You can't go wrong with Blizzaks, couple guys here in MN run em and a few G's and say they would rather have a RWD car with Blizzaks on than a FWD car with all season tires on.

Thanks for the replies guys I appreciate it.

I'm in NJ, so winters aren't too crazy but they're not mild either. Temperatures don't go below 0, coldest being around 25 degrees if I remember correctly.

Hopefully someone here can help me out. So I am running 18 inch stock touring wheels and I am looking for some snow tires for winter (I am NOT going to purchase a separate set of 17's). My question is which of the 3 options below would be my best bet (I have checked to make sure all sizes will not throw off the VDC)? Important information: the average winter temperature here is about 15 degrees and we get about 6 inches of snow per month.

Option 1: 225/45-18" (square set-up) Bridgestone Blizzak

Option 2: 225/45-18" (front) Bridgestone Blizzak
225/50-18" (rear) Goodyear Ultra Grip or Dunlop Graspic

Option 3: 225/45-18" (front) Bridgestone Blizzak
235/50-18" (rear) Goodyear Ultra Grip or Dunlop Graspic/Winter Maxx

Just stick with stagger.
Pretty sure you'll need your VDC more than ever in the snow.

I had a friend who even recommended 18/45/215 front, 18/45/235 rear.
But personally I just stick with stock specs.

And if you can, I would also stick with the same brand/model all round.
That's just me though.

So you think I should do a 215/45-18" front and 225/45-18" rear? I would go with the Blizzaks for both.

Radiocrash - I'd just get the cheapest single compound you can find.

Mariar508 - I'd stick with the same brand for front and rear. Look into Nokian tires if they're easy to find.

Like I said, If I were you, I would stick with stock sizes and same brand all round.

The same brand thing all round is kind of a no brainer imo.

Going a thinner tire was only what a friend suggested so that you would do better in snow. Idk if I would go less than 235 in the rears. But again it's up to you.

Keep in mind that the suggestion was made by a FWD Speed3 owner, but then again he is a Mercedes tech and his reasonings did make sense.

For someone without VDC, should the tire specs be staggered or the same all around? Or will it not make a difference?

ABS won't be happy if it doesn't follow the original configuration.

I decided to go with 225/45-18 (all around) for 3 reasons. First, this was the only size available for the Blizzak WS70's (studless snow and ice tires). Secondly, I would be able to rotate them. Lastly, these sizes should not affect VDC. I will post pictures and let everyone know how they do in the snow!

Yes they will affect VDC.
You should read more about VDC and our cars...
Our cars require different tire circumferences in the front and rear to keep the VDC from thinking that the wheels are slipping.
But WS-70 is a really good choice!

I got a set of touring wheels from an 04 with Dunlop Winter Sport M3 and I think they are great. Staggered setup works perfect for me. 3 years now with no issues and drove through the snow on several occasions. After this year I will have to replace the rears. Snow tires wear fast, especially on dry surface.

Here she is last year. I painted the wheels white, think it looks great on SMB.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...14/null-30.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...5498A6A57E.jpg

I thought they would affect VDC, but the sizes abide by the 3% rule that another member did a write up on. Check out this website and you'll see that these sizes should not affect the VDC (I believe they're at 2.7%).

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Tires of the same model and specs should be the same size?
Am I missing something here?

Don't take it the wrong way, I'm just a tad bit confused.

Yea, they are exactly the same size. What you are getting confused about is that they NEED to be staggered. However, that is not necessarily the case, if you get the proper sizes. For instance, the sizes I got (225/45-18") are the stock sizes for the front wheels. Therefore, I needed to check how the fitment would affect the rears to see if the VDC would get thrown off. If you go to this website: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html, and plug in all the information, you will notice that the new tires would be spinning 2.7% too fast. And our Z's will allow a 3% difference from the stock sizes before affecting the VDC. This means that I should be ok with the rears.

How would the front or rear tires be spinning at different speeds if the circumference is the same?

It's not whether they spin 3% faster than your stock set up, rather the differences of circumference needs to be in the front tires vs back.

but anywho, run em and if they work, great.
Just post it up here to avoid further confusion in the future.

Rotational speed of the front tires are different than the rears; the fronts spin at a slightly higher rate. The linear speed are all the same unless when turning.

Yea. There is actually only a difference of 2.2 inches.

We'll see how they go. If they work, great, and if I have problems, I have problems (I'll just replace the rears next year). Either way I'll post back to let everyone know how they go.

Looking forward to em updates :thumbup:

Update --

I got my 225/45-18 Bridestone Blizzak WS70's installed the other day on all four corners on my stock 18's, and so far I am having zero issues with the VDC. I can't wait for it to snow! I'll let everyone know how they do when it finally does.