stagefoursurvivor

I have read that if you put snow tires on any car you should decrease the size.
Despite putting a new set of Conti DWS06s on the RL a few months ago, I'm now considering putting snows on since my wife is a nurse and CAN"T take the day off regardless of snow depth.
Before I start looking for the best snows I wondering if I should also consider downsizing, which also would include the wheels?

xc1097

i run Blizzak LM-60 235/55/17 on stock wheels during winter and Potenza S-04 255/45/18 during summer.
i believe they are now discontinued in that size tho.
here in Boston, i've had these sets since 2013 and survived winter of 2014-15 with 100+ inches of snow.
i even towed friend's gs350awd in a lot stuck in snow with my RL on snows.

you can tell the car doesn't handle well as the summers and load noise/humming is noticeably louder on winters.

i don't think there is direct replacement for lm-60 at the moment but you could try using lm-80evo which is light truck/suv tire or go with dunlops.
hope that helps.

xc1097

some has set for sale on ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-New-Bridge...-/142192060612

projektvertx

iTrader: (2)

Can't go wrong with Blizzaks or X-Ice's. Test prove the Blizzaks are superior snow performers though. I never go a winter without snow tires.

stagefoursurvivor

235/55/17 on stock wheels? My wheels are 18". Did you buy a 17" set too?

RL09

I think you need the same size wheel for a given tire size.

And it can't get rougher than the arctic north here. Your 18 will do fine on this car, it's 4100 lbs! I got dunlop winter maxx on them and the handling is the best i've had.


There's an entire tire section btw for further info, look on top of page.

stagefoursurvivor

Thanks, I browsed the tire section here but couldn't find anything pertaining to why/if you need to go to a smaller diameter

RL09

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-t...stions-943333/

thisaznboi88

iTrader: (7)

Ideally you want to run narrower tires. The reason for that is that the contact patch is smaller and you get more load/pressure on that patches that actually grip the road. Check out Discounttiredirect website and see what size they recommend for your 18in wheels. Or if you want it's a good time to buy a second set of rims/tires for just the snow.

SHAWD + snow tires = WIN

oo7spy

Diameter stays the same. Width should decrease.

phishfood

I bought Hakkapellita 8 tires for my RL

From tiresbyweb.com

I do have 17" wheels but you can check there for 18" in your size. They do vary wildly and I found, for example, a 225 might cost 20% less than a 235

I would look at your wheel size (for example, 16"x6.5", though yours if 18"x???") and get a list of "perfect fit" and "will fit" so you can shop about.

The 8's are great, and studded, and very loud on bare pavement. I researched a lot and went with studs as I have some gnarly uphill/downhill areas and ice. If not for that I would have done Michelin X-ice XI3 or Happapeliita R2 treads.

Same thing find some prospective 17" wheels, get rid width, look up what accepted sizes are. I try to stay away from the margins and only mildy move one step from the "perfect fit" size.


The big thing is a set of wheels becomes cheap if you plan on keeping the car XX years versus constantly mounting, unmounting, and balancing tires twice a year. And 17" winter tires are cheaper than 18". Keep in mind this also means you need four more tire pressure monitor stems.

If yes you're buying wheels I would totally downsize to 17"

oo7spy

RL wheel width is 8.5" if I remember correctly. His are 18" because it's a KB2.