Winter tyres and wheels - Help needed

[yohans]

This message is directed to the UK members of the forum. I'm in Melbourne, Australia

I'd appreciate any assistance in helping me identify tyre dealers in the UK who supply good value winter wheel sets. I have a X20d on the big 322 wheels and have done about 35,000 km on the original set of tyres (Goodyear Efficient Grip RFT's). I probably still have about 5-10k left on the tyres but the tyres are in that area of wear where for driving to and in the snow this year will probably not give good performance. So I'm looking to improve performance whilst still getting the life from the original RFT's.

I'm looking to possibly purchase a set of 4 winter RFT's eg. Nokians or equivalent fitted to steel 17x7.5 in wheels. This will give me a second set of wheels (narrower, better for the snow and mud)

I know a shipper company who could purchase and ship the wheels once we know who to go to.

Any input is appreciated, thanks

Yohans

[Gatekeeper]

Ther's already a thread on the subject of Winter tires. We all went all over the concept, in and out, this past Winter...

[yohans]

Thanks,

to clarify:

I am looking for names of dealers in the UK who supply these wheel sets.

[Gatekeeper]

I realize that. Just saying you couldve used the same thread.

[mario486]

Originally Posted by yohans

Thanks,

to clarify:

I am looking for names of dealers in the UK who supply these wheel sets.

Hi Yohans, I got mine direct from BMW. The dealer who supplied mine was Eastern Motor Company BMW Edinburgh.

Tel no is UK 0844 375 1669

Cost was £800 including steel rims and trims.

There are some other good web dealers here you can contact. Best ones are

etyres.co.uk

and

mytyres.co.uk

The only thing is that its the wrong season here so some may be out of stock.

Hope this helps but let me know if I can help any further.


Update : Just checked mytyres and they seem to have quite a variety in stock.

[yohans]

Gatekeeper - I didn't see this as the same thread as before, however I'm happy to have the threads merged if someone can do that.

Mario486 - Thank you, this is exactly the sort of information I am looking for. Yes, the opposite seasons may make it a bit hard to find good deals or stock. Can I ask, which tyres did you get in your £800 deal and would you recommend them.

Thanks once again

[mario486]

Originally Posted by yohans

..
Mario486 - Thank you, this is exactly the sort of information I am looking for. Yes, the opposite seasons may make it a bit hard to find good deals or stock. Can I ask, which tyres did you get in your £800 deal and would you recommend them.

Thanks once again

You are welcome.

BMW only had one type and they were Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D in 225/50/17 size. I did a wee bit of research and these came out on or near the top in quite a few reviews so was delighted.

You can see the reviews here http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Du...r-Sport-3D.htm

From my own experience I can tell you they are very good! In fact it never ceases to amaze me what a difference the tyre makes when things get slippery. I live up a steep hill and on a foot of snow with a hard packed ice base my non-scientific experimental results are:
2x4 (Mini Cooper) on summer tyres - not a chance in hell, actually you slide backwards/sideways
4x4 (X1) on summer tyres - serious spinning and icing of tyres, a lot of side slipping, can get up with some effort and gritting.
4x4 (X1) on winter tyres - no problem, no slipping at all

I reacon that my stopping distance is also at least 30% better on winters.

Anyway I can on about them but will stop there.