Winter tires - Why you should think diffrent

[amullo]

Forgot to add......

usually fit you want to go narrower & smaller for winters then down one size in diameter & one size in width..............that would mean 205/55/R16..............& for those who want to fit bigger summers then up one size in diameter & up one size in width...........anything more than this affects the handling even more!

Personally I wouldn't have fitted 195/65 R15 winters when your car comes with 225/45 R17 as summers............

But it's your car, .............just please be aware that posting as you did could leave other people to do the same as you, which is not strictly best practice in all countries.

BTW in winter I am more concerned about Black Ice which we get lots of! A wider proper winter tyre will get more grip than a narrow tyre of the same design! Also remember that with a wider tyre you can run a lower tyre pressure which is better for more grip! Look at all those big balloon tyres on big 4x4's for driving over snow in Iceland, even where I am same 4x4's do this for winter (not as big thought)!

The basemodel Golf comes with 195/65-15 tires from the factory and there are no major diffrences between a GT-spec cars suspension and the base model suspension. The biggest reason for fitting a larger rim is looks, not roadholding. Especially not roadholding in the winter when slush, snow and ice are packed on a tarmac surface. The icelanders your referring to need a wide tire with low pressure to spread the weight to ride on top of the surface, essentially "aquaplanning" ontop of the snow to keep from going through.

On the road, your trying to do the opposite. a narrow tire will have an easier time then a wide one, since a wider tire will need to "plow" through the snow. And you DONT want to get on top like the icelanders.That means surfing and aquaplanning. NOT good.

For reference
http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=126
They actually use the 225/45-17 -> 196/65-15 as an example of downsizing.

Do whatever you want, Its YOUR car (even if you havent even drivven it yet?), but dont go against well known and well established facts aswell as VW´s own usages of tire width aswell as someone who has drivven the car for 10 000 kilometers/6000 miles in winter conditions already. 196/65-15 is recommended for the Golf and is even fitted to factory vehicles. Go for a slightly lower sidewall with 16" if you want, but keep the width of the tire as narrow as is possible for true winter conditions. Or dont. Your call.

I´ve also included a screenshot of VW Swedens guide for recommendation for winter size rims and tires. As you can see, It clearly states that 15" is the right size for the Golf VII GT 2.0 tdi DSG.
Perhaps the UK is diffrent, I have no idea.
The recommendation for my, givven that I drive about 40 000 Km´s/25 000 miles a year is to use studded tires, but we opted for friction ones.

 

[Sjacko20]

An interesting and informative post/debate.
My GTD is likely to arrive midwinter and I will be equipping it with winter tyres and wheels. The OEM summer is 225/40/18 but I can't find a recommendation on the VW UK site for winter but was thinking these http://www.mrwinterwheels.co.uk/16-vw-golf-vii-mark-7-alloy-winter-wheels-black.html with 205/55/16 goodyear ultragrip 9 tyres. What are your thoughts about this set-up?
Simon

 

[amullo]

An interesting and informative post/debate.
My GTD is likely to arrive midwinter and I will be equipping it with winter tyres and wheels. The OEM summer is 225/40/18 but I can't find a recommendation on the VW UK site for winter but was thinking these http://www.mrwinterwheels.co.uk/16-vw-golf-vii-mark-7-alloy-winter-wheels-black.html with 205/55/16 goodyear ultragrip 9 tyres. What are your thoughts about this set-up?
Simon

Givven its a GTD, your right to go for the 16" rim, anything smaller will not fit over your brakes. The size looks right, normally you drop 10% sidewall for every inch of rim, but in this case your also reducing the width of the tire itself, altering the equation.

205/55-16 is what I have on my BMW and it works resonably well, even if the Golf is actually better in the winter (RWD vs FWD I suppose). Id go for either the Michelin Alpine or Continental winter contact tires in the link you provided. The Midlands might not see massive amounts of snow and from what I can see, you normally dont go into massive negative temperatures. What you need is a winter tire suited to moderate conditions that will work well in wet and cold with slush and snow, moderate amounts of ice.
Just keep away from the top three in your link and you should be fine.

 

[Sjacko20]

Thank you. Just got to wait for the car now.

 

[wlfpck]

Good info on winter/snow tires.

You would not believe how many people especially in Ohio think that because they have 4wd or AWD, that they don't need snow tires.

