check out these 16i wheels, are they cool or not cool ?

[scottm72]

edit,,,,, look on last page for edited title ,,,,,,


was in my mk5 today and I am running 18 inch brand new goodyear eagle f1 asym 2s, brilliant tyre, really pleased with them and only 2 months old - but - in the snow,,, wow,,, useless.
was travelling on a very slight hill going to turn right and was doing about 5-10mph coming to the junction, very light press on brakes and the abs kicked in and I just kept going,,, nearly got hit by a car going along the road, another 10 yards by that lady and it would have been a crash, had my wife and 2 kids in the car as well, 6 and 3 years old.
couldn't believe it, I have ran snow tyres on my old mk4 for years and they are very good, 15 inch on the mk4 and still run them on the wifes car all year round.
could not believe how bad my tyres are in the snow today, also followed the wife to take her car to the garage just after it and she was driving my car very carefully after that scare, she approached a main junction also doing no more than 5mph and the same happened, I seen the car sliding sideways,,, the snow is only just on the ground and is not deep in any way, in fact driving her car with the snow tyres on behind her was the same response in her car to the dry, that's how minor the snow on the ground was.
what is going on,,,, I know going from 15s to 18s makes it slippier in the snow but by that much ?
anyway I need to sort this quick
rather an buying 18inch tyres I am thinking of buying 16 inch wheels with snow tyres on them, just so happens when I dropped the wifes car off the mechanic told me a guy is selling black steel wheels brand new with 2 month old tryes on them as he used them last year in the snow and is now selling his car.
the car he had was a gt tdi and he ran 18s in the summer and these in the winter.
my first question is am I right in thinking if I drop to the 16s they will be better in the snow instead of buying 18 inch snow tyres.
secondly, will these fit on my car ok with the drop in size, especially with my red calipers, my car is stock by the way and has not been lowered etc.
thirdly, the type of tyres he has on them are 205/55/16 vredistein snowtrack 3s,,, is this a decent snow tyre as im used to Michelin snows.
I need to sort this quickly as my wifes car is in the garage and I need my car for school and nursery trips every morning and evening
really concerned about the fitting
thanks guys

[Top Cat]

Why not just buy snow socks. I know you get a fair bit more snow up your end but they are a lot cheaper, a lot less hassle swapping over and they work great, 

[scottm72]

Why not just buy snow socks. I know you get a fair bit more snow up your end but they are a lot cheaper, a lot less hassle swapping over and they work great, 

to be honest im thinking I would like to protect my 2 month old Monza 2s as I know they really shouldn't be on at this time of year and with my wifes car of the road for electronic problems at least for a few days I am doing maybe 70 miles in one day if it doesn't get fixed soon.
if I get her car back soon im still doing 30 miles a day with a mixture of b roads and normal roads which don't have any snow just now.
I have used snow socks in the past and I found them ok but I want to have a solid fix here but thanks for the thought

[Andy]

Its the width of the tyre that matters;so the one you mention will be fine to put on if they are the right ones the vridestien tyres are one of the best snow tyres on the market

[skard]

205/55/16 is standard Golf size so they are perfect and 16" rims go over standard GTI brakes.

I have Snowsocks too but they're more to get you out of a pickle, rather than for use on roads (or mines are anyway). In my case I used them to get on a very tight driveway with an incline. Never used them since getting M&S tyres.

Get yourself a set of snowtyres and have peace of mind. They'll last you a few winters too.

[zerolag]

I'm running 225/40/18 winters atm, as I just refurbished my old 18's with white worm to use as winter wheels...  it's not really been that cold here yet... but I've had a few icy roundabouts to contend with... the difference is night and day.

The easiest way to check your tyre change is to check out: http://www.etyres.co.uk/tyre-size-calculator.htm

As it suggests as long as your in +- 2.5% of the original kit you will be ok.

I noticed on the Tiguan recently that there is a winter tyre setting, where you can change things so your clocks aren't out.  Not sure if it's a generic thing in the VAG computer...

