[John H]

The Up would appear to have a "tyre pressure loss" warning system. Does this require sensors in the wheels? or does it just work by measuring the rotational speed? Those of you who have changed wheels may know.

The German VW web configurator suggests these as winter wheels (remember they are mandatory in Germany)

https://shops.volkswagen.com/en_GB/web/zubehoer/p/leichtmetallfelge-merano-5j-x-15-brillantsilber-1s0071495a-8z8-14?category=4315:904_VWZ_OZ:Category



There is a decent choice of winter and all season tyres in 185/55 x 15 to fit these.

 

[John H]

Thank you both (wellfan and ThatUp!GTI) That is useful information and makes shopping for wheels easier.

 

[John H]

have you tried your 15" wheels yet, i tried my wheels but they scuff the caliper:crying:

That's not good. So can we assume that not all 15" wheels will fit?

 

[John H]

This video (in German) shows an UP GTI being tested with the factory fit 15" winter wheels with 165/65 tyres

Here's a screen shot of the car http://www.upownersclub.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=165&thumb=1


And here's a close up shot which shows just how tight a fit the calipers are http://www.upownersclub.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=167&thumb=1

 

[John H]

My new “all season” tyres for the Up have arrived, and look very nice indeed, all fresh and rubbery smelling.

Would that VW could deliver cars as fast as Continental can deliver tyres!

 

[John H]

what Rims are you putting them on John?

These …

https://shops.volkswagen.com/en_GB/web/zubehoer/p/leichtmetallfelge-merano-5j-x-15-brillantsilber-1s0071495a-8z8-14?category=4315:904_VWZ_OZ:Category

These are the German approved winter alloys, as shown on the German configurator. They are not stocked in the UK but my dealer is ordering them from Germany for me, having first checked that they do in fact fit the GTI. They are costing me £514, which seems a lot but I reckon by the time I buy some cheaper used alloys and get them refurbished it would come to about the same, and as others have found, not all 15" wheels are equal. I also quite like the look of them.

I also wanted to try the new "all season" tyres which Continental have just brought out. MyTyres have them on offer at the moment for £80 a tyre, and you can guarantee that as soon as the weather changes they will be harder to get and probably more expensive, so I thought I'd just buy them now. All I need now is a GTI to fit them to!

 

[John H]

Quick qustion John.
Why did you go for all season conti’s when your obviously going to swop back to the std wheels with summer tyres in the spring?
I’d personally go for full on winters for winter and then back to the summers for spring /summer.

I live in Scotland where the winter lasts half the year, at least judging by the absurd amount of salt our local authorities douse the roads with. Winter tyres are great for the few days of actual snow we get, but don't last long if used on ordinary (but salty) roads. The new all season tyres are reckoned to be as good in snow and ice as full on winter tyres, but the benefit for me is that I can use them from late autumn to spring, to protect the 17" alloys from salt, without wearing them out. That's the theory anyway, ask me next spring if it works … assuming VW have actually delivered my car by then!

 

[John H]

I would be very careful when buying older 15" VW wheels to fit the GTI. Look closely at this picture of the official 15" winter wheel and notice just what a tight fit the calliper is, and how the inner profile of the wheel has been sculpted to fit. I'm no expert, but I'm willing to bet that very few older 15" wheels will have this clearance for the calliper.

 

[John H]

The whole point of winter wheels and tyres is that they should be narrower than stock, with a smaller size tyre. VW actually suggest a 165 winter tyre. Rather defeats the purpose putting a wider rim on for winter use, especially on such a light car.

 

[John H]

Well, my VW approved winter wheels have arrived and the tyres fitted. Look good, but would look better if I had a car to fit them to! The dealer is going to store them until the GTI arrives so that they can test fit them just to be satisfied that they fit OK. The Conti all season tyres look good, time will tell how they perform in poor weather.

My thinking is that these are more than just winter wheels, my intention is to use them during "salt season" which lasts from autumn to spring up here in Scotland, and which would destroy those fancy diamond cut wheels very quickly.

 

[John H]

I would much rather have the VW ones above given their size and width for the winter tyres, but they are still on back order. If I order them, VW can't give me any info about when I could expect them to arrive, which is just no good.

Not sure that is quite the full story. According to my parts man these are not normally available in the UK and are only listed as accessories in the German system, and as such take longer to arrive. He ordered them from Germany and told me that they would take at least 6 weeks, which is what happened.

The wheels themselves are good quality and quite light, and although they are only 5" wide, the 185 tyres fit very nicely on them, and I hope will make a good all round "salt season" choice.

 

[John H]

Pinched this pic from Volkswizard

 

[John H]

John looking at the picture of your wheel, I would think the weights will need to be moved as where they are at the moment I would think they will hit the Caliper.

Agreed, the dealer wants to trial fit them but doesn't have a GTI at the moment to use. Modern balancing machines want weights placed on both inner and outer edges of the rim though.

 

[John H]

Here's a snap of mine on the 15" VW Merano alloys, with 185/55 15 Conti AllSeasonContact tyres. I like the look, and it handles beautifully.

 

[John H]

John is running a regular up! tyre size - why would it differ ?
Stock GTi tyre size is optionally available for the regular up as well.

Correct, the size of the wheel is irrelevant, it's the rolling radius of the tyre that counts, and the 195/40 17 versus the 185/55 15 is all but identical

My wheels and all season tyres have proved their worth in the last 24 hours driving home in a blizzard yesterday they felt very secure.

 

[John H]

Stunning photograph that John, beautiful backdrop for your gorgeous GTI. You've certainly been out enjoying your new prize in the past week for sure - great to see.

I really like your VW 15 inch rims, I might try to get a set myself for next winter. Sorry if I missed this, can I ask how much they cost you? PM if you'd prefer.

Many thanks,

Darren

Thanks, I've been taking photos of cars for so many years now it's almost a reflex action!

The wheels are a German option (see link at bottom) and were imported for me by my dealer. They were a tad over £500 for the wheels, but that will vary with the exchange rate. They took about 6 weeks to arrive. The tyres were £80 each, and the dealer put the whole lot together for me free gratis. The whole package works really nicely and the tyres were great yesterday in lousy conditions. I know looks are subjective, but I think they suit the car,

https://shops.volkswagen.com/en_GB/web/zubehoer/p/leichtmetallfelge-merano-5j-x-15-brillantsilber-1s0071495a-8z8-14?category=4315:904_VWZ_OZ:Category

 

[John H]

Got some photos in the daylight with the winter wheels on.

They look the part

 

[John H]

They look the business

 

[John H]

Biggest question... are we actually going to get a winter?!

Sheet ice on my driveway this morning, been lots of slippy mornings so far, local authority dousing everywhere in salt. Maybe not the definition of a winter, but I'm glad my diamond cut alloys and summer tyres aren't having to deal with this. Car feels more secure on the all season tyres, which are very impressive.

 

[John H]

I am an advocate of winter tyres, ran them for many years on my cars, but in recent years I've not bothered. There just never seems to be the bad weather where I am that we used to get (having said that I predict snowmageddon in the coming weeks), and if it does snow I'm fortunate enough not to have to get places.

Agreed, but even without lots of snow they use so much salt up here it wrecks nice alloys, so I change to lesser wheels for the winter just to protect the wheels.