 Poster: A snowHead
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Thanks for the information - really helpful.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| tyremen wrote: |
| Thanks Harry Flashman, that actually leaves me with a number of questions that could be a bit epic to answer here. If you get a mo meybe you could give us a call here and we can discuss further. Cheers Phill - 08456 807 808 |
Thank you Phill! will do on in the week.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Right.... bump.....winter is getting closer. I have a new Vauxhall Zafira which I need to equip with winter tyres. The tyres on the vehicle are 205/55 R16. the handbook says that tyres of the same size or 195/65R 15 or 195/60 R 16 can be used as winter tyres.
Now, the thing is, I have a set of excellent Vredestein Snowtrac winter tyres from the old car, bought from Tyremen - 2 last season, 2 the season before, but all in good nick (I swap for summer tyres). They are 195/60 R 15. Not listed for the Zafira - but very close!
My two questions are:
Can I use my existing snowtracs be used? Would I have to buy new rims? (sorry that's probably a silly girlie question).
If not, what is the optimum winter tyre size for me to buy, and would that mean having new rims too (the wheels on the new car are nothing fancy, have no objection to using chains on them if necessary).
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Given that your all seasons are 15 inch and the sumer tyres you have are 16 inch then they will not fit on the wheels.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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My suggestion is to buy 15 inch rims and fit the tyres you have. When they wear out fit the manufacturer specified size.
Your speedo will over read a bit and you'll probably use a bit of extra fuel as the gearing will be a bit lower.
Doubtless there will be someone along to tell you you won't be insured as they're not as specified. If it were me I'd chance it.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Just a thought you should check the load and speed rating as well.
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pam w, get on ebay, you will pick up a set of 15" steel rims for about £50. Find some locally as postage will be a fortune even with decent couriers. Narrower tyres will not create a problem, the difference between 195 (the width number) and 190 is 5mm. No difference in the scheme of things. The other critical bit is the 60, which is the "thickness" of the tyre, and as this is pretty much the same as standard no issue.
If you find a cheap seller on ebay that has the bare wheels, quite often they will be companies that can fit and balance a tyre for you as well.
If you don't do that, you want to fit as close to standard as you can, so I would go with a 205/55 R16 in winter tyres, that is a fairly standard size that won't be expensive.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Pam W if you are buying steel wheels make sure you get 15 inch wheels with the correct PCD and offset for the zafira, or better still make sure you get zafira steel wheels.
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emwmarine, thanks. I think I will probably just get tyres - getting a bit more use out of my Vredesteins is probably not worth buying new wheels.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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DJL, thanks. We did buy new wheels and 2 snow tyres originally and used to change the wheels ourselves, but it's a bit of a faff, especially with 4. Would keep my wheel-changing skills in good nick, I guess, and save a few bob!
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pam w, I time my annual service for the right time of year and chuck the other set of wheels in the back when I take it in. They get changed for nothing  Usually do the other change myself on the school car park - nice quiet flat area. I reckon I can get all four done in 45 minutes.
I had a bit of a laugh when I had all four winter tyres laid out one at each corner and the first wheel taken off. A passing dog walker thought I was really unlucky to have got 4 punctures!
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You know it makes sense.
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Just put Michellin Alpin on my Golf from ATS
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I had a local(ish) mobile tyre fitter come round and put my four winter tyres onto my eBay wheels and then onto the car. He was so quick, he took about 45 mins for the job and cost £80.
He used an air power rubber jack thing, very impressed.
Thanks to the snowhead that suggested a mobile.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
I reckon I can get all four done in 45 minutes.
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yes, I probably could, too, after a bit of practice, provided the wheel nuts weren't done up too tight to be undone by jumping on the wheel brace. Maybe that's the way to go, they wouldn't be able more difficult to store than the tyres alone. Hmm. Decisions, decisions.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Much cheaper than swapping tyres on wheels and I believe you can cause some damage if you are swapping twice a year.
Also means your nice new wheels won't get battered through the winter.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
I reckon I can get all four done in 45 minutes.
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yes, I probably could, too, after a bit of practice, provided the wheel nuts weren't done up too tight to be undone by jumping on the wheel brace. Maybe that's the way to go, they wouldn't be able more difficult to store than the tyres alone. Hmm. Decisions, decisions. |
Buy wheels & tyres. You can change wheels yourself for no cost or a tyre centre (or garage) will do it for very little cost - it'll take at most 10 mins on a ramp. However, swapping tyres is not something you can do yourself, it will definitely cost more at the tyre centre - and the tyres may suffer damage in the process. No brainer, IMV
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Back to the debate about summer vs winter tyres in the wet, currently our transit has well worn winter tyres on the front / nearly new on the back and our S-max has almost illegal goodyear vector allseason tyres on the front / nearly new on the back.
