Hi Folks,

I'm about to purchase new winter tires for my '04 TL.
In the past I've gotten 235-45-17s, but this time I'm thinking of getting 225-45-17s for a little better traction in the snow.

Is there a reason I shouldn't do this? Would there be any mounting problems?
Any problems with the tires blowing off the rim?

Thank you,
TL-Rocket

 

u should stick with 235 I think 225 is to small and wont help u pull in snow better

 

dont you have to use chains? less rubber would = more rim and the chain/cable can mess up them up =\ I would stick with 235? if not go bigger?

 

Back when I lived in Upstate New York we would put narrower tires on to help sink through the snow and get down to the road for traction. On my Mustang I had 245's for summer, and 205's for winter.

I don't know if 235 vs 225 would make a difference, but I'm curious.

 

Stick with the OE size 235. Many say the narrow will cut through snow, but in my experience ever cut through 6" of snow to get to the pavement, never happens unless it's a dusting. Notice all the snow emergency vehicles will have ultra wide tires for snow rescue. Then on dry roads the vehicle becomes less stable with the narrow tires and also less traction on the packed snow.

 

i agree stick with the stock size dont waste your money on something smaller... rather be safe than sorry.

 

Stick with stock. Its not like 225 over 235 will make any difference!

 

Thought the same as you, because i could not find the tire 235's some manufacturer's only go up to 225. So i decided and bought 235's instead for a car that needs stability on cornering and traction stick with the wider tire size. You throw off the speedo and make more mileage on your odmeter then stock size.

 

Tire racks recommended winter tire package was 205 now its 215.

I have 205 size on my TL works just fine. WS70 blizzak tire on 16 inch steel.

When driving in snow you always downsize the tire size.We just had 17in of snow.

 

i've got 225/45/17 general altimax arctic's on my tls and it absolutely pounds through the snow here in western new york. we got almost 4 feet a little over a week ago and the tl is better in the snow than my 4x4 blazer is. point being, a narrower tire is better in the snow than a wider tire is. tire rack and consumer reports proved it countless times. i wouldn't buy the 235's if i were you. get the 225's and save a few bucks. if you're interested, i got my tires from tires-easy.com. cheap as hell and got them delivered the next day. good luck.

p.s. just as a reminder, the 225/45-17 throws your speedo off by only 0.8 miles per hour at 60 as compared to the factory tire size. so at actual 60 mph, your speedo will say 60.8. the 225/50-17 size will make your speedo indicate 58.7 mph. the 225/45-17 is the tire of choice in my opinion.

 

Whatever you do, make sure to take snow tire advice from the guys in the south and California. Thats a good idea.

If you will be driving in packed snow ONLY maybe once or twice, I would stick with the stock size. If you get snow accumulations often and have to drive on hard-pack, skinnier tires will cut through the snow better and provide better traction.

You will lose some dry grip, but usually you're not thrashing on it in the winter anyways, so no big loss.

 

Lol yeep .. good idea.

A couple of points;

1) If the snow rescue vehicles refered to are for off road .. they use wide tires to remain on top of the snow so they don't sink in and get high centered.

2) The idea of traction with snow tires is to have the tread in contact with a surface ( snow ) that is bonded to the world not on top of loose snow.

3) As soon as you apply the wider tire theory to snow tires your car weight per square inch of contact patch is reduced.

4) Less weight per sq in. increases the tendency to tobaggan ( Get up on top the snow and slide ) same applies to hydroplaning.

Your not going to cut down to bare pavement with any tire but a narrower tire will get down to adhesion with less tendency to get up on the snow and slide.

 

Wider is better. If a narrow contact patch equals better traction, more weight per square ft, then why would a wider tire on dry pavement, less weight per square foot afford more traction?????????? As one needs more traction, same principle, wet or dry.

 

I think of it like this...

Snow shoes are wider to stay on top of the snow. Thus, a wider tire would have a similiar tendency. A thinner tire (in my opinion) should have a better ability to cut through the snow.

Well, it makes sense to me

 

Nope .... we are dealing with tobogganing here not the same as dry pavement ... same as why a wider tire will hydroplane on water before a narrow one.

 

That's not entirely true as the hydroplaning has a great deal to do with the tread configuration of each tire, not the width, so no tobagging that I'm aware of. Also a narrow tire will drop into the snow causing more resistance when trying to move forward whereas a wider tire will keep the car higher as in the snow vehicles.
I've tried both and on all the vehicles I've owned, the wider tires have proven to be better. Juat a couple examples, tried snow on the Jeeps and with the OE 225 size it was dependable, but with the 245's unbelievable and on the daughter's Hemi Grand the 265's are unstoppable. Even when I had the 155 x 12's years ago the cars was horrible, but add some 205 and it was like a little tank.

I'm done, as I just wanted to voice my opinion and I'll stick with the larger sizes while others can go smaller if they wish.

 

Ok as usual ... your always right .. As far back as 1964 I have found the opposite to be true.


Just to quote Tire Rack

Priorities for Sizing Winter Tires Are Different
Does your sports car, coupe or sedan use wide, low profile tires that are mounted on large diameter wheels? Or does your light truck use large flotation-sized tires? If you're going to drive through lots of snow this year you'll want your winter tires and wheels in sizes that help put the laws of physics on your side.

A wide, low profile or large tire has to "plow" a wide path through snow which causes more resistance. The narrower the tire, the easier you can get through snow. We'll help verify sufficient load capacity and the appropriate diameter for your vehicle when you speak with one of our sales specialists or use Winter Shop by Vehicle.

