Mega Winter Tyres thread, all questions here!!

cjmcork

fletch wrote: »

I toyed with the idea of getting a set of alloys alright but I couldn't justify the expense of buying a new set and I didn't want a battered second hand set. Oh and I kinda think the car will look purposeful on black steelies with Winter tyres

mine's gonna look like an unmarked - silver mondeo with a high vis jacket on the back shelf!!! :P

opinion guy

kennyb3 wrote: »

Have a look at gumtree lads - i was prob lucky but got 4 cheap 16' bmw alloys for €150. Bit more than steelies but still a bargin and look better. Plenty of cheap steelies on there too im sure

Wow.
Never heard of gumtree before but some seriously delusional people on there trying to sell alloys for ridiculous prices

kennyb3

opinion guy wrote: »

Wow.
Never heard of gumtree before but some seriously delusional people on there trying to sell alloys for ridiculous prices

Its full of plenty of whacko's alright - still there are plenty of good deals.

opinion guy

Ok I'm confused about something.

My alloys are 17 x 7.5J in size.

Currently I have factory fitted summers on that are 225/45ZR17 94Y.
First thing:
94 is the load, Y is the speed but what does that Z in the middle mean ?

Second thing:
On the inside of my drivers door suggested PSI's for the following various wheel-tyre combinations are given:

225/45 R17 94Y XL
205/55 R16 91H M+S

205/55 R16 91W
205/50 R17 93H XL M+S

225/45 R17 94V XL M+S

Ok anyhow - I'm not including the PSI values as its not relevant right now but pressure go up as you go down the list.

My question is - the one I have bolded - the 205/50 R17 I thinking about that for winters as its a bit narrower and a bit deeper (not deeper actually) than my summers. How do I know if this will fit my current 17 inch alloys that currently have 225/45's on ? I mean the tyre width is different yes ? By what 20 mm ??? Will that fit the same wheel or is it for a different alloy altogether??? Am I keeping the same outer diameter ??? I'm confused


Edit: Discovered a cool tyre size conversion calculator thingy. Its an American site I think but I'm assuming metric has not confused them too much.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tirecalc.php

gooner99

Got the 15" ones for my golf from a Skoda dealer.Scrappies wanted €40 a wheel,while other scrappies had none.Me feels they are hording them in hope of a freeze.VW dealers had no old ones and were €53 plus vat a wheel new.Skoda dealer had a set that just came off an Octavia in order to fit alloys.Got them for €30 each.Ring around is the best advice.One thing to remember is that not all wheels of the same diameter will be right for your car.For example I nearly bought 15" ones from a Passat,but noticed that had a differnet offset, ET37 as opposed to ET47 on the Golf.

tossy

Be careful when buying a second set of alloys for your car as the may not be compatible at all.

Things to look for are

PCD eg 5x100,5x112,5x130 etc this is the stud pattern

ET aka off set,the wrong ET and your wheels may stick out to far from your arches or the opposite the might foul on your brake calipers.

Diameter - you might think once you have the right PCD and off set that diameter is trivial but you will need to clear your brake discs.

PaddyTheNth

opinion guy wrote: »

Ok I'm confused about something.

My alloys are 17 x 7.5J in size.

Currently I have factory fitted summers on that are 225/45ZR17 94Y.
First thing:
94 is the load, Y is the speed but what does that Z in the middle mean ?
.....
......
Edit: Discovered a cool tyre size conversion calculator thingy. Its an American site I think but I'm assuming metric has not confused them too much.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tirecalc.php

As far as I can see the ZR means you can do over 149 mph, though having the Y there is a bit confusing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_code

That calculator is useful, I've always wondered about the effect on road vs speedometer speed when changing tyre size.

If I change from my current 205/55/16 to 195/65/15 M+S as listed on my tyre pressure guide I actually get a (marginal) increase in road speed :eek:

Happily the 15s would be cheaper to buy.

opinion guy

tossy wrote: »

Be careful when buying a second set of alloys for your car as the may not be compatible at all.

