I don't know the legalities of it but have a couple of comments.

If a certain tyre spec is in the handbook, ie V/W rated tyres, would the car be in contravention of C&U on a lower specification.

Insurance, i'd be inclined to run it past my insurer if the rating is lower than handbook spec, if they are happy with it then why not, they might insist on a max speed sticker being applied in a prominent place, its not a question i've ver asked an insurer.

Generally, i believe it isn't just speed rating as such, its the strength of the tyre to run at high speeds at full load without any risk of failure, in practice if i was to fit a lower speed rating tyre i'd want to up the load rating to compensate though that is purely my opinion.

If anything i go a rating higher than required when such a tyre is available for a similar price.

I suspect the question is regarding AT tyres for your beasty RT, i'd be inclined to ask your insurer but i think they will OK it, its a dickens of a job to find AT or MT tyres with an H rating let alone W, if you could find them they'll probably be twice the price of anything H or T rated and doubtless some unheard of make.

Edited by gordonbennet on 03/12/2016 at 22:49

It's the new breed of All-season tyres that I'm considering, Michelin CrossClimate and Nokian Weatherproof although the "old" Goodyear Vector 4Seasons G2 and Vredestein Quatrac 5 seem as good in tests.

At present I'm using the OE 19" 110W XL tyres in summer and an aftermarket set of 17" 108 H in winter (an approved spec for the car even though it's less than the car's maximum speed).

I could simply replace like-for-like when they need replacing - but I'd like to use one of the new All-Season tyres all year round on the 19" wheels - and fit a set of AT tyres on the 17" for some off-roading.

I have managed to find a 2010 document from VW (when my car was introduced) which does list 19" 110V XL in their recommendations for All-Season tyres - maybe the new All-Seasons will go that high by replacement time, they don't at present.

Are the 17" wheels decent enough to please you for all year use?, if so maybe store the 19's in the dark for ocassional use or for when sale time comes leaving you a perfect unblemished set of OE's.

Maybe fit a set of all seasons in 17" flavour and use them for normal use and find another set of used wheels (possibly steel 16" might clear the calipers if alloys don't) for pure off roading on something like 75 aspect and to use if we get a real winter, i would have thought there would be more choice in the right tyres in the right speed bands at 17", but then i haven't had nor likely to have anything as large as 19's so don't really know whats out there.

The 17" alloys were brand new last year, a discontinued VW SUV type I bought specifically to put my winter tyres on, so only doing 3-4,000 miles/year.

I actually prefer the 17" to the OE 19" - I'm not a fan of "rubber band tyres" so the higher tyre wall on the 17" just looks better to me - plus they're old-school silver, not the grey silver so popular nowadays.

Perversely, new 17" alloys which are SUV load-rated and fit VW hubs are generally cheaper than 17" steels - but having yet another set of wheels/tyres would do me no favours on the domestic front.

19" does seem to be a size lacking in tyre choice - far more choice at 18" or 20"

Thanks DVD, your input is always appreciated - even more so while you're recovering from your "little episode", I hope all is going well for you.