I also went with 17" winters and they have been awesome.
I love the grip that the Blizzak WS-50's offer in the snow and ice, but I'm thinking about a different tire when these are ready to be replaced. They are very soft and the sidewall is too giving.
In snow storms, they rock. In the warmer winter days, they're like driving on semi-melted marshmellows.

I just got my car set up with a set of OEM 17" wheels that I got off eBay for $300 and 225/55-17 General AltiMAX Arctic tires they were second best rated in Consumer Reports and one of the best priced one too, I got them from tire rack for $105 each with a $25 pre paid card for buying a set of 4.

One of the worst rated and the cheapest was the Firestone Winterforce
Blizzaks were rated well but they cost a little bit more
I can’t recall what the best rated was

^ Damn, nice find. 4 OEM wheels for $300!? Nice work. Let us know how you like your tires once the fluff falls.

Yeah this wheel shop had them posted on eBay and I wanted to se if they would sell and they didn’t, so I called the guy and offered him $300 shipped and he took it!

I will let you know how well they work out for me.

I just picked up some 17 inch mangel wheels to go with my blizzaks ws-60 from last year. : $250

I haven't tried other winter tires but i loved the blizzaks last yr..they performed very well