16" Steel wheel supplier
 

I regularly drive in the Czech Republic and Sweden where winter tyres are mandatory; the increase in cold grip, even when the roads are bone dry, is impressive.

For winter use I am therefore about to fit Nokian WR G2 205/55 R16 94V tyres to my wife's C30 T5 in place of the P-Zero Rosso 215/45 R18 93W summer tyres currently fitted.

Obviously, to do this, I need to buy four 16" wheels of the right width, offset, and stud PCD. These wheels will probably be steel on the grounds of cost.

The best price I have found for the wheels and tyres supplied as an entity is here: http://tinyurl.com/3xwkwew

Before I purchase however I want to find the best price for four wheels alone so I can then compare with purchasing the tyres separately and then paying for fitting.

Any pointers, please?

The link I gave shows the wheels to be 16 inch 5 x 108.00 x 63.30 ET: 52.50.


Cheers,
2.4TSE

I'm going to get some winter tyres soon too and ideally would get a set of steel wheels for them. I currently have 17" alloys on my V50 and would prefer 16" steel wheels too since the tyres seem to be so much cheaper.

The "16 inch 5 x 108.00 x 63.30 ET: 52.50" from the website quoted is a bit confusing. The spare 17" Volvo alloy of different design I bought on ebay has 7J 52.5 stamped on the back, and I'm guessing the 5 x 108.00 is diameter across the hub for the studs in millimetres (and 5 studs). The 63.30 appears to be diameter of the wheel hub in millimetres, which would make these wheels suitable for the volvo.

I asked the Volvo dealer in Hexham about steel wheels and they said they weren't available (from them) as the V50/S40 were never supplied in this country with steel wheels - I imagine they probably are somewhere on the continent so that they can have a cheaper set for winter tyres but in the UK they don't. I've not found anywhere online which sell steel wheels for the Volvo, just expensive alloys.

You'll need a new set of wheel nuts as steel wheels need the flat type, not the angled seat type used for alloy wheels.

Alternatively, just source some cheap alloys. A little bit of sanding/paint will make them look half decent for the winter season.

Must be 5x108 for the stud pattern, the wheel bore should be 63.4 or larger as the hub requires a size of 63.4mm wheel (use spigot rings if the sizes are bigger - only a couple of pounds to get the right sizes).

The offset should be 52.5mm, any larger and the wheels will sit further inside the the rims, smaller and they stick out more. So for an offset of 45, the wheels sit 7.5mm further out per wheel (wider track), not an issue usually.

Lastly, tyres, use a tyre calculator to make sure you get the correct rolling circumference.
http://www.tyresave.co.uk/tyresize.html

I think 195/60/16's are a good match but play around to get the best for your money and drive.

Ford focus is the same fitment. You"ll get loads in any breakers or Ford garage. You'll need different wheel nuts too.

Thanks, All.
Most helpful.

It was the inability of Volvo to supply the steel wheels that started this off, but the Focus connection was so bleedin' obvious that I missed it! :)

I found the dimensions on the website easy to understand, but it's interesting that the spigot hole size quoted is not the correct one, albeit by a tiny 0.1mm discrepancy; I'll follow this up in the event that the price for "new wheels & tyres" combo is sufficiently close to "new tyres with good Focus wheels from scrappy" that I go for the former.

The tyre size of 205/55x16 was recommended to me as the best fit, but that 195/60x16 is a closer match to the rolling circumference and has the advantage for a winter tyre - if it snows again - of higher contact loading to cut through the snow rather than skating around on the surface.

Short of any pointers to blinding deals that I have missed I think I have what I need for now.

Thanks again and stay tuned for the outcome.

Update:

195/60x16 tyres might well have a closer rolling circumference to the 215/45x18 items normally fitted than do the 205/55x16 items listed on their website, but the vendor linked above declined to quote for their supply. This was on the basis that Volvo stipulate the latter (205) size must be used on the T5 and some other C30 variants. Sure enough, reading my handbook confirms this, so I'll stick with this advice safe in the knowledge that in the event of a collision we won't be arguing about the relevance of "standard" or "approved" fitments with the insurance company.

In the process of reading the above, I also learned that whilst steel wheel "flat" nuts absolutely must not be used on alloy wheels, the converse isn't true; Alloy wheel "bulge acorn" nuts CAN be used (at least in the context of my wife's C30, but I suspect more generally) on steel wheels, so a small expense is saved here.

Now to follow up on the Focus steel wheel idea and make my purchase decision.

Still stay tuned!

Volvo Winter Tyre Programme
 

http://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/2010...ogramme/38023/

I just learned that Volvo UK launched the Volvo Winter Tyre Programme a few days ago. This includes the option of the model my Swedish colleagues use whereby an agent swaps summer wheels and tyres for winter ones, and then stores the summer set now off the car. At the next change of season, vice versa applies. For a fee.

I have stacks of space for storage and am happy to do the swapping myself so steel wheels and price will be the deciding factor, but none the less I am currently waiting for a call back (the line was busy) as part of my decision making. The article mentions £949+VAT (alloy wheels, not steel) which is far too expensive. £500 and steel wheels and they might have some business from me.

Speaking of rims; I have ordered mine with steel rims. You will find that most steel rims are lighter than most alloy rims; cheap alloy rims use a lot of metal for strenght instead of proper quality control and advanced design. Which is why light alloy rims typically are rather costly. Furthermore, they are typically simpler to keep clean and holds off lots of grime that would otherwise hit the brakes etc.

But that wasn't what I was going to say, really. Rather, I wonder if one can get either centre hub caps (like Volvo and others used way back) or just small covers to hide/fit over the actual hub itself, like the platic logo usually fitted to the centre of alloy rims? A polished hub centre along with stainless acorn nuts could give a nice accent to the black steel wheels.

I needed a vernier caliper gauge for another task too, so decided to buy one and measure the hub size of my wife's C30 as well. Having made sure that each hub was spotlessly clean I measured all four of them. The range was from 63.27mm to 63.31mm so I will after all buy wheels with a 63.30mm spigot hole, exactly as the first supplier I found indicated that I should!

You need a 63.4mm hole. A 63.3 won't fit on a 63.3 hub without the use of a hammer and a lot of grease. You need the 0.1 of clearance. Also you get 2 types of steel wheels one a main wheel and the other a spare for a car with alloys. The difference is the profile of the stud holes.the main one takes shallow chamfer nuts the spare type takes the conical alloy nuts. You can use the wrong nuts but you need to brutus them. the nuts will crush a seat.