Paulustrious

Hello from Canada....

We take delivery next week of a TSX. All we have is the brochure and it does not specify the rim sizes / pattern. My thanks for the sticky thread on the combinations, but it did not address snow tires.

1) Can someone confirm that the bolt pattern is 5x114.3?

2) I am going buy dedicated rims and snow tires. What would be the recommended rim and tire? I'm guessing something like 195/60-16.

3) Any recommended ebay or online source?

And may I have a little rant? Who invented tire sizes? Which deviated mind decided to measure the diameter in inches, the tread in millimetres and the wall as a percentage of the tread?

t_in_maine

Hi Paul, and welcome. A quick search for "snow" in the Tires & Wheels forum will generate a ton of responses. Good luck with your TSX, and I'd also suggest upgrading the battery for those cold mornings!

dereksmalls

Seeing as you are looking to "step down" in size, 205/60-16 is the size you're looking for. This was also the stock 16" size for the 7th Gen Honda Accord.

As a fellow Canuck, I would actually recommend the TireRack (www.tirerack.com) especially if you're looking for wheels and tires. They'll ship them to you fully mounted and balanced with a set of new lug nuts as well. The price they quote online includes all brokerage fees and duties. If you compare the prices, you'll see that the price is way better from the US than from Canada. That's where I got my wheels and tires (and a bunch of friends did the same as well).

As for tires, you had better search since there are hundreds of different opinions.

LukeaTron

Tire sizes are the most retarded method of measuring anything any one has ever invented, agreed. I got mine from Tirerack but 1) I'm in The States, and 2) they were pretty much out of the tires I wanted (Blizzaks) for the winter and that was 2ish months ago. I believe the size I have on now 195/60-16. With snow tires the tread is usually considerably more narrow than a regular tire. This is so it can cut down through the snow and grab as much pavement as possible. I just threw the stock pizza cutters on my old civic on for winter and they did great due to the thinness.

Paulustrious

Thank you for replies...

My dealer has just informed me that they do not sell alloy rims for the 2008 as their standard 2004-2006 TSX rims do not clear the callipers (he thinks). Looks like I may have to stay with 17 inch.

That leads to another question. Is it necessary / worthwhile to install a set of sensors in the Winter tires?

And I am crawling all over tirerack as we speak. Up to now I thought wheels were the circular things that stopped the bottom of the car rubbing on the ground. Looks like I have more to learn.

Wisc Badger

1.
17's wont be too bad, 18s are where it starts being too large... just size them down to about 205/60/17 or something close to get more sidewall, your local tire shop will tell you what size would fit best on a 17 inch rim... you can also get RSX-S rims for cheap on ebay. they are 17's as well.

2.
YES I would recommend putting TPMS on the winters... unless you can live with that annoying message poping up all the time that TPMS is broken and want to chance a flat in 10 inches of snow.

LukeaTron

I went with 16 inch el cheapo steel wheels for my winter tires. They clear the caliper with less than a centimeter to spare but that's fine since the caliper doesn't move in that dimension at all. I'm not aware of any changes to the brakes on the '08 so I'm a little confused about why something that fits an earlier model wouldn't fit the '08. The '04 - '06 had the same sized wheel (17"), the look just changed.

Also be aware that the inside diameter of a wheel isn't necessarily the same for all 16" wheels.

kipsy

goto ebay.com, search for acura snow and youll see the set i got.

Wisc Badger

i think the offset of the 04-05 and 06-08 wheels might differ slightly... however this was probably a ploy by your salesman to get you to pony up the $1300 for Acura rims from them.

PhiDelt

I put the 16" from an Accord, with Dunlop Graspic (215/55/16)winters tires on my TSX, and have no problems at all, coming from a fellow Canadian so i know winter. I also have the Dunlop Graspic on my Mazda 6GT and had them on my old RSX. They are a great tire for the price. I got all mine at Walmart, and they are all on clearence right now . I paid in the fall, 118 bucks each.

Paulustrious

Tried three dealers - there are no Acura alloy rims for 2008 - at least in Canada. All they can offer is aftermarket-up ( = Have-to-mark-it-up). Guess I will be getting my own then. On my Mazda the difference between ebay and dealer price and was 1200 and 1800 $Can.

To PhiDelt: Was that a 2008?
To: Kipsy: Same question.

