Winter?

[Dajesus]

*I realize not everyone has to deal with this, so if you live in warm climate besides haveing my envy ignore this post.*

What is everyone doing with their Speed durring the winter? I haven't gotten new wheels or a winter beater and was forced to drive in about a 1/4 inch of snow this morning. Wow! is this unsafe. Going about 10mphs in a parking lot I tried to brake and starting sliding. The brakes have me worried that nothing less than a 16'' wheel will fit, but I am not sure. Has anyone purchased winter wheels for the ride? If so how much did you spend?

[Jeph]

If you're that worried about wheels less than 16" just buy someones old P5 rims or sedan rims, I remember seeing someones in the FS section that was selling them for 200

[jersey_emt]

15" wheels will fit.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. I'm definitely buying some all-season tires for the winter. It doesn't snow enough here to warrant snow tires.

I'm not sure if I'm getting 15" steelies, 16" steelies, or 15", 16", or 17" rims.

[instylz]

Hey jersey_emt just pray we don't get the same snow storm we had last yr in woodbridge....that was insane.

[rocketspeed]

I just ordered up 16 inch steelies with Blizzaks on 'em from tirerack- 600 bones. I could have saved a few bucks ordering 15's from tires.com, but I figured the 16's would have a little better ride. 15 is an awful lot of sidewall.

I gotta get a set of wheel covers, I guess, or go with the pickup truck look. They're forecasting a possible Nor'easter this weekend for the northeast US, so I may need to hustle them on the car.

[instylz]

I remember seeing a thread that had some tires shipped from tirerack.com for the mid $400 range. :) might want to check em out. I'm going to be daring and not get winters this yr. Next year I will for sure thou. I'd rather spend money on other shit for the time being. hehe

[jersey_emt]

Originally posted by instylz
Hey jersey_emt just pray we don't get the same snow storm we had last yr in woodbridge....that was insane.

Yeah, that was nuts! I was at college in Ewing, NJ and we had a couple of days off.

[rocketspeed]

When I called yesterday, tirerack didn't have any 15 inch steelies for the MSP. Tires.com does, though, but their price is slightly higher.

[mdaj]

Originally posted by instylz
I remember seeing a thread that had some tires shipped from tirerack.com for the mid $400 range. :) might want to check em out. I'm going to be daring and not get winters this yr. Next year I will for sure thou. I'd rather spend money on other shit for the time being. hehe

I just don't have any money for winter wheels / tires. Maybe it was a bad time to trade my car in for the msp...o-well...suffer I will.

[ping]

You may not have money for winter tires and wheels, but will you have money to cover the deductible? Pay for the injuries and lawsuit that will result from you knowingly driving on non-all-season tires in winter? Can you live with the guilt? Sorry - not kidding, that's the truth. It sirresponsible to drive on bad tires in winter - and that's what the MSP has is bad winter tires.

Sorry - that's reality. Spend the money, be responsible, and get tires that'll get you through snow. I don't mean to sound like a grownup, but fer cryin' out loud, something like $400-$500 is not that much jing for safety - eat mac and cheese for a while, give up on getting that new toy for Christmas, save up your pennies. Get snows, or at least decent all-season tires. It's that important.

[rocketspeed]

Try driving the thing in snow and get back to us on how you feel about a set of snows. If you live where it snows, you won't even be able to get out of your parking spot on a slick day. Its not a knock on the tires, they are expressly not for use in the snow. It just plain doesn't work.

If you can catch a ride or something on snowy days, you'll be OK, but you WILL NOT be able to scrape by on those tires in the snow. At best, you'll get stuck. At worst, you'll wreck your car or even kill someone.

[ping]

... but do us a favor - try driving on the RE040's where there's nobody and nothing to crash into. THEN get back to us...

[Wild_MSP]

hmm.. you DON'T want to try the RE040 in snow... trust me! (I've tried... not good!)

.. and 15" steelies fits just fine on the MSP... that's what I used last year and what I've put back on 2 weeks ago!

[03MSP]

Yep, 15's fit.

I haven't put them on yet, I'm trying to keep my RacingHarts on as long as possible:D

[pluto316]

Snow? What's that?

[mdaj]

Originally posted by ping
You may not have money for winter tires and wheels, but will you have money to cover the deductible? Pay for the injuries and lawsuit that will result from you knowingly driving on non-all-season tires in winter? Can you live with the guilt? Sorry - not kidding, that's the truth. It sirresponsible to drive on bad tires in winter - and that's what the MSP has is bad winter tires.

Sorry - that's reality. Spend the money, be responsible, and get tires that'll get you through snow. I don't mean to sound like a grownup, but fer cryin' out loud, something like $400-$500 is not that much jing for safety - eat mac and cheese for a while, give up on getting that new toy for Christmas, save up your pennies. Get snows, or at least decent all-season tires. It's that important.

