Winter Wheels / Tyres.

[Markyb]

Having had a very near miss 2 weeks into ownership of my ST in March, I have decided to loo into getting a set of winter wheels / tyres.

Has anyone found anything worth buying? I’ve had a quote for about £1200 for wheels and tyres.

Wonder if anyone has found anything a little cheaper?

Cheers.

mark

[Vendee]

It's something I used to do on previous cars before I retired and I used to do a big commute early mornings on iffy A & B roads. It just makes you feel more secure on snow and ice although you still have to drive to the conditions.

I would be working out my tyre circumference and looking to buy an older set of tatty alloys from another Ford model that will give you the same overall diameter. I used to use a wheel which was 1" smaller and bought winter tyres with a higher profile but with your ST you need to be aware of your brake caliper clearance. So if buying from another Ford model you need the same 5 hole PCD spacing and an offset close to your existing offset to avoid the tyres rubbing on inner or outer arches. The offset is usually stamped on the inside of the alloy and described with the letters ET followed by a figure in millimetres.

I used to get 4 years out of a set of winter tyres. Best to stick them on the car beginning of December maybe a few weeks earlier so that you are ready if the weather turns quickly.

[Pawprint66]

I’ve ran full winters for the last 6 years or so on my Fiestas and last Puma.
I’ll be looking to source full winter tyres for the ST very soon as my 18”s won’t fit.
Just buy yourself a set of winter boots of your choice, keep the same wheels and change them over when you feel you need to. It’ll cost about £80.
The car feels more prepared in poor weather and if you can afford it, there is no price on improving safety.
Plus, because your swapping boots, you extend the life of the original tyres.

[Pawprint66]

Forgot to say check out Camskill for tyres.
My 18’s were Nokian WRD4 I think but they have been superseded.

[Vendee]

Just buy yourself a set of winter boots of your choice, keep the same wheels and change them over when you feel you need to. It’ll cost about £80.

I guess it depends on how long you plan to keep the Puma. You can but a set of 19" aftermarket alloys for the Puma for about £550 on ebay so you would have to weigh that up against the cost of changing them over twice a year which I reckon would be closer to £100 than £80 at least where I live. The downside to owning a spare set of alloys with tyres is storage. They do take up a lot of space in your shed/garage etc. I'm with you on the tyre brand. I always had the Nokians. They do know a fair bit about winter driving in that part of the world.

[Pawprint66]

I agree with you 100% Vendee.
It’s all relative to affordability and safety/cost.
Nokian do winters tyres though, no question but I might take a punt on the new Continentals.

[Sparks]

I guess it depends on where you live....We've not had snow of any significance here for a couple of years and then only on a couple of days. We haven't had many days of ice on the roads. I think the bus route only got gritted about 5 times last winter.
I would rather decent wet weather tyres these days, but, I usually deal with bad winter weather by not going out in it.

[FP2022F1T]

I guess it depends on where you live....We've not had snow of any significance here for a couple of years and then only on a couple of days. We haven't had many days of ice on the roads. I think the bus route only got gritted about 5 times last winter.
I would rather decent wet weather tyres these days, but, I usually deal with bad winter weather by not going out in it.

Same here Sparks as you last year was one day, not had the ST long so was a bit nervous on way home, but found ECO was perfect for driving in snow or heavy settling snow 🌨
Hopefully we don't see anymore this winter it's not my favourite driving condition

[Rizmo]

I guess it depends on where you live....We've not had snow of any significance here for a couple of years and then only on a couple of days. We haven't had many days of ice on the roads. I think the bus route only got gritted about 5 times last winter.
I would rather decent wet weather tyres these days, but, I usually deal with bad winter weather by not going out in it.

Same here Sparks as you last year was one day, not had the ST long so was a bit nervous on way home, but found ECO was perfect for driving in snow or heavy settling snow 🌨
Hopefully we don't see anymore this winter it's not my favourite driving condition

Does the ST have the slippery mode option. I found it useful over the last couple of winters.

[FP2022F1T]

I guess it depends on where you live....We've not had snow of any significance here for a couple of years and then only on a couple of days. We haven't had many days of ice on the roads. I think the bus route only got gritted about 5 times last winter.
I would rather decent wet weather tyres these days, but, I usually deal with bad winter weather by not going out in it.

Same here Sparks as you last year was one day, not had the ST long so was a bit nervous on way home, but found ECO was perfect for driving in snow or heavy settling snow 🌨
Hopefully we don't see anymore this winter it's not my favourite driving condition

Does the ST have the slippery mode option. I found it useful over the last couple of winters.

Unfortunately not just ECO, Normal, Sport & Track

Not sure if the LSD helos in snow at?