(Puzzled: Why if there are no changes are the local dealers saying they can put then on 2004 - 2006 but not on the 2008?)

chuson

Your dealer probably talking shit and don't know what can clear and what's not.

I'm running a set of steelies last year, 16X6.5J, with Viking Snowtech 205/60/16. Clear the calipers and no problem.

This year I sold my steelies and got a set of 16" Accord alloy rims, with the same old winters. Clear the calipers and no problem.

My total budget is $650 for the steelies set, and an extra $180 for the alloy rims. There's NO NEED to go for 17" unless you have a big brake kit. Just make sure the 16" clear before mounting anything.

I'm in Toronto, and stealership up here like to rape you especially the Markham one... lol. If you don't mind to order your rims thru TireRack, ask them to ship it to you (incl. custom/shipping/tax), you will save alot.

PhiDelt

mine is a 2005 , but go with 16" its cheaper and i don't notice any difference between the 16's (TSX) and 17's (Mazda 6) in ride quaility or traction

Chadwick

Back in October I got some Blizzaks from tirerack.com too, highly recommend them. Got the tires in exactly 1 week, cheap $79ea for Blizzak Revo 1's (although they were on clearance), $400 all said and done to Edmonton.

As for the wheels, I hate to recommend HellWart (Walmart) but they had steel winters for $40 cheaper EACH than what my mechanic charged me, around $59 for a 16" size. Even if you do need 17" they'll be dirt cheap at, *cough cough* excuse me, HellWart.

LukeaTron

16s are nice in winter because they give you more sidewall to deal absorb the pothole shock. It's so much kooshier that I'm actually considering puting 16s on year round. You do lose a good bit of feel but for the winter, there's not much you really want to feel anyway.

Wisc Badger

^possibly true but if you go TOO small you'll end up losing ground clearance as well.


be careful!

Paulustrious

You are right about the clearance. People in the warmer climes think of snow as the white stuff that drifts gently. Whereas we in North North America know it as stuff that the snowploughs shove into concrete-like piles at the corners. Then there are the large crunchy bits welded to the road. Sort of negative potholes.

However, I was going to go with a bigger sidewall so the diameter was ± 1% of normal.

LukeaTron

^^^ Yup. My snow tires have big balooney (not bologna) sidewalls. When I was swapping them out I had the snow tires leaning up against my regular tires and the snow tires were actually a little bit taller. 16s and low profile tires would defeat any gain in ride quality you might pick up from downsizing the wheel. Plus it'd look funny and make your wheel gap huge.

Simba91102

There are still some snow tires and wheels available on ebay. A number of 16 inch sets available, some RSX (16") wheels, aftermarket wheels too. A few sets of tires in an acceptable size. Some 205/60x16's (the most popular size for the TSX) and some 215/55x16's (a hair shorter and wider, but work OK). Don't forget to search Honda too. All their 16" five lug stuff will fit the TSX. Most of the mail order houses are sold out of wheels and probably allot of snow tires in the right size too. Unlike some here, I've always used alloy wheels for winter wheels. We get plenty of salt here in Mass., but as long as you keep them fairly clean, you'll get plenty of winters out of them and they'll still look good. Don't forget to wash them real well before you put them away in the spring.

spoiledkari

I bought A Spec wheels for my TSX and I use the original OEM wheels for my snow tires. I've always done this with all of my cars and I've never had a problem with the alloys! I just spray them off really well each time I wash the car to make sure that I get all of the salt off.

Paulustrious

On Craigslist I found some original 2004 TSX rims with Toto 215/50-R17 Toyo Garit Winter tires. It appears the seller did the same as spoiledKari. When he traded the car the dealer wouldn't offer him $1200 dollars for them - which is what I paid. Not especially cheap, but I do have some original rims in case one gets bent. Oh yes, we have to pay 13% taxes in Canucksville so it was equivalent $1050 + tax.

I thank you all for your contributions. I hadn't realised Acura drivers were such a nice bunch of people.

Smrick1

I went with 205/60/16 Blizzak MS60s and steelies. Also added the tire pressure modules for the wheels. Total came to just under $1100 Canadian with rebates, etc. Not a bad investment to help steer clear of the crazy Toronto drivers.

LukeaTron

You'll be really happy with the tires. It's almost like there's no snow on the ground at all. Traction on clear roads is no where near as good as normal tires but that's to be expected. On some pavement they make a funny buzzing sound under acceleration that makes it sound like you have a turbo too.