Deacon

Sorry nothing constructive to add but this thread title did make me wonder what I was going to see when I opened it.... 😵

Count me in too

I'm surprised more places haven't done something like this. Over the years I've not had much problem with spigots but I have lost quite a few centre caps whilst on track!

MSW in the UK could supply aluminium spigot rings as I got some from them for some OZ ultraleggeras I had. Generally I've just used what's come with the wheel and never had any real problems with them - plastic or alloy. Obviously the best option is wheels with the correct centre bore as @Mike mentioned.

Welcome on board. I'd very much recommend either the Nokian WRA3's or the newer version (WRA4's) if you're after a set of winters.

Relatively cheap and light weight is possible though (fox fx005's being a good example) but agreed that generally light weight wheels will cost a lot more than slightly heavier ones.

The danger of second hand wheels is the state they can be in sometimes though - I remember looking at your wheels before you bought them but the fact one was buckled put me right off as, even once repaired, it's not something I'd feel comfortable with on my car (although obviously since you've had them and had them repaired I know you've not had any problems so I do acknowledge that it's more just me than an actual issue).

Not sure about the forum points or the money aspect but I definitely agree with the looks point. For the way most people (not all obviously) use their car they'll probably get more from wheels they like the look of rather than any other aspect. IMO only of course.

From swapping between heavier and lighter wheels on my car I think you'll only notice a difference when swapping from one to the other, not just when driving round on heavier wheels. From my own experiences I definitely prefer it on the lighter wheels as it feels much livelier, more precise, nimble, etc

A maps about £6-700 for the licence and mapping. The ecutek cable is £300. From the US groups they seem to suggest this will be a little below that so £250-300 would be my guess.

I'm in York this weekend and as Will said it's more like 3 hours. A shame as a meets always good and it's a beautiful part of the world.

I will have to take objection to this - nowhere have I stated my opinion is fact - quite the opposite - I've been at pains to point out it is only my opinion, that tyre choice is very subjective and that these are my experiences and the reasons I'm sharing for using winter tyres may not apply to others. Maybe you're not seeing how the "salesman's dream" comment reads but it comes across not as satire but as rudeness.

And isn't this the exact reason why some people may choose to use winter tyres? I'm sorry my discussion points don't sit well with you Ross - calling Tom a "salesman's dream" for choosing something you don't agree with didn't sit well with me. I would also like to make 100% clear that I in no way expect people to take my experiences as correct - that's why I've been careful to point out that what I've posted is why I run winter tyres not why anyone else should. As far as I'm aware everyone on here is an adult so it's their call what they buy for their cars. But if someone asks for opinions on something I know something about I'll share them. If that information proves useful then great - it was worth the time to contribute. Anyway as Keith requested I'll say no more.

It was in the spirit of the guilty pleasures idea not something I'd actually genuinely own (unless maybe as a daily). It comes about from doing a few of the VXR track events they put on each year (excellent value - you really are encouraged to give the cars a good workout) and being very impressed with the way the Corsa drove on track. You're right on the fiesta too and I'm sure if I'd driven it on track like the Corsa it could also be added to my guilty pleasure list (although I wouldn't feel quite as guilty for liking the ST as I do / would the VXR).

Winter tyres have saved my car twice - once from the lady not driving to the conditions and being on unsuitable tyres I detailed above and once when I hit a patch of black ice. The winter tyres didn't stop me sliding on the black ice but they did allow me to regain traction and safely negotiate the bend the ice was on with no harm to me or the car (apart from a somewhat increased heart rate for me anyway!) The same couldn't be said for the two cars following me - the first of which hit the (high) kerb hard enough to give the front passenger side wheel some considerable negative camber and the second hit the first car. These two incidents alone make winter tyres a no brainier for me as the money and hassle they saved me far outweigh the costs and hassle associated with having them. Chosen well there doesn't need to be any noticeable detriment to try weather performance and there are other benefits such as reduced wear, etc too. I used the Nokian WRA3 tyres for my CAT DT day in the summer on one of the hottest days we had (32 degrees). They held up to high speed breaking, the high speed bowl (hitting speeds of nearly 130mph), fast laps of the handling circuit and the first 3 sessions of the final gymkhana before finally falling off the cliff in terms of grip on the final session and earning me the 'sliddy chocolate'. However, in these conditions, and with the way they were being used, I wouldn't have been surprised to find a summer tyre had also given up at this point. Winter and summer tyre likes and dislikes are always very subjective - I know Ross likes the Veredstein Sessantas which I thought were mediocre at best and lots of people really rate the continental cs5 but I, and I know a few others, haven't really got on with them on this platform. It does seem from reading back through this thread that those of us who favour winter tyres have shared our views as to why they've been good (for us), offered info on the tyres we've tried, etc whereas some of the winter tyres naysayers / those who've never tried them have suggested they're pointless or made out like you're a gullible idiot to use them or want to try them with a lot of personal opinion being made out to be fact. A shame that what could be a useful sharing of experience has turned into that imho.

I thought of one the other day. A corsa VXR. I know, I'm sorry.

The advantage that winters give is the traction to allow you the chance to get out of the way from people sliding towards you. This happened to me a few years ago when I had my scirocco on winters - a woman in a fiesta was driving far too quickly on the compacted snow and couldn't stop in time (fully locked up and out of control). The winters allowed me to accelerate out of her way. I think she eventually came to a halt after she'd bounced off the kerb a few times.

I've found the Nokians to be better than the Continental CS5's I had even in the middle of summer

An issue seems to be in winter tyre choice. Just like any tyres if you put bad ones on you're not going to have a great experience . I'm a big fan of the Nokian WRA3 and now the WRA4's as they're designed for the sort of winters we have in the UK - cold, wet, frost, ice and slush with very occasional rain. They're also classed as an ultra high performance winter tyre. A lot of manufactures winter tyres are biased to snow which isn't that useful in the UK and a lot of them don't have an ultra high performance winter equivalent (Yokohama being one) so putting their winter tyres on would be the equivalent of putting a lower grade summer tyre on and obviously the poorer performance that would go with that.

I just find it a little surprising to suggest something is pointless if you've never actually tried it. I've been driving for 21 years. 17 without winter tyres and 4 with. I'd never not run winter tyres again. As you said each to their own though.

So you've never used them but know they're pointless?

You can get plenty grippy enough 215/45/17's

The sessanatas. I found them mediocre in terms of grip, traction etc. It was enough to put me off having them again.

That's interesting as I used to have the vreds on my last car in 18's and was massively underwhelmed.

1. Currently on Moton Clubsports 7/8kg springs but I've also had stock, stock dampers plus Ast lowering springs, Meister R GT1's, Meister R Zeta R's and Tein Flex A's I'd agree with @Ade - I looked at the H&R's but the max lowering of 30mm put me off (at the time). If your car is now really low they may have been set up wrong (my flex a's were set 60mm down when I collected them as the garage hadn't read the instructions where it said they were already lowered 25mm and had then lowered them the agreed 35mm on top - maybe something similar here?)