205/65R16 snow tire?

[supton]

Is this an odd size? I would like to find General Altimax Artic 12 for the wife's Camry but it seems selection is thin at Tire Rack. Looking at what local tire shops have seems no less of a problem. What I'd like to find is a tire package and have it shipped to home as it's a pain to shove a set of tires into a car, but Tire Rack only has Bizzak WS90's in size and those are a performance tire, which I'm not sure what the tradeoffs are. Car doesn't need "performance" tires.

Wife drives 2k/month or more and is driving at midnight through central NH. First good snow had her wondering about AWD, lol. A "good" all season seems insufficient. I'd prefer General, could be persuaded into Conti, but abhor Michelin. But maybe Blizzak is ok? Maybe I'm overthinking it, and just pulling the trigger from Tire Rack is just fine?

 

[The_Jeff]

215/60/16 is the standard. Obviously on paper a 205 being thinner looks better.

 

[supton]

Should roll thinner too. Wife was complaining about how her mpg is down, like upper 30's at the moment. She's still mad at me for removing the aero panels from underneath (that were dragging due to being sand traps), so adding wider snow tires is sure to put me in the doghouse.

But going 10mm wider, probably not major changes?

 

[iahawk]

Tire Rack also shows Michelin X-Ice and Firestone Winterforce 2 available. I've had a set of winter tires mounted on dedicated wheels for my vehicles for years. It's the best solution to winter driving in snowy areas.

 

[supton]

I always thought Winterforce were low rated?

And just no to Michelin. Prior sets didn't last 2 years--I do not wish to replace snow tires on a yearly basis.

 

[Quattro Pete]

And just no to Michelin. Prior sets didn't last 2 years--I do not wish to replace snow tires on a yearly basis.

Odd.

I used to have Michelin Pilot Alpin on my old A4 - they wore very well and lasted many years. The CC2 on my Crosstrek seems to be wearing OK as well, now 2 years in. I just picked up CC2 for wife's NX yesterday. Sure, not as good as dedicated winter tires, but I've gotten too lazy to do the swaps and storing another set of wheels/tires is an issue as well.

 

[The_Jeff]

Malwart has "Arctic Claws" in your size for $65.

 

[IndyIan]

Will 15" will fit? If they do, a 205/70R15 would make a nice cheaper snow tire, with the Arctic 12's. I just put a set of 195/65R15's on the Impreza and they have impressed me with how quiet they are, and they seem to cut through slush better than the studless ice tires.

The new Xice has a tread wear warranty(but read the fine print of course) In my experience the older versions of the Xice last the longest, better than the Blizzak WS80, yoko IG52c. We are ran the Xice2 all summer this year and its not wearing much faster than a AS tire.

 

[supton]

We had a set of Michelin Energies followed by one or two sets of Primacies--and each were good for 30k before 4/32's. MS2's were looking good after 40k, lots of tread--but dry cracking after only 2 years. Maybe their snow tires and/or performance tires are different blend. Don't know and don't feel like learning.

15 seconds on Google doesn't turn up if 15" rims would fit--I'm guessing only one person in the world might have tried. And knowing Toyota, they went to 16" due to brakes. I need rims so not sure saving a few bucks is needed.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

The Nokian R5 is available in the size 205/65-16

 

[charbaby]

226-60-16 is the exact overall diameter of the 205-65-16, both being 26.6” OD

 

[Sequoiasoon]

Walmart shows the Altimax Arctic 12 in 205-65-16 available. Check your local Walmart. They also had Conti VikingContact 7 on sale at black Friday but shows out of stock now. Maybe try TireBuyer.

I did the Michelin X-ice snow on my sons car from Costco. 5 year road hazard, free install, flat repair, rotations. Michelin is the only winter tire I know that has a treadwear warranty, 40k. He said they rode very nice and quiet and he had no issues going through 7" of fresh powder 2 nights ago to hunting cabin in his Kia Forte.

Blizzaks are very good. WS90 is not performance, just standard winter tire. Blizzaks wear pretty fast through the multicell as it gets warm so hits the 6/32" quickly and traction drops QUICKLY then. Conti VikingContact would be my first choice, 8 preferably in whichever size, maybe 215-60-16, VC7 if found as available. Michelin/Nokian next, General, I'd skip the Firestones unless I had absolutely no other choice.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

It pains me to say this but check Goodyear stores for WinterCommand Ultra. I have 205-65-16 on my Accord, factory size. They are good in snow/ice, pretty good wet, quiet on road. Their profile has them 1/2 less tread width than X-ice of the same size.

I personally won't seek them out again as I had a balance issue that took multiple trips (and $$) to try and fix. 99.5% it was gone but still just minor vibration I feel in steering wheel, not shake, just enough to make soda/water have a little buzz when empty. Just annoying. Probably just my set but my GY place did road force, I saw them and all was good per machines. Winter and road performance are good. My son who drives it also and takes trips with it says he doesn't feel it. I would get them again before the Firestones and any off brands.

