Started looking around for winter tire options for my 2014 MDX Elite.

I got some price quotes (CDN$) for winter tire and rim packages - both OEM and aftermarket - and both steel and alloy. I also got some options for downsizing the wheel to 245/60R18 (which is the wheel on the base MDX) and also 245/65R17 and 235/65R17. I'm tempted to go with the 17 inch wheels because they are cheaper and supposedly will give better performance in the snow, slush, etc. - especially if I went with the narrower wheel.

I am leaning towards the Michelin Lattitude X-Ice2, but also interested in the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 SUV and the Bridgestone Blizak DM-V1.

Anyone else start looking for winter options? Would love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, recommendations ...

 

My local Acura Dealer qouted me for CDN$2200 plus tax on a set of 4michelin X-ICe2 on an ACURA Alloy wheels plus TPMS, wheel balancing and installation for the OEM size.
How much was your qoute?

 

I went for the Bridgestone Blizzaks (245/55R19) from TireRack for my Tech.

On my '05 RL, I had my non-dealer service shop guy mount and balance the snow tires on the OEM rims rather than get another set of rims and TPMS monitors--that seemed to work out just fine, so I plan to do the same with the MDX.

 

What size ? 17", 18", or 19" ?

 

Many dealers in the Toronto area are quoting about $2,050-2,070 plus tax for Acura OEM rims (18 inch from MDX base mode) with Michelin Lattitude X-Ice2 245/60R18 - this is their standard package. I've gotten one dealer down to $1,995 plus tax over the phone, but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

 

245/55/r19

 

^^^^^

It is a damn good deal for CDN$2200 plus tax, for a set of 4 michelin 245/55/r19 X-ICe2 on 19" ACURA Alloy wheels.

Each X-ice2 cost ~$280, and each 19" OEM rims another ~$400. It works out to be ~$2700 per set at retail.

 

I haven't pulled the trigger yet.
I am thinking of buying from discount tire in bellingham ot probably even from tire rack.

 

I would not use 19. The lower the profile the worse the deep snow performance of the tire. The xice2 is very good indeed. I would also not fork the money for OEM rims, you can get after market rims that look almost identical for less than half the price. Check tire rack.

 

I just bought take-offs from this site - 4x18's, TPMS and Acura centers from a 2014 RDX - all for $600 + shipping. I will use Blizzaks, love them. Think outside the box!

 

DMV1 are very good, however on our ody it caused steering issues, it made the front wheels follow every groove on the road., very unnerving. We replaced them with xice and the issue went away. On my F150 the DMV1 work fine. I guess their pattern is not appropriate for FWD. Both offer excellent snow traction. One more thing the Michelin are T rated the DMV are only Q.

 

Tire profile has nothing to do with deep snow performance, only tire WIDTH does.

The narrower the tire width of a snow tire, the better it is for deep snow traction; but the worse it is for dry road traction.

Don't confuse ours with plus-1 and plus-0 tire-size setup, with which the lower the tire profile, the wider it is the tire tread, as in 205/60/15 -> 215/50/16 -> 225/40/17.

In our case, both 18" and 19" wheels are using the same 245mm tread width as in 245/60/18 and 245/55/19.

So unless one decides to go 255/55/19, otherwise there is no different for the 18" and the 19" OEM-sized snow tires in deep snow performance.

 

True, however, low profile tires are almost invariably wider since the whole idea of lower profile is to use a wider tire without increasing overall tire diameter. they dont make "skinny" 50 series tires.

 

^^^^^

In most cases, lower profile tires are wider than higher profile tires in order to preserve the overall diameter of the wheel/tire combo.

But in our case for the 3G MDX equipped OEM with 245/60/18 and 245/55/19 tires, both the 18" and 19" have identical tire width, with neither being narrower or wider than the other.

Thus both the 18" and 19" will have similar deep snow performance, provided that both are mounted with identical make/model of tires.

 

True. One point however is price 19in combo is around 200 bucks more for rims and tires using the cheapest 19 and 20 inch rims. The 19's will not offer any additional benefit except looking better which may or not be crucial for the owner. One thing I would avoid is OEM rims, they are horribly overpriced., personally I still have to order mine, still unsure what rims size I'm going to choose.

 

Just checked tirerack the x ice 19 is only available in 255, for 245 it must be 18. The DMV1 is available in 245 for 19 or 18. Looks like I'm going 18.

 

Agree with the pricing issue.

Pricewise, the 19" setup is more expensive than the 18" setup. But we are talking about tires on a $50+K luxury SUV, not a cheapo Honda Pilot.

In addition, the 19" setup will offer much better dry handling and emergency maneuver capabilities than the 18" setup, especially when the roads are dry during the long and dull winter months.

The torque-vectoring SH-AWD significantly improves the handling ability of the MDX, let's not let the lesser tires let it down.

Remember this, no matter how good it is the factory suspension tuning and how advance it is the torque-vectoring AWD system, it all comes down to the 4 tires that come in contact with the roads. Never skimp on buying tires.

 

Don't expect a noticeable difference in handling from a +1 or a -1 install particularly with snow tires. I'd pay more attention to the tire itself. Neither the dmv1 nor the x2 is going to win any handling tests, but between an R rated and a T rated tire I'll always take the highest speed rated one. As I was pointing out in 19 inch size the x2 is 255, only the dmv1 is available in the native 245. For 18 both sizes are available. I have both tires, in my experience the x2 drives significantly better in dry and wet conditions, in snow its a wash among the two..