For VDC to work proper with winter tires, does the setup need to be staggered or does the rear wheel diameter needs to be slightly larger than the fronts? Anyone able to clarify this VDC question?

 

"Work properly" is a tough call. Many users use non-staggered setups and rarely, if ever, have the VDC come on abnormally. That's good enough for me - VDC should still kick on if I need it, and I'm always going slower on winter tires...

 

Got me an 05' G35 sedan w/ sport suspension - this will be my first winter driving a rear wheel drive car in Toronto.

I'm pretty much settled on the Blizzak WS-50s. I've seen others here that have them in 215/55R17 and in 215/60R16 or even 205/65R16. Any merits for one size over another? Generally 16s are cheaper than 17s for tires and the rims to hold them up. And thinner is better for cutting through snow...

Any thoughts on this?

What size should I get?

 

You can't put 16's on an '05 unless it's a G35X. The '05 RWD models have larger brakes than previous years, so 17" is now the minimum rim diameter.

Craig

 

Just thought I should share my feeling about my new winter setup.

Car: G35 C 05 AT about 12000 miles on it, all stock parts so far
Rim: OEM 17 x 7
Tire: Dunlop Winter Sports M3 225/55/17 all around

I had the stock 18" rim and summer tires b4 this. I have to say the difference is big and small depending on how you look at it.

Look: Well, 2 different feelings. When I first receive them, I was so amazed by the aggressiveness of the thread. they look like a bunch of big teeth ready to bite into the ground. But once I put the tires on, I realize these tires make the lower part of my car looks like a SUV. Doesn't fit the look of a sports car that much.

Noise: the winter tires are much quieter and lower in sound frequency

Comfort: right away I felt my ride is soft. so soft that I felt like i'm up in the air. but I got used to that comfort right away.

Launch: I have to say the launch felt similar. My Bridgestone summer stires used to slip when I floor gas from stop. and the dunlops does it too. I didn't feeling any more or less slipping fromthe winter tires. However, somehow the car felt a little slower or less push on the back.

Turn: I warn you, don't cut corn as hard as you would with the summer tires. The winter tires are only rated H. 2nd day after I got them on, I was cutting in front of car at pretty fast speed, about 85~90 mph, and I only about 1 1/2 car length to squeeze in. I did it as I usually did but after the lane change, the car shaked quite a bit and the tail swang a little too. That never happened to me on my summer tires. 90 mph or even 100+ mph sharp lane change was nothing for it as you all know. another time I felt the winter setup was too soft was when I was getting into a big high way curve at about 110 mph, once again the car tilted and I can feel the tire was about to lose the grip. my guess is it's both the narrower rim and higher sidewall of the tire that contributed to this. Plus the tire has less contacting surface with the ground so less grip.

Brake: braking seems to be a little longer not so hard as the summer tires. But still very good.

In general, my feeling is my winter setup demands much more conservative driving style from me. So that's a big change. As you can see, now the tire is the weakest part of the handling. However, IMO, it's still a very good sports car tire comparing to regular cars like my friend's I30 or my mom's C280.

Question: do you ppl think if I had put the exact same tires on a 8 or even 9 inch wide rim, the lateral control will be much better?

Can't wait to see how these tires perform in snow. I'm in NYC and snow usually comes in late Nov.

 

LOL I saw your car at tire rack when I went there. It has two stickers on the rear side windows on a Midwest G35 drive sticker and then one is a suspension sticker. Nice ride. I had my G in there about a month or so ago for some new rubber. The Gforce-2 BF goodrich.

 

I got my 05 G35 Coupe 6MT this week, and I just ordered snow rims/tires from tirerack. Can anyone tell me if there will be a problem getting these on? I asked for the ASA KA3's, but those are discontinued. This is going to be the set up:

Car: 05 Coupe 6MT
Tire Make: Dunlop Graspic DS-2
Tire type: Winter
Tire Size: ( 225/55/17)
Rim Size: Sport Edition E3's, not sure of the size, but the tirerack guy said they'll fit, and they are 40mm offset.
Price Paid: Rims and tires from Tirerack, about $870 shipped.
Snow Handling: N/A
Ice Traction: N/A
Dry Handling: N/A

The rims are what I'm worried about, dont know if anyone else has installed these on their G35. The link to them is as follows:

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Displ...atin+Sil+Paint

 

Oh, and do I need special lugnuts? I have some wheel locks from Infiniti installed, and the original lugnuts as well.

 

I was considering some winter tires. I have a 03 Sedan and stock 17" rims that I need to put some new tires on. I will be taking off my 19" aftermarket rims and tires but I can't remember the factory size tires that I need. My 17" rims have been sitting in boxes in the garage without rims. Any kind and useful info would be appreciated. Thanks

 

Here's my winter setup for my '05 coupe 6mt. I'm VERY happy with it....

https://g35driver.com/forums/wheels-tires/74996-my-05-coupe-winter-tire-setup-pics.html

 

Car: '05 5AT Coupe
Tire Make: Bridgestone Blizzak LM25
Tire type: Winter Performance
Tire Size: 225/40/19 F - 245/40/19 R
Rim Size: OE 19X8 F - 19X8.5 R
Price Paid: ~1250 with install
Snow Handling: N/A
Ice Traction: excellent
Dry Handling: excellent
Comments/Recommendations: Picked these up for the OE 19's because I didn't want to park the coupe for the entire winter. Hasn't seen snow yet and probably won't as I have a second car, but the handling capabilities of the LM-25's are not far off the stock RE050A's. These will be my steady winter rims now as I'm planning on new rims for the spring. If you have wheel/tire insurance, there isn't a lot to fear using the stock rims for winter use.

 

Post some pics. This is the first time I've heard of 19" snow tires since Bridgestone came out with them this year.

 

100% correct. I went with 215/65/16 Kumho KW19 on 16x6 black steel wheels on 03 sedan and very happy with them. They are bit on noisy side, but my drive to work is less than 10km one way. Traction is excellent in all conditions.
Low profiles suck in winter, I used to have Pirelli Wintersport Assym in 45 series-couldn't steer/brake in deep snow at all-they were floating on it.

 

Sorry, mkmbt, but did you say you paid $85 a peice for the M3s?? I just got quoted from tirerack.com for the M3s at:

front 225/45R18 178 ea
rear 245/45R18 215? ea
with shipping to IL

$819 for the whole setup
Id still have to pay either Infiniti ($88) or a place like NTB ($??) to put them on..

Id love to know where the hell you got these tires for $85 a piece. You buy them new?

 

Car: Coupe
Tire Make: Dunlop Sport M3
Tire type: Winter Performance
Tire Size: 225/45/18 front, 245/45/18 rear
Rim Size: Stern ST-7 in gloss black, 18x8.5 +20 18x9.5 +35
Snow Handling: So far A++
Ice Traction: So far ++
Dry Handling: I put them on the day before snow fell so i havent driven them hard yet.
Comments/Recommendations:

I got these to replace my 225/50/17 235/50/17 blizzaks that were on very ulgy tsw 17s. I know its winter but I wanted the car to look half decent and still be able to maintain safe driving in the snow. I got them put on friday and had to battle 2 inches of untouched snow at 6:30 am sunday morning. i personally like them more than the blizzaks I had. Ever once and a while the vdc would kick in when i was trying to make a 90 degree turn (like turning into a driveway). the tires did not like to bite when turning, however I do not have the same problem with the m3's. Ive only had them for a week so its a bit to early to give a full report but so far so good. Heres a pic, there is more here. https://g35driver.com/forums/picture-share/77089-my-new-18-winter-wheels-not-56k-friendly.html