first taste of winter in a VR4

[chris g]

different sized tyres generally a NO NO!

And winter tyres are ok when you have winter wheels for would you believe the winter and that lovely salt and ****

Save good wheels for summer!

[Nick Mann]

That setup is very likely to cook your transfer box. I have been in a car that had different sized tyres front to rear, not as different as yours, and the transfer box cooked itself on the motorway.

[jbjonb]

does anyone know what profile I should be running on the front to match the rear?? rear is 235/45/17.......

[jbjonb]

i have staggered fitment wedsracing rs-5's fronts can take 215 wide...which profile would i need to keep my transfer box happy??

[horndog]

i have staggered fitment wedsracing rs-5's fronts can take 215 wide...which profile would i need to keep my transfer box happy??

At the minute (ignoring tyre wear), your front tyres (205/40R17) are rolling radius 297.5mm your rears (235/45R17) are rolling radius 321.5, thats over 20mm in radius

Changing the fronts to a 215/50 R17 will give a rolling radius of 323.5 which is only 2mm difference.
Obviously tyre tread wear will also have an impact on the actual radius of the tyre and I cant say you will be 100% safe, but to me 2mm is a negligible difference

[jbjonb]

cheers horndog my rears are abe near enough brand new ..... defo don't want my transfer box going

[jbjonb]

just found out that that the fronts used to be 215/45/17?? would that be about right??

[horndog]

just found out that that the fronts used to be 215/45/17?? would that be about right??

215/45R17 = r312.5
I personally would avoid a 10mm difference if i could, i dont know the spec of the transfer box or what it can reliably handle in respect to revs at the front wheels to revs at the rear

205/40R17 = r297.5
235/45R17 = r321.5
215/50R17 = r323.5


disclamer : Note I am just using a tyre size calculator from a google search to get the rolling radius. please double check before changing/buying anything

[aboo]

on trucks Andy? no chance. too expen.sive. normal tyres cost around £250 each so it would cost £1500 to put a new set of tyres on a tractor unit. winter tyres would cost even more. multiply that by 100 trucks and you are talking serious money. then the season ends and you need to put summer tyres on again. where the hell are you going to store all those winter tyres through summer?

This is why I asked the question.

If winter tyres were so important in this country why do haulage firms not put winter tyres on there wagons? I know it would be expensive but if we really needed them that badly in this country I'm sure with the nanny state we live in now a days health & safety would kick in & make them fit them.

[Nick Mann]

Many countries in Europe do have to fit winter tyres in colder months. The fact we do not have to fit them is not a good argument to ignore them, IMO. I researched winter tyres quite a lot last year and we bought them for Vickys car. I have not yet bought them for mine but it is on my list of things I would like to do. My understanding is that if temperatures are below 7 degrees celcius, regardless of the presence of ice or snow, the rubber compound in winter tyres means you have more grip than you would on summer tyres. Average temps of 7 degrees or below in the UK usually start in November and finish in March. (There is obviously regional variation!) 4 months of the year where winter tyres are potentially a better bet than summer tyres. We have the luxury of enough space to store some extra wheels, so the outlay of cost is only an extra set of tyres, and potentially it will be longer before we change the summer ones anyway.

John - the car I saw a dead transfer box in was wearing 225/35/18 on the front and 225/40/18 on the rear. That gives a difference of just under 4%, or 11mm on the radius. I think 5mm is the maximum difference you should contemplate - being the difference between new tyres and nearly worn out tyres. I personally try to keep it within 2mm.

[chris g]

Winrer tyres are like lower profile/bigger wheels/tyres - perform better...

Neither are required or essential...

[swinks]

Neither are required or essential...

Said insurance company happy raise premium due to massive amount of accidents every winter.

Don't understand why insurance is not voided if you were in collision in winter months having not suitable tyres?
Why it is different to having bald tyres in a summer and you are fined for that?

[WOODY72]

We dont get the winters in this country like they do abroad. We just get occasional snow. Not for long enough IMO to warrant spending a few hundred quid on another set of wheels and winter tyres. If you can stop quicker on winter tyres than most other drivers, you are more likely to get run into. All you need in our climate is half decent tyres and drive sensibly! DONT PANIC.

[Scanny]

you could use the same arguement about anything. why improve your brakes if you can adapt your driving style and brake earlier? winter tyres do make a big difference to grip as i discovered last year so that can only be a good thing. you dont need a set of alloys specifically for them but winter does take its toll on any finish so if you spend £1400 on a set of racing alloys, do you really want to use them in winter? i would rather do what i did with the V6 and have the good alloys for summer and a crappy set for winter. i still have the tyres and they are the same size as the tyres i am currently using so why wouldnt i put them on the car during winter? it makes far less sense to have them and not using them

at the end of the day it is up to individual choice and most people wont bother. thats fine as long as they stay away from me because i will be making my car as safe as i can so i will be fitting the winter tyres as i know they are worth putting on when its cold enough and its going to remain cold enough

[chris g]

So dont have winter tyres and dont stop as effectively and run into the back of someone...?

No just choose whether to have them because thayts what YOU want

I have some cheaper sets VR-4 wheels and winter tyres that will go on Airtrek/VR-4/RVR...

And will use them...

[Scanny]

stepping away from the winter tyre debate, i have noticed another difference with the VR4. i seem to remember spending between 20 and 45 minutes clearing the V6 (depending on severity of weather ie light frost or covered in snow) but the VR4 had a totally clear windscreen in 10 minutes tonight with a good layer of frost over the car. it seems to warm up a lot quicker so the front demister is more effective