Winter Tyres

[iNath]

Afternoon all,

I'm looking in to getting some winter tyres for the coming months (just getting prices atm to see if it's feasible).

My Zetec-S is currently on the 16" standard alloys. It's almost impossible to get winter tyres in 195/45/16 so one of the tyre places recommend getting a set of 15 steel wheels from a scrappy and fitting some 195/50/15s (he's getting prices now - for the tyres, I need to source the wheels)

2 questions:

1) Best place to get them? Tried partsgateway.com which emails about 6 Ford breakers, all came back with no stock. (I'm in Northampton but willing to travel)

2) Is it ok to stick the 15" on? Will it affect the speedo reading or anything like that?

All opinions welcome :)

[johnH]

hi, aslong as your wheel diameter doesnt change ie. 195. then it is all good, shouldnt effect your speedo reading, its when you change the diameter you will need to get it programmed etc.

have you tried black circles? they can list all available tires inc winter tires in your local area, and include fitting with their costs. i used KUMHO on my last car, drove through the yorkshire moors no probs (even in all the snow), no sliding etc and kept traction, the wear was really good aswell, but that is down to how you drive etc.

[iNath]

hi, aslong as your wheel diameter doesnt change ie. 195. then it is all good, shouldnt effect your speedo reading, its when you change the diameter you will need to get it programmed etc.

have you tried black circles? they can list all available tires inc winter tires in your local area, and include fitting with their costs. i used KUMHO on my last car, drove through the yorkshire moors no probs (even in all the snow), no sliding etc and kept traction, the wear was really good aswell, but that is down to how you drive etc.

Thanks for the advice regarding wheel size.

Just to confirm, I'm looking for best place to get 2nd hand 15" steel wheels. Can anyone recommend a good scrapyard?

For the tyres, blackcircles don't allow you to search for winter tyres only. mytyres.co.uk does have this option and thrown up a few results.

[Mk7_Rbj]

the '195' is not the diameter but the width of the tyre, the '45' is the ercentage of teh width that makes up the tyre wall.

However, as said, there are no problems as long as the diameter is the same

If you are currently running 195/45/16 i think you will need 195/55/15's

Im sure there are websites which allow you to see the cahnge in overall diameter

Cant be much help with the scrappy sorry. Would love to know where there was a decent ford breakers myself

Hope this helps

RBJ

[Mk7_Rbj]

the '195' is not the diameter but the width of the tyre, the '45' is the percentage of teh width that makes up the tyre wall.

However, as said, there are no problems as long as the diameter is the same

If you are currently running 195/45/16 i think you will need 195/55/15's

Im sure there are websites which allow you to see the cahnge in overall diameter

Cant be much help with the scrappy sorry. Would love to know where there was a decent ford breakers myself

Hope this helps

RBJ

[iNath]

Best price I've found is £253.60 for 4 x Continental Winter Contact TS800 195/50T15 @ Kwik Fit (I know what Kwik Fit is like, but I'd love to see them tell me that my brakes & exhaust need doing on a 10 week old Fiesta!)

Still trying to find some 15" steel rims. Gonna email http://motorhog.co.uk/parts/ as they've got some 08/09 Fiesta's they're breaking for parts, check out the pics, quite sad to see :(

If anyone knows a good, cheap scrappy for these wheels I'd love to hear from you!

[iNath]

Looking on eBay for the wheels but how do I know if they'll fit? Obviously it needs to have 4 holes in it, are they are standard on all wheels or do different companies put the studs in different places?

E.g. will these fit?

[fordpartsman]

can i just ask why you want winter tyres nath, for the amount of time that it MAY snow in northampton, its not worth it, you can just turn off the esp if its snowwy

[iNath]

Because they'e winter tyres, not snow tyres :P

From what I've read they're much more effective at below +7C than summer tyres and last longer during winter than summer tyres will. Doing 24,000 miles a year that works to my benefit having these tyres from Nov-Mar as they will last longer and I'll have much better grip.

