Getting 2nd pair of wheels for snow tires...same diameter or smaller?

Hey all,
I'm buying a set of snow tires for my 2015 Touring CX-5. I am also thinking about buying a set of cheap wheels off tirerack so that I don't have to keep changing the tires back and forth off the same set of wheels. I'm thinking I'll buy the Michelin Xice2, but am still considering the Goodyear Ultragrip Ice WR.

So here's my question: Should I buy snow tires and wheels in the same 17 inch wheel diameter (225/65-17) that the Touring came with, or should I go down to 16 inch wheels (225/70-16) as tire rack recommends?

Here's more info about tirerack's recommendation: http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=126

A bit more about me: I commute 330 miles a week, and I'm looking for a snow tire that will perform well (and quietly!) on dry pavement and at speeds of 80mph+, since in addition to getting up into the mountains to ski, I'll be driving on a lot of bare pavement given the dry sunny Colorado climate I live in. So do I downsize to 16 inch wheels or stick to 17 inch?

Thanks!

Personally, I downsized to 16" to save money. I commute 200 miles per week.

+1 on downsize. Tires are a lot cheaper, plus with more sidewall, the ride is smoother.

Snow performance is more dependent upon tread width than wheel diameter. 16" and 17" wheels will work fine as winter wheels and you won't notice much difference in the snow/ice assuming tread diameter is a constant, although I don't think there is any traction advantage with the smaller diameter wheels (maybe 17's are slightly better). I stuck with the OEM width (and diameter) when I bought winter wheels/tires. If you can go 10-20 mm narrower and find a winter tire with adequate weight/speed ratings, you will likely get better snow/ice performance (at the expense of dry cornering and braking performance).

Personally, tires are never something I buy because of price. They are too important in terms of safety, reliability, performance and driving enjoyment/security to think it's a good idea to go with the cheapest solution. That said, it's difficult to judge the performance based on price alone. I usually end up buying a middle priced tire that appears especially well suited to the vehicle and my specific needs and wants.

sr12345 said:

+1 on downsize. Tires are a lot cheaper, plus with more sidewall, the ride is smoother.

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MikeM. said:

If you can go 10-20 mm narrower and find a winter tire with adequate weight/speed ratings, you will likely get better snow/ice performance (at the expense of dry cornering and braking performance).

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I'm trying to get a sense of what the pros and cons of downsizing are. I am interested in having tires as quiet as possible, and want to have good performance on dry pavement.

sr12345 says downsizing results in a smoother ride--what does that mean exactly? And MikeM, by "dry cornering" you mean going around corners at high speed? I like to be able to do that without the car skidding sideways even just a little bit.

freelyfallin said:

And MikeM, by "dry cornering" you mean going around corners at high speed? I like to be able to do that without the car skidding sideways even just a little bit.

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Then pay attention to the Speed Rating of the tyre. Given that it is winter, please drive appropriately.

Hello,

Getting Snow/Winter tires are something that I've
never thought about living in Texas, but have to say
a few bad Winters have started to change my mind.

Also, we're going to be Traveling more during the Winter months,
and so I was wondering about what type of Rims would you recommend?
I hear a lot about Steel Wheels but am not quite sure where I'd get these?
So I'm curious what wheels you're looking at getting?

How long or/many miles do Snow/ Winter Tires last?

Thanks and Take Care,

CK

Panther said:

Also, we're going to be Traveling more during the Winter months,
and so I was wondering about what type of Rims would you recommend?
I hear a lot about Steel Wheels but am not quite sure where I'd get these?
So I'm curious what wheels you're looking at getting?

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Steel rims are available at the Tire Rack

Panther said:

How long or/many miles do Snow/ Winter Tires last?

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According to the Tire Rack, with proper care and storage, they should last 6 to 10 years.
Generally I replace mine every five years or so due to the degradation of the rubber compound. i.e they are no longer "soft" by that point and can feel the loss of traction in snow.

SirWanker said:

Steel rims are available at the Tire Rack



According to the Tire Rack, with proper care and storage, they should last 6 to 10 years.
Generally I replace mine every five years or so due to the degradation of the rubber compound. i.e they are no longer "soft" by that point and can feel the loss of traction in snow.