With the wet weather we have had recently it has been noticable how much more traction there is from the well worn winter tyres vs well worn summer tyres on wet roads.
I think it would be interesting to test summer vs winter tyres braking distance with ABS turned off
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| tangowaggon wrote: |
| I think it would be interesting to test summer vs winter tyres braking distance with ABS turned off |
Good idea - let us know how you get on 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I like Avon Ice Touring and Avon Ice Ranger. Luckily I have some fields to play in and have struggled to get stuck with them! I have got stuck with some Michelin Alpins in one of the fields. I've also tried the ultra-cheap Sailuns - they never got stuck but don't wear very well.
Out of the fields and on the road, the Avons have been the best value for money and have excellent aquaplaning resistance.
Using them all year round makes little difference to the wear, the hit is the increased fuel consumption. Talking of which, poor fuel consumption on the tyre labels hints at the increased rolling resistance, which helps winter tyres work!
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This time last year I bought some 225-45-17 Hankook Icebear tyres from Tyreman's group, had them fitted at my usual tyre shop (Alba Tyres, Ilkley), and have now done 13,500 miles on them both winter and summer miles. Fitted to Mercedes C Class 200K Estate.
Opinion.............. stunning performance in snow, especially for a rear wheel drive estate car. Left many front wheel drive cars struggling on hills when driving on fresh/compact/ice covered roads, even passing other Mercs stranded by lack of grip. Expected to lose about 2 mpg on motorway/distance driving which is what happens, but still get 40 mpg at 75/80 mph, with local driving losing a touch more. No issues with lack of grip in any weather whatsoever, very good ride and road feel especially in wet and sodden roads. I reckon with 4-5mm of tread left I've still got 7-8000 miles left to go.
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| skimastaaah wrote: |
This time last year I bought some 225-45-17 Hankook Icebear tyres from Tyreman's group, had them fitted at my usual tyre shop (Alba Tyres, Ilkley), and have now done 13,500 miles on them both winter and summer miles. Fitted to Mercedes C Class 200K Estate.
Opinion.............. stunning performance in snow, especially for a rear wheel drive estate car. Left many front wheel drive cars struggling on hills when driving on fresh/compact/ice covered roads, even passing other Mercs stranded by lack of grip. Expected to lose about 2 mpg on motorway/distance driving which is what happens, but still get 40 mpg at 75/80 mph, with local driving losing a touch more. No issues with lack of grip in any weather whatsoever, very good ride and road feel especially in wet and sodden roads. I reckon with 4-5mm of tread left I've still got 7-8000 miles left to go. |
Lots of people recommend replacing winter tyres at 4mm.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Stumbler, Then they must be Southerner Yuppie types with loadsa cash to splash. I reckon they'll do this winter out as I expect only to cover less than 3000 miles. If I go further then I'll replace as and when.
But............ point taken.
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| Stumbler wrote: |
| skimastaaah wrote: |
This time last year I bought some 225-45-17 Hankook Icebear tyres from Tyreman's group, had them fitted at my usual tyre shop (Alba Tyres, Ilkley), and have now done 13,500 miles on them both winter and summer miles. Fitted to Mercedes C Class 200K Estate.
Opinion.............. stunning performance in snow, especially for a rear wheel drive estate car. Left many front wheel drive cars struggling on hills when driving on fresh/compact/ice covered roads, even passing other Mercs stranded by lack of grip. Expected to lose about 2 mpg on motorway/distance driving which is what happens, but still get 40 mpg at 75/80 mph, with local driving losing a touch more. No issues with lack of grip in any weather whatsoever, very good ride and road feel especially in wet and sodden roads. I reckon with 4-5mm of tread left I've still got 7-8000 miles left to go. |
Lots of people recommend replacing winter tyres at 4mm. |
...... a few of whom are the people who make the laws in Austria & Germany. Legal limit is 4mm tread for winter tyres. The best tyres should go on the rear of the car. It is common practice for people with rear wheel drive cars to rotate the wheels front to back.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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and if the French police reckon the winter tyres on your 4 x 4 are not in good nick they will require you to put chains on. 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Tyre Question!
On Mrs B's car we run winter tyres all year as it works for us - this is the main ski car and does low mileage rest of year.
My car has always had summer tyres on and is just me doing 20k each year to get to work - after crashing it (ok bumping it) in the snow last year, I am seriously thinking of changing tyres. Logic says winter tyres and swap around in Spring, wallet says can I get away with All Season and flog my 1yr old summer tyres?
Bear in mind I have about 2-miles of housing estate road to main road which is generally cleared
The Vredestein Quatrec 3 seems to fit the bill
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Thu 14-11-13 12:52; edited 1 time in total
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I have noticed no real difference in performance from the Vredestein Quatrac all season tyres supplied by tyreman on here, to previous full winter tyres I have used. They really are very impressivve.
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You know it makes sense.
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I'm hopefully picking up a Nissan Quashqai this week to replace my company car. As I'm going to spend a fair bit of time in the Alps this winter in 2 trips I'm planning to put steel wheels & winter tyres on. Tyreleader seem to have very reasonably priced wheels and a bewildering selection of winter tyres too also reasonably priced. I see they're a German company, any experiences of them? A friend is a mobile fitter so I'll get him to put them on, I'll get tyre prices from him too, I don't think he does wheels.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Boris, Only my experience so not applicable in every case but one of the specified winter tyres for my car is on a different size rim (16 inch instead of 17 inch) and is consequently quite a bit cheaper. I therefore wear out cheap winter tyres for half the year and relatively expensive summer tyres the other 6 months. Storage of an extra set will be an issue for some.
Another issue to think about is that the recommended minimum tread depth for winter tyres is 4mm and new ones are about 8mm I think. This means that the last third of the life of the tyre (if you use 2mm as the point at which you ought to change) is not really ideal for winter use.
Possible strategy: Put the winter set on for the winter. If at the end of the winter there is 4mm or more left take them off and swap to the summer set. Keep winters for next winter. If there is less than 4mm left leave them on until they are worn out. Then swap to summers. Buy new set for next winter.
I believe that the advice on winter tyres is that they should be less than 4 years old - this is a minor issue for me as I only do around 12,000 miles a year so 4 x 6,000 =24,000 is just about enough to wear a set out. With this in mind we have put Mrs DJLs Panda onto winter tyres all year round. As it only does around 5-6,000 miles we should get reasonable use before they are too old.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Claude B, I looked at tyreleader but - maybe because they're German - they don't even list Vauxhall on their website.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| pam w wrote: |
| Claude B, I looked at tyreleader but - maybe because they're German - they don't even list Vauxhall on their website. |
Vauxhall name is only used in UK, throughout Europe the brand is marketed as Opel.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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pam w,Your Vauxhall would be listed as an Opel, but you would need to be sure you were comparing the same model derivations etc? Tricky IMO
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Their prices are very, very good. Very tempted. I'll have a chat with my tyre fitter mate but doubt he'll be able to get close, I can get a package of 4 decent wheels and tyres plus a set of chains for about £500 which is good for that size.
They do have a tie in with UK tyre fitters and you can have them delivered to the depot to be fitted there.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Fri 15-11-13 0:02; edited 1 time in total
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I have a set of Zafira/Astra 17" alloys for sale, super cheap, bought them for the tyres fitted on them. Don't own a Vauxhall, so it's Fleabay or scrap for them.
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Spyderman, thanks, but wrong size. The ones on vehicle are 16" but I could use 15" for winter tyres. I think 17" would make the tyres more expensive? and I have a set of 15" winter tyres which are almost the right size!
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pam w, I bought the alloys with Michelin Primacy Alpin tyres, over 7mm of tread left on Fleabay for £200 all in, owner sold the Zaffira on its summer set. Fitted them on my Subaru, perfect condition tyres, totally unmarked, better than £170 each for sure. Bargains are out there, I'm quite happy buying part worn, I always check them out fully before I'd fit them, never had a problem with 4 sets so far.
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Ok, have been looking around ebay and there are few packages out there which look tempting.
BUT.................
Could someone please explain how I know what Rim Width I have  The options are 6J or 7J but I only ever order tyres as 205/55 R16 never been asked rim width before! Tape measure guesstimate says 7
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Boris, Take a look at Tyreleader, very good prices with free delivery from Germany. Most of the eBay packages I looked at seemed to be real budget tyres.
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Has anyone used Kumho winter tyres. I think we had some M&S ones on our previous X-trail.
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FAQ
