I'm looking at purchasing an 05 coupe with stock 19's.

Will I have a big problem in the winter (I'm in the NE where it snows)?

Do they sell all-season tires for 19" rims?

I also read that the tires get worn out very quickly. Is this true or is this the case for a minor few?

If I were to downgrade to 18's or 17's, would I have any problems with the speedometer?

Thanks in advance

 

no matter what size wheel you have..youll always have trouble in the snow unless you have an awd vehicle..even then you'll have limited traction problems..as for the reduction in rim size..as long as the tire series is the same..im thinking youll be ok(example- a 245/40/19 should run the same as a 245/40/18...correct me if i wrong anyone)

 

Thanks alot. So the 17" and 19" Infiniti rims have the same size tires (as in overall diameter)?

When I say problems, I mean I've currently got a FWD Nissan Maxima with all-season tires. I would just need similar performance.

The big thing that bothers me from reviews is that people are changing tires every 10K miles. Is this really true? I can't be spending $1K every 10K miles -- I'm use to replacing tires every 60K miles.

 

i live in boston, i have 19" volks on my car with sports tires, dont really have too much problems in the snow unless im just parked in the open.

there are snow tires but they are expensiveeeeee

 

The best solution for snow, ice and cold pavement is dedicated winter tires. Period. AWD will help traction for acceleration only, a small percentage of anyone's driving time. It does very little for steering traction, and nothing at all for steady speed cruising or braking. The ability to get up to speed on A/S tires with AWD is no good if you can't stop or turn. In snow, the worst winter tire is better than the best all season tire, regardless of the drive wheels.

Larger rim sizes with low profile tires increases the risk of damaging a wheel on a pothole or debris under the snow. The larger the wheel size, the fewer options for winter and A/S tires, and the more expensive they are. That said, the same winter tire on 17' or 19'" will have essentially the same traction.

245/45/18 (not 245/40/18) would be close to the circumference of 245/40/19.

cpufreak3: This will help you match sizes to keep your speedometer accurate and avoid VDC issues. http://www.canadiandriver.com/tools/...c/tirecalc.htm

I'd suggest dedicated winters on cheap 17's and change them yourself spring and fall. It will give you the best winter driving (at the lowest cost), let you run summers rather than A/S on your 19's if you want to, and make your summers last longer (not to mention saving your 19" wheels).

 

OK, I have an 04 6MT coupe..

I put OEM 17's on it with a 3mm spacer on the front, so it clears the Brembos, and I run Blizzaks (WS60's). at 90 my speedo is about 2 mph slow, judging this off my GPS in my Passport 9500i. I run 225/55/17's

I pass 4x4 trucks are they have spun out in the median... I have NEVER been stuck, granted we only get a few inches at a time, but our snow removal here sucks...

Get you some 17's for about $200, put Blizzak ws60 on them and your set... My car goes GREAT in the snow...