Mark 5 Gti - change to winter wheels and tyres

[DeejayGti]

Hi All,

I have a mark 5 gti with 18 inch monza 2 standard alloys

I recently hit a rock in ice and had to replace my wheel at a cost of £700 inc trye and tracking - through insurance!
This got me thinking again about putting on a set of winter wheels and tyres to save my lovely alloys getting knackered during the winter and also be safer with winter tyres fitted.

I have seen a set of mark 5 Golf 15 inch steel wheels for sale with 195/65/15 91H tyre size and thought this a good idea. What does everyone think of this idea? My concern is would the gti drive ok on this tyre and wheel size and be safe? The rolling radius is almost identical but this could be further improved by changing the tyre size.

Any positive or negative comments would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Deejay

[ub7rm]

Only thing I can think of is that the 15's wont clear the brake calipers - I don't know either way whether this is a problem but worth further investigation.  I would think 16's would be OK but 15's might be pushing it...

[DeejayGti]

Many thanks for the reply and good thinking! Anyone else had any experience of this?

[Snoopy]

The 15s don't fit on the GTI due to the front brakes. The 16s are as small as you can go.

If you have a look in the winter tyre thread on the mk6 section i have shown what VW recomend for winter use, Its actually the mk5 i have shown,

Basically they show the 6Jx16 ET50 steels with 205/55R 16 91H winter tyres.

or the

6Jx17 ET48 alloys with 205/50R 17 winter tyres.

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=140502.20

[DeejayGti]

Thats great mate - many thanks for your help. Deejay

[DeejayGti]

Snoopy did you ever find out the cost of the steel wheel and bolts?

[Snoopy]

No sorry.

[mr magoo]

Got to be VERY careful re insurance considerations - I believe winter tyres tend to have a lower speed rating than conventional tyres, and if you're using a lower speed rating than is recommended for the car you could have problems if you had a bump.

I appreciate you're doing this with safety in mind, but almost all insurers will avoid paying out on a claim if they can find the slightest reason to. 

[ub7rm]

I imagine VW have a recommendation for the winter tyre rating.  Just stick to that and you'll be fine.