Winter wheels - 17 or 19's

[paulbryson75]

Advice please - i am well aware this subject has been extinsivly covered in the past but a couple fo questions if I may

Had a big fright the other morning - about an inch from taking out a tree in my neighbours front garden! Only damage sustained are a few nice tyre marks on his lawn! I have a very steep drive and live on a steep road - not ideal in current climes.

I have recently (3 weeks ago) changed to new Bridgestone Dueller Run flats on 19'inch wheels - very nice but I would have to say I am not impressed with their snow performance. My X Is much more flightly on these new wheels than she was on the older Sport Wheels with the cheap Ngang tyres during Januarys cold spell. She really has not been good this week - which did result in her being left 1/2 a mile from home on 2 occasions. Would not come up the street never mind the drive which was very embarrasing when the neighbours Ford Kuga seemed to be able to cope

I have 2 options (cost of course being important bearing in mind so close to Xmas and the fact that i recently fitted new wheels/tyres/battery and had a tow bar fitted)......

1) Have located a set of 17' wheels - of an 05 X5. Very good price with 5mm left on 'normal' Continental tyres.
These would be a lot better than my current I am sure - but not 'snow tyres'.

2) I have the 19' sport wheels in the garage that I took off three weeks ago - if i put proper 'snow tyres' on these? Think costings should be about the same as option 1

Basically my question is - what is the better option (with limited funds) - 17 inch wheels with ordinary tyres (possibility to change to winter tyres next year) or the 19's fitted with proper snow tyres????

I know there are mixed reports on whether snow tyres/winter wheels etc are justified but have to say when I see how poorly my car handled on a couple of occasions I feel need to do something. She really was much better on the cheap tyres - weird.

[pvr]

Ok, to compare, I bought 17" wheels for £100 which were in new condition with two tyres of 6mm which I kept. I put 4 Avon winter tyres on for £80 a corner, so including fitting about £450.

Worth every penny in my book.

To swap tyres, you talke about £12 a wheel, so a swap will set you back £50 or thereabouts. 19" winters are more expensive then the 17", so keep that in mind as well.

How about selling your 19" sport and use those funds to buy the 17" + winters?

[Turks]

I'd be making use of the spare 19"s you already have and get some proper snow / ice tyres on them (if you can get them).

I have now decided the set-up I am going to sort out when I get home in just over a weeks time. I'm a hard one to please when it comes to the aesthetics so i'm going for a set of 20's.


Turks.

[paulbryson75]

Turks - surely though the width of the 17s (235mm) as opposed to the 285mm of the 19s has a big part to play?

My thinking is that the 17s even on their normal tyres would still be a vast improvement on my current Bridgestone runflats - or am I wrong?? (BTW Can buy the set of 17s with good tyres for just over 200quid)

Been doing a little internet research - most places seem well and truely sold out of winter tyres.... but prices for the 19s for good tyres would seem to be around the 130 mark give or take. More than i really want to spend!

I did try a 'part worn' place - again sold out but said he was doing 285/45/19s at 70 quid which would have worked!


Think best bet - to buy the cheap 17s and run them this winter - putting part worn 'winter tyres' on after christmas??? Sell the 19sports to off set some costs and keep my new 212 Style 19s in the garage until weather improves

[CondorX5]

Strongly suggest getting 17"s and fitting winter tyres to them as soon as your finances permit. 19"s or 20"s with winter tyres will be a lot better than the same without, but the best possible option is the smallest, narrowest possible with the most sidewall - in your case, the 17". 19" tyres are much more expensive and the performance of the same set up of winter tyres on 17" will fare better.

You could sell your 19"s and also sell the tyres off the 17"s to fund your winter tyre purchase - if you can actually find any winter tyres, that is.......they are sold out here and in Europe. Part=worns...be careful, winter tyres are not effective under 3mm, so 4-4.5mm is the MINIMUM you want on part-worns to last you a season.........

Embarassing that a Kuga is outperforming you....shows that tyres are EVERYTHING in the winter........my company Kia Sportage is being PDI'ed with winter tyres on my insistence prior to collection mid January 2011!! I told the dealer I would not accept it without them fitted, I think they left it too late for anything but the most expensive Pirelli Snow and Ice or Conti winters, but they have them at least....I won't drive a winter without winter tyres on any car ever again, I absolutely swear by them and my X has been fantastic in the snow and ice, the grip has been excellent.

[paulbryson75]

Thanks Condor - purchased the 17s tonight. Hopefully get some snow proper winter tyres once i've finished being Santa!!!

[Turks]

[quote=""paulbryson75""]Turks - surely though the width of the 17s (235mm) as opposed to the 285mm of the 19s has a big part to play?

My thinking is that the 17s even on their normal tyres would still be a vast improvement on my current Bridgestone runflats - or am I wrong?? (BTW Can buy the set of 17s with good tyres for just over 200quid)

Been doing a little internet research - most places seem well and truely sold out of winter tyres.... but prices for the 19s for good tyres would seem to be around the 130 mark give or take. More than i really want to spend![/quote]

As Condor says, in the snow the thinner the wheel and the higher the sidewall the better... but for me an d Condor 17's won't fit due to the front brakes.

