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My all season tires are 225/65R17, but tirerack.com suggests to use smaller size (16 inch instead of 17 inch) for snow tire/wheel package citing better snow performance, it is true? I am thinking bigger tires allow me to drive through heavy snow easier.
A smaller wheel will allow you to run a tire with a larger side wall(assuming the smaller wheel will clear the brake rotor/caliper). The tire/wheel combo should still be roughly the same size.
You think incorrectly ... Narrower tires cut through snow better and grip the ice better. As mentioned because they'll have taller sidewalls the overall rolling diameter is the same so your speedometer and odometer should be accurate.
You can call and talk with a tire rack expert, they are very good at what they do. The cheapest way to go is to buy some steel wheels (TR sells them).
Worst car on snow was '66 Mustang with oversize studded tires. Best was a 64 Corvair with stock, narrow regular summer tires. Tire Rack has done testing, they should know.
YMMV.
You think incorrectly ... Narrower tires cut through snow better and grip the ice better. As mentioned because they'll have taller sidewalls the overall rolling diameter is the same so your speedometer and odometer should be accurate.
You can call and talk with a tire rack expert, they are very good at what they do. The cheapest way to go is to buy some steel wheels (TR sells them).
Exactly. A narrower tire has to move less snow in order to achieve grip. Plus, it's less expensive.
The correct tire size for your vehicle is on a sticker located on the driver's door jamb. I would not use anything different and I'm surprised that they even suggest that. Some places, like Costco, will refuse to install any size other than the one specified for your vehicle.
Changing tire diameter will also affect speedometer calibration. I would just go with the correct tire size.
The correct tire size for your vehicle is on a sticker located on the driver's door jamb. I would not use anything different and I'm surprised that they even suggest that. Some places, like Costco, will refuse to install any size other than the one specified for your vehicle.
Changing tire diameter will also affect speedometer calibration. I would just go with the correct tire size.
You aren't changing the tire diameter. You go with a smaller wheel size and compensate with a tire with a larger sidewall. Places like Costco refuse to do this because they employ morons to work on your car and Costco as a whole doesn't want the liability of morons screwing up your car because they don't know what they are doing. Actual tire shops will know what will fit and what won't fit and do this all the time.
Also, the sticker you are referring to doesn't state it is the "correct tire size", it states the tire size that came with the vehicle. Heck, dealerships sell wheel and tire packages in different sizes as options.
My all season tires are 225/65R17, but tirerack.com suggests to use smaller size (16 inch instead of 17 inch) for snow tire/wheel package citing better snow performance, it is true? I am thinking bigger tires allow me to drive through heavy snow easier.
Also what are the good wheel brands? Thanks.
There are a couple of reasons why you go down an inch in wheel diameter (assuming it fits over the brakes):
* The extra sidewall provides some extra protection to the wheel when you hit giant pot holes or slide into a curb.
* As was covered already in this thread, the tires are a bit cheaper
My 2015 6-cylinder Outback came with 18" wheels. My Tire Rack wheels are 17" and are the cheapest closeout alloys they had at the time. Ditto my last VW GTI daily driver. 18" wheels stock. 17" wheels when I bought cheap alloys. 16" wouldn't fit over the brakes or I would have done that. The cheap alloy closeout wheels I bought this fall for my girlfriend's Volvo S80 were already the smallest size that would fit over the brakes.
Tire Rack also tends to have good prices on tire pressure monitoring system valve stems if your car needs them. If you buy them together, they come pre-mounted and the spacers to get the wheel offset right are also pre-mounted. I dug through the four boxes the first time looking for the TPMS before the "Doh! They're already mounted." Tire Rack also supplies the lug nuts/wheel bolts that fit and they're often not the same as the original ones with your OEM wheels.
I'm a Nokian guy and Tire Rack doesn't carry Nokian. I just buy the wheels and TPMS senders.
If I'm comparing the cheapest closeout wheels, I try to buy the lightest weight wheel unless I hate the cosmetics. In my experience, the closeout cheap alloys are only a few bucks more expensive than steel wheels and you don't have to buy wheel covers or live with the "my car is a winter beater" look of steelies without hubcaps.
I've owned a couple of cars where I was able to buy base trim level wheels for cheap from someone who had done a wheel upgrade. Those tend to be the smaller wheel diameter.
I don't tend to drive cars with really wide stock tires. If I had some muscle car, I'd go narrower with winter tires. With a vanilla 225/65R17, I'd stick with 225. Where it really matters is on unplowed slush. A wide tire in a lighter car will want to float on top of it. Kind of the worst white knuckle hydroplaning behavior you can imagine.
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