17" winter tire
 

I want to buy 17" winter tire for my upcoming RDX.
Anyone can recommend 17" alloy wheel that will fit this car?
I am a bit concern about interference between the TPMS sensor and the caliper, I am worrying to much?

and BTW, how much $ are these TPMS sensors?

Tire Rack (www.tirerack.com) is now listing winter tire/wheel packages for the RDX. Pretty big selection of wheels. I'd call and talk to them about the TPMS -- they usually really know their stuff. I've bought winter wheels for all of my cars from them.

Only problem we ever had was one day when my wife was late for work, she dashed into her car, hit the garage door opener, and found 8 wheels and tires stacked up behind her car.

They say that they can install them, however they dont have any for the RDX as of yet. Or you can get em taken off your original rims and installed on your snow tires, seems like a pain in the butt to me, im just gonna spring for 4 new sensors

why are you thinking 17s? just curiuos

In buying winter wheels, you need to take two things into account.

1. A wide tire "floats" on snow and loses traction, but a narrower tire bites into the snow better.

2. The outside diameter of the tire needs to be very close to that of the OEM tire or the speedometer won't register correctly. Then, anything that uses speed as an input (odometer, stability control) will be working with wrong data.

While it's physically possible to make a narrow winter tire with the same outside diameter as the OEM tire in the same wheel size, in practice, you can't find one. Usually the closest you can get is a narrower, higher profile tire in a smaller wheel size.

So take the tire size of the RDX - 235/55R18. The following tire sizes would have a very close outside diameter -- 205/65R18, 215/60R18, and 225/55R18. But if you check a source like the Tire Rack, you won't find anything in those sizes. But you will find 215/65R17 andd 225/65R17.

:agree:

Plus, tires for 17" rims are cheaper, often quite a bit cheaper. You are already sacrificing some handling with the winter tires, and at that point, the larger sidewall of the 17's doesn't make a whole lot of difference.

The dealer in Calgary ( where were expecting snow on Monday) recommmends the
Michelin lattidue X-ice for the RDX . About $1000.00 installed.

I'll install these on the existing rims and find something I like for the all season tires next summer. By then there should be a ton after market rims for my RDX

The dealer in Calgary ( where were expecting snow on Monday) recommmends the
Michelin lattidue X-ice for the RDX . About $1000.00 installed.

I'll install these on the existing rims and find something I like for the all season tires next summer. By then there should be a ton after market rims for my RDX

I'd be interested in knowing how well the Michelins work for you -- keep us posted.

Quite true. Checking the prices of Bridgestone Blizzak DM-Z3 winter tires at the Tire Rack, 17-inch sizes run from $111 to $137 and 18-inchers from $141 to $166.

BTW, for those of you not familiar with Tire Rack, their site has a huge amount of information, from how to interpret sidewall markings to results of wet and dry road tests that they perform. Regardless of where you choose to buy your tires, the Tire Rack site provides a real education.

I have no relationship with Tire Rack other that as a customer.

So does everyone think the stock tires are going to suck in the snow?

I haven't ever put snow tires on my AWD/4WD vehicles. Maybe I should consider it.

Well, I'm not sure "suck" is the right word. Here are the basic ideas.

The tread pattern of a high performance summer tire is designed to put maximum rubber on the road and to evacuate water from under the tire in the rain. But in the winter, the tread pattern is all wrong for snow and a rubber compound designed to resist the heat of high-speed driving may not get sticky on cold roads.

A winter tire has a bigger, open tread pattern that doesn't get clogged with snow and the rubber compound is meant to stick in the cold. But in the summer, the tread pattern puts less rubber on the road and the big tread blocks are bad for precise handling. Besides, a rubber compound meant for cold roads will wear badly on warm ones.

An all-season tire is intended to be a compromise between the two opposing needs and does both fairly well, but neither really great.

These are generalities, of course, and tire makers keep working on technologies to make all-season tires better.

