Snow Tyres & Smallest Rims

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Red-Eye

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Hi, I'm looking for a bit of help. I'm looking at getting some winter rims to fit snow tyres too, just in case the weather turns really bad again this winter, but I'm a bit stuck on what to choose.
I don't mind them being steel with the plastic wheel trims because then I can get a smaller width tyre which would be a) Cheaper to fit snow tyres onto, roughly £120+ per corner, b) narrower tyres would also be better in the snow, or I could always get an old set of Alloys but this starts to bring the cost up again, and also it's difficult to find some "narrow" alloy rims & therefore makes the wider snow tyres more expensive.

Currently I've got 225/40ZR18 tyres fitted to my Audi A3 2.0TDi Quattro (170ps), which would cost roughly £170+ per corner for snow tyres to be fitted onto my current rims. I have found some Steel wheels with snow tyres fitted and the size is 195/65R15 and the rims are 6" x 15", 5x112 with and ET47.

What I would like to know is what is the smallest rims that I can fit over the Standard brakes that are fitted to the above car? I believe they are 312mm, but I'm open to any other sugestions on the size for this car ;-)
Would the above steel rims fit if I had a spacers fitted, if so what size spacers would I need?

Sorry for all the questions, but if anybody has got anymore usefull information it would be appreciated ;-)

Cheers.
 
If you have 312mm brakes then the smallest wheels you can fit will be 16's :)

I bought a 2nd hand set of SE alloys and some part worn winter tyres last year for £300 all in. By the time i fitted them in early January we had no further snow lol
 
I got some 16 inch with continentals on from mytyres.co.uk

They were about £615 wheels and tyres, did about 7,000 mile on them this winter through the alps and there is loads of tread on them still. Well worth it, they will last you a few winters. They are unbelievable in the snow. I was overtaking RangeRovers and Q7's up mountain passes in my front wheel drive sportback.

IMG_0189.jpg
 
I bought some part worns last year, Dunlops with a decent amount of tread left, these are 225/50 or 55 /17's - i'll have to check, basically i calculated that they would be the same rolling size as my 225/40/18's

These will be offered for sale shortly unless someone wants to make me an offer....
 
Whether you buy new or used, do it now, winter tyres were nearly sold out in the UK last year and any that were available prices went up.
 
1animal1 said:
I bought some part worns last year, Dunlops with a decent amount of tread left, these are 225/50 or 55 /17's - i'll have to check, basically i calculated that they would be the same rolling size as my 225/40/18's

These will be offered for sale shortly unless someone wants to make me an offer....
Click to expand...

would have taken these off you but i currently have 225/45/17 on mine so i think those tyres are going to cause issues on mine.
 
whys that fella, these on 17 inch rims are the exact same size as the standard 18's on the S3?
 
oh because you said the tyres are 225/55 or 50! and mine are 45 so that makes the tyre walls on yours bigger (higher) than mine thus affecting the rolling tyre size. unless if you got that wrong and it is in fact a 45 then i will be interested!
 
na mate what im saying is my S3 rims would fit on yours with no problems...... therefore the 17's i have will definitely fit as i made sure the rolling size was exactly the same!

My wheels are 225/40/18 and will fit any A3 - im pretty sure these winters are 50's which means they match up exactly
 
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na mate, they are defo 50 or 55's...... without doubt and will defo be the same size as my S3 18's with 40's on
 
haha will do mate.... i knew it was the same size as i was pricing tyre xchains up at the same time and both 17 and 18' tyres had the exact same chain holding them (these chains were size specific)
 
Cheers Guys, thanks for your input, Spencer361 what tyres did you go for, & did you get the steel rims from mytyres?
 
Here is mine... 17" A8 reps wearing the Marangoni Meteo HP tire. The wheels are 7.5" wide with stock 56 offset. Tires are 225/45 17s. Wheels I am happy with... Tires weren't the greatest in deep Canadian snow, but were excellent on wet/icy and dry roads. This year it will hopefully be a set of Vredestein Wintrac tires.

WinterA3_1sml.jpg


This set was $1200 Canadian three years ago, when the pound was almost 3:1 and the lasted the 3 years and still had a bit if thread left. I put a lot of milage on my car though, about 30 000km a year.
 
haha mate they will be slightly bigger but you wont notice that amount of difference :) mine are the same size as these - but then they are M+S tyres so you'll have more tarmac resistance, more road noise and more tyre wear when not on snow..... performance is the last thing you buy these for
 
okies well i would probably only use them during snow and then change back to what i have on now when its all done... or just buy bigger alloys and keep the 17s as winter wheels
 
yup that was my plan fella, just never got around to buying some cheap 17's, partly cos i was being too specific on style, but also cos apparently not all 17's will fit S3 front brakes :(
 
1animal1 said:
yup that was my plan fella, just never got around to buying some cheap 17's, partly cos i was being too specific on style, but also cos apparently not all 17's will fit S3 front brakes :(
Click to expand...

