That would be Bridgestone WS-50, not Dunlop. Too bad the Canadian $ has tanked in the last couple of weeks, or the price would have been even better. Regardless, good deal for a good tire. Enjoy.

I lucked out - I picked up a set of 4 215/55R17 nearly new, slightly used (2 @ 12/32" tread, 2 @ 11/32"), unstudded Kumho KW19 mounted on steel rims for CAD$400. Once I sell the rims, my net price will be about CAD$250! I put the money I saved into a set of Sport Edition SE-14 alloy wheels and TPMS sensors from Tire Rack. I ordered and got them when the CDN $ was stronger - so they cost me < CAD$1,000 'all in'.

 

im also considering winter...and i am new to the G world but i got the rays 19" rims with it so if i was to get winters how much should i down size? would 17" be ok still???

 

I don't know where you are, but if your roads are anywhere near as crappy in winter as they are around here (Regina, SK) then downsizing will give you more sidewall height on your tires to better deal with the uneven road surface, potholes, etc. You will lose some of that crisp handling, but how much can you realistically expect when your tires are frozen rock hard anyway?

Personally, I'd go down to 17", but I'm sure there are others here with differing opinions. My view is based on the factors in the paragraph above, plus the cost reduction you'll get when going down to 17". Go to the Tire Rack Web site and configure a set in both 17" and 18" and you'll see what I mean...

FWIW, you can get 17" steel wheels for winter, but not 18". As I've written before I went with 17" alloys for winter even though I could get steelies, as I'm running TPMS sensors in both sets of wheels.

 

Yes Bridgestone... My other choice in tire was going to be Dunlop so that must be on my mind. I meant to type Bridgestone. Anyway, it will be nice when I get them. We had snow flurries this morning.

 

hey guys

i have 18" 350z rims for winter but need new tires

does the tire width need to be wider in the back? or will say 245 all around be ok?

what is the rull of thumb for winter tire sizes? i'd like to get the most out of them while still ensuring vdc is kept on

 

FWIW, Tire Rack recommends the following:
Front: 225/45-18
Rear: 245/45-18

You can also downsize to 17", but I'm guessing you want to use the 18" wheels you already have.

 

Thinner tires are far superior in the snow due to their cutting ability. A wider tire will" float" on the snow.

 

if i downsize to 17" whats specs should i get the tires in???

 

how thin should the tires be???

 

Instead of "plus sizing" as you might do for summer tires and wheels, you would "minus size" for winter tires...higher sidewall and narrower tread pattern.

Being in Toronto, we certainly can get away with stock sizes.

http://www.consumersearch.com/snow-tires/review

 

I've been running a set of 225/60-16 Blizzak LM-18 Performance Winters on my car for the past couple of years. I went with 16s as they just fit over the stock brake set-up on my '03 and for the higher profile.

Great tire and the dry road traction and handling has been outstanding. In the dry, feels like a Performance All-Season in most respects, and after 31,295 Km on them, they still have 7/32" on the tread. Unlike the WS-50, WS-60 and Blizzak's non-performance line, they don't turn into a A/S tire when they're worn down to 40% of the tread.

Winter traction was okay, much better than any A/S I've tried, but starting on icy hills was a challenge sometimes. Other times, I could make it up some slippery ramps that FWD vehicles like minivans and a few small cars had a real tough time on.

I've decided to put them up for sale and try the new 215/60-16 Michelin X-Ice Xi2. Newest tire out there, and ranked #1 over the Blizzak WS-60 (2nd) and the Hakka RSi (3rd). TireRack Winter Tire Test Not sure how good the newer Hakka R is.

Looking forward to seeing what a tire optimized for Ice and Snow will do over the Performance winter rubber, and the narrower tire should make the deeper snow and ruts more driveable. If they last 75% longer than the WS-60 as advertised, they should be good bang for the buck. Hopefully not as squirmy as well.

My friends that own the major tire chain in town says there's a shortage of Winter tires available in Canada this year as the announcement to make them mandatory in Quebec came in after most of the factory production stopped on winter tires.

 

Finally the winter plan has come together,

Picked up a set of the new S2 rims from Canadian Tire, 17" X 7 rims. They were the best price I could find in my area. They are DARKER than I would have liked, however they don't have the "polished" lip that the S1's had that would have just got poop-kicked in the winter. I really think the painted rims will stand up much better in the muck!

Wandered down to Kal Tire, they had already ordered in the Nokian Hakka 5's for me and the tires were sitting in the back. All of their winter stock was in and I looked at the tread patterns on all the different tires before finally pulling the trigger. I must say the most impressive looking tread pattern was actually the Nokian Hakka Q which is only made for small car tires, which is too bad (tones and tones of sipes and cuts for grip on snow and ice). I looked at the X-Ice Xi2 and was unimpressed with its sipping, I hear it is a major improvement over the original however. It has tested quite well also, but just seems like a generation behind to me; my opinion I guess, I think I have a built in bias towards Michelin products after some bad prior experiences.

I kicked it back and forth between the Bridgestone WS-60 the Nokian Hakka R and the Nokian Hakka 5's and ended up going with the Hakka 5's. Studs just cannot be beat for acceleration on ice and the Hakka 5 still has all the best qualities of the standard ice radials. The roads up this way are EPPIC bad and I wasn't going to mess around with winters for the rig. Its a rwd daily driver and I have to get where Im going so there should be NOTHING limiting me in the tire department now.

Tires were all mounted/balanced and I am impressed with how the rims look!

They aren't on the car yet as there is no snow and Im not going to abuse the tire more than need be with dry pavement driving...

so for now we wait.

Ill let you folks know what I think of them when the white stuff begins to accumulate.


S.Dunn

 

^^^Don't forget pics.
You can't go wrong with Nokian Hakkas. I have had a couple of sets and they are awesome.

 

I found this Tirerack Video very interesting on Ice Traction: Studded vs Studless

 

Excellen all season vs winter, and winter on rear only vid as well - thanks!!!