15 replies to this topic

[JDS]

For those that aren't aware, snow tyres are a legal requirement here in Germany which obviously with a VX is not as easy as with a run of the mill car. So after much fannying around and option exploration I finally came accross a full set of OEM Opel Speedster winter wheels with Vredestein Snowtrac tyres (7-8mm of tread) on sale on German Ebay. These are by far the best solution and seriously rare so I was very happy. Anyway I fitted them last night, they're quite a bit lighter than the standard 17in wheels but despite only being 15in, they slotted straight on without any change in ride height due to the thicker nature of the snow tyres. I'm running Quantum Zeros and a fairly low ride height so it was a big plus that I didn't have to go fiddling with that. First impressions are good, low speed turning is easier and the ride is a little better. I'll update this with a review of snow performance once there is some snow to test them on...

 

Anyway here is a laughably poor quality picture with them fitted:

 

[DanGT]

Needs a higher res picture! I quite like the look of it on 15's!

[KurtVerbose]

I have the same.

 

 

VX is still crap in snow though.

 

 

When there's snow, I normally take my other car.

 

 

Incidentally, a decent heater is very handy for VX use in winter.

[Tibbles Stryker]

I like the fact the plastic toys are kept to one side

[OneYet]

It has been a long time since we had a snow-tire thread in this forum. 

Well done. 

 

I would never dare to use mine during winter. 

Even with a descent heater. 

[Potatoes]

I'll probably get flamed for this... but I actually really like the look of the VX on black 15"s. I did seriously consider this for mine with slammed suspension before I took the advice of the experts on here and went with the 16"/17" combo.

 

What's the handling like JDS/Kurt when you go from 16"/17" or 17" all around to 15" with fat tyres?

[JDS]

I'm not in a great position to really comment on the handling other than it seems fine at low speed in town. Unfortunately I've yet to find any decent driving roads near Hamburg, everything is flat and straight and often with a 70/80kph limit  About the most fun you can have is on and off ramps to the Autobahn.

 

My winter driving is purely practical though, just for commuting. There are however quite a few on the Opel Speedster forum running 15in ATS DTC wheels and claiming that the handling is generally sharper and the car feels better than on 16/17s or 17s. I think they're currently doing a group buy on the 15in wheels at the moment.

 

I'll try and upload a better quality picture tomorrow but I was surprised by how good they looked as I wasn't expecting much. 

[KurtVerbose]

Well, the winter tyres are very different from the summer tyres. The fronts are 185 and the rears are 205's. The reasoning being that there shouldn't be a big discrepancy in tyre width.

 

I liked the balance on them much more than the standard summer tyres, which prompted me to upgrade my summer wheels to ATS DTC's with 205/235's, which has great balance and grip.

 

The winters don't have a lot of grip - tyre compound, width, sipes and the general grubby roads you drive them on at that time of year, so you can slide the car around and have some fun as the limit is low and controllable. The summers are a lot more fun though. I don't like taking my summers off and putting the winters on, and when I put the summers on - hallelujah! 

 

Better than not having the car available 5-6 months of the year though.

 

By the way - when my tyres wear out I'll be getting the wheels painted black like my summer ATC's. It'll take a while though as the tyres are quite new.

Edited by KurtVerbose, 11 December 2014 - 04:35 PM.

[JDS]

I think they look good in black, and as ATS DTCs are more readily available here in Germany than the UK I'll probably go the same route as you for summer and sell my standard wheels (or keep them for TUV time )

 

Better quality pics:

 

 

 

[Potatoes]

I like them!

 

I do love the ATS DTC's though, in my opinion they're the nicest wheels on a VX220. If I had your car, I'd be getting them in gold like Tommess's car:

 

 

Edited by Potatoes, 12 December 2014 - 10:36 AM.

[JDS]

Yep, Tommess's car looks fantastic and that's more or less the look I want, although I'll go slightly darker on the wheel colour as BRG is a bit darker than LMG.

[Potatoes]

I'm a big fan of BRG, orginally wanted that colour but they are so rare... so I ended up with a Lightening Yellow!

[Andrew aka Stuwy]

I'm a big fan of BRG, orginally wanted that colour but they are so rare... so I ended up with a Lightening Yellow!

 

my car was originally BRG and sprayed. Worst colour on a vx IMO.. but the LMG is fantastic, its the metallic flake that turns it round..

 

BRG is flat and dull

[OneYet]

Looks a little bit like you have a flake paintjob in those pics JDS. 

That would a first for a Speedster wouldn't it?

 

Nice colour though!

[JDS]

Just the lighting and rain, no flake here. I was actually surprised how nice it looks in the picture, I haven't cleaned the car since May and I've done about 2000km high speed Autobahn driving since then. It's filthy in the flesh and has a nice strong insect beard

[KurtVerbose]

Really nice JDS!