Winter tyres?

[Ess_Three]

Can anyone tell me what the winter wheel & tyre size is as suggested by VW?
I'm assuming a 205/50/17 would work well enough, just wondering what the 'book' says?

Thanks,

Glen.

[Wurzel]

205 is still pretty wide for winter really. In the snow you need narrow tyres.

[Ess_Three]

205 is still pretty wide for winter really. In the snow you need narrow tyres.

205s are about as narrow as I can find...I have 195/54/16 on my Fabia vRS for winter (205/45/16 summer)...and used to run them on my Mk3 16v Anniversary (215/40/16 summer) and never had a problem, as long as they are proper M&S tyres rated for the cold. The compound and tread design have more of a bearing than saving an extra 10-20mm in width in my experience.

My old man runs 205 wide 16" winter tyres on his Mk5 GT 170 TDI and has no issues even in deep snow up here in the frozen north.

I'm sure 205s will be fine in a car the size of a Mk6.
I just wondered what VW suggest for a Mk6?

[Wurzel]

All I know is the narrower the better.. That's why rally cars use amazingly narrow tyres in snow conditions.

[mac7]

Winter wheel size for the Mk6 GTI is 6x16 with 205/55R16 tyres. Or I guess you could use the sizes recommended for the standard Golfs - 6x15 with 195/65R15.

Info taken from Volkswagen.de configurator.

[VWKev]

You guys change your tyres for the winter and summer months ?

[mac7]

Only if it's gonna snow properly. Which is once every 5 years here in the CO2-enriched Southeast. And then only if I have a set of suitable steels wheels and winter tyres available. Which I used to, but not anymore. Although I wished I had back in February... 225/40's and 10 inches of snow don't go together very well, but I had fun trying. 

[Ess_Three]

Winter wheel size for the Mk6 GTI is 6x16 with 205/55R16 tyres. Or I guess you could use the sizes recommended for the standard Golfs - 6x15 with 195/65R15.

Info taken from Volkswagen.de configurator.

Thanks for that...same size as on the Mk5, I think. I'm sure that's what my old man runs on his Mk5 in winter.
Cheers..

I don't believe you can go smaller than a 16" wheel though as they won't clear the front brakes.

[Ess_Three]

All I know is the narrower the better.. That's why rally cars use amazingly narrow tyres in snow conditions.

But they aren't just for snow.
I tend to put 'winter' tyres on for about 4 months (Dec to Mar) as they give much better grip in snow, but also in the frost.
With the weather we get, it's probably more use in the frost than the snow...but if it wasn't worth doing, I wouldn't have been buying winter wheels and tyres for the last 10 years!

It also saves your nice shiny 18" wheels from the risks of ice caused kerbing.

Rally cars also use studded tyres...but that's not an option!
To be fair, going sidewards at 120 MPH in the snow isn't too high up my proirity list...more actually being able to get up the road outside my house...and that won't be done at speed, or sideways (I hope).

[Ess_Three]

You guys change your tyres for the winter and summer months ?

Yup.
Every daily driver for the last 10 years or so.
I wouldn't have believed the difference with proper winter tyres on had I not tried it...so every year, I change to proper winter wheels and tyres for the worst 3-4 months of the year.