I'm going to have the same problem, but more so with uprated brakes. Not sure it'll be worth getting 18" snow tyres just for the worst of the weather, or just making do with the standard wheels and tyres? My 8L did fine in the snow with Goodyear F1s on it, so the Contis I have now can't be much worse... still drivable at least.
 
yeah i know what ya saying mate...i only got these cos was going to the ALps in Austria wheres its law certain times of the year.... heard loads of good about them though - my Rosso's did great last year, but cant help but think what dif would be with the M+S's

To be fair mate unless its a massive issue work wise then id stick with what ya have, maybe some decent snow chains
 
Does anyone know what them socks are like?
Mine was stuck last year on the slightest bank with Dunlop sp's on!:(
 
basically a halfway house between normal tyres and chains i've heard..... i'd never buy them, its a bit half ***** if you ask me
 
dav150n said:
Does anyone know what them socks are like?
Mine was stuck last year on the slightest bank with Dunlop sp's on!:(
Click to expand...

Got a set and used them several times last year. Work a treat. Bit fiddly to get on but once on they provided plenty of grip and control even in fairly deep snow. Only downside is as soon as you hit gritted roads you need to remove them otherwise they get torn to shreds fairly quickly

IMo worthwhile keeping in your boot should you get caught out :)
 
What is the difference in performance/abililty between cheap winter tyres and good ones? ie - are Wintracs worth £50 a corner more than Kuhmo KW7s?
 
1animal1 said:
I bought some part worns last year, Dunlops with a decent amount of tread left, these are 225/50 or 55 /17's - i'll have to check, basically i calculated that they would be the same rolling size as my 225/40/18's

These will be offered for sale shortly unless someone wants to make me an offer....
Click to expand...

the correct tyre size for an A3 with 17s is either 205/50 17 (M+S) or 225/45 17. These 2 are within 3mm rolling diameter of 225/40 18, whereas 225/50 17 is 20mm out and 225/55 17 is 40mm out.
 
mytyres is listing 16" for 8P S3 winter tyre/steel wheel combo.
Minimum is 17" surely?
A3 3.2 style etc since they have the same brakes?
 
bn9af said:
the correct tyre size for an A3 with 17s is either 205/50 17 (M+S) or 225/45 17. These 2 are within 3mm rolling diameter of 225/40 18, whereas 225/50 17 is 20mm out and 225/55 17 is 40mm out.
Click to expand...

i knew i wasnt mad! Well i am but not about this...

so it turns out Tim got the wrong size tyres! :p
 
I don't get the whole winter tyres thing. I live out in the sticks at the top of a very twisty steep hill and i've never felt the need. Not even last year when there was snow on the roads for slightly more than the usual 3 days out of 365 and that was while I was commuting 60 miles per day in rear wheel drive car with 255/35/18 rear and 225/40/18 front Falken 452s.

Not trying to pee on anyones fireworks, if you feel you need them then by all means get in amongst it. I just don't get why it's so common, especially amongst you southerners (anyone south of Kilmarnock counts as a southerner ;)).

PS. Spencer and Gryphon are excused because they get proper snow for months on end. :)
 
I have four 225/40/18 Toyo Snowprox S953 winter tyres for sale. I used these on my R32 last year and Audi the year before that. Only used when weather was cold as where fitted to my winter alloys. The tyres have 6.8mm 6.5mm 5.6mm 5.2mm tread left with no cuts or puncture repairs. Cheapest place i can find these tyre is at Camskills at £662 with postage. These tyres still have on average 70% of there tread left. For sale at £330 delivered.
 
Winter tyres aren't just about snow. Below 7.5 degrees they outperform summer tyres in dry braking by a country mile. Bring in dampness or standing water and the difference increases.

If driving on any kind of snow or even ice the difference is just plain funny. They are simply better in cold weather and given the option I'd always rather have more grip on pretty much every occasion.
 
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Red-Eye I bought some Continental WinterContact TS 830 205/55 R16 91T wheel and tyre package. I do agree with the comments "is there any point of having them in the UK?" UK weather is unpredictable but when you do get caught out in a snowstorm you will be able to get home, well come to think of traffic problems there, you will get stuck on the motorway behind hundreds of cars without snow tyre on so might aswell just get some snow chains and keep a blanket and a flask in your car
 
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Only one tyre to get and that is Vredestien Wintrac they are the dogs!!!I have had a couple of mondeo's( Zetec S & ST) both with 225/40/18 and they were a nightmare on the snow till I tried that tyre and I then could drive through at least 6 inch of snow with no worries at all, bonus is they were not too bad on dry roads as well
 
bn9af said:
the correct tyre size for an A3 with 17s is either 205/50 17 (M+S) or 225/45 17. These 2 are within 3mm rolling diameter of 225/40 18, whereas 225/50 17 is 20mm out and 225/55 17 is 40mm out.
Click to expand...

I completely fail to see your point - I have an S3 with 225/40/18's on, the M+S tyres i have, have the same rolling radius as my S3 wheels....S3 wheels funnily enough fit A3's (strange as this concept may be to you) - so please tell me what point you were making?

itwasntme187 said:
i knew i wasnt mad! Well i am but not about this...

so it turns out Tim got the wrong size tyres! :p
Click to expand...

haha nope cos I wasnt comparing A3 wheels, point i was making was that regardless, these tyres will fit your car....i know this as they will fit mine which has the same arches as yours lol
 
Spencer361, What size brakes are on your car are they the 312mm or smaller? when I check what size rims I need on mytyres it always comes up with the 16" steel rims with 205/55 R16 tyres, is this correct. My car is a 2.0TDi 170Ps Quattro. Cheers ;-)
 
Anybody, is 16" the smallest wheel I can use over 312mm brakes?
Just looking to order soon that's all ;-)

Cheers
 
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