Winter Tire Setups

[Cueyo]

This'll be my first year running winter tires ever (all my previous cars were all-seasons) and I was wondering what most people ran as a setup.

Do people downsize to 18s? Any particular brands people prefer?

I was thinking getting a second set of rims and mounting the winter tires on them.

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[frenzal]

Dedicated set of wheels/tires.

Went with 18"x8", with offset so the wheels sits at the same place as the OE wheels. Think they are FC04 Fast Wheels (went with something cheap as good chance of damaging them).

Went with 235 tires, Blizzaks.

Been 2 winters, no problem and happy with me decision!

 

[Cueyo]

Dedicated set of wheels/tires.

Went with 18"x8", with offset so the wheels sits at the same place as the OE wheels. Think they are FC04 Fast Wheels (went with something cheap as good chance of damaging them).

Went with 235 tires, Blizzaks.

Been 2 winters, no problem and happy with me decision!

Any pictures?

 

[Spart]

As is common, I am going narrower with the winter set to help reduce hydroplaning on slush.

All good winter tires will have mediocre to bad lateral handling characteristics in the dry, so a tire the same width as stock isn't strictly necessary or even useful. I don't drive my cars hard when they have winter tires on. I look at it like this: what width of tire would I run in the snow on a low-powered FWD economy car weighing 3200 pounds? 205-225. About the same as what comes on a base Nissan Altima (215). Forget the power and dry handling, I want the best safety characteristics for snow.

I also went down to 18" wheels, specifically BBS SR in 18x8 +44. These have a smidge more poke than the OEM setup, but a lot of other options in 18x8 have significantly more. I did purchase some 2mm spacers to run on the front. The wheels do clear the brakes but only just, and I wanted a bit more breathing room.

I wanted to closely match the OEM 265/30ZR19 PS4S revolutions per mile spec of 822. In the tire sizes that you can reasonably acquire, 235/40R18 and 225/40R18 are the closest to the OEM PS4S, at 820 and 826 revolutions per mile respectively.

For me, 225/40R18 has these additional advantages over 235/40R18: better fit on an 8" wide wheel than 235, better price, and better selection.

I went with Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 this time around. I have in the recent past used almost exclusively Bridgestone Blizzaks and found them to be better than others I've tried (General Altimax Arctic, Firestone Winterforce, and Michelin something-or-other) but the Nokians seem so well regarded that I decided to try them out. They are about $50 per tire more expensive than the Blizzaks, we'll see if they provide that value or not.

 

[Allthingsfl5]

I drove last winter on Pirelli Cinturato Weatheractive in 255/35/19. Did amazing. Midwest winter at that.

 

[Mobias]

I ran 19" Michelin Alpin last winter and they were just fine. I did get new cheap rims from tire rack as well. The wheels are a little bit more narrow than stock at 8.5" wide. Tires are 245/35R19.

 

[frenzal]

Any pictures?

 

[Terkoiz]

I have a dedicated winter tire setup: Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 - 235/40R18 mounted on Superspeed RF03RR in Satin Bronze - 18x8.5 +35 72.6 CB

Mainly opted for this ‘aggressive’ of a winter setup as it’s my only car and I don’t commute to work or anything. I find I don’t drive too much (or spiritedly) during the winter anyway. I’ve found that the road conditions where I am typically aren’t too poor post-snowfall, so it’s just a matter of occasion when I need to drive and it’s coming down outside.

 

[AZCWTypeR]

I'd recommend a second set of wheels in 18" and the tallest sidewall that fits.

I ran Dunlop performance winter tires on a previous car. Wet/dry handling was quite good, but ice traction was lacking compared to non-performce Blizzaks.

From my experience Blizzak and Michelin X-Ice are much better snow/ice traction-wise, but handling is degraded. Also many tire shops won't install non-performance tires on a fast car, hence take wheels in separately if you go this route. Salt corrosion is another reason for a second set of rims.

 

[Spart]

Also many tire shops won't install non-performance tires on a fast car.

I would be out the door so damn fast!

 

[TypeRD]

You’re making the correct decision of not attempting to use your summer tires in winter.

That said, peoples’ ideas of winter can vary widely. I saw someone post that they have “Midwest winters” which is really not very specific at all. Winter in Northern Minnesota is very different in comparison to winter in Western KS, as an example. Anyway…what state/region do you live in? What’s a typical winter like (duration/avg temps/snow accumulation)?

 

[Cueyo]

You’re making the correct decision of not attempting to use your summer tires in winter.

That said, peoples’ ideas of winter can vary widely. I saw someone post that they have “Midwest winters” which is really not very specific at all. Winter in Northern Minnesota is very different in comparison to winter in Western KS, as an example. Anyway…what state/region do you live in? What’s a typical winter like (duration/avg temps/snow accumulation)?

I'm out in upstate NY, so the winters are likely comparable to your Minnesota ones. Last winter was particularly bad, continuously below freezing, snow would happen like every other day and we'd get at least 5-6 inches at a time

 

[Spart]

I'm out in upstate NY, so the winters are likely comparable to your Minnesota ones. Last winter was particularly bad, continuously below freezing, snow would happen like every other day and we'd get at least 5-6 inches at a time

Snow tires don't help when it gets deeper than the ground clearance of the car. You'll just get stuck further into the snow.

 

[TypeRD]

I'm out in upstate NY, so the winters are likely comparable to your Minnesota ones. Last winter was particularly bad, continuously below freezing, snow would happen like every other day and we'd get at least 5-6 inches at a time

When I lived in WI, I used Blizzak tires on my ‘09 Si They were great! As you’re looking for wheels too, I’d recommend just getting a set of steelies. They don’t look great (nobody’s car looks great in winter), but they’re cheap and can be repaired or easily replaced. Also, steel wheels will bend if you hit a curb or bad pothole. Aluminum wheels will crack. Because steel is forgiving, they can help prevent damage transferring to other areas, like control arms, etc. As you can tell, I take a very practical/functional approach to winter driving. I’m sure folks in upstate NY have much of the same mentality.

 

[Spart]

When I lived in WI, I used Blizzak tires on my ‘09 Si They were great! As you’re looking for wheels too, I’d recommend just getting a set of steelies. They don’t look great (nobody’s car looks great in winter), but they’re cheap and can be repaired or easily replaced. Also, steel wheels will bend if you hit a curb or bad pothole. Aluminum wheels will crack. Because steel is forgiving, they can help prevent damage transferring to other areas, like control arms, etc. As you can tell, I take a very practical/functional approach to winter driving. I’m sure folks in upstate NY have much of the same mentality.

I looked at steelies, but I did not see any that would clear the CTR/ITS brakes and be in the right offset range.

These were the closest I found, but would not have the needed brake clearance: https://www.fitmentindustries.com/buy-wheel-offset/RTX-X48564/rtx-winter-steel-18x8-40

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