dad has also fitted 2 all season tyres (maybe goodyears?) to their spare car. For those of us who live in the warmer parts of the UK all season tyres completely make sense

Where do you live OP?

Central Scotland, but have family up in Oban so often over the hill up there.

most drivers here do -1 winter sizing. Be careful if you think about -2 and beyond on higher spec cars as these might come with larger brakes than base models so the basic cars wheels might not clear the calipers.

If you go the 2nd hand route check carefully what the tread depth is that you're getting. 4mm is the cut off for a winter tyre, under that they are going to be better than summer tyres but in snow they will be increasing poor. In countries where winter tyres are a legal requirement they won't meet the standard, if that matters. Some of the prices people ask for them is a bit of a joke. Yeah it might be a legal tyre, decent snow tyre it won't be.

I'm in scotland running winter's all year round. I'm easy topping 25k on every set I've had. If I lived darn sarf i'd go the all season route.

You're manual should list all the tyre/wheel combos you can run, including the offset you can use. If you want to use chains, check the combo you want to use will allow clearance to the strut.

put some Michelin Cross Climates on. That’s why it’s now so mild!

And there was me thinking it was my fault as I'd put a full set of Cross Climate on the Mrs car before we went to the Lakes at Christmas - and I bought gloves!

My dad has also fitted 2 all season tyres (maybe goodyears?) to their spare car. For those of us who live in the warmer parts of the UK all season tyres completely make sense

It makes sense to fit a set of them. Fitting only 2 isn't a good idea, any time it gets properly wintry you'll have a big mismatch in performance.

The main advantage of getting a different tyre size is that some sizes are far cheaper than others due to sales volumes. We got winter tyres in 195/55/16 for the Prius which was daft because it turns out that 185/65/16 are nearly half the price and a similar size. And the car has an auto calibrating speedo.

"We got winter tyres in 195/55/16 for the Prius which was daft because it turns out that 185/65/16 are nearly half the price and a similar size."

Yup, I had this with both my most recent cars- going one size wider on the subaru saved me something like 30% per tyre, mental. Also it looks better 😉

I just accept that I've got to pay to swap the pile of tyres in the garage over twice a year.

Spent some time debating whether to get a set for my new car this winter as it's already January, but having winter tyres in the snow last year led me to buy a set.

Being able to use an uncleared lane on a motorway, or be confident of the stopping distance, or know that you can drive around an obstacle, or even be able to get home or out of a car park... well, it was an easy decision in the end.

There's much value in cruising comfortably past a Range Poser stuck on a gentle incline.

Tyreleader sell spare rims for a few pennies, which are the right size/offset that you need..

Have a look on Snowheads, often sets on there.

IIRC you're supposed to tell your insurers if you change wheel size either up or down as it can be classed as a modification.

I am mildly amazed that, unless I've missed it, no-one has yet popped up to say that their astonishing driving skills render winter tyres utterly pointless. You know, I drove my 600bhp RWD Ferrari all winter on normal tyres in the north of Scotland on snowy, icy roads without ever losing grip. You just need to drive with regard for the conditions. I overtook some bloke in a Landy on a 10% gradient where he could barely move etc. This place really isn't what it used to be 🙁

As a footnote, in all the years we owned a proper square Landy I did once have the joy of driving my old C reg 90 about 3 miles in the uncleared lane 2, passing hundreds of motorists stuck fuming in lane 1, including quite a few 4x4s who got a cheeky pip of the horn as I passed and my bow-wave of wet snow hit them. Only once in my life but God, it felt good.

Personally, I went down the two complete sets route for the newly acquired Skoda Superb This autumn. Tyreleaders provided the new steel rims to fit for a very reasonable £132 delivered. New Goodyear Ultragrip 9s in 205/55/16 fitted and the 225/45/17 summer tyres on alloys are away in the shed. Minimal difference to handling but big improvement to grip on cold, wet roads. No cold, deep snow yet, just some wet slushy stuff but experience suggests they'll be great. I'm a fan of spending good money on premium tyres; I'm sure the extra grip exists.

you dont need winter tires - you need a landrover

you dont need winter tires – you need a landrover

All that achieves is getting you upto speed*. You still only have the same four wheels and brakes as everyone else, except those four wheels have to stop about twice as much weight.

*it's a landrover so this term is relative

Which is why...............

I did once have the joy of driving my old C reg 90 about 3 miles in the uncleared lane 2, passing hundreds of motorists stuck fuming in lane 1

Often results in the 4x4 driver running out of luck and binning it. On a flat motorway it's got no advantage over 10 a penny Focus with winter tyres.

If you go the 2nd hand route check carefully what the tread depth is that you’re getting. 4mm is the cut off for a winter tyre, under that they are going to be better than summer tyres but in snow they will be increasing poor. In countries where winter tyres are a legal requirement they won’t meet the standard, if that matters. Some of the prices people ask for them is a bit of a joke. Yeah it might be a legal tyre, decent snow tyre it won’t be.

Depends on the country, Finland and Sweden for example have a minimum depth of 3mm, Romania it's 2mm, Macedonia it's 5mm. In other countries (e.g. Andora) winter tyres aren't mandatory, but the minimum tread depth is 4mm.

The tread depth is more to do with clearing water/slush at speed, the bigger and deeper the channels the more water they can clear. The extra traction comes from the sipes in the tread blocks themselves which allow the tyre to grip onto snow and ice a little better. So on a dry but icy road you would be fine with more worn tyres, but on a wet road a summer tyre with more tread could potentially work better. I.e. drive according to the conditions and don't be a dick, no tyre is going to work miracles.