Matching wheels and tires to driving style (winter tires)

Hi again,

After my questions on upgrading to summer tires (http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123647243) got out of control, I thought I would start a new thread for my winter tire questions.

1) Since the focus of my tire threads is on matching the tires to driving needs and getting good value for the money, are winter tires necessary in the Boston metro area? I have no doubt that winter tires are an improvement over "all-seasons," and are necessary if I decide to use summer tires for the other spring/summer/fall; however, the roads are typically cleared in a timely manner. My commute is 30 miles round trip (90% highway), and I am concerned about treadwear if I find myself mostly driving on cleared roads. How many seasons are winter tires likely to last if I use them from Nov 1 to Mar 15, for example?

2) What is more important in a winter tire, the quality of the tire or the size of the tire? After researching this topic, it is my understanding that a smaller, narrower tire is preferable for winter conditions; however, the tire selection in the stock size sucks, to be kind. Would moving up to a 205/50/16 (Blizzak LM-25) actually be in improvemnt over a tire with lower ratings in the stock size (Pirelli Winter 210 Snowsport)? This is all assuming I buy new wheels for the summer and use the stock wheels for the winter...

3) If I decide to skip new wheels and just buy summer tires that fit the stock wheels, that means I will probably be in the market for some steelies for the winter. Does anyone have pics of four steel wheels on their cars? I've become accustomed to the 16" wheels and don't know if I can bear it...

After all this, I guess the point to my babbling can be summarized with this question - Is switching to performance tires for three seasons and then mounting winter tires when appropriate going to rejuvinate my car, or would I be pissing away money given the driving conditions near Boston with no planned autocrossing?

1 - Well, if you don't really have to drive in a big snow until after the plows have gone through, then I'd say you will be fine with quality all season tire, but you'll have to read reviews. For instance, I loved my Proxes 4's for wet and dry and low price, but they had a summer bias and are not that good in snow/ice. Very hard to get moving when it's slippery or going up hill. I moved to Falken 512's just before a big Chicago snow storm and with careful driving I had no problem getting through it long before the plows arrived on the back roads. I use all seasons because we only get 3 at most big snows here and I rarely have to break trail, and I'm 80% highway driving.

2 - If you are up in the hinter lands and have a lot of snow, get a tire that is a little more narrow than stock. Otherwise stock size is better on the cold dry roads. I suggest avoiding tires like the Blizzak because only the first half of the tread is snow compound, then it's just regular old all season rubber. Look for something like the Dunlop Winter Sport M3 tire.

3 - no pics, but just imagine black steel wheels on your car. You can always get some cheap hubcaps to sort of get an alloy look.


But I will say that Dec 07 my son turns 16 so just for safety I do plan on getting the Winter Sport M3 on the stock rims. Then spring '08 I'll get an excellent wet/dry summer tire on new wheels.

Thanks for the reply SciFiMan. Between your reply here and the replies in the summer tire thread, I am leaning toward the Falken ZE-512s.

I am currently using Kumho ECSTA ASXs in the stock size. They were actually mounted the day before a decent size storm, and I think my car went about 20ft in the parking lot, and it was pushed for 15ft. For some reason Boston always does a terrible job with the first snow of the season. While this isn't typical, I was pissed after just deciding my commute was too short and the roads too well salted to justify a winter tire. So that experience renewed my interest in winter rubber.

The Winter Sport M3s would have been my number 1 choice, but I can't find them in anything close to stock size. I guess 195/55/16 isn't too awful, but it is still slightly more than a 3% speedo error. It's too bad, if TireRack's survey is reliable, the M3s should be better than my Kumhos even in the summer.