Brian B,

I have the same summer stock tyres as you but missed the snow last year as I only bought the car on New Years Eve. I live next door to you in Surrey. Following sound advice from forum members, I found the best choice online at tyres online @ mytyres.co.uk: tyre dealer for cheap passenger, summer, winter tyres where you can get just the tyres or a complete steel or alloy wheel with the tyre pre-mounted. The nice thing about this site was that, for the complete steel wheel, you just need to know your car make, model and year of manufacture. I opted for Bridgestone LM-80 BSW 215/70/16 mounted on steel wheels which means I do the wheel change when I want and at no ongoing garage cost. Tyre choices are now limited and prices are high as the best time to buy is before the end of September - I got mine for £160 per wheel and this is a premium winter tyre!

Tyres are in store in my trailer in my garage but looks like they might be coming out in next 2/3 weeks. If you take this approach you'll also need a set of steel wheel nuts as the alloy wheel nuts are not taperred which will be a requirement for steel wheels - the dealer price is £3.50 per nut. I also got four locking nuts for steel wheels as a precaution (for the tyre not the wheel) and generic Halford wheel covers. One other tool that I have to hand is a extending wheel nut wrench as your wheels gets rotated on each service and tightened with an air gun

I agree entirely with Claude_A. My speed rating is either H or T on the LM-80s - you'll not need a V speed rating. My only irritation is that it has been relatively mild so far, but I am confident that with this setup I will get out and about in the worst road conditions to come.

Let me know if you need any more info,

Thanks,

LB

 

LB

Many thanks for the info. I have come across the mytyres site but have been reluctant to switch from 18" to 16" wheels. I assume you have not had any problems in doing this ( I note re. the different wheel nuts) and
re. a spare do you just rely on the OEM space spacer even with the 16" wheels ?
What was the delivery from from mytyres ?

Regards

Brian B

 

Haven't fitted them yet but don't forget that this rim / tyre ratio is fine for the car as it is offered for the Equippe trim as standard. The overall diameter of tyre and wheel between 215/70/16 and 225/55/18 is just 2mm, so no technical issues. The wheel nuts change is because alloys use flat bottom nuts but steel wheels use taperred nuts. You'll find this mentioned in the handbook and both fit on the hub bolts with no problem - the ones I will be using are Mitsu supplied (I can get you the part number if you need it). The general advice is that a deeper and thinner tyre is a better option for winter as its all about traction not sports performance.

Haven't got a spare so will have to rely on the space saver. Will think about getting an additional wheel and tyre next year in the Summer when prices are rock bottom.

The supplier were good - did what they said they'd do in the timescales and the tyre mounting on the wheel has been balanced and is a 'tidy' job. They aren't quite as good on providing information as the order progresses but the outcome for me was very good and I would use them again - perhaps for the spare

All I need is the snow now!

Cheers,

LB

 

I have done the same as LB. Although my Outlander is the different ’04 model, I have gone down from 18” alloys to 16” steel wheels with winter tyres. I also purchased these from mytyres website. Delivery was about 3 weeks, and I had to chase them for delivery.
I purchased a set of wheel nuts from Home - MisteR Tee's wheel nut emporium at only 50p each and finished off the installation with a set of cheap plastic trims. £20.
If anything the road noise is less with the narrower tyres, but that obviously depends on the make of tyre. I went for the Vredestein Wintrac Exteme.
As my Outlander runs on LPG, I don’t carry a spare wheel (the tank sits in the spare wheel well), I just carry one of those repair aerosols. Thankfully I haven’t had to use it yet, so I can’t say how good they are.
I am now waiting in anticipation for the snow to come to test out this 4wd / winter tyre combination

Matt

 

Matt

Many thanks for the info. Could you please give me the part number of the wheel nuts you bought from Mister Tee 's for the 16" steel wheels.
Looking forward to hearing how you get on with your winter tyres.

regards

Brian B

 

I purchased part No. 5406LOP which are M12x1.5 with a 13/16" wrench size. They are not particularly prety, but once covered with a plastic wheel trim, they can't be seen. At only 50p each + £4 P&P for a set of 20, they are a good price. Bear in mind that mine is a 2004 model Outlander. Please check that your stud thread and wrench is the same size.
Cheers
Matt

 

Fitted the winter tyres (on 16" wheels) on Sunday as it is getting somewhat cooler now. Fairly simple process albeit requiring some physical strength to man-handle the wheels around. Test drove in 9 degree temperatures with buckets of grip but obviously expect the advantage to come in at cooler temps and the worser the driving conditions.

If we get any bad snow and ice I'll video how the car performs and put a link to it up here but I'm not expecting any problems

LB

 

I would also agree with all the above. I have Vredestein Wintrac4 Extreme's and in last year's snow they were fantastic. On snow covered roads in the Cotswolds it felt like driving on tarmac, and in the deep stuff with 4WDLock and the ASC off, it just digs itself out, no shovel rqd!
I bought a set of 16" Mitsu alloys secondhand for £75, and as all but L200/Shogun/Colt wheels are the same size (PCM, offset, hub dia. etc) they are a perfect fit. Also should be okay if it comes to any insurance claim as I am following the manufacturers recommendations on tyre choice and have factory wheels, ie no modification!
You will also find that 16" tyre prices are a lot less than 18's and not having to pay a garage swap them each year will offset your outlay.
Just do it! You won't regret it.