Winter wheels

[Fluffy4eva]

The car is too new to me for me to have experienced it myself, but I have read somewhere that the low proform tyres of the DS3 sport aren't great for handling in snowy weather. Perhaps overkill (do please tell me if so - But I've always been cautious of driving in snow since my first and worst accident occurred in those conditions) I've been thinking of getting a spare set of wheels with more snow-friendly tyres to have chop and changed each year if this is the case.

IF this is considered not entirely pointless by you all, would you be so kind as to advise me on wheel/tyre combo's. If I have 17" alloys with low proforms, will I need to go down a wheel size or two in order to fit more standard/winter friendly tyres on, etc etc?

[DavidDS3]

I think it is generally accepted that winter tyres will out perform standard all season tyres during snow and icy conditions. I personally have a dedicated set of steel wheels with Michelin Alpin which I swap over with my alloys and summer tyres from about October to April. The tyres are 195/55 R16. I know it is quite an outlay to go down this route but when I had a C4 I was paying £10 per wheel to have winter tyres swapped over onto my alloy rims i.e £80 per year. My winter tyres have completed their 4th season and as I store them in a dark shed they don't appear to have deteriorated and I think are good for another two winters. Other bonuses are the alloys aren't subjected to salt corrosion and obviously saving wear on my Bridgestones, but the biggest bonus is that I don't get stuck in snow and have better grip on icy roads.

[BeefMasta]

I think it really depends on the normal conditions where you are and if you're happy to spend the money. It's a fact that winter tyres will out perform all season tyres in winter conditions and to some people it's probably worth it.

For me, where I live, we've had 3 days of snow in the last 12 months. I have a DSport petrol with Bellones (17 inch) and all season tyres on and have never had an issue. There was one day where it was solid ice everywhere I took the bus but that was more to do the state of my estate. I know on the Performance it says in the manual that the 18 inch alloys with low profile tyres are not recommended to be used in snow / icy conditions.

At the end of the day only you can make the decision, it does sound like you've already decided you want some and Davids recommendations sound pretty good, so I would go for it if I were you.

[Fluffy4eva]

PROFILE!!! I knew my word was off, but I couldn't be assed to google it just to make me seem a little less like an idiot when I was almost inevitably going to prove myself an idiot in a different way anyway. hehe.

Fabulous. Thanks guys. The tyre recommendations in particular are appreciated. I have a winter plan!! :-)

[BeefMasta]

PROFILE!!! I knew my word was off, but I couldn't be assed to google it just to make me seem a little less like an idiot when I was almost inevitably going to prove myself an idiot in a different way anyway. hehe.

Fabulous. Thanks guys. The tyre recommendations in particular are appreciated. I have a winter plan!! :-)

Tbh most spelling mistakes I blame on auto-correct and people not noticing so you could have gotten away with it

[Captain Nick]

Holy thread resurrection, Batman! I know I could open a new one but this is directly related and continues on from the previous posts.

Our 2011 DSport 110HDi is still on original tyres on the back (Michelin Exalto and now discontinued) but has had the front changed to Goodyear Eagle F1's a couple of years back so now needs new tyres all round. The Michelin's seemed better than the Goodyear's on this car so one option is to go for the OE replacement tyre which after several iterations is apparently Michelin Pilot Sport 4's at about £460 a set.

Another option is Toyo Proxes T1-R's which I run on the MGF as they are by far the best tyres available for that particular car bar none (and the MG-TF) and I can get a set from Demon Tweeks for £191 in their sale but these, like the PS4's and Exalto's are Summer tyres and I don't know how good they are on the DS3.

This is my missus' daily driver to work in Stamford, Lincs and last year she got stuck after work and couldn't get out of Stamford as it is in a valley and all the uphill roads were impassable so she had to stay overnight at a friends house (that's the excuse she used anyway! ) so another option is Winter/All Season tyres. Winter tyres should not be used in the Summer as their performance is significantly worse than Summer ones but I hear that All Season tyres have recently come of age and are no longer just re-badged Winter tyres so did a bit of research.

I would suggest to anyone with a modicum of interest in Tyres or "spirited" driving to subscribe to this YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TyreReviews

The presenter is brill and they have recently posted this video which amazed me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cgtmmtsqFA

He really rates the Michelin CrossClimate+ as they are almost the perfect tyre and somehow perform close to a Summer Tyre whilst being as good as any All Season and most Winter tyres. They don't make them in the standard size for the 17" Bellone's which is 205/45R17 but they do make them in 215/45R17 which are 1.4% larger and I think that is insignificant re handling/speedo error etc.

So does anyone have any experience of the CrossClimate+ or have any thoughts on the 215/45R17 fitment?

What about the Pilot Sport 4's or Toyo T1-R's on the DS3?

[Sirdan555]

I've got crossclimates on my grandpicasso. I think they are a very good compromise. Bit I'm not comfortable using them on my DS3 because there are already in excess of 200bhp going through those front wheels! So I like a dedicated summer tyre and am now looking for a dedicated winter tyre too! It'll cost a bit more, but I don't think that all season tyres are a good option on a racier car?

[Sirdan555]

I really like the Michelin pilot sport 4 for summer, I wore out my first set and replaced them with eagle F1 assymetric 3 - my feeling so far is almost as good but not quite as much grip off the line if doing standing quarters etc. Not sure what I'm going to put on when they wear out, probably go back to the pilot sports. Winter wise I managed to get a really good deal on Dunlop winter sport 4ds so going to give them a go when they arrive. Oponeo had them for 120 each delivered which is pretty good.

[Captain Nick]

Cheers for the reply, interesting you have the CrossClimates on your Picasso, what's the longevity like compared to a normal summer tyre? I realise that is a crap question as what exactly is the summer tyre?!! No, just an overall impression, I'm sure you get what I mean!

With regards to performance, 200 BHP wont be too much for All Seasons as they are fitted as standard to a lot of the modern crossover and 4wd vehicles some with significant power outputs. You have to accept a reduction of grip in the warm & dry though but I understand that with the CrossClimate+'s it is apparently very small now and how close to the tyre's performance limit do you get in the dry on UK roads? I have track cars so this is not pushed that hard by my missus and I but it is remapped to about 145 BHP and 254 ft-lb of Torque