I'm at 4th winter and just over 6/32". last season for them if they last all season depending weather. I would need to check actual mileage later.

 

[JTK]

... A "good" all season seems insufficient. I'd prefer General, could be persuaded into Conti, but abhor Michelin. But maybe Blizzak is ok? Maybe I'm overthinking it, and just pulling the trigger from Tire Rack is just fine?

Any of them are going to better than a good all season for winter driving. The best set I owned were Bridgestone Blizzaks. I had them on my wife's Honda Odyssey at the time. For a FWD sedan like a Camry, I'd shoot for a set of good non-studdible snows for it. The cheaper snows you can stud, like Firestone Winterforce or Kelly Winter Access are OK (currently have both). I also had a set of GT Radial snows that were decent. I don't stud any of them. I've yet to throw out a set of snow tires. All in the past were well used and sold on marketplace of sold with the car. This reminds me that the set of Firestone winterforces I have on a set of steelies for my 2015 Nissan versa are from 2015. It sees very little mileage. All around town.

 

[Hohn]

215/60/16 is the standard. Obviously on paper a 205 being thinner looks better.

the 65 series is also narrower than a 60 series at the same section width.

This is because section width is not tread width, and for a given section width (say, 205), a higher aspect ratio tire has narrower tread as well as as taller sidewall. This is because of the curve of sidewalls.


I can tell you that Nokian WRGs in 205/65r16 are AWESOME. I had them on my IS250 awd and it made that little car an unstoppable all-weather beast.

The car came with aluminum 17s with 225/45r17. After perpetual struggles with air pressure retention and many pinch flats (45 series) I made the decision to replace the wheels. And since it was an old car used for commuter duty, I went with cheap steelies. IN black. And since dropping down to 16s meant even steelies were lighter than the OEM wheels, I did so.

Thus, from aluminum 17s with 225/45r17s I went to steel 16s with 205/65r16 Nokian WRGs. The difference was about 8# of unsprung mass per wheel/tire, about 4mpg improvement consistently, huge gains in ride quality, smoothness, and traction in wet and snow. Which is perfect for a "combat commuter" car.

The only downside I ever found with that setup is that the WRGs when new liked to tramline a bit on grooved interstate. I rarely drove it on interstate, though, and it was never bad enough to feel like the car wasn't well under control.

I liked that steelie/WRG/smaller wheel combination so much I'm thinking about doing it again on my much newer Accord. Only this time with 215/55r18s which are the tallest, narrowest tire I can find for my Accord across 17 and 18" wheel sizes.

 

[supton]

Yeah, I'm just lost with making this work. I wanted to just buy a tire package but it's becoming a thing to pick and piece together. I think a set of wheels might fit into the Camry? Bag them and shove them in?

 

[JTK]

Yeah, I'm just lost with making this work. I wanted to just buy a tire package but it's becoming a thing to pick and piece together. I think a set of wheels might fit into the Camry? Bag them and shove them in?

For my Malibu when I drop it off for it's snow tire change over, I fold the rear seat down, stuff 2 tires in the trunk and 2 in the back seat area. This year the Kelly Winter accesses are probably going to stay on it full time. The A/S's are shot and the car needs other work on my kid's limited budget.

 

[Hohn]

Yeah, I'm just lost with making this work. I wanted to just buy a tire package but it's becoming a thing to pick and piece together. I think a set of wheels might fit into the Camry? Bag them and shove them in?

Just order through a local shop or have them drop shipped to the installer you want to use.

 

[supton]

For my Malibu when I drop it off for it's snow tire change over, I fold the rear seat down, stuff 2 tires in the trunk and 2 in the back seat area. This year the Kelly Winter accesses are probably going to stay on it full time. The A/S's are shot and the car needs other work on my kid's limited budget.

That might be doable, Camry is bigger. I'm jaded as my Corolla sucks--I bought a set of wheels off CL and barely made them fit in the car. Two in the trunk, two in the backseat, and not much space left to spare. Hate having a small sedan now, thought it might be a good idea--it wasn't.

Just order through a local shop or have them drop shipped to the installer you want to use.

Toying with using the garage I've been using. I guess I could hit up a tire shop in the city but I have to steal the wife's car for the day, which isn't kind to her.

If I had my shop order rims and tires and TPMS sensors, do you think they'd beat Tire Rack for pricing? I suppose I could always ask, maybe I'll do that next week, see what their thoughts are.

 

[odie]

Just had 4 COOPER Evolution Winter 205/60-16 tires w/ studs placed on the '25 Soul . Got $150 ( rebates ) off the set of 4 . Have used the EVOLUTION Winter since their introduction around 6 years ago ( replaced the ST 2 ) . Never had any issue with them . May also want to consider the HERCULES Avalanche RT ( studdable ) or the MASTERCRAFT Glacier Trex ( studdable ) . They are at a good price , have rebates ( $50 for HERCULES , MASTERCRAFT ? ) , start at 12/32s with deep sipes close to the base of the tire , and get good user reviews . All 3 are affiliated . Let us know what you decide and how the tires perform .

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