[scottm72]

Its the width of the tyre that matters;so the one you mention will be fine to put on if they are the right ones the vridestien tyres are one of the best snow tyres on the market

andy can I ask what you mean if they are the right ones, do you mean if the guy has described the size and tread pattern correctly ?
assuming the tyres size etc is spot on is it definitely ok with the size for my car without any modifications to it, especially I am thinking about the clearance for the large calipers
not thrilled about steel wheels tbh but he says they are black steel wheels and brand new so may look ok actually although my car is black lol
he is asking for £400 for the wheels and tyres, would it just be wheel off and wheel on and job done ?

[zerolag]

I think it's also worth noting, that as far as insurance companies are concerned you will mainly be ok fitting winter tyres AS LONG AS THEY ARE THE SAME speed rating as the original kit.

[zerolag]

Which car are the 16inchers off?  Is the PCD / ET all the same?

[scottm72]

I think it's also worth noting, that as far as insurance companies are concerned you will mainly be ok fitting winter tyres AS LONG AS THEY ARE THE SAME speed rating as the original kit.

yes this much I know is correct, snow tyres generally come in a T or something speed rating and are not an issue with regards to the insurance company as it is way above the max speed limit for uk roads anyway, I think I would tell them though just so it is logged

[Andy]

Its the width of the tyre that matters;so the one you mention will be fine to put on if they are the right ones the vridestien tyres are one of the best snow tyres on the market

andy can I ask what you mean if they are the right ones, do you mean if the guy has described the size and tread pattern correctly ?
assuming the tyres size etc is spot on is it definitely ok with the size for my car without any modifications to it, especially I am thinking about the clearance for the large calipers
not thrilled about steel wheels tbh but he says they are black steel wheels and brand new so may look ok actually although my car is black lol
he is asking for £400 for the wheels and tyres, would it just be wheel off and wheel on and job done ?

As long as they fit your car i should of put :happy2:best with steel rims because you can bent them back if you hit a kerb

[scottm72]

have just got pictures of them sent to me
wheels look pretty cheap, hmm not sure about them,,, I know I cant get monza quality but is this a step down to far for £400






I know I should be only thinking about safety and not concentrating on the cosmetics of the wheels but I don't think you could get a cheaper looking wheel for my beloved gti
what do you think guys and can anyone elaborate on the worry I have about the 16s fitting as im so desperate for me and my families safety I may have to just go out and buy some on the spot tomorrow wether that is going to somewhere like quik fit and getting 18s onto my monzas or going to pishy Halfords and buying 16 inch wheels and tyres but they wil not be able to answer the question with regards to this size being definatelly ok with my caliper size etc.
can anyone please help on this and also whats your thoughts about 18 inch snow tyres grip in comparison to 16 inch snow tyres grip

[andrewparker]

I saw a guy running around in a GTI on 16" black steelies exactly like those yesterday and I thought it looked properly cool actually!

[zerolag]

I think it's also worth noting, that as far as insurance companies are concerned you will mainly be ok fitting winter tyres AS LONG AS THEY ARE THE SAME speed rating as the original kit.

yes this much I know is correct, snow tyres generally come in a T or something speed rating and are not an issue with regards to the insurance company as it is way above the max speed limit for uk roads anyway, I think I would tell them though just so it is logged

AFAIK, it's not about the speed limit of the road, but the OEM tyre speed rating, which I think was V on the GTI.  I'm running the Goodyear Ultragrip which is the same rating.  99 times out of a 100 it isn't going to matter, but just thought I'd metnion it.

For ref: I "think" the ET on the GTI is 51 and PCD 112 (worth checking that)

Best to check the clearance by fitting them, spin them up a few times; also note how much pad you have left if it's close.  I've seen someone on the Freelander forum fit wheels they thought would be ok and then change the pads 3 months later and find the wheels scrubbing the calipers.  

[skard]

Having run steel wheels on my old car the last few winters, and this year with the ED30 I have fairly tatty A6 alloys, it's more important to me to have control of the car! I live nearly 1000ft up and get my fair share of snow, ice and low temps.

Living where you are you'll have pretty sustained winter weather so to me it is a no brainer to put winter tyres on.
I've just sold a set of OEM 16" steels and they were going a bit ginger - those rims look perfect to me!

Like I said before 205/55/16 is OEM tyre size for 16" they'll easily clear GTI 312mm brakes.
Mytyres sell those tyres for about £80 each - that's not fitted and you'll be lucky if they came this year.