These people just don't get that winter/snow tires will help you stop. 4WD and AWD doesn't help you stop in the least bit. /sigh.

 

[golfdave]

An interesting and informative post/debate.
My GTD is likely to arrive midwinter and I will be equipping it with winter tyres and wheels. The OEM summer is 225/40/18 but I can't find a recommendation on the VW UK site for winter but was thinking these http://www.mrwinterwheels.co.uk/16-vw-golf-vii-mark-7-alloy-winter-wheels-black.html with 205/55/16 goodyear ultragrip 9 tyres. What are your thoughts about this set-up?
Simon

There is no info on VW UK site, I got the info from the VW.de site & their special winter tyre & alloys programme catalogue which is a PDF download. If the UK dealers have any info it will be this info. They recommend 205/50/R17 as the smallest for GTI/GTD/R...............I wouldn't use any other size as it would contravene what VW state & would affect your insurance..

 

[amullo]

There is a recommendation on the Swedish VW site stating 205/55-16 for winters on both GTI and GTD except for cars with the Performance brake option that needs 17"

 

[BusinessAsUsual]

I think a 195 tire is a tad small, but without a doubt doable. I used 205/55/16 on my MK6 Golf and will be using the same size tire for my MK7 GTI.

It's important to stress that a 15" wheel won't clear the brakes on a GTI.

 

[vwman]

An interesting and informative post/debate.
My GTD is likely to arrive midwinter and I will be equipping it with winter tyres and wheels. The OEM summer is 225/40/18 but I can't find a recommendation on the VW UK site for winter but was thinking these http://www.mrwinterwheels.co.uk/16-vw-golf-vii-mark-7-alloy-winter-wheels-black.html with 205/55/16 goodyear ultragrip 9 tyres. What are your thoughts about this set-up?
Simon

Yes they will be fine.

That winter tyre size 205/55/R16 is listed in the VW Workshop manual for the Mk7 GTD.

I'd personally go for the Conti TS850s but they are both good tyres.

 

[pjr]

There is a recommendation on the Swedish VW site stating 205/55-16 for winters on both GTI and GTD except for cars with the Performance brake option that needs 17"

Yes they will be fine.

That winter tyre size 205/55/R16 is listed in the VW Workshop manual for the Mk7 GTD.

I'd personally go for the Conti TS850s but they are both good tyres.

That's handy information to know as I kept the 16" winter alloys & tyres (Dunlop Wintersport) from my old A3, and was hopeful that they would fit over the brake callipers of my non-PP GTI. The PCD, offset & centre bore are all fine, so they should be ok - although they will look a little small compared to the stock 18s

 

[golfdave]

So VW advise an r16 also for the winter option on a GTD with standard brakes????

I think you would have to watch the ET as you are coming down quite a width on the alloy which would move the face of the wheel inwards....you might have to search to find a particular style to fit & clear the face of the brake callipers if not using the VW approved alloys.........

 

[Sjacko20]

So VW advise an r16 also for the winter option on a GTD with standard brakes????

I think you would have to watch the ET as you are coming down quite a width on the alloy which would move the face of the wheel inwards....you might have to search to find a particular style to fit & clear the face of the brake callipers if not using the VW approved alloys.........

The site I linked to has a fitment guarantee so I'll return them if they don't fit correctly.

Simon

 

[VMRWheels1]

very informative thread, thanks for sharing.

 

[amullo]

That's handy information to know as I kept the 16" winter alloys & tyres (Dunlop Wintersport) from my old A3, and was hopeful that they would fit over the brake callipers of my non-PP GTI. The PCD, offset & centre bore are all fine, so they should be ok - although they will look a little small compared to the stock 18s

Should work fine! Several members on a Swedish VW Forum (volkswagengolf.se) report that they are re-using their Mk6 Golf rims/tires on their MK7 cars.
From what I can see in that forum its reported as "Bolt-on, no issues", but I havent owned a Mk6, so take it at facevalue..

 

[golfdave]

Just thought I would pass on what the tyre pressure info sticker on my MK7 Golf estate GT spec states.

16, 17 & 18 inch tyres, 205 being the narrowest, nothing for 15 inch as I thought! Like I said before go up one diameter or down one diameter compared to the OEM tyres but no further as VW won't recommend it!!!!