Winter tire Debate!
 

I know I already made a thread of this, however I'm contimplating a serious question.

how much more are 18 inch H or V rated winter tires, then 17 inch winter tires?? are they 600+ dollars more, or is there not much of a difference??

Would you say its better to buy a spare set of 17 inch alloy rims, and put winter tires on them for driving the vehicle in the winter

or should I just get winter tires for the 18 inch stock wheels?? will that end up being cheaper, so I dont have to buy new rims or what do you think?

Keep in mind i'm not worried about riding the stock rims in the snow
* I may end up getting aftermarket rims anyways *

I dont know much about winter tires other then 16 inch winters on steelie rims..
Please help!! info please

you could check a few sites ie. tirerack.com. They would be able to give you a good estimate on the prices for winter tires, or winter rim and tire bundles. There isn't a huge difference between 17 inch and 18inch winter tires. If you didn't care about the stock rims it would be cheaper to buy the tires and have them mounted and then use aftermarket rims and tires for the summer; but you have to factor in how much that will cost. Its up too you, right now it would be cheaper to just buy the tires and mount them on the stock 18's, but then you'll have to spend a few grand to buy summer tires and new rims....your call.

you can get nice blizzak 17's which are H rated and a wonderful winter tire and they are around 500 (maybe less).

This is what Im going to do :D

Wheels are in the garage .... now waiting for summer to come ;)

I purchased a set of 17" Bridgestone Blizzaks mounted on some cheap alloy wheels shipped from tirerack for @ $1000. Much easier to change them yourself instead of lugging them to a shop.

I have a set of 18" Pirelli Wintersports on aftermarket Kazera wheels that I picked up second hand from a guy that sold his RX8. This can be an excellent alternative to buying a set of winter tires/wheels new without spending a fortune. Just make sure you ask good questions and get plenty of pics. Also make sure you are specific on how the tires and wheels will be shipped... .

Given the choice between the 17 and 18" options, I think the 18" look better, but the added air space and sidewall collapse height of the 17" setup is actually a better solution for the tougher winter driving environment in my opinion.

Hmm, well I may keep the stock rims for a few years aswell
So its either, get Winter tires for the 18's, then twice a year drive down and switch the tires and have them mounted etc.

or just get seperate rims and tires, and then just switch them over twice a year in my garauge.

I went with 17" wheel/tire because it was cheaper and I could select a narrower tire. The narrower tires help bite better in the snow.

It's really great to be able to swap snows/summers on your own schedule.

So two thumbs up for 17" wheel/tire combination.

If you just get tires and bring them someplace to swap, think about how you'll get them into your car to bring them over. There are some threads in the competition forum where folks describe how they load up a set of tires/wheels for track days.

Ken

rx8-late, welcome to the club! Please add locaion to your profile.

There is quite a bit of info via the search feature about the 17" winter wheel and tire info. I'm running 17" alloy rims and Hancook Ice bear tires. This combo was about the same cost as 18" winters tires alone.

The dealership I go to is very familiar with the location of the bagged wheel/tire combo; One in the trunk, one in each back seat and one in the passenger seat.

^^ all 4 of the stockies fit in the back seat...now if i could say the same for my track wheels life would be good :(

I took the second route. Although I'm not swapping them in my own garage (no hydraulic jack or torque wrench) but I do have a friend with a well stocked garage who's happy to help with car stuff.

From a financial standpoint, having a second set of rims will generally be cheaper or come out even in the long run. I paid $1100 w/ shipping for a set of Blizzaks + 17" cheapo rims from TireRack, compared with $500 for tires alone. I'm not sure exactly what it costs for mounting and balancing at a local shop, but doing that twice a year for several years adds up.

You also get the convenience of being able to change your tires yourself on a Sunday afternoon when the seasons change, instead of having to wait a week or two for an appointment when everyone else also decides to put on some snow tires on after the first big winter snow.