Winter setup: winter tires in Chicagoland?

vtakk

Member
:
MPS3
looking to buy Nokian winter set in Chicago.
need steelies and tires.

would 16s fit on MS3? brake caliper clearence issues?
I was thinking about running 205s on 55
if no luck then 17s

can anyone suggest trusted place to go?

show me what you have as winter setup on your cars
 
1. Go outside
2. Look up and around
3. Snowing? (if not proceed to #7.)
4. If 3 was a yes park the MS3
5. Buy a truck
6. Don't worry about hurting your baby

7. GO DRIVE YOUR MS3
 
looking to buy Nokian winter set in Chicago.
need steelies and tires.

would 16s fit on MS3? brake caliper clearence issues?
I was thinking about running 205s on 55
if no luck then 17s

can anyone suggest trusted place to go?

show me what you have as winter setup on your cars

Certain 16" steelies will fit, but not all will.

I don't know the exact wheel specs of the ones TireRack sells every year, but I know many people on the forums are running 16" setups with steel wheels they got from them...

I had a set of Nokians on one of my Focuses. Hakkapeliitta 2s, IIRC. They were pretty badass snow tires.

The winter setup I have for the MS3 is a set of 17x7 et44 Ford Fusion alloys with 215/50R17 Dunlop Wintersport M3s...I skewed more toward a "performance winter tire" with this car...
 
I used to have Gislaved Nord Frost3 for around 3 years. badass tires.. cant find them here.
Unless go to Canada and pick them up there lol

thx for info
 
On 16" and Nokian here, very tight fit, my fingernail probably don't pass between wheel and caliper!

Think about this before considering 16's ...how about ice building up in between the wheel/caliper?

I currently have my factory MS3 wheels on Pirelli Winter 210 SnowSport for winter. These have been successful over one winter. My past experience was Blizzak WS60's on a Miata which were incredible for winter performance. The Pirelli's hold up very well. Stopping in snow/ice triggers my anti-lock brakes more than the Blizzak's did, but I shouldn't compare stopping the momentum of a MS3 versus a Miata in the snow. (no)
 
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Think about this before considering 16's ...how about ice building up in between the wheel/caliper?

I currently have my factory MS3 wheels on Pirelli Winter 210 SnowSport for winter. These have been successful over one winter. My past experience was Blizzak WS60's on a Miata which were incredible for winter performance. The Pirelli's hold up very well. Stopping in snow/ice triggers my anti-lock brakes more than the Blizzak's did, but I shouldn't compare stopping the momentum of a MS3 versus a Miata in the snow. (no)

you cant compare 215s which I believe you running on ms3 against what 175/185 on miata. less area of contact = more load on square inch. but again.. different car weight etc

how much you got Pirellis for? 18s are damn expensive plus you have kinda snow plow instead of snow cutter with all that width. I was going to run either 205sX16 or 215sX17..
 
Think about this before considering 16's ...how about ice building up in between the wheel/caliper?

I currently have my factory MS3 wheels on Pirelli Winter 210 SnowSport for winter. These have been successful over one winter. My past experience was Blizzak WS60's on a Miata which were incredible for winter performance. The Pirelli's hold up very well. Stopping in snow/ice triggers my anti-lock brakes more than the Blizzak's did, but I shouldn't compare stopping the momentum of a MS3 versus a Miata in the snow. (no)

I can tell you for a fact that ice buildup is a non-issue. I've run 16" steelies for two winters now. No-one else has had a problem either.

OP, call TireRack. Some sales-people there don't seem to know about the steelies fitting but others do. If you get one that says "no", talk to another sales rep.
 
get ahold of proetege garage. I remember last year they had a smoking deal on the a winter tire/wheel combo that I need to take advantage of this year
 
get ahold of proetege garage. I remember last year they had a smoking deal on the a winter tire/wheel combo that I need to take advantage of this year
I did and they have firestone on steelis. They are not far away from me and seems to be cool guys. If there would be any better rubber there I would jump on it
 
Hard winter here (Quebec, Canada), lot of snow, icing rain and all bull s*** you can imagine. I think that actually the low clearance does not allow any buildup. I was also afraid at first, also about rocks. But thinking of it I said to myself that with a 17" it will give about 1/2" clearance and allow a rock to stuck between. With about 1/16", it should not go between... Only thing I'm sure is that I have 6 months done without any problem.

Be sure to be able to try wheel, first model of wheel I tried did not fit!

Think about this before considering 16's ...how about ice building up in between the wheel/caliper?
 

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Hard winter here (Quebec, Canada), lot of snow, icing rain and all bull s*** you can imagine. I think that actually the low clearance does not allow any buildup. I was also afraid at first, also about rocks. But thinking of it I said to myself that with a 17" it will give about 1/2" clearance and allow a rock to stuck between. With about 1/16", it should not go between... Only thing I'm sure is that I have 6 months done without any problem.

Be sure to be able to try wheel, first model of wheel I tried did not fit!

thx for sharing. are you driving ms3?
so 205/60/R16 would be good. this is what I thought. lucky you get nakapelita ) very nice tires.. used to have nokians back to Europe.
 
Yes, MS3. Was not sure between 205/55 and 205/60. 60 profile is little higher in total diameter, but no rubbing problem for me.
My Hakka5 are studded, first experience with stud. Work really good, but more noise for sure!

thx for sharing. are you driving ms3?
so 205/60/R16 would be good. this is what I thought. lucky you get nakapelita ) very nice tires.. used to have nokians back to Europe.
 
Yes, MS3. Was not sure between 205/55 and 205/60. 60 profile is little higher in total diameter, but no rubbing problem for me.
My Hakka5 are studded, first experience with stud. Work really good, but more noise for sure!
I checked tirerack.com and they have what I need except steelies are not available now :/

hey you be careful braking on tarmac/concrete with those studs. they work great on deep snow and ice but suck big time on drier tarmac etc. just be careful.
 
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You are right, but not as bad as I tought it would be. Also factoring that sidewall are higher with 16"...

hey you be careful braking on tarmac/concrete with those studs. they work great on deep snow and ice but suck big time on drier tarmac etc. just be careful.
 
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