Blizzak LM-25's on stock 19"s or get new 17" wheels and tires
 

Ok, I am about to spend my first winter here in Colorado Springs, and while it doesn't snow a lot, it does snow on occassion.

I found Blizzak LM-25's here that will fit the stock 19's; I am wondering what the performance of the LM-25's is on dry ground, and whether it would be worth it to get those, or just find a set of 17" wheels and get snow tires on those.

What do you guys think?

Oh, and I have tried searching, can't really find much on the LM-25's, and also haven't found much on the dry performance of the Blizzaks in general

Dave

I'd say go with some stock 17s and put snow tires on that. That way you can swap out the wheels whenever you want and not have to dismount and mount the tires themselves.

I was thinking about that. Probably the way I will go.

Hmm, I can get 19's for about the same price as decent 17's, although the tires are a bit more. I know that 17's will do better in snow, but how much better?

The cons of getting 17's would be that they wouldn't clear a big brake kit, if I decide to get one, and they won't look as nice (to me).

Any opinions?

Dave

Anyone have any opinions on this?

I leave in CT and we get a fair amount of snow. I put on 235/50/17 avon 550 m&s last december (threw out the junk el-42's that came with the car) and they were fine through all the snow etc. I think having the 6sp manual helped as it came with LSD.

I was wondering if there is much difference between 19's and 17's (assuming both shod in Blizzak's) in the snow

Dave

I run the OE 19's with the Blizzak LM-25's in the winter. But that's only because I have a set of wider volks I run in the summer, so my OE 19's are winter only. If you're looking to run the OE 19's year round, don't. Get a set of inexpensive 18's that'll clear a BBK and winter tires. In the long run its cheaper and easier to have 2 sets of wheels/tires than to swap tires every 6 months on the same set of wheels. Your risk for wheel damage is much higher in the winter, so you'll be miserable if you're laid up trying to get your wheels fixed in the spring for something that happened over the winter.

The LM-25's are great in the winter. I've had no problems running them on my 19's in dry or snow.

Well, I ended up getting a set of 4 ASA JH8, black, 19x8.5's, and a set of Blizzak LM-25 225/40/VR19 front and 245/40/VR/19 rear.

I went this way because I really do like the look of the OEM wheels, and I would rather run those as my normal, summer tire/wheel combo and the JH8/Blizzak combo as my winter tires. Of couse, this set me back about $2000, but the Blizzaks were the major part of that, and the wheels were only $230 each, was is relatively inexpensive for a nice looking 19x85 set of wheels.

Helldorado, thanks for the advice, it helped out.

Dave

wow that tread on the tire is THICK!!! horray safety.

is the tread supposed to be thick or not for the winter? I'm in pa and snow sucks!

Yes, it is supposed to be thick, to cut into and grip the snow.

Dave