Winter tyres on my 21s or 19s?

[mark09]

I currently run the X5M on 21" black spider alloys.

With winter round the corner I want to make the change. I do have the standard set of 19s alloys with tyres stored on garage.

Should I keep the 21s on, and change to winters or take the 19s now whilst cheaper and in stock and have them fitted once the snow falls come ?

Any recommendations on tyre make and suppliers?

21s current size:
Front 285/35R21
Rear 325/30R21

Cheers

[CondorX5]

Have a read of the winter tyre thread. Smaller and narrower is always better for winter rubber.

[gobiman]

I'd definitely put them on the 19s.
As well as the narrower is better argument, for some reason the price for winter rubber seems to increase exponentially with every rim size increase and I think you'd struggle to find 21s at sensible money.
Good luck but I'd get on with it!

[gobiman]

And from a recent post, I'm a fan of Vredestein (Wintrac 4 Extremes). I drive out to the Alps a couple of times a year and find they are superb (at -20 last year on packed snow roads) but still perform well at 100 mph on the autobahn on the drive there. To be fair, I think most good branded winter tyres (Pirelli Scorpion Ice and Snow, Avon Ranger) will do the job but I can only speak for what I have. I would stear clear of cheaper brands for winter tyres personally - some stick well but wear very quickly from reports.
I did some searching a week ago for a friend (see PRICES post) and found tyremen in Hull to offer the best prices for Vredestein.