Things to look for are

PCD eg 5x100,5x112,5x130 etc this is the stud pattern

ET aka off set,the wrong ET and your wheels may stick out to far from your arches or the opposite the might foul on your brake calipers.

Diameter - you might think once you have the right PCD and off set that diameter is trivial but you will need to clear your brake discs.

Argh!!!
What the hell does all that mean? Who knew wheels and tires coudl be so confusing?!?! If someone doens't list this stuff in there ad how are you supposed to know which alloys fit which cars ? Are there compatability tables anywhere ?


How do I find out what my PCD & ET figures are ??!?!?

CR 7

opinion guy wrote: »

Argh!!!
What the hell does all that mean? Who knew wheels and tires coudl be so confusing?!?! If someone doens't list this stuff in there ad how are you supposed to know which alloys fit which cars ? Are there compatability tables anywhere ?


How do I find out what my PCD & ET figures are ??!?!?

There's compatibility tables here.

Don't know how reliable/accurate it is, but it's enough to give a good idea anyway.

opinion guy

Park Ji Sung wrote: »

There's compatibility tables here.

Don't know how reliable/accurate it is, but it's enough to give a good idea anyway.

Arse the ones I was interested in don't seem to be compatible.

Starting to thing I'll just get 16" steelies and alloys from eiretyres and just be done with it. Much simpler that way - wheels will arrive all set up and ready to go.

Anyone know what colour the steelies they sell are ?

fletch

opinion guy wrote: »

Anyone know what colour the steelies they sell are ?

I asked them and got the following reply

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your e-mail and your interest in us. We would like to advise you that our warehouse informed us that the steel wheels that we provide are black.

Thank you for your understanding.
Kind regards,

opinion guy

Hmmm ....black could work.......

Matt Simis

opinion guy wrote: »

Hmmm ....black could work.......

Eww black steel 80s wheels?... just learn how to read PCD and Offset, go find a range of cars that at similar to your own then look for alloys to suit on Donedeal! Cheaper, smarter and looks better.

Wheel Cheat sheet:
PCD: Distance and number of Nuts/Bolts (eg 5x100, 4x120)
Offset (also called ET): Distance from the hub, ie does the wheel stick out more or less under the wheel arch. Low number offset = sticks out more (and looks better, but too far and it can rub and have other issues).
Width - stay with 1" of OEM and should be fine, affects offset in a complicated way so best to just stick to 1" figure from stock. (eg 10" is a very wide wheel, 7" is a narrow, OEM wheel). Wheel width also restricts range of tyre widths (8" = 245 width tyre max, 215min, 10" maybe upto 305, 255min).
Size of wheel (16,17,18" etc)- again 1, 2" max up and 1" down in size are good ballparks. Too small wheels may not clear brake calipers.
Center Bore:
Centre bore is the size (diameter) of the "lip" on the hub that the wheel mounts onto (ie sits on, it isnt held in place by the bolts, just held onto the hub). It should be matched though you can get a wheel with a larger centre bore than your hub and use Spigot Rings or spacers to make up the gap. If you got a wheel with a smaller centre bore than your hub you would need the centre bore on the wheel bored (ie drilled) out. Even a 1mm difference in bore size will introduce wobble like an unbalanced or buckled wheel, so get this right with either spigot rings or preferably correct matched bore sizes.

Use a Tyre size calculator (google it, usually nice and graphical) to try and keep your new wheel and tyre combo within 2.5% overall diameter of stock wheel + tyres.

opinion guy

Matt Simis wrote: »

Eww black steel 80s wheels?... just learn how to read PCD and Offset, go find a range of cars that at similar to your own then look for alloys to suit on Donedeal! Cheaper, smarter and looks better.

Cheat sheet:
PCD: Distance and number of Nuts/Bolts (eg 5x100, 4x120)
Offset (also called ET): Distance from the hub, ie does the wheel stick out more or less under the wheel arch. Low number offset = sticks out more (and looks better, but too far and it can rub and have other issues).
Width - stay with 1" of OEM and should be fine, affects offset in a complicated way so best to just stick to 1" figure from stock. (eg 10" is a very wide wheel, 7" is a narrow, OEM wheel). Wheel width also restricts range of tyre widths (8" = 245 width tyre max, 215min, 10" maybe upto 305, 255min).
Size of wheel (16,17,18" etc)- again 1, 2" max up and 1" down in size are good ballparks. Too small wheels may not clear brake calipers.

