Winter tyres

[Paulkgti]

So looking to see if anyone can shed any light on this, I have a mk7.5 dsg with all new very cheap tyres the dealership put on and under load I get absolutely no traction what so ever, with winter approaching and living in scotland who knows what weather we will get this year, question is has anyone experienced the benefits of using winter/all season tyres with a dsg on snow/ice

Thanks paul

[mcmaddy]

Not yet but I've got Michelin all season on a set of Belvederes to go on my TCR in the next week or so.

[golfdave]

Doesn't matter what gearbox/engine/drive system etc...3mountain peak & snowflake rated tyres will outperform any "normal" tyres on ice, slush & at temps below +7C as the rubber contains more silica to enable it to be more flexible at lower temps...

Do you want to run a separate set of alloys with dedicated winters or just get a set of better tyres for all year & fit to the existing alloys???

BTW I live in north Scotland & have 26yrs experience of winter driving!

[Paulkgti]

I'm just keeping the same alloys just wanted winter tyres then I will swap them over spring time and change to summer tyres and store the winters away, I'm in glasgow not the worst of winters but roads do get icy and I want to make sure the other half is safe as possible when out on the roads, either way the tyres on it need to go %uD83D%uDE02

[golfdave]

I'm just keeping the same alloys just wanted winter tyres then I will swap them over spring time and change to summer tyres and store the winters away, I'm in glasgow not the worst of winters but roads do get icy and I want to make sure the other half is safe as possible when out on the roads, either way the tyres on it need to go %uD83D%uDE02

Taking tyres of the same set of alloys & refitting them in not good as you run the risk of breaking the tyre bead....so are you buying another set of alloys or not??

[Ceefeesh]

Last week I bought a set of Michelin Crossclimate + 225 x 40 x 18 to put on a set of CM Reifnitz 18" I bought in July. I got the tyres from Black Circles and had them delivered when they had a 15% off flash sale. I'll get them fitted locally in the next two weeks. It was a decent saving over local prices even after I pay for fitting.  I'll see what they're like after that.

[Guzzle]

If you're just going to run the one set of alloys, you'll save yourself a whole load of hassle and tyre fitting costs by just going for something like a Michelin Crossclimate tyre and keeping them on all year.

They won't be as good as a full winter in extreme cold, or a summer tyre when on the limit. But they will cover most of the bases inbetween and should be more than good enough to see you through a mild-ish UK winter.

[fredgroves]

I was wondering if anyone had actually run crossclimates all year round yet?

Whether all of the usual sub-optimal tyre problems we see on GTI's are any better or any worse?

The tramping problem is particular to the GTI, you hear it a lot on here..... and its only usually fixed by PS4's or SC5/6's.

[itavaltalainen]

I’d always recommend to run winter tyres on a second set of painted/coated alloy wheels.
Firstly you can go down on size a little (e.g. 17 rather than 18) and you don’t mess up your pretty diamond cut alloys in the winter months.
Secondly you can always swap them over yourself and don’t need to wait for a tyre fitter if snow comes down surprisingly.

On my GTD I ran Nokia’s WR A4 in 205 55 16 on cheap second hand Audi alloys; as I already had them from my previous mk7 (this is the size needed if you wanted to fit chains!). Would probably fit 225 45 17 if I was gonna buy some myself again.

I’d go for the Nokians again, great tyres.

[rwleigh]

I can recommend a set of Michelin Crossclimate+ which I bought from Blackcircles when they had the 15% off flash sale on. You could run them all year round but i'll be going back to my Brescias with PS4S's in the spring.