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Howdy SR,

Thanks so much for the info, I had to laugh, I guess I must be getting too old,
I'd thought that the Steel Wheels would be like the old standard steel rims, not all these
neat speciality ones !!! Thanks also for the Info on the length those type of tires would
last, it's not something that most Texans think about !!!

Thanks again, Take care,

CK

freelyfallin said:

I'm trying to get a sense of what the pros and cons of downsizing are. I am interested in having tires as quiet as possible, and want to have good performance on dry pavement.

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Assuming you want to keep the tread diameter constant (and this is a good idea for multiple reasons) a smaller diameter wheel results in a taller sidewall. Advantage: more absorption of pavement irregularities. Disadvantage: Steering is not as precise due to more sidewall flex and under hard cornering the sidewall has more tendency to "tuck under". In other words, you will skid easier. On a low traction surface like snow or ice this is not really an issue but on pavement it can matter. IMO, the 17" tire is optimum for smooth ride and good handling performance. There is a reason Mazda specifies this wheel on the vast majority of CX-5's sold worldwide. While you can save money on tires with a smaller rim I wouldn't recommend it. Tire noise differences between 16" and 17" rims would be almost zero. Noise depends more on which tire you buy than whether it's 16 or 17 inch.

And MikeM, by "dry cornering" you mean going around corners at high speed? I like to be able to do that without the car skidding sideways even just a little bit.

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Yes, the taller sidewall of a 16" rim will not provide as much corner grip and your steering will feel less precise.

As far as steel rims, I am not a fan. You can buy low cost, reasonably good quality cast aluminum rims for not much more $$ and your car will not take on a ghetto, road warrior appearance every winter. The last steel rims I purchased for winter use looked ugly and one of them bent after hitting a small rock at highway speed.

I recommend the 17" OEM size but you can get a little better snow/ice/rain performance by going a little narrower. I haven't checked into how that will affect your winter tire selection so only do this after confirming an adequate selection of suitable tires. Narrower tires often have lower weight ratings but as long as they meet Mazda specs you shouldn't have concern. Narrower tires are generally less expensive and I would recommend looking into saving money on your winter setup this way before I would go to 16" rims.

freelyfallin said:

I'm trying to get a sense of what the pros and cons of downsizing are. I am interested in having tires as quiet as possible, and want to have good performance on dry pavement.

sr12345 says downsizing results in a smoother ride--what does that mean exactly? And MikeM, by "dry cornering" you mean going around corners at high speed? I like to be able to do that without the car skidding sideways even just a little bit.

Click to expand...

Modern sports-oriented cars have large rims / low profile tires for two reasons--they look cool, and offer more precise handling, meaning that during a sudden turn the car starts turning slightly earlier. To understand the handling dynamics, picture a tire/wheel looking at it from the front (the tire's sidewalls are vertical, and from that cross-section view, the tread width and rim width are horizontal), when you turn the steering wheel, this results in the hub and rim experiencing that input first, while the tire's contact patch with the road is still heading straight (the rectangle in the previous parentheses is now more of a parallelogram). A higher profile tire/smaller rim has more vertical distance which can distort to become the sloped sides of the parallelogram, while the larger rim / lower profile tire has less

For a daily driver, this difference in handling is really not an issue. The downside to the lower sidewall height is a harsher ride, due to the need for the lower profile tire to have even stiffer sidewalls.

Since roads usually develop ice bumps in the winter, the same road will usually be bumpier in winter driving as compared to summer. Tires are an integral part of your suspension, and absorb a lot of the bumps before they ever get transmitted to the A-arms, shocks, frame, etc.

Traction comes from tire width, not tire profile. If you want more dry traction, go for a wider tire. If you want more wet traction, go for a wider tire but with more grooves to evacuate the water. Snow traction is the weird one--a wide tire will float up on the snow, while a narrower tire will cut through the snow and get you down closer to the underlying pavement.

On our car, we went from stock 19 inch rims with our "summer" tires to 16 inch winter rims, with correspondingly higher profile tires. The ride with the 16s in smoother and quieter, and the car feels just as responsive for normal driving. I don't drive aggressively enough to push either tire to its limit, so the performance advantage of the lower profile tire is academic to my use. Between 16s and 17s, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference.

Panther-Another thing to look at with snow tires is the wear on the tire in temps above 40F. They are a much softer compound then all weather or summer tires. In the Lone Star that becomes an issue.