I know its still a little while away, but I gotta start planning for it now. Last year, I took my G35 up to the mountains a lot of times. Fortunately, the roads were clear most of the time, however some of the times they weren't and driving on the stock 18's was very scarey.

Putting on tire chains in the snow and taking them off in the rain just plain sucks. Not to mention it screws up the interior and makes it smell really bad for the whole season, so I don't want to do that.

There aren't really many snow tires that come in 18's, so I was planning on maybe picking up some 17's and putting snow tires on, then just using those for the winter. I'm thinking of picking up some 5 Zigen FN01R-C's for the snow. Since those are the cheapest rims I can find that come in many sizes/offsets. Since the 17x7 doens't really come in low offsets, I'm worried it won't clear the Brembos. Will 17x8 +25 all around be OK? I'm still going to stagger the tires. Just looking for a set of cheap rims to use.

Anyhow, I was wondering if any of you had any experience with snow tires. Which ones are good? Obviously my safety is most important, so I want good performing tires. Heres what I've come up with so far (all of this is taken from the Tire Rack).

Bridgestone Bizzak WS-50, 215/50/17F, 235/45/17R - $564
Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3, 225/45/17F, 245/45/17R - $608
Pilot Alpin PA2, 215/45/17F, 235/45/17R - $602
Pirelli Winter 210 SnowSport, 225/45/17F, 245/45/17R - $578

So to cap off, anyone have any comments on my ideas? Any reviews of the above tires or any suggestions for other tires? My ultimate goal is maximum safety at a good price. Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

I use to own an '02 M3 and on all season radials, I couldn't get up the very slight incline in my driveway when their was light snow. I ordered Blizzaks mounted on rims from Tirerack and the differance was remarkable. Although I ordered Blizzaks, any snow tire will probably give you great snow traction. They are a must for those who have RWD cars and live in snowy areas.

 

If you run a search, there's a real wealth of information on snow tires.

I'm running:
225/50VR-17 Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22's for the fronts
and
235/50VR-17 Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22's for the rears

Mounted on ASA-JH3's

Drove like a champ in the snow, and I liked how the JH3's looked

 

Madchef,
Can you post of photo with your winter setup please? thanks!

-Wayno-san

 

I don't have many good shots, so the last two are borrowed from another user with the same setup (forgot who it was).

The last picture compares the stock 18" (front) to the ASA JH3 17" (rear)

 

I have the Dunlops M3s on OEM 18s and they're great! This will be my third winter on them.

 

ah good post, i was also thinking about this and need to get myself a winter setup as well.

 

I'd go for some blizzaks and 17" wheels. I don't know if the OEM 17" clear the brembos or not, but you can find some of them pretty cheap on ebay if you want the OEM look. I just sold my OEM 17" Wheels to Byte_Me from these boards for pretty cheap. Really don't have a need for them anymore since I got an Escalade.

 

It's is a good idea to have 235-45-18 all around, with that size we can rotate front to rear.

 

Do you know the size/offset of those ASA JH3's?

 

17x7.5 32mm.

 

I am in the same boat!!! I am moving back to Mass. in 2 weeks, so I bought some OEM 17's and I am purchasing the Blizzaks without a doubt!!!

 

Tirerack comes out with no results for winter tires. What other choices do I have for winter with rims and tires if I have brembos?

 

Winter tires aren't on sale yet. Give them a call to see when you can buy them.

 

I just went to the Tirerack site and they display the following message for '05 coupes: Due to the unique technical aspects of this application, we are currently not accepting online orders for snow-tire and wheel packages
for your 2005 Infiniti G35 Coupe 18 Inch Performance Wheel Pkg. Please call (888) 541-1777 to speak with one of our specialists about available products.
Maybe they will have something later in the year.