Volkswagen ID.3 Forum

Has anyone got any experience of using winter tyres on their id.3? I'm mindful its a rear wheel drive car but at the same time not exactly conventional as there is a more even weight distribution but wondering how this affects the car in wintry conditions.

After some snowy antics with my Merc SLC with summer tyres earlier this year I am seriously considering going for winters this time.

Depends where you live - if you get a lot of snow and ice, and access is a bit iffy, you might want the reassurance. Never felt theneed myself. The ID3 is very stable for RWD.

Thanks MH - I have been meaning to go for winters for years and having the steelies on my car makes it an easier proposition. The question was really about how the id.3 differs from other rear wheel drive cars in winter conditions as I understand the motor is rear mounted so may not have some of the disadvantages of front engines ICE cars such as BMW's and Mercs.

Mark V wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 8:06 pm Thanks MH - I have been meaning to go for winters for years and having the steelies on my car makes it an easier proposition. The question was really about how the id.3 differs from other rear wheel drive cars in winter conditions as I understand the motor is rear mounted so may not have some of the disadvantages of front engines ICE cars such as BMW's and Mercs.

My ID3 was on Bridgestone tyres, which are so hard, they feel in the Summer like summer tyres do on a cold Winter's morning, and in Winter they feel much harder - pretty poor turn in grip and traction and still no dramas last Winter or even a hint of trouble. Never had any snow though. If you do consider Winters, at this time of year, some dealerships get rid of their winter wheel sets on ebay for a bargain price - worth a look for new sets 17 or 18" intended for a Golf, as long as the offset is close.

The Goodyear EfficientGrips were pretty impressive in the snow last winter.

Bridgestones were rubbish. So I bought a set of cross climates. Excellent - but do dent the range/economy by 5-10%… brilliant in slush/light snow that we had (and much much better on muddy roads)

Now having contis (newer id3) I’ve a set of 18” steels with vgc cross climates on - that I may be selling in a couple of months time. If anyones interested. Might see how the factory contis are in cold/damp first.

Hi MotMot, how did the noise levels of the Cross Climates compare with the Bridgestone?
Swapped to CCs in a previous (ICE) car and the decrease in road noise was huge, as well as changing the steering 'feel' by filtering out the feedback from roads with coarse texture
If the range hit is only 10%, I could easily live with that!

The rear wheel drive ‘issue’ in slippery conditions is only relevant to ICE cars, where the weight is front loaded in the engine bay.
The ID3 has a distributed weight and I believe that’s not relevant.
In terms of tyres I would always go Michelin cross climates. They are great allrounders and pretty hard wearing.

I'd go with this.

I've driven front-wheel drive cars, rear-wheel drive cars & 4/all-wheel drive cars. And while it isn't physically possible, the ID3 feels like it falls into the AWD camp more than the RWD camp, from a driving perspective.

Anyone had the ID3 'twitch', where you floor it on an angle and it corrects itself (safely) but you get that momentary feeling of a back-end slide?

davidwalton wrote: ↑Fri Jul 29, 2022 10:36 pm I'd go with this.

I've driven front-wheel drive cars, rear-wheel drive cars & 4/all-wheel drive cars. And while it isn't physically possible, the ID3 feels like it falls into the AWD camp more than the RWD camp, from a driving perspective.

Anyone had the ID3 'twitch', where you floor it on an angle and it corrects itself (safely) but you get that momentary feeling of a back-end slide?

Not quite in the way you describe. I tried hard to make it lose rear traction for fun going round a wide bend on a gravelly road once, the back end moved a tiny bit but the ESC quickly caught it. That's the other main difference now - as well as a big difference in weight distribution, the cars that gave a bad rep to RWD were mostly driven long before today's advanced ESC systems existed.
RWD is perfect for me overall in the ID3 but I could see how I'd want AWD if I lived in the hills where it snowed in winter, to minimise risk of getting stuck. Down here in the flatlands by the sea it's pointless.
Faster RWD cars often come with very fat tyres as well, which also makes them very poor in snow. (The worst car I had on snow was not a fairly normal RWD BMW, but a fast FWD hatch with fat tyres. It was extremely difficult to get moving).

Thank you for all the helpful comments and insights everyone! I think I will likely try a dedicated winter tyre come November and store the Bridgestones over winter pending a change to alloys come spring!

SinglePointSafety wrote: ↑Fri Jul 29, 2022 2:36 pm Hi MotMot, how did the noise levels of the Cross Climates compare with the Bridgestone?
Swapped to CCs in a previous (ICE) car and the decrease in road noise was huge, as well as changing the steering 'feel' by filtering out the feedback from roads with coarse texture
If the range hit is only 10%, I could easily live with that!

Noise was fine. Perhaps ever so slightly louder but nothing in it really. Handling was just as good. If anything better (as it gripped more!).

On my last car V40 - I had a set of Vredstein (I think) full winters and they were a bit more rumbly and slightly number steering but not too bad. None of that with the CC’s..

Thanks MotMot, much appreciated

Can anyone comment if any of the alternatives to the Bridgestones are self-sealing on 18 inch wheels?

duncsand wrote: ↑Sun Jul 31, 2022 4:45 pm Can anyone comment if any of the alternatives to the Bridgestones are self-sealing on 18 inch wheels?

The 18" Contis on mine are not.