Hi everyone,

It's been a while.. I've been enjoying my Z tremendously until it snowed..

So I've done some research and was told that there are NO 18" (245/45/18) rear Winter Tires anywhere in the country so late in the season... (by TireRack and others)...

I've thought about it and am now considering a "Winter Downgrade" package to 17" Wheels and 17" Winter Blizzak LM-22 tires...

This will run me about $1,500.00 plus shipping. Any thoughts or comments on this ? If it snows pretty rarely where I live (Northern NJ), maybe once or twice every 2 weeks... is it worth the investment over the winter ?

Is it okay to drive the car through all the road-salt and other nonsense during the days where it does NOT snow ? In stock SUMMER tires ? =)

Merry xmas,
-slay

 

Get 225/45/18 Blizzaks all around. Then next year, get the 245/45's for the rear and sell your 2 225's to another Z owner.

 

Here are some options. I am not sure if the 225/50/17 work, but I'm calling Tire Rack tomorrow. There is a big difference in the prices. I don't think I will go for the WS-50s, but the 225/50/17s will probably do fine and save me $200 to use for new wheels. Sorry I couldn't get prices for the wheels, but another poster had pictures of his install and they looked good.

Glenn

Tires- at Tire Rack
Blizzak LM-22 225/45/18VR ($211) $844
Blizzak LM-22 225/50/17VR ($166) $644
Blizzak WS-50 225/45/17QR ($131) $320

Wheels- at Tire Rack
Sport Edition Fox 5 Silver Painted 17" & 18"
Sport Edition Valore Silver Painted 17" max

 

this is a bad idea .... the car is designed to use a staggered tire diameter and the on-board systems we see the same diameter as the rear tires slipping and adjust accordingly

 

Slay2k,
I've been running a winter wheel/tire combo in northern NJ for the past month. Keep in mind that snow is not the only issue that you should be thinking about. Cold is the enemy of summer tires as well. Push your fingernail into one of your summer tires when it's below freezing some time...or at least try to. The rubber compound is not designed to work at those temps, and they basically turn to slippery plastic. Snow tires stay pliable, and grip wet, icy, AND dry roads much better in the cold. I thought it was a worthwhile investment for safety.

I went with 225/45/17's Michelin Pilot Alpins all the way around as you mentioned. Luke is correct though, the car is slightly more likely to kick traction control in, because the tire diameter is smaller in back, and the car thinks the wheels are slipping more. It only happens under aggressive accelaration however...which wouldn't be an issue in the snow, etc., anyway. My solution...turn off TCS in the dry...which I do nearly all of the time I drive the car. I had to drive in a small amount of snow in Pittsburgh over the past week...I didn't feel that TCS was overly intrusive, etc. It only came on going up a steep hill once in light snow, and coming around a tight bend.

My advice: If you can find a wheel/tire package in the stock diameter, by all means go that route. If it's a choice between going a little smaller diameter vs. driving stock tires in very cold, or wet/snowy weather, buy the tires. It's not worth the risk. I feel waaaaay more confident in the cold with the snow tires, and haven't run into any problems yet.

 

That's odd, because someone in my family bought 245/45/18 winter tires by Dunlop, SP Winter Sport M3 through Tirerack (02' Q45).

 

I went with LM-22 stock sizes for my stock 17" rims. Works great. Car is reasonably controllable in any conditions. With stock tires I wasn't able to move at all on ice/snow.