[xenon]

Yes, I'd say that proper winter tyres would be OK in that width too, although I'd probably go for the 245/17 set up.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by jonnydrama

My rear winters are 245/40/18 and I had zero problems last year even in very deep snow. I wouldn't worry too much about the width. Infact a guy in work had winters (standard width) on his 997 C4S and he was fine too.

But it is not just a 'snow' tyre, we still need to cope with slush and surface water. Wider winter tyres can still have issues with dispersing water, so narrow tyres will still be of benefit, better performers, for much of our winter driving.

I don't know about some of your conditions, but up here we get deep frozen verges, so when the snow melts there is lots of surface water trapped to the side of the roads, so aquaplaning is a high risk... hence I run the narrow size 225/45 R17 on my car, front and rear.

HighlandPete

[jonnydrama]

I dig what you are saying but I'm just letting everyone know that they still work superbly in wider sizes (while keeping your car looking good)

[kaishang]

I'm not sure what I'll do about this vexing winter wheel problem. I think if the weather looks bad, I'll take a trip to Australia for a month or so instead of forking out for winter wheels.

[rich1068]

Originally Posted by kaishang

It's not really as simple as buying your next set of tyres early. Chances are at some point in time you will dispose of the car and still need to unload a half-used set of tyres and wheels; the chance of all 8 tyres being used up right at the time you want to trade-in your car is pretty low.

I know I was over simplifying. I suppose I have an 'advantage' in that because my car is leased I know I'll be keeping it 4 years, I know I'll be doing 40k miles and no less and I know what to expect in terms of wear.

The other thing is I have a huge warehouse to store the extra set in. Actually, there's a thought. How much are BMW charging for storage...?

I'm looking round for like for like swaps at the moment. I don't fancy forking out for more wheels and tbh I like the look of mine too much. So far only a very expensive set of Pirellis can be found in my size.

[chris330D]

There has been a lot of comments here about perceived costs. Last year I bought a set of MV3s with runflats. The same size as OEM on my car ie staggered 18". I then got the tyres taken off for £10 and then sold the runflats on this forum. I then bought Pirelli runflat winter tyres. Total cost to me less than £800. The difference for me was the difference between getting out of my drive and up the hill and not. Don't forget that if you use 'popular' rims there will always be a market for them when you come to sell the car. For what it's worth mine were on for nearly 3 months.

[kaishang]

The tyres listed in OP have a "H" or "V" speed rating. This is less than the OEM "W" speed rating.

Does this mean you open up an entire new world of problems with your insurance company if your car gets trashed with these tyres fitted?

[Falmouthboy]

Originally Posted by kaishang

The tyres listed in OP have a "H" or "V" speed rating. This is less than the OEM "W" speed rating.

Does this mean you open up an entire new world of problems with your insurance company if your car gets trashed with these tyres fitted?

You will often find a lower speed rating on winter tyres. Look at the tyre pressure sticker in your door jam and it will give the speed rating for winter (M&S) tyres. Provided it is to that spec or higher you should be OK.

Also, for anyone going non RFT, remember you need and XL load tyre.

[oab e90 330i se]

Wow.....thats an expensive solution for winter! If and when it does snow this winter...
you could do yourselves and your car a favour by keeping it off the salt ridden roads and for £600 you could be climbing into this beauty! It would look stunning against the white stuff and would chop up the snow like it wasnt even there.

http://www4.autotrader.co.uk/classif...o/make/suzuki/