Winter tyres. Discuss.

[Stephen]

I got 4 sets the same so I have 4 spare for spares and pot holes.

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[PhilA]

Lost one set of rims in the house move and sold one set of BMW rims only to buy another BMW within 2 years so changing on the same rims now!

nice.
see bmw do a tyre hotel?
BMW seems to be one of the best looking cars on steel wheels..

[PhilA]

I got 4 sets the same so I have 4 spare for spares and pot holes.

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aye, good call on the pot holes. late winter is the time they are born, ready to crap all over ur wheels/setup!

[Fluoxetine]

eBay's worth keeping eye on, but probably a bit late now.

I picked up a set of the 'official' BMW winter steels, Dunlop SP Winter Sports (7-8mm), and x4 unmarked wheel trims for £163 delivered back in June

Fitting them on Thursday, as I've 1200+ miles to cover during the next fortnight, and don't want to get stuck in Ireland without them, espec. if it snows heavily in the UK while I'm over there...(!)

[rossybee]

heard rumours this winter's gonna be a bad 'un....

...but then we seem to hear that every year

[Stevoraith]

I've always bought a spare set of alloys.

It can work out really cheap if you have a car with a popular fitment.

My first 330 was an M Sport so came with 18s- I bought some really scabby 17s from the SE model for £100, paid £200 for a refurb and had brand new alloys for £300.

Got an even better deal on ones for the wifes Octavia. As they are mkV Golf fitment there is a huge choice- I picked up a set of new shape TT 17s which had been sprayed really badly for £80. Sold the tyres on them for £100(!) and then got them refurbed for £200. Again, brand new alloys, this time for less than £200!

1series I've just bought is a bit different- hardly any wheels fit from the rest of the BMW range so it has to be new shape 1 series wheels which aren't cheap to source. I eventually found a set of the standard M Sport 18s (same as what I've already got) which had only done 3k miles. They cost me £600 but the tyres on them are worth ~£300 and the wheels are mint so although it's a big hit now (especially when I also have to pay £600 for the winter tyres!) but in the long run its quite a good deal.
Only problem being I do like a wee change of style and colour in the winter but you can't have it all!

Considering you'll pay £40-£50 twice a year to switch tyres it really makes sense to buy a cheap second hand set of alloys. If you buy second hand you'll probably get your money back on them when you sell too....

[rossybee]

Oh, and I swap my winters on the same alloys.

[pshanks76]

Must be close to fitting winters again.
My winters are worn out. Ive been swapping tyres on the same alloys of the last 4 years. Summers have loads of tread left (currently on the car).
Is it ok to keep getting the garage to swap the tyres off of the same rim?

Was thinking steels with winters. downside is rusty steel? Ive a white focus <<
Got a good price for alloys and goodyear winters on the focus from dealer.

a> same rim, new winters, keep swapping
b> steels, new winters, get a jack and storage
c> alloys, new winters, get a jack and storage

decisions!

B, for my Golf I have a set of steels for my winter tyres.

But, I used to run a spare set of alloys with winter tyres on my Mondeo ST220. I still have the alloys in my garage... they're pretty corroded from salt but still round and you can have them for peanuts if you're interested. They're 16's. Let me know if you are interested and I can give you more details and pics.

Only thing is I'm in Kintore.

[Lazydonkey]

I put Michelin cross climates on the fastra a few months back. So far they are better than the mid range summers that were on it before.... Will be interested to see how they do in the winter. Couldn't justify the cost of extra alloys for a 4k car!

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[Jam_s160]

Both our cars have separate sets of alloy wheels with winter tyres on (VW Touareg and Lotus Elise). I swapped our Touareg wheels over on Saturday (1hrs effort and a few coffees in the sunshine while the kiddies ran riot). Next weekend I will do the Elise too. The cost of alloys out weighs paying to swap each winter and summer.

Our VW second hand alloy wheels cost £320 all round / new Nokian tyres £440

Our S3 Elise second hand alloys cost £350 all round / new Continental tyres £490

...and I can sell them at the end no doubt.

Our old 4K Subaru Outback I bought alloys for our winter tyres and sold them for more than I bought them

[pshanks76]

But, I used to run a spare set of alloys with winter tyres on my Mondeo ST220.

Should have said, they're Wolfrace Pro Lite's like these:
http://www.wheelbasealloys.com/alloy-wh ... 9-mph/5081

And I have a set of spigot rings for them. Not sure if they'll fit newer Fords?

[Stevoraith]

I guess maybe it depends on what car you're putting them on- if it's something nice you really don't want to be running round on steels for 4 months as it looks pap.
If it's just a run-around then that maybe doesn't matter so much.

My experience with managing to buy cheap alloys (and then sell them on again for what I paid) means I'd always go for some alloys anyway though.

[Fluoxetine]

I guess maybe it depends on what car you're putting them on- if it's something nice you really don't want to be running round on steels for 4 months as it looks pap.
If it's just a run-around then that maybe doesn't matter so much.

My experience with managing to buy cheap alloys (and then sell them on again for what I paid) means I'd always go for some alloys anyway though.

My car's a bit of a shed, so I guess I'm not all that bothered about running around on steels for 4 months, a la this:



(The wheel trims do a decent job of hiding the steels, anyway).

One advantage steels have over alloys is corrosion - Any damage to the lacquered surface or rims of an alloy (easily done when kerbs are hidden in snow) and corrosion gets hold, making them look pretty ratty rather quickly. You can ignore scrapes on a wheeltrim, or buy another for £20, if you rip a chunk out of it.

[ClarkyBoy]

I have a second set of alloys for my Touring (same car as Mike's above), luckily had them lying about anyway and have some good Kumho Izen winters to go on,

There have been a few times in the last couple of weeks that its been sub-zero on the way to work and I am kind of torn as to when to get them on the car - any one else considering putting theirs on soon?

Its funny because in previous years I have not bothered with winters at all, but now I cant really see the point in not using them!

I have gone down a couple of inches in the rim and gone up a few sizes on the tyre, so it should keep the wheels curb free and provide plenty of winter grip!

[Jam_s160]

Pneus online - Discount code for tyres...
Hi folks, I got an email from Pneus Online for ordering tyres with a discount code. I don't need any tyres but thought some one on here might use it:

PNEUUK

The email does not state the amount of discount - valid until 18th Nov 2015. Applicable to tyres, rims, wheels and snow chains.