[Ben]

I'm all setup to pickup my ST this Feburary. The problem was that I could only get it shipped with summer tires. Germany (where I am picking my car up) requires that one had winter tires before heading on the autobahns. What size should I put on?

 

[marc89gti]

195/50/16 if you want to go with 16" wheels

 

[WScottCross]

Stock size is 205/40R17, but that is hard to find a good selection in that size. As Marc89gti said, 195/50R16 is a good alternate size with lots of available choices. 195/55R15 is also acceptable. The nice part about dropping to the smaller size wheels is that you can have the tires mounted and balanced before you even get you car and just swap them out.

 

[9]

The UK manual specs 195/45/16 for winter tire size IIRC, I remember the 1st edition manuals for USDM cars using this size (which I and others bought). Useful if you need to run chains/cables, otherwise about 1/3 inch diameter difference, a bit less in ride height.

 

[eRic]

I went with 195/45-16 on 16" wheels that is in the ST supplement.

 

[Ben]

Thanks for the info, I'll see what the shops there have available!

 

[Ben]

Okay, it looks like I'll have to take it back to NL before I get the tires. Does anyone happen to know the tread depth of the stock tires when new..?

 

[Gpfarrell]

Tread depth is great... its rubber compound that gets you. You'll have a slippery ride on dry roads if the temp is anywhere near freezing.

 

[jfdana]

Two really good performance tires, depending on just how much snow you expect are the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 (I will be using them as my regular tires) and the Pirelli Winter Sottozero's which carry a M/Snow rating, and have surprised me in their ability both to allow the car to corner & rotate really well, plus drive through several inches of snow. I really do not want to give up performance for our winters, and the Pirelli's seem to fit the bill. The Michelins (my winter tires last year) worked OK in the snow, and, having used up the standard Bridgestones over the summer, I plan to use them as my regular tires for most of the year. FWIW, all the tests I've seen rate the Mich's as tops for performance, so if you don't have lots of snow (or can stay home in storms) you may be all set with them alone.

I am using stock sizing for both.

 

[Ben]

I don't need anything to great, the winter tires will only be on for a few months.

 

[Ben]

I should also mention, tires and rims in Germany are very expensive!

 

[rcl4668]

I mounted Pirelli Winter Sottozero tires (described here in the U.S. as "performance" snow tires) in the stock 205/40/17 size mounted on the stock Rado rim. We really don't get a lot of snow/ice in my area of the U.S. just lower temps with rain so I wanted something that would sacrifice as little performance as possible. If your part of Germany/Netherlands gets a lot of snow/ice I would recommend a more aggressive ice/snow tire in a narrower size as suggested by folks above.

 

[Ben]

I ended up finding a decent deal on http://www.tirendo.de/, which is basically a German version of tirerack, that will deliver to dealers for installation.

 

[Ben]

Maybe someone can help me with this... All European sites that sell tire/wheel combos only allow searching by make/model, not by size. Does anyone know the EU equivalent to the Fiesta ST (USA)? All of the 1.6L Fiestas I selected were different sizes.

 

[johnnyquest]

I went with Pirelli Sottozero tires in the stock size on stock rims. They've been quite good in the snow so far. Only issue with the stock wheels is when the snow and ice build up inside them and cause them to be out of balance, really annoying at 50 to 60 mph.

JQ

 

[BlackBird]

Maybe someone can help me with this... All European sites that sell tire/wheel combos only allow searching by make/model, not by size. Does anyone know the EU equivalent to the Fiesta ST (USA)? All of the 1.6L Fiestas I selected were different sizes.

Search for a Fiesta ST180. That's what it's sold as there.

 

[Ben]

Search for a Fiesta ST180. That's what it's sold as there.

Great! Thank you!

 

[Ben]

Update: I was unable to find the wheel/tire combo in Germany. I did find some basic winter wheels for 34 euro a piece, which will be good enough for the short cold/snowy season we have.

 

[jeffreylund]

Update: I was unable to find the wheel/tire combo in Germany. I did find some basic winter wheels for 34 euro a piece, which will be good enough for the short cold/snowy season we have.

Ben,

If you have an FPO address you can you Discount tire direct and have them shipped to you.