Most people seem to think I'm wasting money, but remember whilst I'm on winter tyres I'm not using the summer tyres! They come with storage bags so I can keep the summer ones in the shed (dark & dry)

[Nay ZS]

Interesting choice. Most of the Fiesta's I have seen come with alloy wheels so to see a Zetec S with 15 inch wheel trims just won't look right imo.

[Amie07]

Hey if they make u feel safer driving when its cold and icy go for it. The guy who does the car page in the sunday mirror (quentin somethin) recommended them 2 someone just this week, something 2 do with improved stoppin distances I think.

[harweyko]

When you want to buy wheels (alloy or steel) you`ll need 4x108 (4 holes, 108 is in milimetre - it is diameter of circle "running though" the centers of all 4 holes, there are also wheels with 4x100 and 4x98 so look carefully what you`re buying ;) ),

inner/centre circle should be 63,4mm,

for 15 inch wheel you need ET 47.5 (offset in milimetres, also 42 will be OK, but check with your insurance company if it is ok in your country),

and wheel should be 6 inches wide.

Tyre as you mentioned 195/50 R15.

Speedo should not be affected that much (when speedo reads 60mph on 16" your actual speed will be 59.5mph on 15")

The most noticeable difference between summer and winter tire is on fresh snow, summer tire is just sliding, winter tire has best conditions for its work, both to accelerate and brake. On wet road it is 50/50, on dry road is summer tire much better also if it is around zero (Celsius degrees = 32°F), under this temperature just winter tires. (tested personally in last 7 years of my fast daily driving where year conditions vary from +30°C to -30°C (86F - -22F))

[iNath]

Hey if they make u feel safer driving when its cold and icy go for it. The guy who does the car page in the sunday mirror (quentin somethin) recommended them 2 someone just this week, something 2 do with improved stoppin distances I think.

Yeah should reduce stoppping distance by quite a bit, interesting reading here and here.

British cars normally drive on 'summer' tyres but below temperatures of 7 degrees C - the winter tyre gives significant safety advantages in wet and icy conditions - up to a bus length and a half shorter stopping distance! Their superior grip helps you keep control.

When you want to buy wheels (alloy or steel) you`ll need 4x108 (4 holes, 108 is in milimetre - it is diameter of circle "running though" the centers of all 4 holes, there are also wheels with 4x100 and 4x98 so look carefully what you`re buying ;) ),

inner/centre circle should be 63,4mm,

for 15 inch wheel you need ET 47.5 (offset in milimetres, also 42 will be OK, but check with your insurance company if it is ok in your country),

and wheel should be 6 inches wide.

Tyre as you mentioned 195/50 R15.

Speedo should not be affected that much (when speedo reads 60mph on 16" your actual speed will be 59.5mph on 15")

The most noticeable difference between summer and winter tire is on fresh snow, summer tire is just sliding, winter tire has best conditions for its work, both to accelerate and brake. On wet road it is 50/50, on dry road is summer tire much better also if it is around zero (Celsius degrees = 32°F), under this temperature just winter tires. (tested personally in last 7 years of my fast daily driving where year conditions vary from +30°C to -30°C (86F - -22F))

You are 'da man'! Thanks very much :)

[iNath]

Right, finally got some 15" wheels and the tyres are booked to be fitted on Thursday.

Can anyone recommend some wheel trims? What do people think will look good on a white Zetec-S? Should I go for silver or black (as the black steel wheels will be seen behind the trims)

Any opinions or pics appreciated! :)

[mitch84]

why do people bother with winter tyres , i never changed tyres apart from when they are due for a normal change , i find it a big waste of money , thats just my oppinion

[iNath]

They shouldn't be a waste of money for me because I do high mileage. They should wear less in winter than the current all season tyres.

If I have 1 set of all-seasons lasting 12 months or 1 set of winter & 1 set of all-season lasting 24months between them it's the same cost!

Back the the original question, has anyone seen some wheel trims that would look ok on my car?

[AndrewL]

If I was you I'd just stick with the exposed steelies and avoid wheel trims as I think they'll look rubbish. It probably looks more obvious that they're not your standard wheels that way too.

