Best Winter Tyres for GTD 18" or change to 17"s - comments/ experience anyone?

[runningman35]

Had a mk5 GTI for a couple of years and loved driving it with original 17's with Pirelli Sottozeros for winter boots, and really made a difference in Aberdeenshire and Scottish Highlands.

Now I am getting the GTD delivered shortly, my first thought was to prepare for winter with a few coats of wax and new winter boots, but maybe a 2nd set of wheels and tyres (17" ) being my gut feeling as read a lot about traction issues the car has with different std fitment tyres on 18's and my worry is this may remain and be worse going to Winters in the same fitment?

Comments/experience from any forum regulars over last winter perhaps? 

[mcmaddy]

I'm looking at 17”winters for my gtd and possibly even 16”s. Smaller 16's will be better than 17's or 18's for traction.

[runningman35]

I was wondering about that too, but having not seen my car yet, I wasn't sure if 16" wheel and tyres would fit over the discs?

A lot of websites don't list the GTD model specifically so again not much help when looking for suitable combos!
 

[mcmaddy]

The VW winters are 16”steel wheels but I'd quite like some 17”vw alloys

[Andy_cs]

Bought these last Winter from Mytyres:

DEZENT TD black 7.00 x 17 (LK 5/112, OS 48) with Nokian WR-A3  205/50 R17 93V

Very reasonable priced compared to VW's offering. I think they look pretty good on my Night Blue GTD. Regarding performance can't really comment as last Winter wasn't bad however damp/wet traction was definitely improved. Personally I would always have a separate set of wheels/tyres rather than change tyres twice per year

Andy

[p3asa]

I bought Nankang Snow for my old A1 and was really impressed with them.
In slippery conditions they felt reassuringly safe.
There is only one way in and out of my road which is a reasonably steep hill. When it snowed one year cars were taking a run at it and getting stuck half way up. The Nankang tyres took the car up the hill with ease. In fact to test them I actually came back down the hill and then went back up it deliberately stopping half way up.
I don't have other winter tyres to compare them to apart from Yokohama Ice that are on my daughters car but since we never really got snow or ice last year its difficult to compare them.

I know they're not just for snow and ice but for me that is when I would need them most.

[andrewparker]

Likewise, I ran the Nankang Snow SV-2 for four seasons on my GTI and thought they were excellent. They excelled in compacted snow and were actually very good in the dry. It was only in wet greasy conditions that traction became an issue when pushing on, but I used that as a healthy reminder that the roads were slippy and to ease off.

[runningman35]

I bought Nankang Snow for my old A1 and was really impressed with them.
In slippery conditions they felt reassuringly safe.
There is only one way in and out of my road which is a reasonably steep hill. When it snowed one year cars were taking a run at it and getting stuck half way up. The Nankang tyres took the car up the hill with ease. In fact to test them I actually came back down the hill and then went back up it deliberately stopping half way up.
I don't have other winter tyres to compare them to apart from Yokohama Ice that are on my daughters car but since we never really got snow or ice last year its difficult to compare them.

I know they're not just for snow and ice but for me that is when I would need them most.

I laughed when I read your comments about stopping on your home hill road and deliberately trying to move off without getting stuck!   :grin:Done exact same thing at my parents house, which was desperate some winters! I used to get up the road in reverse for around 1 mile climb up the hill before, I could afford to buy a decent set of winter tyres.

On that note I think I will try to go down spare set of wheels and rubber combo, as I do a lot of miles so definitely a way to try keep original alloys and summer tyres fresher for longer!

[p3asa]

You'll definitely need them in Aberdeenshire.
I mind driving to Alford one year in the winter when Glasgow had a sprinkling of snow. Got there and it was easily a foot deep! That was in the 90's though when we had skinny / small tyres so snow was no problem back then 

[runningman35]

Yeah, I remember 1995 winter when I got snowed in at a local Hotel I was working at as a barman and that was Xmas eve, and snow was 1.5feet in 12 hours, and managed to get out in the morning with assistance of the owner only to slide like on polished glass surface he had made with his tractor plough and prang my dad's Impreza 1.8 GL. Knocked out the front fogs on a snow bank and scared the sh!t out of myself, as like Bambi on ice! Doubt even snow tyres would have helped much then, needed studded tyres!

Happy days LOL