New car - those low profile' alloy tyres/hubs?

[lavrentyuk]

"unsprung weight" ?

I recall weighing a set of alloys for a bike and finding that they weighed more than the spoked wheels they were supposed to replace.

Style statement I suppose.

Steels all the way for 4x4s when I can.

 

[oldtimer]

My VW campervan had low profile alloys fitted when I bought it. If anyone wants to swop for steel, let me know.

PS I has a Skoda Octavia superb estate. Excellent car in all respects.

 

[demographic]

Skoda Octavias still have that ESP thing? Got a mate with one that detests that ESP in snow and reckons its way better driving in snow without it.

Oh and has anyone mentioned that fat low profile tyres are a bit crap in snow? And on wet grass.

 

[johnnytheboy]

For that price range I'd go for the Skoda Octavia as well, unless your really wanting alloys I'd avoid them, expensive for tyres and as demographic says murder in snow and super heavy rain!

Whats the the problem with ESP in the snow? I have driven all manner of cars and never had one problem with ESP! It's one of the most significant changes to vehicle safety in my opionion outside air bags and seat belts!

 

[Gray]

Low profile tyre are for posers - they serve no useful purpose and the wheels are both more vulnerable to damage and expensive to replace. I have taken them off my estate and replaced with smaller steel wheels that give a much better tyre choice.

i did this once with a ford Sierra and was told by an mot inspector that it effects the speedo. Probably does by 0.00000000001% lol

 

[British Red]

i did this once with a ford Sierra and was told by an mot inspector that it effects the speedo. Probably does by 0.00000000001% lol

So long as you keep the outside diameter the same you are golden - there's plenty of websites will publish tyre / wheel size equivalencies and error rates. As you say it can be marginal (and well within acceptable deviation for MOT).

 

[demographic]

So long as you keep the outside diameter the same you are golden - there's plenty of websites will publish tyre / wheel size equivalencies and error rates. As you say it can be marginal (and well within acceptable deviation for MOT).

A lot of speedos over read anyway, try a GPS whilst chugging down the M6 at a indicated speedo reading of 70 and its always out.

Never heard of MOT testing the speedo accuracy anyway, hell I've put a bike in for an MOT with a digital speedo that the actuating magnet had fallen off (on the way there) and it still passed.

 

[wattsy]

the ESP works by measuring how much grip each wheel has and then braking each wheel based on how much grip it has so if your trying to set off on a trip in snowy/icy conditions with it on, it won't let you move off because it detects reduced grip levels and applies the brakes. just turn it off until you're moving it's what I do

 

[Gray]

A lot of speedos over read anyway, try a GPS whilst chugging down the M6 at a indicated speedo reading of 70 and its always out.

Never heard of MOT testing the speedo accuracy anyway, hell I've put a bike in for an MOT with a digital speedo that the actuating magnet had fallen off (on the way there) and it still passed.

It didn't fail, it was just a comment. I don't think its a testable item anyway tbh

 

[Graveworm]

M5 David - a good number of years ago now before low profiles became all the rage. A very interesting day. Every car in the then BMW (with some customised ones too) line up was available to drive bar one which was a basic 5 series diesel driven by a professional race driver. The most sobering thing was the way that basic diesel went past all the more powerful cars. I learned two things that day

1) Equipment is no substitute for skill
2) I will never make a race driver

Great fun and having a race driver in the passenger seat to coach me and get lap times up was very illuminating - I learned a great deal on the circuit and more on the skid pan.


My Outlander came with 18" alloys with low profiles. I have put 16" steels on to replace them with some decent tyres having mullahed one of the alloys in a pot hole on the road - cost a fortune to replace. Round here, good grip and hub strength trumps pretty every time

No M5 with 400bhp had anything other than low profile tyres. Alloy wheels are significantly stronger than steel. Steel is more malleable though so less prone to cracking. low profile tyres keep far more of the tyre contact area on the road when cornering and braking so should be inherently safer. They are less comfortable but shock absorbers and springs are far more a factor. My landy has a much harsher ride than all my other cars which have low profiles some very low.

 

[drliamski]

My VW campervan had low profile alloys fitted when I bought it. If anyone wants to swop for steel, let me know.

PS I has a Skoda Octavia superb estate. Excellent car in all respects.

I might have a set. Where are you based?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[santaman2000]

Sorry if this is a bit off the requirements but I thought you'd find it interesting and maybe be able to get some ideas for a later date. It's a conversion of a small 2 horse trailer into a camper by a Canadian, Fred Cote. I'll try to copy and paste from the article I found:

"Here are photos of our recently completed trailer. It started life as a 1970 Western Horse Trailer and we loved the lines of it so converted it for camping. Thanks Fred Cote"


After conversion

During & Before conversion:

 

[santaman2000]

Sorry Paul. I posted the above on the wrong thread. I thought I was posting it on your thread looking for a new vehicle.

 

[Janne]

I like how you deconstructed that trailer, Santa!
Went from an standard luxury converted horse box to a hardcore ‘rat caravan ‘!

 

[Mr Wolf]

Skoda Octavias still have that ESP thing? Got a mate with one that detests that ESP in snow and reckons its way better driving in snow without it

It works well with the dsg box

 

[Janne]

All european cars have it now?

Snow is a very difficult medium for electronics to handle.

Your braking distance is much shorter on snow without ABS.

 

[santaman2000]

I like how you deconstructed that trailer, Santa!
Went from an standard luxury converted horse box to a hardcore ‘rat caravan ‘!

Thanks but actually I just shared it (it's not my project) That said, it was never a "luxury" horse box; it was pretty basic to begin with.

 

[Janne]

For s horse it was luxury!

 

[santaman2000]

For s horse it was luxury!

Two standard horses (average 1000 pounds each) standing crowded side by side in a sweatbox for a few hundred miles is hardly luxury.

An air conditioned trailer with individual stalls and separate cowboy quarters would be closer to "luxury."

 

[Janne]

That is nice..

imagine converting that one, and the trips you could make!

BTW I hope you understand I wrote those posts with a joke in mind!