Wider Tyres on GTI?

[Kembery]

I have a GTI with Peugeot 205 15 inch wheels and 195 50 tyres.

Is it possible to fit 205 50 tyres to these? - I accept a bit of bending is required on rear arches.

I am sure I have seen 16v versions with much wider tyres?

Leo

1990 BX GTI[/b]

[Tim Leech]

The front wheels should be ok, however the rears may catch the arches, plus if your rear arm bearings have any wear in them the top inside edge of the tyre may catch (mine did on my 16v when I out wider rims on)

[Kembery]

Thanks for that.

The rear arms are good - pleadies did them. The fact is there is about 10mm space on either on the rearsand that means there is only 5mm left if i go from 195 to 205 --- bit close but iI fancy trying them.- nexen N2000. I have N3000 on a Rover 400 TD tjhat work really well. The real reason is I have a 4x4 GTI and the ground clearance is not good so higher /wider tyres will help. Plus in snow like last winter I think the wider tyres work better. Cant be bothered with winter tyres due to cost/use factors.

[Philip Chidlow]

Interesting that you have a 4x4 GTi. A rare beast.

Putting wider (by that I mean 205's) tyres won't really give you better clearance. The only way that'll happen is if you also increase the overall height, as you say, on the hubs but that'll bring a few more problems. So with, say 15" wheels, 205/50 tyres they might give a fraction more clearance, but at the expense of speedo accuracy, stresses on the transfer box, ride generally and the possibility of the rears not fitting in the arch properly (apart from the fact they'd be a PITA to get on and off, (even if you could).

You might be better in putting another notch in the height controller, between 'normal' and 'intermediate' or maybe (I'm not sure this is a good idea) just past intermediate.

Snow: Narrower tyres work better than wide tyres. If your car has ABS then they'll be OK on ice too. In fact the standard 4x4 tyres are a pretty good compromise for all conditions IMHO.

Why not consider going back to steels or 5.5j Speedlines with 185/14/60's as fitted to the GTI (if I'm right I think the 4x4 had 175's???).

[JayW]

Thanks for that.

The rear arms are good - pleadies did them. The fact is there is about 10mm space on either on the rearsand that means there is only 5mm left if i go from 195 to 205 --- bit close but iI fancy trying them.- nexen N2000. I have N3000 on a Rover 400 TD tjhat work really well. The real reason is I have a 4x4 GTI and the ground clearance is not good so higher /wider tyres will help. Plus in snow like last winter I think the wider tyres work better. Cant be bothered with winter tyres due to cost/use factors.

Why not just adjust the running height?

Narrow tyres are MUCH better in snow, this (along with the weight difference) is why Mercs, BMW's and ST's get stuck and 106's, Kias and Panda's keep going... Wide tyre sit ON the snow and skinny's cut through it.

[MULLEY]

As the guy's above have already said, go narrow rather than wide. I personally run 185/60 winter tyres on speedlines & they are superb, never had a single problem in winter including the most recent worst winter we've ever experienced. Didn't get stuck & didn't do much sliding about either, unlike 4x4's that were littering the various ditches & fields etc...

When this set wears out, i think i'll try 175/60's, they should be even better

[Mike E (uk)]

Last winter, in the snow, I parked the 406 about 2 miles from home and walked the rest, as the traffic was nearly stationary.
The big RWD mercs & BMWs were getting no where, except sideways.
But a little ZX NA diesel chugged happily along on its 165s.

Fat tyres are only advantageous in the dry, on fast bends or when lots of power is used.

Mike

[docchevron]

<Jeremy Clarkson> POWAH </Jeremy Clarkson>

I've run 195's on 6J rims for as long as I can remember, and I've never got stuck, ever.
Had a few close calls, always caused by idiots driving far too fast (as in last winter 20MPH was far too fast on a couple of nights after a lack of gritting) trying to kill me, but never has the BX failed to get me home in one piece. I do use Uniroyal 550's though, that helps quite a lot!

[Oscar]

If I wanted to keep a set of steel wheels with winter tyres on, what would people recommend?

[Philip Chidlow]

I had a BX with Vredestein QUATRAC 3 all-weather tyres on once. They were great in the very wet/snow. Not brilliant (but perfectly adequate) in the dry. A bit noisy at speed.

[MULLEY]

Oscar, depends what your budget is like for winter tyres, i'm using debica frigo's, cheap, possibly not the best winter tyres compared to the best, but still 100% better than standard tyres. Have a look on mytyres.com, there is an option to choose winter tyres, should bring up a bewildering array for you to choose. I clicked on some of the tyre feedback ratings & went for the debica's based on the ratings given.

[Simon B]

Have a look on mytyres.com.

Thanks, plenty of food for thought there, but me thinks the link should be http://www.mytyres.co.uk .com works but had a funny accent

[Kembery]

thanks for all the thoughts.

I have now fitted 205 50 15s - Nexen cp641 and they fit all OK - car raised about half an inch which is closer to the original ( 4X4)s 185 60 14's I think. It means the exhaust will clear a local speed hump I cross often.
Had to pull rear wings / spats out slightly and rear tyres clear by 5mm either side. May invest though in a another set of wheels with the narrower winter tyres if snow is coming again. Though last year on the 195's it never stopped in the snow when many others were stuck. I wonder if the Audi's quatros did as well?

Road holding similar and slightly softer ride than with 195's - feels good though and tyres fill the arches better.

[Philip Chidlow]

Pictures please!

[Mothman]

Last winter's snow never caused me a problem either, motor never missed a beat, or any part of the road for that matter, went everywhere i wanted, pulled many a stranded vehicle out of a ditch or hedge. It was easier to drive on it rather than walk, even managed snow a foot deep with ease.Worked even better with the 'diff locks'.

BX stayed wrapped up in the garage and never ventured out, safe decision i feel. Too many idiots about driving far too fast in it.