Any opinions or does anyone have experience with:
Are 20" winter tyres worth doing 245 25 20, or are we much better off going to 18"'s

Only asking as my DS has 20" rims, and winter tyres to fit 245 45 20 are around £1000
I can get 18" rims and winter tyres for less money - so need to decide.

thoughts pls 

Ive always gone for the smallest rim size i can get for winter tyres.

"Bibendum Logic" (Its like no other ... ) says:-

1 - The extra sidewall depth makes them more resilient and compliant. That should help grip.
2 - When they slide into a kerb or a rock they are less likely to get damaged
3 - They are cheaper!
4 - Its dark most of the time they are on the car so no-one can see them anyway.

That strategy has worked pretty well on my old Mondeo and Volvo V40, as well as on Mrs Bs old Corsa and Fiesta.

I run 17 and 18 inch winter tyres and living in the mountain I avoid buying a car with bigger rims for reason already given. Other thought is that even with winters I sometimes need to put chains on when v icy and they sit much better with bigger side walls

I've never needed chains, but that is a really good point.

In fact I think the Ford handbooks actually specify the smallest rim size if you are fitting chains (might have got that wrong)

I wouldn't pay the extra for 20" winter tyres.

I made my decision on size, purely on what winter wheels I could get for the right money. Whether than be 17, 18 or 19".

It just so happened to be 19" which is what my car has as standard anyway. I also wanted Nokian Winter tyres which are a good price in 19". Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

I wanted 17" rims but the car only came with 18". There was another new Freelander but I didn't want this one because of the 19" rims. I don't see the point of larger rims.

No point repeating what others have said, 17" rims are the go! Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Probably because bigger rims look so much better. 19's are no harder than 18's in reality. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

Not my personal choice!

Click image to enlarge

That picture looks like they are much bigger than 20's judging by the tyre profile!

I agree you can go too big! Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

17" for winter, 18" for summer