Use a Tyre size calculator (google it, usually nice and graphical) to try and keep your new wheel and tyre combo within 2.5% overall diameter of stock wheel + tyres.

Yeah I don't really have time for all of that malarky though.

Smarter - yes. Looks better - definitely yes. Cheaper????? I dunno. From what I've seen on donedeal, adverts etc, any alloys I would actually buy are not cheaper. The only ones cheaper are equally as ugly as steelies or battered to ****e with 'needs refurb' stuck alongside them. I ain't got time nor energy, nor money to be trekking around looking at alloys, figuring out which ones fit, getting them refurbed, then getting fitted with tyres, then getting them balanced etc, etc, etc. This whole project has already eaten up too much of my time deciding which tyres in which size I want without trekking down the right alloys also. Besides from what I can see second hand 16" alloys are less common than larger ones.

No way you can do that all for 40EUR a corner as eiretyres are offering to do for me and deliver to my door for 5 mins of effort on my part making the order! 5 mins, 40 a corner and job done for next couple of years. I don't particularly want ugly wheels, but to be honest it seems like the lesser of 2 evils to me. And anyhow I think black steelies will look better on my car than any of the alloys I've seen coming in around 40 EUR a pop with alot less hassle. I'd sooner skimp on steelies and buy quality tires than buy nice alloys and have nothing left for the tires!

E39MSport

I've got a set of 4 16" alloys (Avensis - not stolen) that I'll be sticking up for sale if anyone is interested. In good shape. One has scuff marks. In the middle of cleaning them up.

regedit

E39MSport wrote: »

I've got a set of 4 16" alloys (Avensis - not stolen) that I'll be sticking up for sale if anyone is interested. In good shape. One has scuff marks. In the middle of cleaning them up.

How much?

opinion guy

E39MSport wrote: »

I've got a set of 4 16" alloys (Avensis - not stolen) that I'll be sticking up for sale if anyone is interested. In good shape. One has scuff marks. In the middle of cleaning them up.

Lol....not stolen....love it. I was thinking alot of the ads I've seen for alloys for sale look a bit less than legit I must say!

E39MSport

Well, I recall reading on here a few days ago something about Avensis wheels being easily nicked. A boardsie's car on blocks or something - might even have fallen off the blocks

(edit - old man is in the trade. came off an elv)

E39MSport

regedit wrote: »

How much?

120 for a boardsie

Wicklowrider

Pffftttt!

Yer all wimps with yer fancy snow tyres

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2vD2tCSqJ0

Anan1

Wicklowrider wrote: »

Pffftttt!

Yer all wimps with yer fancy snow tyres

Maybe we want to be able to go up hills.;)

opinion guy

Wicklowrider wrote: »

Pffftttt!

Yer all wimps with yer fancy snow tyres

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2vD2tCSqJ0

Actually those narrow, tall tires and the great ground clearance are probably great for the snow - we should all buy Model-T's!!!:D

Rovi

If we're going with antique snow-busters, it'd be hard to beat the mighty Fordson Snow Devil:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBjlSJf4274

opinion guy

OH my God that things awesome!!

Neilw

A more modern version, the archimedes screw ice breaker. One of these was sent out to the arctic to try and free a trapped whale a few years ago.

rameire

anybody any opinions on Goodride sw608. the tyre.

have been looking for ages for wheels and tyres ( summers and winters )
have the summers sourced now, just looking for the winters and wheels.

its impossible to find steelies or alloys for my car ( ford fusion, 4 * 108 wheels )

so i may be resigned to getting them from eiretyres.
any help?

E39MSport

rameire wrote: »

anybody any opinions on Goodride sw608. the tyre.

have been looking for ages for wheels and tyres ( summers and winters )
have the summers sourced now, just looking for the winters and wheels.

its impossible to find steelies or alloys for my car ( ford fusion, 4 * 108 wheels )

so i may be resigned to getting them from eiretyres.
any help?

