neusaab

Does it matter? I have the opportunity to purchase a set of 19's for use with winter tires sized 245/55/19. The only issue I see is more weight (negligible) and possibly more curb/damage exposure due to the width. Thoughts, experience? Thanks.

JJLee2009

I would not recommend going wider for winter tires. This tire rack article does a better job explaining than I would:

“As you're shopping for winter wheels and tires, you'll likely come across the recommendation of going to a narrower tire. This is the exact opposite approach that you would take for summer traction, where wider is better. If you're likely to drive through deep snow this year, you'll want winter / snow tires and wheels in sizes that help put the laws of physics on your side.

The reason for this is that traction is achieved in winter by cutting through the ice and snow. With wider tread, you're more likely to start snow plowing or floating on top of the surface instead of pushing down and through. This floating will result in loss of traction sooner than with a thinner or narrower option. A good way to picture this is imagine a pizza cutter slicing through a pizza.

Another way to think about this is from the perspective of the contact patch. A tire's contact patch or "footprint" greatly influences its performance. On the same vehicle, the area of the contact patch essentially remains the same with different width tires. When the footprint gets narrower as it will with a narrower width tire, it has to get longer. And the mechanics of the longer footprint help with the longitudinal traction for acceleration and braking.”