Already thinking of winter rubber

[Klutch9]

I've decided that I'm going to buy some snow tires for our Fusion before next winter comes. The Fusion is our main car, and I want my wife to be safe. The car has 225 50r17 tires. Ideally, I'd like to buy some 16" steelies and fit some 205 60r16 tires - base model Fusions came in this size. The issue is that I know she won't want to drive around on plain black steelies, and I don't want to have to buy 16" aftermarket rims, since most all of them look awful.

So I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy another set of the 17" steelies the car already has, fit the winter rubber to them, and slap the factory wheel covers on them and call it a day. Does this plan sound okay, or is the winter performance going to be much better with the narrower tire on the 16" wheel? Maybe I can source some OEM 16" Fusion wheels for cheap. They look very "base-model", but better than plain black steel. I'm assuming that any given tire in the 205 60r16 size is going to be cheaper than the same tire in the 225 50r17 size also.

 

[sciphi]

I'd sell it to her that the narrower, taller tire will make her safer. It's true, it will.

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
the narrower, taller tire will make her safer. It's true, it will.


This I know... Well, I've got time, so I'm sure I'll figure it out by the time the snow starts falling again. Anyone know of a website that sells aftermarket replicas of OEM wheels?

 

[SwampSurvivor]

The skinnier the better in the snow.

 

[eljefino]

Go for the 16" steelies. There have to be covers for them that kinda look like alloys. Look at rental cars for inspiration.

 

[Quattro Pete]

I would stick with 16s for winter. It'll perform better and be less expensive at the same time.

TireRack has a ton of 16" alloys for your car that start at as little as $90/each and some of them look quite OK, IMO.

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: Klutch9
I've decided that I'm going to buy some snow tires...



NO. Just stop. Now. It snowed up here last week it is too early to shop for snow tires.

 

[daves87rs]

Interesting this thread came up, because I was considering it too. I might have the chance to pick up some Winterforces for a good price.

Lucky for me in the fact i would not have to change tire size...

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Interesting this thread came up, because I was considering it too. I might have the chance to pick up some Winterforces for a good price.

Lucky for me in the fact i would not have to change tire size...


Looks like I am going to have to buy a few more winterforces, or some other snow tire.

Mine have bad belts. I'm going to buy two this summer for cheap, run them on the front for a couple of years.

 

[Tundragod]

Winter tires for next year? We just got out of Winter four days ago with almost two feet of snow here in Rochester, MN. We still have snow on the yard.

Anyway, I upgraded my summer(all season)wheels and tires to 18" and keep my 17" OEM for winter tires for the 08 Accord.
If I were you, I would go with the 16" winter tires and wheels. 16" tires will be much cheaper than the 17".

I wish I did that with mine but I got an OEM 18" that I like. 18" tires will be expensive.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Tundragod
Winter tires for next year? We just got out of Winter four days ago with almost two feet of snow here in Rochester, MN. We still have snow on the yard.

Anyway, I upgraded my summer(all season)wheels and tires to 18" and keep my 17" OEM for winter tires for the 08 Accord.
If I were you, I would go with the 16" winter tires and wheels. 16" tires will be much cheaper than the 17".

I wish I did that with mine but I got an OEM 18" that I like. 18" tires will be expensive.


Honda accords are pretty common and have a common bolt pattern. You should be able to get a 16'' wheel pretty easy that will fit.

 

[tdpark]

Ebay has great deals on OEM wheels from people who upgrade or junkyards that want to sell salvage parts. I got a whole set of OEM wheels for my car for under 200- alloys to boot.

 

[Ken2]

Yeah, buy the take-off wheels during the spring or summer, then buy the new winter tires in October...probably better prices that month.

There are plenty of good looking plastic wheel covers to make your steelies look better. Check your usual mail order sources--JCWhitney, Amazon, fleaBay, and all the rest.

Will you need tire pressure monitors as well? Negotiate with the tire shop for their very best price on the monitors (10% over cost?) if you agree to buy the set of tires from them. The shop will always ask full list price, but everything is negotiable.

 

[rslifkin]

Personally, I prefer wider tires in the snow. Narrow helps in slush where it cuts through it better. However, on packed snow or ice, you're not going to cut down to pavement anyway, so like on dry pavement, the extra contact area helps. The wider tires also tend to break free more smoothly in my experience.