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Winter Wheels and Tyres


Bowruss
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I posted elsewhere about door locking and PeteB offered a comment.  I noticed he had 15" wheels on his 2016 Excel.  I fancied these when I bought the car new in April but got seduced by the 17"'s.

I'm thinking about a spare set of wheels and tyres for winter and wondering about a couple of things:

15" or 17" - any thoughts about advatages in colder, snowy weather.  I might get a better ride with the 15" and a deeper tyre which also might be more available and cheaper.

Type of tyre?

Do I need to tell Toyota Insurance if I change and will my premium go up?

Could I get a package deal from Toyota or should I go "private".  I'd have to watch for wheel compatibility/offset, etc.

Anyone gone through all these choices?  Any thoughts/advice?

Thanks folks, Russ

 

 

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I would check with your insurer first. A couple of years ago, one member who wanted to change to 15 inch wheels and winter tyres posted that Toyota Insurance wouldn't accept his change as it was a change to his car's standard spec - see extract below:

"I would like to point out to members again, that Toyota Insurance do not accept a change of wheel size from original specification. I have a 2012 Auris HSD T-Spirit with 17" wheels, and enquired about fitting 15" wheels and appropriate tyres for the winter. Toyota insurance will not provide cover for this change. I have concluded that if I want 15" wheels I will have to seek out an insurer that will provide cover for alternative wheels, or change my car for an Auris HSD T4 supplied new with 15" wheels. I think the 1st option will prove the most cost effective. A disappointment, but from the number of cars fitted with different wheels, I am sure that some insurers will accommodate this change (with an amendment charge of course)."

Toyota Insurance isn't part of Toyota Group, it is underwritten by Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance, and Toyota Insurance is their subsidiary. Other car manufacturers contract with insurance companies in a similar way to offer branded insurance.

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I note that you live in Lancashire - how bad a problem are snow/hills for you usually in Winter? Perhaps a set of All Season tyres (e.g. Michelin CrossClimate, Nokian Weatherproof etc.) might be the simpler, cheaper & possibly better option?

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I've had a set of winter tyres for the last 2 winters, and in honesty, I could have managed without them.  They are slightly noisier, and I think they give slightly worse fuel consumption than the summer tyres did in cold weather (but no hard evidence, and not much in it anyway).

But you just don't know when you'll get a freeze or dump of snow in this country, and in years gone by I've certainly had to drive in some challenging conditions (including once 160 miles on the M1 without ever exceeding 20 mph! - guess how long that took!).

I bought my Nokian winter tyres from my dealer, who swaps them onto the same wheels twice a year.  They charged a one off £40 to set up perpetual storage, and £30 per time to swap, rebalance etc. (both including vat).  I'm happy enough with that.  I was also very glad the Gen 4 uses the same tyre sizes as my Gen 3 T3, so I should get one or two more winters out of them

In both years my insurer (Axa 1st year, Covea 2nd) insisted I told them each time I changed, but they just wanted to note it on the policy - no charge involved.  Of course, there was no change in wheel size, which made it easier.

Somewhere on here in a thread on the subject someone posted a link to a list of insurers who don't need to be told (if the tyres are the same spec), but I can't find it now.

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Hi,

If you do find you have any issues with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

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If you can get winter tyres of the same size and rating as the originals, then there would be no reason to inform the insurer. I must point out though, most winter tyres are of a lower speed rating, I'm pretty sure higher rated ones are available, but expensive.

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Hello and thanks for all the comments.  Here in Preston, we don't seem to get much, if any, snow and ice.  I have a winter set for the Merc because it's r/w drive and winters do better for wear and grip when temperatures drop to an average of 9 deg and below.  I think they're better in cold wet conditions.

I'll have think about the points made and see what my local dealer has on offer.  I think I'll aslo ask Toyota insurance whether they need to know and the effect on premium.

Russ

 

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On 29/06/2016 at 3:56 PM, Bowruss said:

Hello and thanks for all the comments.  Here in Preston, we don't seem to get much, if any, snow and ice.  I have a winter set for the Merc because it's r/w drive and winters do better for wear and grip when temperatures drop to an average of 9 deg and below.  I think they're better in cold wet conditions.

I'll have think about the points made and see what my local dealer has on offer.  I think I'll aslo ask Toyota insurance whether they need to know and the effect on premium.

Russ

 

I'm in Preston too, when I got my first car with traction control and wanted to try it out, I had to try and find some snow nearby. :wink:

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