Was that post directed towards me since there was no reference to whom you were speaking to?

[rocketspeed]

I think yes, but also toward anyone who expects to drive their MSP in snow with the stock tires.

If your situation isn't such that you can leave it home on snowy days, you're in for a rude awakening when the flakes fly.

You're probably thinking "its front wheel drive, how bad can it be?"

Not really any better than a rear wheel drive car with the same tires, I'm afraid. They are plain unsafe. I can't stress this enough.

[mdaj]

I NEVER stated that I was going to PURPOSELY drive my car with performance tires in the snow even though I had money and chose to spend it on something else. So these smart ass comments can go else where.

I stated that I did not have money. I am not sure how you or anyone can take that for anything else besides me saying that I do not have money. Therefore, I cannot spend money on snow tires and wheels. What I am doing is trying to save as much as I can to pay for snow tires amongst other things that my money needs to go to. I apologize for not having the means to do so off the bat.

If your comments were made towards the person I quoted then forgive me because I have sand in my vagina!

[rocketspeed]

I understand the not having money stuff. If you don't have money for snows, do yourself a favor and keep the car off the road while its snowing.

What you're going to find out the hard way is that whether you have the money or not, your car isnt' going to go anywhere in the snow. Which means you'll have less money if you're expecting it to get you to work.

On top of that, you're seriously tempting fate if you do manage to get the thing moving (which will be hard!) as its not going to steer or stop.

[MSBlueP]

Originally posted by mdaj
I NEVER stated that I was going to PURPOSELY drive my car with performance tires in the snow even though I had money and chose to spend it on something else. So these smart ass comments can go else where.

I stated that I did not have money. I am not sure how you or anyone can take that for anything else besides me saying that I do not have money. Therefore, I cannot spend money on snow tires and wheels. What I am doing is trying to save as much as I can to pay for snow tires amongst other things that my money needs to go to. I apologize for not having the means to do so off the bat.

If your comments were made towards the person I quoted then forgive me because I have sand in my vagina!


I feel you on that brother.. from tuition fees, books and past family financial problems.. i'm pretty left out in the cold.. so i'll be driving my msp during the winter wid re40's.. unless it's snowing badly and the road is covered wid snow, i'll probably use public transportation. I'm guessing these tires we have are as bad as them firestone firehawks i had on my matrix. man oh man was those bad tires during the snowstorm last year. but, i managed to get through the season wid them. I just wont be driving my msp during really messy conditions. *as in sh*t load of snow w/ ice conditions*

[rocketspeed]

90% of the days in the winter you'll be OK, as it doesn't snow most of the time.

Just keep it off the road when they're covered with snow and you're good to go.

[DeputySherif]

just my 2cents, you prolly dont want to go with 16" steelies. Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but there is a significant amount of weight added from 15" to 16". Furthermore, a 15" rim is slightly better in snow than a 16" rim. I would suggest WINTER TIRES and 15" steel rims. $546.36 for 15" steels and 4 yokohama ice guards at your nearest Town Fair Tire.

Just a heads up --- it seems tis the season for steel rims, my local tire store suppositly got that last 4 15" steel rims in the area. Better act fast and save the later headaches.

[rocketspeed]

16- 15, wont' matter much. The 16's will weigh a little more and a narrower tire will cut better through deep snow- you're right on both counts.

However, the 16's isn't unreasonable in weight and the tire will gain a little dry grip with the lower profile as compared to the 15.

I'm running 17 inch snows on heavy-ass factory rims on my wife's SVT focus and the thing rips through snow. Its awesome! Michelin Pilot Alpins.

[DeputySherif]

by the way, we understand you dont have the cash.....sign up for a new credit card and get the incentives they are currently offering. As long as you have decent credit, you shouldn't have a problem get 0% financing for 6 months to a year. I have 0% financing until 2005, so the cost of $546.36 can sit on my bill until I get around to pay it. Not that I have an issue, just an example. Pay it next December 2004, or whenever you get the hard on to pay it.

[Dajesus]

I have bad credit, but I will probably go to a few junk yards and look for some tires/wheels. If that doesn't work I will have to drop the 500.

[PaulMP3]

Originally posted by jersey_emt
15" wheels will fit.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. I'm definitely buying some all-season tires for the winter. It doesn't snow enough here to warrant snow tires.

I'm not sure if I'm getting 15" steelies, 16" steelies, or 15", 16", or 17" rims.

smart move with the all seasons.. it will make it so you can still have fun with the car and feel safe.. the winter tires get scary when you push them.. but they are great the few times it snows around here.

As a suggestion, if you can scrap together the cash get some cheap P5 wheels.. i have steelies, i used them for 2 going on 3 winters... they are sad to look at.. i wish i would have just bought p5 tires to start with. I might still be buying a set, it just hard to find any with thread to get me through the winter.. and i already own the snow tires.. but they are 15's
:mad: