Winter wheels

[graeme123]

Hi guys,

Just wondered how many of you on here change there wheels in winter?

I have never thought about it before but since the golf is miles better than my past cars I'm considering getting some or just protecting my 18"s

[danishmkvgti]

I can only recommend the use of wintertyres, i'm using my 18" pescaras as winterwheels but for the first 2 winters i had the 17" monza's and i would say go for 17" wintertyres as the best compromize between grip and steering feel 

[vRS_Pagey]

I have 16" Audi A4 wheels for use in the winter, although not yet fitted with winter tyres the narrower width and higher tyre wall make driving in the snow a much less harrowing experience.  It's likely I will be selling them on early next year though as I plan on fitting either R32 or S3 front brakes and a 16" wheel will not clear the calipers on these.

[gizmo68]

I personally don't see the point in changing to just winter wheels, get some decent wax/sealant protection on them and all will be good.  

However changing to winter wheels AND winter tyres is a very good thing, I did this last year for the 1st time and will be doing it every year from now on, decent winter tyres are exceptionally good  

I am currently looking for a set of 16" wheels to put winter tyres on SWMBO's Golf SE TDi. Just bought some 

[G-Lader]

Hi guys,

Just wondered how many of you on here change there wheels in winter?

I have never thought about it before but since the golf is miles better than my past cars I'm considering getting some or just protecting my 18"s

I've been doing this on my wifes car and my own for the last 8 or 9 years, there is not just benifits for driving on snow or ice but even for driving in wet weather plus, I'd rather damage a winter tyre or wheel than a 19" BBS.

The heavy hit is when you first have to buy wheels and then winter tyres but it's well worth it in my opinion and I plan to continue with this on the recent addition (Mk5). 

[danishmkvgti]

The newly bought Touran came on 16" summer tyres and i personally don't see the point in using 16" for either summer or winter. The steering is so uncommitingly and sluggish compared to 17" and bigger. 17" is IMO the best compromise between steering feel and winter practicality.
And depending on the percentage of actual days with snow on the road there's no need to go narrower than 225 on the golf. In Denmark most roads are cleared of snow during the night so all we have to battle is maximum 3-4 cm of snow ice, and the 225/45-17" do that really well. 

[vRS_Pagey]

I personally don't see the point in changing to just winter wheels, get some decent wax/sealant protection on them and all will be good. 

However changing to winter wheels AND winter tyres is a very good thing, I did this last year for the 1st time and will be doing it every year from now on, decent winter tyres are exceptionally good 

I am currently looking for a set of 16" wheels to put winter tyres on SWMBO's Golf SE TDi.

I hear you old chap and completely argee, I just haven't bothered to get winter tyres yet as I am still undecided on the brakes......

The newly bought Touran came on 16" summer tyres and i personally don't see the point in using 16" for either summer or winter. The steering is so uncommitingly and sluggish compared to 17" and bigger. 17" is IMO the best compromise between steering feel and winter practicality.
And depending on the percentage of actual days with snow on the road there's no need to go narrower than 225 on the golf. In Denmark most roads are cleared of snow during the night so all we have to battle is maximum 3-4 cm of snow ice, and the 225/45-17" do that really well. 

Unfortunately we can't rely on the British Government to be as efficient as the Danish so a narrow tyre is moderately safer.

[paul896]

I would defo recommend them. Winter tires work best in conditions under 7 degrees, and to be fair u can get a cheap set of rims and some half decent tires. its much cheaper then fxing the car or losing a life in a bad witner accident! plus the winters seem to be getting worse with more snow each year so i would defo recommend them. Had Bridgestone winters on the alfa, and they were fine, got some dunlops Winter Sport 3Ds for the GTI so be interesting to compare

[thewez]

I just invested in some winter wheel and tyres. Gone for conti winter contact ts830's, so lets just hope we get some snow