Avensis 17" Wheels

[BillGiraffe]

Hello,I have recently joined the club as I have just purchased my first Toyota an Avensis 2.0 d4d which I am well pleased with, as I stay in the chilly North East of Scotland I am looking to buy a pair of 17" wheels ideally steels but maybe alloys if they are available to put my winter tyres on.I have had a good look on eBay and gumtree and checked with local car breakers but have not really been able to come up with anything so I was wonder ing if any one had for sale or if steel wheels from any other car manufacturer would fit my Avensis, it is a 2010 plate and has 215 55 17 tyres on it, Cheers for any help you can give me

[Heidfirst]

Toyota offer 16" steel Winter wheels for the Avensis. 2.2s can not run them as they have larger front brake discs but your 2.0 should be OK.

Having said that a set of aftermarket or s/h alloys will probably cost you no more or even less. There are several suitable options on eBay so what is the problem with them?

[alan333]

Surely Overton dismantlers have some? They're not the cheapest breakers I've ever known but their stock is usually pretty extensive.

[BillGiraffe]

Heidfirst,you are correct there are plenty s/h alloys on EBay/gumtree but I have yet to see any being sold in pairs mainly sets of four I have contacted a few of the sellers to see if they will split the set but as of yet none have been willing. Alan333 Overton dismantlers were my first port of call but surprisingly they didn't have any which in my experience is unusual for them as they usually manage to come up with the goods at a price!

[alan333]

Try japsautoparts in Glasgow, they break a lot of japanese cars. Or there's a big breaker in Inverkeithing which used to be called Watson's, or SCB in Newbridge Edinburgh.

Alternatively (you've maybe already covered this tho) try an eBay search for "breaking avensis" or "avensis wheel nut" etc, there's often people breaking a whole car but don't advertise the parts separately.

[Heidfirst]

Why do you only require a pair of wheels (it is not advisable to have Winter wheels on only front or rear)?

If that is what you are prepared to do then there may not be many pairs but there are plenty of individual (but matching) wheels on eBay.

[Whitewagon]

As Heidfirst states don't fit winter tyres to just two wheels. There is plenty of advice around on this issue and it all points to it being dangerous.

[BillGiraffe]

Alan333,cheers for that car breaker info,will definitely give some of them a try,Heidfirst and Whitewagon I'm definitely not disputing that it's safest to fit winter tyres all round .My own experience of driving through two of the worst winters we have had (I think it was 2009 and 2010) and also in a very wintery part of Scotland was that replacing the summer tyres with a pair of winter tyres on the drive axle made a huge difference to the safety and capability of the vehicle and in no way made it any more unsafe to drive than if I had left it with four summer tyres on,indeed I believe the vast majority of drivers who switch to winter tyres only switch the two on the drive axle.

[Heidfirst]

I would be very surprised if the majority of people changing onto Winter tyres only put 2 on the driven axle.

In a fwd car the normal handling characteristic is usually understeer (especially with a heavy diesel out front) which is generally considered to be easier /safer for most people to deal with than oversteer. Put 2 Winter tyres up front & possibly worn Summers on the rear, hit a cold, wet or icy day & the potential for sudden & unexpected oversteer when the rears lose grip where the fronts are OK is massively increased.

I'm pretty sure that your insurance would also be declared void. It's your neck though.

[delbois]

Seriously don't even consider fitting winter tyres to only two wheels as it will seriously destablise your car. There are many scary youtube videos showing cars heading backwards under simple straight line braking maneouvres on snow. On corners the car may spin off with uncontrollable oversteer irrespective of what the driver does. Winter tyres on the front will get you going but cornering and braking will be much more dangerous.

[Valvematic]

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/164013-17-alloy-for-2009-avensis/ £50