Looks like there's plenty of Ford wheels that will fit your Fusion according to this site: -
http://www.carlsalter.com/wheel_fitments.html
Focus for example, 98 onwards.
There must be a scrappie somewhere with a set.

opinion guy

Matt Simis wrote: »

Eww black steel 80s wheels?... just learn how to read PCD and Offset, go find a range of cars that at similar to your own then look for alloys to suit on Donedeal! Cheaper, smarter and looks better.

Cheat sheet:
PCD: Distance and number of Nuts/Bolts (eg 5x100, 4x120)
Offset (also called ET): Distance from the hub, ie does the wheel stick out more or less under the wheel arch. Low number offset = sticks out more (and looks better, but too far and it can rub and have other issues).
Width - stay with 1" of OEM and should be fine, affects offset in a complicated way so best to just stick to 1" figure from stock. (eg 10" is a very wide wheel, 7" is a narrow, OEM wheel). Wheel width also restricts range of tyre widths (8" = 245 width tyre max, 215min, 10" maybe upto 305, 255min).
Size of wheel (16,17,18" etc)- again 1, 2" max up and 1" down in size are good ballparks. Too small wheels may not clear brake calipers.

Use a Tyre size calculator (google it, usually nice and graphical) to try and keep your new wheel and tyre combo within 2.5% overall diameter of stock wheel + tyres.

Turns out I'm having to double check this **** even for steel wheels.
Matt how precise does the ET have to be. My factory fitted ones have ET 57, but the steel wheels eiretyres have for my car are ET 50. Is this ok ?

As to width - what is the width range of tyre for a 7.5" RIM and a 6.5" rim.

What about central bore dimension ? Seems like this varies but generally isn't specified

And finally to anyone who cares to try and answer - why the feck isn't all this **** detailed in the car's manual !?!?!?!?!!??!

49801

cjmcork wrote: »

mine's gonna look like an unmarked - silver mondeo with a high vis jacket on the back shelf!!! :P

Hi cjmcork,
pm sent
also curious are you planning on hub caps?
fellow mondeo owner here:D

Matt Simis

opinion guy wrote: »

Turns out I'm having to double check this **** even for steel wheels.
Matt how precise does the ET have to be. My factory fitted ones have ET 57, but the steel wheels eiretyres have for my car are ET 50. Is this ok ?

As to width - what is the width range of tyre for a 7.5" RIM and a 6.5" rim.

ET doesnt have to be matched, you just need to understand what it is. In your example, thats a minimal (about 7mm) difference outward from the car/hub. Assuming your current wheels arent nearly touching the wheel arch and the wheel widths are approx the same, should be fine. I have 20mm spacers on my BMW, thats a negative 20mm adjustment to Offset/ET!

Wheel Width range for tyre sizes: http://customwheelsmarket.com/rimwheelwidth1.html
Depending on things like tyre profile height, thats roughly 185 to 225ish tyre width on a 6.5-7.5" rim.

opinion guy wrote: »

What about central bore dimension ? Seems like this varies but generally isn't specified

Forgot about Centre bore in my cheat sheet.. will have to update that.
Centre bore is the size of (diameter of) the "lip" on the hub that the wheel mounts onto (ie sits on, it isnt held in place by the bolts, just held onto the hub). It should be matched though you can get a wheel with a larger centre bore than your hub and use Spigot Rings or spacers to make up the gap. If you got a wheel with a smaller centre bore than your hub you would need the centre bore on the wheel bored (ie drilled) out. Even a 1mm difference in bore size will introduce wobble like an unbalanced or buckled wheel, so get this right with either spigot rings or preferably correct matched bore sizes.

opinion guy wrote: »

And finally to anyone who cares to try and answer - why the feck isn't all this **** detailed in the car's manual !?!?!?!?!!??!

Simple, most manuals cover a range of cars. Most car models have 5-20 wheel choices. Each wheel may be different width, offset, size etc. So all you need to do is know what you have (stamped on the wheel) to change.