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Steel wheels for a Brera - winter tyres

7K views 52 replies 18 participants last post by  CheXy 
#1 ·
Serious question.

Would say a Vectra steel wheel or something from SAAB fit my Brera?

I'm thinking 17" but would these fit over the 300mm Brembo's?

How do our European friends manage?

Cheers,
 
G
#3 ·
I assume you mean Ø330mm discs/Brembo 4 pot calipers?

I have been trying to find a similar inexpensive solution for our Spider 3.2, but you need quite wide rims with low ET to clear the calipers. The Steel wheels i could source, were all less then 8" wide, so i gave up and upgraded to bigger summer wheels. We now use the original 17" "8C style" alloys during winter.

If someone knows a good inexpensive recipe, id love to hear it too.. I have been getting several requests from customers.
 
#4 ·
Steel wheels on the Brera? Wow, that would look weird for sure.
I imagine that our cold weather friends have two sets of alloys, winter tyres and all weather set. When I was a member of Saabscene there were several members who had this set up for winter.

What about a cheaper set of alloys, 17", to be shod with winter tyres? I'm sure you could get a good deal on a used set, seem to be a few around currently.
 
#12 ·
I imagine that our cold weather friends have two sets of alloys, winter tyres and all weather set.
I have 18" alloys for summer and 17" alloys for winter but most people in Germany don't use alloys in the winter as they tend to get hammered by the combination of salt and snow. Even expensive cars are often found with black steel wheels throughout the winter months.

it seems that almost everyone in UK has this misconception that winter tires are for snow only, as in fact they're for cold weather.
Absolutely correct! Sub 7C or so, standard tyres have the consistency of blocks of wood. Winter tyres also outperform normal tyres by a long way in wet conditions - and I believe that could be relevant in the UK :lol:
 
#5 ·
it's such a pretty car to ruin it with steel wheels. I had 18" last winter and now I got 19" as well - but I'm a poser and I can't be seen with 17" :cheese:

anyway as jack_mccain said, steel wheels, even if they come with the correct ET and all, might not fit.

you can get cheaper by getting a 2nd set of tires and keeping the current rims, but then you need to change them two times a year.
if I were you, I'd do this for the first time and see if you're impressed enough with the winter tires to get a 2nd set of rims as well.
also, go for some "road" winter tires, like sottozeros, instead of some "snow" winter tires like blizzaks. even if it's winter you'd still use them on dry/wet roads most of the times and aggressive snow thread tires sacrifice too much of handling and road noise.
 
#8 ·
it seems that almost everyone in UK has this misconception that winter tires are for snow only, as in fact they're for cold weather.
the compound they're made of stays soft below 7C providing adequate grip, unlike modern high performance tires that become hard as cheap plastic and are crap at breaking and cornering on cold tarmac.
and there is also the added benefit of a grippier thread for those few days of snow :)
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the replies.

We're 17" rims an option on the 3.2 then:confused:

Anyone know where there are any?

Failing that, some Vredestein Wintrac Extreme 18's could be a good option.

As for why, I believe that sub 7 degrees they are a safer bet and when the going gets tough they'll keep you going:)
 
#18 ·
that made me laugh so hard :) sorry Nev :)
all weather tires are pure crap at EVERYTHING... bad in winter worse in summer. they could be ok for some trucks and crappy cars, and certainly the americans are very found of them, but it's a bad safety decision imo.
 
#19 ·
I used to Nokian Haakelitens (or something like that) in the winter. I had two sets of alloys - the Alfa ones for the green winter and some cheapo ones for the white winter.

Winter tyres are great in the cold and the wet :thumbs: I've never bothered in the UK though.
 
#26 ·
Oooo. There's a chill in the air!
 
#28 ·
There will be if you keep that attitude up, young man :tut:


:lol:
 
#30 ·
Wrap up warm, bud :thumbs:
 
G
#36 · (Edited)
HI Rosso,

I have not read the whole thread so forgive me if this has already been said or addressed.

To start with, you really really do not need steel wheels at all...! Also, the smaller the wheels the worse the situation for winter scenarios so, above 17" would obviously be better and thats not inclusive of your 330mm Rotors at the front (the rears are smaller) and the Brembo Calipers.

To be honest, what you might want to try is purchase a set of wheels that are the same design or something you like that are Alfa Brera wheels, but a set that have been buffed or curbed even scratched up, because they are bound to be far cheaper, there are no problems with fitment either to the car, the brakes rotors and or calipers nor with the wheels themselves.

We did this with the older 147 and bought a set of naffed wheels really cheap from e-bay that were for the 147 although they were pretty messed up in term of aesthetics, used them for 3 winters with absolutely no problems at all with the added bonus that the alum wheels would not rust and course issues.

Just my 2c worth. Someone may have already said as much or not, either way take it with a pinch of salt...but thats just from my empirical stand point though.:thumbs: and Japan is obviously no the same as the UK, we have massive snow here while there is no salt used...if so, I would NEVER drive my car on the roads and use a beater instead.
 
G
#38 · (Edited)
Corrosrion....alum....sigh!

Linky:

I think its different from country to country because here in Japan we do not use salt, which is like cancer to steel wheels and Alum alike, but there are ALOT of minerals in the water (kind of like Bore water) and that affect on the alum Vs Steel wheels is a no brainer, hence the alum. But nobody is asking him to use his good set, it would be prudent to purchase a cheaper set of a similar design, especially no his car. E-Bay have quite a selection or go to an Alfa dealer and or Indi to ask if they know or have anything that might be able to be used.

But In canada and the US, they sue salt on the roads, and although it eats steel rims, they like Alum more adn turn them into a white salty mess unless you Chem Coat them, but in salty conditions the steel is better but if the Gov or local council are not using salt on the roads then go Alum.
 
#43 ·
Winter: I've got Michelin Primacy Alpins but the last test I saw, in Germany, put the Continental Winter Contact TS830 best, followed by Goodyear Ultra Grip Perf. 2 and Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D ahead of the Michelins.

Summer: Which? reckons Continental are best overall, followed by Michelin, Bridgestone & Pirelli.
 
#44 ·
I use a second set von alloys in winter. They're not very expensive in 17". Their surface gets attacked by salt, thought.

My tyres are also "Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3". They have a proper V-shaped tread pattern, not that stupid asymmetric stuff.

The thing I like most about them is that during hard acceleration an wet roads they make a sound - a bit like a small supercharger. It's not annoying but actually fun and makes you feel being faster! :D
 
G
#47 ·
As you say, I think supply and demand has shattered the pricing of winter tyres.
The price I mentioned was from one of the internet retailers (Blackcircles/MyTyres/Pneusonline) but to be honest hardly anyone is listing them at the moment and the only one I could find was over twice the price it was advertised at 4 weeks ago.
Outrageous but thats business.
 
#48 ·
16" steel wheel

Hi guys, I need some information, I wanna put 16" steel wheel on my alfa 159 but its very hard u find original, do u know which can be used from other car. I know some dimension but dont know all(7jx16, 5x110, but problem is center whole.)
I need 16" for winter.
 
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