Recommended Winter tyres and suppliers

[c.morewood]

I've just bough a set of Vredestein Snowtrac 3 tyres from a company called OPONEO.co.uk They seem to be based in Poland and ship the tyres from Germany (Free Delivery) I got 205/60R15 91T 's for £70 each. I was quoted £95 each locally not fitted!
I've had these on for 4 winters and they never put a tread wrong. Working unsocial hours I need to be able to get to work when the gritters/ploughs haven't been out in our area and they plus the Xantia have never let me down.
I hope this helps someone.

Chris

[Rhothgar]

mytyres.co.uk is a good source too for any tyres.

Their prices will fluctuate according to weather conditions on winter tyres though!

£75.70 for 205/60R15 91T and supports UK economy!

[Lighty]

And I am. mY tyres recommended fitting station

[GB]

mytyres.co.uk is a good source too for any tyres.

Their prices will fluctuate according to weather conditions on winter tyres though!

£75.70 for 205/60R15 91T and supports UK economy!

mytyres.co.uk is a major German company (Delticom, €280m annual revenue), and their tyre prices fluctuate daily mainly due to €/£ exchange rate.

[Citroenmad]

I've just bough a set of Vredestein Snowtrac 3 tyres from a company called OPONEO.co.uk They seem to be based in Poland and ship the tyres from Germany (Free Delivery) I got 205/60R15 91T 's for £70 each. I was quoted £95 each locally not fitted!
I've had these on for 4 winters and they never put a tread wrong. Working unsocial hours I need to be able to get to work when the gritters/ploughs haven't been out in our area and they plus the Xantia have never let me down.
I hope this helps someone.

Chris

That is really useful information

I was looking at winter tyres for my Xantia this morning, I use oponeo too and I have been considering the Vredesteins. So its good to hear from someone who has used them on a Xantia.

Im unsure if I should go for the standard 205 size or downsize to the smaller Xantia tyre size - 185.65.15? They are quite a bit cheaper and also narrower - so better in the snow?

I have Firestone Winterhawks for the C5 and while they are an improvement over summer tyres I did expect more. I wouldn't go with Firestones again. I got Kleber winter tyres for the C5 estate, which do grip better than the Firestones.

How many people on here who get winter tyres just go for any cheap brand or do you get the best brand you can?

[Xantidote]

Im unsure if I should go for the standard 205 size or downsize to the smaller Xantia tyre size - 185.65.15

Interested in whether the insurance company has any comments on this? As you say, the Xantia's tyre is narrower so better in snow, though I think the Xantia's tyre Load Index at 88 is less than that on C5s (91?).

[Citroenmad]

Im unsure if I should go for the standard 205 size or downsize to the smaller Xantia tyre size - 185.65.15

Interested in whether the insurance company has any comments on this? As you say, the Xantia's tyre is narrower so better in snow, though I think the Xantia's tyre Load Index at 88 is less than that on C5s (91?).

That is a question to ask my insurers. However the winter tyres Im after are for a Xantia and not C5, so changing to another Xantia sized tyre shouldn't be a problem, in theory

[c.morewood]

I had that same dilema Chris, to go for smaller 185/195 tyres, cheaper to buy more mpg and better in deep snow, or not, I decided to stick with the 205's as it's not always going to be snowing and I put my winter tyres on whenever the temp gets regularly below 7C (I do shift work so lots of late night and early morning travelling) therefore 205's should give better grip on wet/icy roads and of course 205's were specified for my car

[Citroenmad]

I probably will end up going for 205s, easier with insurance and it keeps the cars handling and looks as it should be. But what brand should I go for?

Yours HDi has accumulated an impressive mileage

[GB]

The latest ADAC winter tyre test

205/55 R 16 H
http://www.adac.de/infotestrat/tests/re ... geId=31821

215/65 R16 T
http://www.adac.de/infotestrat/tests/re ... geId=31821

[Xantidote]

Chris, sorry, when you mentioned 205 tyre, I automatically assumed you were talking/thinking of fitting Xantia sized tyres to one of your C5s - my mistake - should have read your post properly

With my thinking you were considering Xantia 185.65.15 on a C5, which has a wider tyre, I was interested in the response from insurance company. This because I have a good set of winter tyres for my xantia TD, and I'm not sure how legal they'd be on a C5. Not actually sure how legal they'd be on a Xantia 110

[Citroenmad]

They way I see it is that 185.65.15 is a Xantia size and so there should not be a problem with insurance. However this is insurace we are talking about and they rarely seem to do logic, so I guess they would frown or pick a figure from thin air as to the additional premium. Something I can not understand as by fitted winter tyres dueing the cold months, your making your car safer

I have 215.55.16 tyres on my C5 and have a spare set of alloys with that correct size of winter tyre fitted to all four.

[Old-Guy]

As the Xantia will soon need at least 3 new tyres, I spent the last part of this afternoon researching winter tyres before winter really sets in and winter tyre prices start to rise.

Having looked at various magazine winter tyre tests I've plumped for the Goodyear UltraGrip G8. This seems to best fit what I'm looking for in a winter tyre - reassuring handling under all conditions, strong performance in the cold and wet with good snow/ice performance, low noise and all at a competitive price. The highly-rated Conti TS850 seems to be more biased towards snow/ice than wet and ice (more relevant to Gloucestershire), is four times noisier (71dB against the Goodyear's 68dB), and is significantly more expensive.

So for a set of 4 Goodyear ULTRA GRIP 8 185/65 R15 88T, MyTyres.co.uk seem to be the cheapest UK supplier at £57.90 (each) incl VAT and delivery.

I'll report back in a few weeks (or sooner if it turns really wintery).

[Old-Guy]

TYRE SIZES

I've been told some reference sources give the 'standard' rim size as 14" for S1 Estates. My understanding is that ALL estates were fitted with 15" rims if only because 14" rims won't adequately clear the larger discs and callipers.

So if you're ordering tyres for a Xantia it would be wise to check what size rims are fitted and what the original tyre size was.

[Citroenmad]

I also believe all Xantia estates have 15" wheels.

Seems to be a good choice with the Goodyear UntraGrips. The Nokians look tempting too, not a popular brand here but I believe its a premium brand in its country of origin.

Not quite decided on what Im going for yet but I have decided im sticking with the correct 205.60.15 tyre size for my Xantia.