Buying steelies for XM's

[beko1987]

Bit of a 'thinking out loud' post but:

All 4 tyres on the XM are at varying stages of their life, mostly in the 'almost illegal' category. I get paid on thursday, and plan to spend some money rectifying it.

The first plan I had was to sink £280 on 4 of these http://www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre-details/no ... 15-95-h-xl, then get my local tyre place to fit them and track and balance the whole jobbie, then run them through spring, summer, autumn and winter until they wear out.

However, it's looking more and more like I wont be able to afford to sink probably £350 into the whole affair, so I got thinking

4x steel wheels and 4 x part worn winters (if my local place has any in), and put my currect wheels and tyres in the garage for another day
just get 4x part worn winters fitted and change them in the spring when they will probably be worn out
4x part worn road tyres and have fun getting to and from work (was tricky in the zx last year)

Thing is, looking on ebay the only result for XM Steel wheels is a set of 5 for £70. Do any other citroen wheels fit an xm? Don't really care about the condition, as long as they will hold a tyre onto the bead. Any ideas on what to start looking for?

The last option, which I don't really want to do as I know it wont happen in reality is buy 2 new winters next week, then 2 more next payday then get them fitted.

Unless my pay check is more exciting than it has been, I think the part worn route will be where I go, but I'd like some spare steels so I can swap around during the year and hopefully get some mileage out of the tyres.

[Richard2cv]

Will you actually need winter tyres?
I'd personally buy the best tyres i can afford and not bother with winter tyres.

[robert_e_smart]

I just bought 4 x WR A3s for my S80. I had the same on my 407s last winter, and I really liked them.

I used to run Michelin Alpin A3s on my XM for a number of years. Brilliant tyres. I could go anywhere in the snow, and had a great grip in the wet, and they were a great help on frosty slippy mornings. These winter tyres come into their own at temps below 7C as they are made from a softer compound that doesn't go so hard in the cold. They do wear very well despite this. They are also designed with wider channels to prevent/limit aquaplaning and help with shifting slush.

I had looked at getting part worns myself, but I do so many miles each day, that I wouldn't get good use out of a set of part worns. Winter tyres are only useful as winter tyres when the tread depth is above 4mm. Thats their cut off point. You will need to be very careful on buying part worns that will last you long enough to get you through the winter. XMs and 605s are the only PSA cars to have 15" 5 stud rims.

I know that the new tyres are going to be a bit of an investment, but depending on how much and how hard you drive, you shoul dbe able to get at least 2-3 seasons out of them before you have to replace them.

Pity you aren't over here, as I would glady give you steel rims!

[beko1987]

That's my issue really, I can't justify a good set of each, only to do 20 miles a day. The winters I'm looking at are good for summer too, so I was planning to just fit them until they die.

The tyres on there atm are pretty much dead, so new ones are needed anyway. The thinking behind 2 sets was I could swap the winters on for the week it's needed, and get a new set of normal tyres, which are exceedingly cheaper.

May do that in the end, get good normal rubber on first then plan a road trip to get some steels and see what part worns the pace has in Jan when they would have got some fresh stock in

[White Exec]

Like Richard, I'm not sure about the need for winter tyres on the XM - unless you're going to spend some serious time in snow/slush. A week in Scotland (Rannoch Moor) over New Year a few years ago showed just how surprisingly capable the 2.5 was in both slush and deep snow. We took it out on a good few ungritted and uncleared mountain roads, and were amazed how good the grip was, even uphill.

Something to do with all that weight over the front wheels. Then shod with Michelin Primacy.

[citroenxm]

If you Want some XM steel Wheels Ive got some around that I could get out the way!!

You be welcome to them.. Dont ask about tyres though, if they are any good I wear them out first..

[beko1987]

How much would a courier be though, would love them to shod in part worn winters as the cheaper option.

Could try and arrange a relay service to bucks I suppose!

[citroenxm]

Bucks! So you wont be far from citrojims in newport pagnel? Or am i miles out there?

[beko1987]

Not far at all!

[Charles M]

I am in South Bucks and oddly will be at Paul's picking up a car soon (hurricane permitting) - I could drop them on the way back?