Also for the majority of winter, ice is the problem and wet roads, leaves and cold temperatures... not just snow. In all these other conditions, it is Surface Area which is vital to stop you or to get you moving... thats why for me a Wider (275+) good quality Winter Tyre is better in my eyes. More sureface area in the correct performance rubber is going to help me in the Ice and other conditions other than Snow.

If you go for the 17's, get new winter tyres ASAP. I wouldn't go for part worn, you are still paying a lot of money for a tyre thats already well out of its best days. When you slide into a kerb and damage your alloys or worse, then the extra £20-30 a corner on new tyres doesn't sound so bad... all down to what you can afford though I know.

Turks.

[kkodal78]

please if someone ccould make this clear i would appreciate it....if you have a 4.6is or 4.8is only option for winters would be 19s.. correct? due to 17s not fitting over brakes?

[Turks]

[quote=""kkodal78""]please if someone ccould make this clear i would appreciate it....if you have a 4.6is or 4.8is only option for winters would be 19s.. correct? due to 17s not fitting over brakes?[/quote]

Not really no. There are loads of options you have, it depends on your budget and what you want.

You must have wheels 18" or bigger on the 4.6is and 4.8is models. The width is up to you but obviously the wider you go the more you limit yourself on tyre options and usually gets expensive. You also have to consider the rolling radius to make sure that it doesn't alter your speedo readings.

I have a 4.8is and will be going for 20's as I want to compromise between performance in the winter weather (snow, ice, cold, rain etc) and how they look - I still want it to look good. This as you can imagine isn't the cheapest option.

I have read that you can just get 275/40 R20's all round on the 4.6is and 4.8is but I wouldn't recommend it as the rear walls would be splayed to fit the wheel - It still could be an avenue that could be explored futher. Tyre Manufacturer Specifications should tell you the width of wheels the tyres fit.


Turks.

[kkodal78]

thanks turks..
i think i would buy a set of 19s this way it would give me a little bit more sidewall with winter tires.my 4.6 is garaged at the moment cause i am in afghanistan but once my deployment is over i want to get my stuff ready for next winter..thanks again for the info..

[Nat]

Hi ,

I have a 4.8 iS.........................

Bought some 4.4 I ( pre facelift Y spoke ) 19, S and fitted Verdenstein snow + ice winntrac 4 extreme tyres .
255/50/19 on the front and 285/45/19 on the rears, nitrogen filled.

I know many on here go on about tyre width.....which DOES play a part, but its the compound and tread pattern more than anything else that makes the difference. Also , you wint only be using the tyres for snow, but all winter round. I know id rather have the wider tire in the wet on the motorway in slush/wet conditions.

Anyway, very happy with my choices.

Regards

Nat.

[lezmtaylor]

[quote=""Nat""]Hi ,

I have a 4.8 iS.........................

Bought some 4.4 I ( pre facelift Y spoke ) 19, S and fitted Verdenstein snow + ice winntrac 4 extreme tyres .
255/50/19 on the front and 285/45/19 on the rears, nitrogen filled.

I know many on here go on about tyre width.....which DOES play a part, but its the compound and tread pattern more than anything else that makes the difference. Also , you wint only be using the tyres for snow, but all winter round. I know id rather have the wider tire in the wet on the motorway in slush/wet conditions.

Anyway, very happy with my choices.

Regards

Nat.[/quote]

I have had a hell of a fright with wide tyres and aquaplaning in in big puddles and roads awash, prefer narrow profiles in these conditions.
Lez

[kkodal78]

i think i will be looking at getting the 18"s with the same size all around.

[ChrisLux]

I've just renewed my winter tyres as were expecting 20 cms today , thats after the 15 cms we
had last week !! Deep (sry the pun) joy !!

I've used 235/65x17 Yokohamas , which a friend in Norway recommended to me . They have a
nice wide open tread pattern , are made of a soft compound , and don't make too much noise
on the road when there is no snow . They cost me here Eur 770 .

Other tyres I know work well on X5's from Skandinavian friends are ;
Vredestein Blizzaks and Nokian Hakkapiletiis

Although what the availability in UK is like I don't know , but the set I reserved here the
garage told me they cudda sold 10 times over !!

Cheers , Chris

[paulbryson75]

well fitted the 17s - don't look the best (but not too bad )


Used the car last week in some horrendous driving conditions (including a 290 mile 10 hour marathon) and there was a marked improvement - the car was much better behaved. Tyres are 235/65/17 Michelin Energy M&S - 2 being very good and 2 are ok.
All in all for an investment of 250quid I think this was well worth it - and would certainly recommend to others. Would hope to change two of the tyres next year for proper snow and ice tyres and think then will have a decent winter set up.