What kind of winter tires are you using?

Last year when I had a set of winter tires for my wife's old Subaru I went to a nearby junkyard and picked up a set of alloy wheels cheap -- $100 for four of them. I doubt I could get a deal like that on the newer wheels, but a salvage yard may still be cheaper than even buying new steel wheels depending on where you go.

john193 said:

Great thread, just what I was looking for. ive got another point to ponder. I'd like my snow tires to be mounted on dedicated wheels, so I can just switch them out in my garage. I'm planning to go with a negative rim size, but can't decide if I should get steel wheels or a cheap alloy set?

Any opinions out there? I read steel wheels tend to be heavier, so sturdier? But is there a big mpg penalty?

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I think steel wheels are highly underrated. They're light, strong, and much more sturdy and resilient than run-of-the-mill alloy rims, which are often quite heavy compared to the forged alloys on your wife's Mercedes. Plus alloy rims can suffer bad cosmetic damage from the salt.

That said, used alloys are cheap and plentiful. Sand them down and paint them flat black and you're good to go.

Go with steel for better price (New and repair/replacement from potholes.) Alloys if you want better looks. Mileage should be nearly identical.

ewdudley said:

I think steel wheels are highly underrated. They're light, strong, and much more sturdy and resilient than run-of-the-mill alloy rims, which are often quite heavy compared to the forged alloy on your wife's Mercedes. Plus alloy rims can suffer bad cosmetic damage from the salt.

That said, used alloys are cheap and plentiful. Sand them down and paint them flat black and you're good to go.

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Thanks. I'm not concerned with the look. Looking at this from a performance/cost perspective. For example, on tire rack, going from an alloy to steel wheels saves $125 total.

Here's some great info on winter tires. http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/index.jsp
It's nice to hear all the real world experiences here on this thread too.

woodgeek said:

I've got X-ice3's on my giant iPad, I mean Nissan Leaf. I looked at the Hakka's, but my winter roads are clear/dry 90% of the time, and the X-ice3s are supposed to be better for dry.

The spouse has already had a couple icy commutes with lots of SUVs off the road in ditches. She's already killed one tire/rim in an epic pothole and got it fixed. Just another winter here in 'The South'.

Its awesome climbing my 20° grade driveway covered in black ice with a 3400 lb EV.

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I'm seriously considering the x-ice xi3. Glad you guys are liking it, and we are practically in the same neck of the woods in PA. How many season do you anticipate you'll see out of them? I'm impressed that Michelin is willing to warrant them to 40K miles. And when do you typically do the switch?

I get whatever wheels I can find on the local CL cheap. Got a set of beat up ( but painted ) alloys for my wife's car for $50. Car before that I had a set of steelies I found for $75. Well worth the cost to save the yearly mounting and balancing fee.

Clarkbug said:

I get whatever wheels I can find on the local CL cheap. Got a set of beat up ( but painted ) alloys for my wife's car for $50. Car before that I had a set of steelies I found for $75. Well worth the cost to save the yearly mounting and balancing fee.

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Keeping an eye out on CL. Finding the bolt pattern an offset I need is the challenge.

If you need some 5x114.3 with a +48 offset in 16", and want to come to Upstate NY, I can help

I shopped around and got some cheap skinny alloy wheels on Craigslist. I liked them so much I got some cheap all seasons and use them in the summer instead of the alloys with low profile tires that came with the car. For winter I found some cheap wheels/snow tires with studs on Craigslist. I think the tires will last me two years. The steel wheels can be surprisingly expensive when new, never mind oem wheel covers. I got my wheel covers at the auto parts place, but they don't look fantastic.

Clarkbug said:

If you need some 5x114.3 with a +48 offset in 16", and want to come to Upstate NY, I can help

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Thank for the offer. It is not the size i'm looking for, but a very common one I see on CL locally.

john193 said:

I'm seriously considering the x-ice xi3. Glad you guys are liking it, and we are practically in the same neck of the woods in PA. How many season do you anticipate you'll see out of them? I'm impressed that Michelin is willing to warrant them to 40K miles. And when do you typically do the switch?

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I've got a 3 year lease, and plan on doing 3 k miles per winter season. I'll prob sell them or give them away on C-list in 2 more years, with < 10k miles total.

My financials are that saving 10k miles on the regular tires will prob keep me from having to replace those during the lease period...so buying the snows saves me the price of a new set of all seasons == free.

As a side note, I took off the studded snows on one of our cars yesterday. Man, what a quiet ride without them!

My X-ice3's aren't studded, but do make a clear 'roaring' sound, but only when I accelerate. They came off yesterday.

Yup. The car just makes a little whirring noise when I step on the accelerator. Like in a bad sci fi movie from the 80s.

B F Goodrich All Terrain 235/75 R 15 load range C on jeep Cherokee XJ's