Winter tire sizes should be based on one of the following:

The Optional Tire and Wheel Size from Your Vehicle's Base Model
This is often the easiest way to select an appropriate narrow tire for your car or truck. For example, a 2003 Lexus IS300 would store its original 215/45R17 tires in favor of optional 205/55R16 tires on 16" wheels.

A Minus Size Tire and Wheel
Minus Sizing is simply traditional Plus Sizing techniques used backwards. For example, a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta GLX VR6 would store its original 205/55R16 (or optional 225/45HR17) tires in favor of Minus One or Minus Two size 195/65R15 tires on 15" wheels.

In both of these examples, not only would snow traction be enhanced, but the cost of a Base Model or Minus Size winter tire & wheel package is usually lower than a package maintaining your vehicle's original size tires and wheels.

And usually they know what they are talking about.,

 

Sorry, but there have been times I have disagreed with Tire Rack and let's be quite open, their recommendations at times leave a lot to be desired.
Been driving longer than you and if you're going to copy Tire Rack, the following is what is recommended for a 2008 TLS, M/T:

You Selected: 2008 Acura TL 6-Speed Manual Select New Vehicle
This Preferred Package has been selected by our fitment specialists and is designed to be an ideal winter solution for your vehicle. You can also build your own winter package.
Bridgestone Blizzak WS70 (Studless Ice & Snow)
Sidewall
Style: Blackwall Size: 235/45-17 (4)Serv. Desc: 94T Load Index 94 = 1477lbs (670kg) per tire
Speed Rating “T” = 118mph (190kph)
UTQG: Not required for
this tire.None Price: $624.00
Estimated Availability: In Stock

 

That old huh?

 

 

OP, buy whatever size tire that you feel safe with as it's ultimately up to you. you'll find success with either size tire. i told you what i did a few posts back and have had nothing but 100% success, but i also come from a town that receives 8' of snow on average every season. greenfield, ma has an average snowfall of 36", that's nothing to laugh about, but not the snow capital of the world either. point being, you may not necessarily notice the 10mm difference in width between the tire sizes in snow that's only 3"-6" deep on average when you get some. if you're driving in snow that's over 12" deep on a regular basis then i might even be inclined to suggest a 215 width tire, but for your modest snowfall rates, i'd say pick what you feel comfortable with. good luck.

 

not to start a flame war or anything, but i take it you've lived in NJ your whole life? a state that gets an average of less than 3' of snow a year. honestly i'd invest more belief in a guy's opinion that's been driving for 10 years in 8' of annual snowfall than that of one who's been driving for 30 years in 30" of snowfall, that's just me. and to come off cocky about it too makes you look like a jerk off. you may be father time around here but that doesn't mean you necessarily know best.

 

How am I being cocky? Just stated my case as I've been told that I'm never wrong and that I can't compete with Tire Rack, but I threw no stones at the poster nor made any derogatory remarks , just objective facts and my observations. If you reread the posts, you’ll find that Jesstzn copied me and the reply was Nope! So who threw the first stone? The answer is clearly visible if you have any sense of reading comprehension. As far as living in a state that can't compete with others that see heavy snow fall is preposterous. I’ve sold racing tires, but have never raced on an oval, done major construction on my residence, but not a contractor, built engines for racing and DD, but have not worked as a mechanic, head work and not a machinist, etc.

To call someone a jerk off is just an indication of one’s intellectual capacity, or lack thereof.
Guess your ID speaks for itself NUTTCASE!

 

oh, so now you're the smartest guy in the room too. i see a trend starting here.

 

Snow tires should be same size as stock or minus one size on passenger cars. You get to increase the force per square inch on a narrower tire. This increases traction to get the car moving and stopped quickly in snow.

 

get 215 or 225- for winter skinnier = better

 

just get a good winter tire man...

 

As some think of me as being a PIA, here's another point to consider for the "narrow guys".
I'll go down a size and purchase some 225/45-17 Michelin Aplin PA3 instead of 235/45-17 Bridgestone Blizzak WS 70. What do I now have, a 225/45-17 tire that has a tread width over 3/4" wider than the supposedly larger 235/45-17. So down a size is bigger! In fact, the 225/45-17 Alpin is larger than most 235/45-17 A/S tires. Food for thought.

 

Did you take this into concideration??
The tread width is the distance between the outer edge and the inner edge of the tread of a new tire. However today's radial tires often feature tread designs that incorporate rounded shoulders and there is no industry standard pertaining to "how much" of the rounded shoulders should be included in the tread width measurement. Because of this, it is difficult to accurately compare the tread width differences of one tire brand to another. Tread width measurements are best used when comparing the various tire sizes or lines manufactured by a single tire manufacturer. Several tire manufacturers have chosen not to publish tread width dimensions.

 

Yup, snd this sounds like a direct quote from the Tire Rack site. You'll also find that some of the manufacturers do not publish the size because they are narrow compared to others in the category and don't want that to be a deterrent, but for the most part you'll find the tread width designated to be very accurate, at least in all the tires I've ever measured and there have been hundreds. If you go to a tire shop, take a look at the various tires in a particular size and you'd be amazed at the tread width differences. Widest A/S I've ever seen in 245/45-17 is the W4s at 9.1" and it measures 9.1", while the 960 and DWS are about 7.7" and they measure 7.7". Hard to believe that within the same size, one tire would be just about 1.5" wider. Same philosophy will apply with winter tires.

 

Still trying to figure this one out .... 2010 - 46 = born 1964. I started driving in snow about 4 years +/- before you were born ... and the average annual snow fall here is in the area of 9 feet.

Anyway .. nuff of this .. just tell him to get all seasons ..