gurot1

I'm looking for a new set of snows and I was wondering what your experiences have been with the above tires. I was initially thinking dunlop 3D, but they are mostly sold out. I currently have Pilot Alpines that are 4 years old. I like the dry traction, but they could use a bit better grip in snow and ice. I was gonna look at nokian but 1, they are hard to find and 2 they are pricey! I can get toyo or pilot for about 750 installed taxes inc( gonna use my old 16" steelies).looking at 205/60/16. Anyone have any input regarding the above two? One reason i like the pilot alpines i had was because even when it warms up they are okay and not melting on the road. Our weather can change 30degrees overnight in southern ontario! i remember going from 10 degrees celcius to minus 20 the next day once!

fsttyms1

Look at the Dunlop winter sport M3 or 3d in a 215/55/16. Your speedo will still be accurate. Thats the size ive been running for over 3 seasons now, and i love the M3s

gurot1

I looked at those, but they are sold out everywhere. I checked tirerack and they were sold out as well. One of the local stores mentioned something about a strike and that it's really hard to get dunlop tires in because of that strike at their plant(s).

fsttyms1

Damn, hope i dont get a flat soon

fsttyms1

I just played with tirerack and the M3s are in stock in that size??

gurot1

i just checked it out, but it says that they are sold out in 205/60/16. i was hoping they weren't!

derrick

gur0t1,

Check out tirerack ... 215/55/16 as fsttyms1 has suggested. US$117/tire. Seems like a pretty good deal for the Dunlop 3D or US$99/tire for the discontinued Dunlop M3.

gurot1

the reason i was looking at 205/60/16 was to raise the car just a bit, i noticed that my previous alpines at 215/55/16 lowered my car a bit in winter...i was hoping to raise it just a tad or keep it at stock since i'm already lowered..of course I could attach a blade to the front of teh car and clear the road lol

fsttyms1

215/55 didnt lower the car. Its the same overall dia as the stock 205/60.

gurot1

the dealer put 215/55/16 snows on my car and when I switched with my OEM, I noticed that the Car was lower while on the snows. THe way I noticed was that there was more clearance bw the jack and the car when the OEM were on. The new 235/45/17 summers I bought raised the car compared to the stocks, but the stocks (215/50/17) were worn so there wasnt much tread left and that may explain the raising effect. I guess each manufacturer's actual tire size differs slightly for the same given tire size

fsttyms1

Go to tirerack and compare the Overall dia of the tires in question. There is no way you would see the difference, even with a jack.

Summer 235/45/17 dia = 25.4
Stock 215/50/17 dia = 25.6
Winter 215/55/16 dia = 25.4

gurot1

I wish that was the case. I remember the first time I took my snows off after I had the car dropped, I could hardly get my haudralic jack under the car, but it wasnt' a problem when I put my OEM's on. When I put my new rims/tires on this summer I noticed that the car was raised up a bit. There were 3 of us working on the car and we all notice that the car was on an angle after the first 235/45/17 tire was put on. The corner with the new tire was a bit higher, but I think the OEM's being worn down probably decreased height by atleast 1/16" and maybe the pilot sports a/s have a little extra bit of tread height on them than average. But it was definitely noticeable...I checked the tire info on the side of the tire a couple of times to make sure tirerack hadn't sent me the wrong tire size, but it was correct.

fsttyms1

Thats probably because just after jacking the car up like that the springs havent settled. After a drive they would have settled and the car would have been the same height. If they were that much taller your speedo would have been so far off it wouldnt be funny

gurot1

I thought it was the springs too, but even a few months later there's a difference. I put it down to the tread depth of a brand new tire vs an old tire. I wonder how much my speedo is off by! maybe it's more accurate now because I hear the speedo tells you you're going faster than you are.
Happy Holidays!

gurot1

i did a little homework and went straight to the horses mouth for the info (michelin.ca)
stock diameter is 25.5
pilot sports a/s 25.6
pilot alpine 25.3

That probably explains why my car is lower in winter...good enough to plow the roads lol