Now think about AWD. When you step on the gas, the accelerating force is distributed to all four wheels. This means that each wheel gets half the force than it would with an FWD or RWD system and less force means less tendency to slip. Same thing in cornering -- if the drive wheels don't slip, you'll stay on path. So AWD, ABS, traction control, and stability control reduce the chance of slipping. But a lot of people make the mistake of thinking that with AWD, their traction is bullet-proof. Even with all these things, it's still possible to exceed your limits of traction. And AWD doesn't help you stop any better and even with ABS , you won't stop as fast as you would on a dry road.

The RDX may do well in the winter, so the question is will it do well enough for you? Some of the questions that you might think about are:

How bad is winter in your area?

Do you do a lot of driving in ice and snow or, when the weather gets bad do you just stay put?

How hilly is ther terrain you drive? Steeper hills require more traction.

What about driving on unplowed roads?

Is it worth the price to you? A set of winter wheels and tires can easily cost you upwards of $1000.

Where I live in northern New Jersey, I think very few people use winter tires. I on the other hand always get winter wheels for my family's cars. I think the extra level of safety is worthwhile. But I haven't decided about the RDX yet. I may just see how well the car does on its stock tires before deciding.

Thanks for the info. I'm in Upstate NY so we can have bad weather/snow (as the folks an hour west of me in Buffalo can attest to after their snowstorm yesterday). I am often on the NYS Thruway back and forth and it sometimes does get ugly. Like you, I think I'll see how it does in the snow and maybe consider snow tires/wheels.

snow tires give lots of extra traction,

but the greatest strength of dedicated snow tires
is the ability to dramatically shorten stopping distances
and provide more secure turning and maneuverability .

snow tires keep you from sliding into the rear end of the guy/gal ahead of you
and keeps you (and your loved ones) from going into the ditch.

-

we'd have to try fitting TL wheels (we have 06 TL take off wheels at my dealership...MTL area... i work there)
TPMS sensors were very expensive when 04 MDX got on the market, but with volume they're down to like $20~30 maybe

Ah, Upstate, I remember it well. I owned my first car when I was a grad student in Binghamton. Which brings up another point.

One more important factor in bad-weather traction is the driver. People who are used to driving in awful conditions get the hang of the technique. That car I owned was a big old RWD sedan and I don't it had any two tires alike. But I did manage to get it through some really horrifiic weather unscathed. You need to have a light touch on the controls. And to this day, I can still get a car through crud that other people can't.

Have you thought about 17" MDX wheels & tires? The 2006 MDX had Michelin Cross Terrains, which were better than the previous Continentals Acura put on the MDXs.

The wheels are 17 x 6.5" and the tires are 235/65/17, so it's a tad bigger overall in diameter, but barely. You can pick up a good low-mileage '06 set for around $450-500 (that's wheels and tires). I currently have a local ad for my '06 wheels for $500 and I've had a ton of responses. The deals are out there.

Food for thought. :thumbsup:

Called TireRack today said TPMS $51 each, and wont be available until at least mid November.

The Bridgestone Blizzak DM-Z3 at Tire Rack look pretty good for $111.00 each in 225/65/17. A wide selection of wheels are shown, but they don't have the RDX loaded yet to see how they look mounted. I love that feature of the Tire Rack site... sometimes wheels you like just don't look right on the car, and vice versa.

Up here in Calgary where the winters are cold and theres lots of snow and ice ...

Not many dealers recommend the Blizzak because of its fast tread wear .

The two dealers I talked to say the tire on the RDX is a V rated tire and requires
a similarly rated winter tire.

Apparently there are only two tires available with the current sizing .

One is the Toyo G02 and the other one is a Pirelli . :tongue:

Well, if you're living in snow country, the odds are you won't be doing any high-performance driving in the winter and I personally wouldn't worry about V-ratings for winter tires. But Tire Rack lists the Michelin Latitude X-Ice in 225/65VR17, so there's a V-rated tire for $108 apiece.3

ok ..but it doesn't fit on the standard size rim .

What are they planning to do , buy 17 " ?

Yup. Go back to the top of this thread.