[kirsten]

Im also having the same problem, i bought a new fiesta zetec 1.4 the other month and i need 2 winter tyres for going to the alps for the winter (5months). I also plan to use snow chains a little.

i have 15 inch wheels with 195/50 15 82h at the moment.

I was looking to get 2 steel wheels and two snow tyres from somewhere like mytyres.co.uk

Ive found 2 options-

1. My tyres have some 15 inch wheel with the same tyre BUT im not sure about the ET/offset. Where does it give the information about what it should be.

They set up is saying that it will be fitted on a 4 hole steel wheel : 15 inchh 4 x 108.00 x 63.30 ET:47.50

I was under the impression the ET had to be lower than that!

Any one want to give me any advice?

Also any rules on just have 2 snow tyres..?

2.The ford garage said to put 175/65 R14 on

Now a 175/65 R14 82H Is coming up saying

The tyre will be fitted on a 4-hole steel wheel: 14 inch 4 x 108.00 x 63.30 ET: 37.50

This sounds more like what ive read online...but i dont no anything about wheels..and the ford garage also seemed a bit confused...by putting the 175/65 on a 14 inch wheel does that make it the same as a 150/95 on a 15 inch wheel?

But there is also this size in 82H and 82t and 86H and 86T. Which one?

Also any one have any idea what the clearance is like...will i be ok with snowchains?

Any info would be hugely appreciated!!

Thanks

Kirst

[iNath]

I've bought 4 x Continental Winter Contact TS800 (195/50/15 82H) from Kwik Fit. £253.90 fitted.

I wouldn't just put 2 tyres on, you would get over/understeer as one end of the car would have less grip.

[iNath]

Right, everything's been sorted now!

Got my steel wheels on [thanks fordpartsman!] and cleaned them up:

and here's a pic of the tread pattern:

Originally bought some silver wheel trims & black spray paint. I cut 55mm holes in the middle & used the center caps from my alloys:

But I couldn't be bother prepping them so paint chipped off really easily.

So I bought some new black/silver wheel trims and some 75mm gel overlays!:

And now I'm happy :)

[audicab26]

Hi,

I have just fitted a set of 15" Steels & Ford Trims my wifes 2010 Titanium. They are fitted with 'winter tyres'. We live down a country lane which is largely untreated post snow falls and as we are high up, is always icey.

The car grips much better and stops more easlily than it did with the standard 16" Summmer tyres. On Monday evening when we had a lot of snow fall here in a very short space of time, ours was the only car to get up the hill to our village. Drove past a dozen or so stranded cars!

They are effective up to + 7 degrees apparently. So they offer improved grip throughout the winter and not just in the snow. As I see it removing the 16" 7-Spoke alloys and storing them over the winter will reduce the risk of expensive wheel damage from frost damaged road surfaces or kerbs buried in snow. Also, it will prolong the life of the standard (expensive) tyres. I'll get them swapped back in March when the car is serviced. We plan to keep the car for some time.

The wheels and trims came from E bay. They are from a Fiesta Edge I think?, a Ford dealer listed them - they had been removed from a new car when the customer upgraded his wheels to alloys at delivery. They don't look that special but I'm not that vain and I'd rather protect the car and it's occupants. The tyres came from mytyres.co.uk - good price but a long delivery! I went with the size recommended by our Ford Dealer (I checked the size with a tyre stockist too) - can't recall the exact dimensions but it meant that the rolling radius was the same as with the 16" wheels. I also bought a set of wheel nuts from the dealer which are suited to steel wheels.

The above has made the car much easier to drive in snow and ice - the total cost was not much more than my insurance excess. We told our insurance company by the way - they did not see it as a 'modification' or increase our premium either. Some do!!!!

See: http://www.smmt.co.uk/articles/article.cfm?articleid=22819

Merry Christmas.

Derek

[iNath]

We told our insurance company by the way - they did not see it as a 'modification' or increase our premium either. Some do!!!!

Anyone that has been charged by their insurer should contact them for a refund.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11969958

[TroodoN]

iNath - im impressed. They look good actually (trims).