I live in CT and I'm just picking up my new G this week.Just wondering how bad the car drives in the winter and if snow tires are REALLY needed? If so, what winter tire do people recommend?

 

We had real bad snow in the New Year here in Alberta. My G went fine with 225/60-16 LM-18 Blizzaks. I got up hills many FWD vehicles had problems with. Not sure if the LM-18s are available in the US though. Also, 16s do a bit better in the snow than 17s and are less expensive!

<font color=green>GG</font color=green>

 

Did you get the winter package with all season tires? If so then you may have a chance. This issue has been brought up a few times and I have yet to see a 'complete' reply that tells why somebody feels this way or that. May be obvious, but if you got summer performance tires you can expect to slide a bit. I read somewhere that somebody said the car sucks in snow, but they just moved to New York from Florida and still had the performance tires. Well, no wonder it was bad. Anyhow, if anybody has a comment please elaborate on what kind of tires you have and your location & snow experience.

I also have some concern about this, but I did get the winter and all season tires as a precaution and have the wife's car as a backup. See this <a href="https://g35driver.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=16&Number=86540&page=&view =&sb=&vc=1"> thread</a> as a start though, but more replies would be greatly appreciated.



2003.5 Sedan Black/Black w/ sport, premium, and winter packages.

 

Yes, I have the winter package with all season tires. Why are 16" tires better in the snow than 17"? I would think the wider the tire the most traction?

 

Think snow shoes, they are wide and float on the snow due to weight distribution. Wider tires will make it harder for your wheels to find the road = less traction. Here's <a href="http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/sizing.html">more</a>, but narrow is better for winter and wider better for summer. As for getting a smaller tire size there are advantages including price, but this will then make your speedometer/odometer be off, so not sure if that's worth it either.

For me, I'm going to do the leg work now of finding the best source for rims and tires and then see how it goes, buying the preselected set only if I think I really need it based on personal experience. Right now the plan is to get some cheap aftermarket alloys or try the junkyards for some recent Nissans and then use Bridgestone Blizzak. I have the Eagle RS-As with the winter package, which a number of friends have throught the winter with no problem. Now they have front wheel drive cars, but they don't have traction control either. I'm hoping for the best and will just have to be careful and drive less on bad days.

Also, <a href="https://g35driver.com/forums/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=1&Number=88892&Search= true&Forum=All_Forums&Words=constjs&Match=Username &Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=88704">co nstjs</a> who lives in either south WI or north IL had no problems with his sedan.



2003.5 Sedan Black/Black w/ sport, premium, and winter packages.

 

Actually a 225/60-16 is a smidge larger than the stock 215/55-17s. The higher profile soaks up bumps and ruts in the ice and snow better, besides being less expensive. Wheel size is only one factor in overall diameter/circumference. The width difference of 1 cm is negligible in terms of floating over the snow as you'll notice more difference in tire design, compound, etc, than slight variations in width. It's when you're talking about an inch or more that it becomes a factor. But all things equal, wider will not give quite as good traction in snow as narrower. Whether you'll notice this or not is the same as whether your butt can feel 3 or 4 HP differences.

<font color=green>GG</font color=green>

 

Well, I'm sold Pooh-Bah. I love the idea of an overall same size for less that also takes ruts better. Any other tips for those of us going for your setup - 16s with Blizzaks? For instance, do you swap these yourself or have a shop do it? Would imagine it's a good idea to label them during removal so you can put them back in the right spots for proper tire rotation. What about storage of the tires, I wonder if there is a recomended storage position/conditions.

Lastly, from your pics and post it does look like they are the same circumference. So does that mean there is not an issue with speedometer?

FYI - Although I'm sold on this setup I may still take the wait and see approach for this winter, but I'm glad to have a better feel for what I should get if needed. Thanks!!!


2003.5 Sedan Black/Black w/ sport, premium, and winter packages.

 

Of course if you've looked at my 'ride', you know I have them mounted on a separate set of wheels (also since they're 16s, 'natch). I usually rotate them myself, even though it's free at the shop. It's a pain to throw them in the car and wait, also I have a floor jack and can do them in about 20 minutes. I usually label them so I know where to rotate when I mount them back on the car. They usually recommend that you store them stacked, and some recommend at slightly reduced pressure. Been doing this on al my vehicles since '85. (Before that, I was young and crazy and would drive on semi-bald tires in the winter. Now I'm no longer young![img]/w3timages/icons/wink.gif[/img]) The speedometer is pretty much the same. As I said, I'm not sure if they sell LM-18s in the US, but they're a great tire with low noise, and handle very similarly to a regular 60 series tire with no noticeable squirm! Of course, on warm dry roads, they'll wear out fast.

<font color=green>GG</font color=green>