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Sno Tyres And Wheels


gorcal1965
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Sorry folks have a is220d, and am off skiing in europe and wanted some advice.

I've got 245/45/17 and 225/45/17 alloys with bridgestones.

Wonder does anyone have advice on what 16" or 17" wheels fit the car, I really need to buy a second cheap set of wheels for snow tyres.

As its snow would really prefer the 16".

regards

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Probably much better buying snowchains.

crap...... never consider snow chains as an alternative for proper winter tyres. You can not drive on a normal road surface with chains for a start.

driving in very cold temperatures or on an icy or snow covered road with summer tyres is asking for trouble and likely to cause u to loose control and crash.

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In areas of Europe where they are more used to snowfalls it is a legal requirement to be prepared for such occurrences, particularly in alpine regions. So if you plan to visit France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy or any of the Scandinavian countries you should be aware that there are certain areas where snowchains or other traction aids must be carried and without which you may be refused entry.

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yes i have my chains in the boot all the time over the winter period, many areas require u to have chains in the vehicle but no one actually checks, however many brits think you can get into the higher alpine regions on summer tyres and using chains is a valid alternative.

i see it every year in grindelwald, laax, gstaad etc.... the brit car stuck on a slight hill and the bloke figuring out how to put the chains on... meanwhile causing huge traffic problems as he is blocking the road.

I am glad the OP has the sense to ask about winter tyres.

It would be better to get 16" wheels but if you cant, get a good set of winter tyres, michelin alpin, goodyear, dunlop etc - AVOID TOYO!!!!!!

or hire a car at your destination.......

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yes i have my chains in the boot all the time over the winter period, many areas require u to have chains in the vehicle but no one actually checks, however many brits think you can get into the higher alpine regions on summer tyres and using chains is a valid alternative.

i see it every year in grindelwald, laax, gstaad etc.... the brit car stuck on a slight hill and the bloke figuring out how to put the chains on... meanwhile causing huge traffic problems as he is blocking the road.

I am glad the OP has the sense to ask about winter tyres.

It would be better to get 16" wheels but if you cant, get a good set of winter tyres, michelin alpin, goodyear, dunlop etc - AVOID TOYO!!!!!!

or hire a car at your destination.......

1/ Anyone with any sense would practice fitting chains at home until they could do it competently. If they cause a holdup due to their inability to fit them they become liable to a fine for impeding traffic flow, as you are no doubt aware.

2/ Whilst locally registered cars may never be checked to see if chains are being carried, Brit cars, if stopped, tend to be checked in most European countries for compliance with local motoring laws, as we are renowned for being somewhat ignorant regarding requirements in other countries.

3/ The OP did not ask about winter tyres. The OP asked specifically about snow tyres which are not actually the same thing.

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yes i have my chains in the boot all the time over the winter period, many areas require u to have chains in the vehicle but no one actually checks, however many brits think you can get into the higher alpine regions on summer tyres and using chains is a valid alternative.

i see it every year in grindelwald, laax, gstaad etc.... the brit car stuck on a slight hill and the bloke figuring out how to put the chains on... meanwhile causing huge traffic problems as he is blocking the road.

I am glad the OP has the sense to ask about winter tyres.

It would be better to get 16" wheels but if you cant, get a good set of winter tyres, michelin alpin, goodyear, dunlop etc - AVOID TOYO!!!!!!

or hire a car at your destination.......

1/ Anyone with any sense would practice fitting chains at home until they could do it competently. If they cause a holdup due to their inability to fit them they become liable to a fine for impeding traffic flow, as you are no doubt aware.

2/ Whilst locally registered cars may never be checked to see if chains are being carried, Brit cars, if stopped, tend to be checked in most European countries for compliance with local motoring laws, as we are renowned for being somewhat ignorant regarding requirements in other countries.

3/ The OP did not ask about winter tyres. The OP asked specifically about snow tyres which are not actually the same thing.

ah right i would be be very interested in finding snow specific tyres for sedan cars compared to winter MS tyres... can u give me a link for that??

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http://www.snowtyres.com.au/severe-service-emblem.

Explains why many tyres can be marked M+S(mud and snow) whilst failing to give the grip/traction required in snow. As it says, Severe snow-rated tyres must provide traction at least 10% better than a standard reference test tyre.

Realistically Rob, the majority of proper snow tyres are listed as winter snow tyres nowadays. The point I was trying to make was that snowchains fitted and used correctly are probably a better alternative for people who drive to ski-ing locations maybe once a year, as they will probably only encounter uncleared snow/ice for the last 10/20 miles of their journey. Since a lot of European countries require chains to be carried it would, to me anyway, make sense to use them for that final leg of the journey. For people such as yourself who live there, winter/snow tyres make more sense.

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yep thats what i thought u were going to mention.....

well for anyone that planning on coming over to winter resorts and on summer tyres be very very careful, it just needs a little snow fall or to hit compacted snow thats turned into ice and you will find urself slip and sliding about - happens on the highways also.

snow has only just started to fall over here a few days ago BTW we had 20cm overnight in zurich but it melted the next day :o(

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One other thing is that the wider your tyres, the worse the traction in snow and standing water, as I noticed on my old 300 sport with the 275/35/18's on the rear. For anyone toying with spare wheels with snow tyres, best to get narrowest profile tyres that fit the wheels.

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exactly! 16" with the narrowest profile u can get if possible. however i just use the standard alloys as my winter wheels, no probs so far.

Thanks folks, got a set of avon snow tyres £350 from camskill, the vredesteins were ~ £500 and the michelin alpins £700.#

Also got a set of Weisenfells Klack & Go "Quattro sno chains..

Hopefully that will see me thro', but will let you know how it all worked out.

Regards Gordon

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