Winter tires and Rims

[gunia]

I have a 2006 G6 GT with 225-50-17 tires. I have trouble with traction in the snow and was considering a dedicated winter tires and rim. How do I know what size wheel and tire combination I can use. I don't know the factory offset, spacing, etc.

If I were to just switch the tires and keep the factory rims, does switching the tires in the Fall and Spring damage the rim or tire?

Would a 16 inch rim fit on a G6 GT?

 

[Nyquist]

If you go to a good shop, you can swap tires as many times as you want without damaging the rim. Your OE rims are 17", so a 16" probably isn't an option.

Unfortunately you have a very expensive size. If I had to buy some for your application, I would probably lean to these Goodyears: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?...inSpeedRating=S

They seem to be a nice balance of performance vs cost.

 

[gunia]

I was thinking 16 inch since the base model G6 uses 16 inch rims. And using the smaller rim offers a larger group of all season and winter tires at a cheaper price.

 

[IndyIan]

I would recommend the narrowest snow tire you can get, if 16" rims fit you will probably be able to find some 205's or maybe even 195's. Also going up or down a few % on speedometer isn't a big deal either. The tire shop will try to sell you the stock size instead of something smaller, cheaper and better.
I would get steel rims as well, swapping tires is like $40/tire/year so if you get rims at a wrecker you'll have them paid off first year.
I run 155/80r13 snows on my little car and at highway speeds in slush, I prefer the car to my 4x4 tracker with 205/70R15 snow tires just because the skinny tires cut through better even on a 600lb lighter car.
Ian

 

[gunia]

I think the base model G6 uses 215-60-16. I don't want to mess with the handling dynamics of the car too much so if the 16's fit then I might go with this tire size. 225 to 195 is too much right?

 

[LC]

You can get 16" steel rims with hub caps and snow tires mounted through tire rack for about $540.00 plus shipping.
If you go to tirerack web site you can type in your vehicle and see the options.

 

[Quattro Pete]

TireRack recommends 215/60/16 for your car for winter. I would go with that.

 

[gunia]

Does tirerack wheel recommendation take into account the brakes and other components that may interfer with a smaller rim?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: gunia
Does tirerack wheel recommendation take into account the brakes and other components that may interfer with a smaller rim?

Yes, assuming you have not performed any aftermarket modifications. But it's still a good idea to give them a call and doublecheck, just to be safe.

 

[gunia]

The car is stock, but I'll call to double check.

I was thinking if I should just get the rims and get the tires from a local club store like BJs or Sams Club. I've never ordered a wheel and tire mounted and balanced from tirerack, are there any issues?

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: gunia
I think the base model G6 uses 215-60-16. I don't want to mess with the handling dynamics of the car too much so if the 16's fit then I might go with this tire size. 225 to 195 is too much right?

It's up you really, clear pavement handling is way down on *my* list of snow tire requirements, it maybe more important for you. The skinny tires won't be more dangerous but they will feel different for sure. I've run 205/50R15 for solo 2 on my Neon and the balance(understeer) is still the same with the 155 snows, just that the snow tires have a lot more give or squirm which helps for traction on snow.
I assume you are doing all 4 tires, only 2 on the front is not safe at all.
Ian

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: gunia
I was thinking if I should just get the rims and get the tires from a local club store like BJs or Sams Club. I've never ordered a wheel and tire mounted and balanced from tirerack, are there any issues?

If you can get a local shop to price-match TireRack, then by all means go local.

Sometimes TR is less expensive. Sometimes it's not. Plus, should anything ever go wrong, it's a bit more hassle to have to return stuff back to TR, although TR does have excellent customer service.

 

[scoobie]

My Subaru is 16" stock. I asked the dealer, if I could use 15" steel wheels, because I have some 15" Subaru steelies, and he said yes, just make sure that the final tire size is the same diameter. you can google miata tire size calculator, to check your tire size, or go on tire rack dot com, where the tire diameter is published. also, if you can run skinnier tires, that is better for winter traction, it cuts through the snow much better, instead of floating on top.

 

[gunia]

I was thinking...if I keep the same 17 inch rim and change the tire size to 215-55-17, I'll be able to buy nice all season tires like Goodyear's Tripletred. The only downside is that the rims may be at risk since the tire side wall will be inline with the rim.

 

[Quattro Pete]

What brand/model tire do you have right now? Going from one all-season tire to another will not make much of a difference, even if the new one is 10mm narrower. If you drive a lot and snow traction is an issue, as you pointed out in the first post, then dedicated winter tires would be the better way to go.

If you really want to stick with one set of tires year round, you could consider winter tires which can be ran all year long, like the Nokian WR, but they're a bit pricey and if you're an aggressive driver, you may not be thrilled with them in the middle of summer.

Also, you will find that 16" tires are generally cheaper than 17" ones - another reason to go with 16s for winter.

 

[JustinH]

In my experience, tirerack offered a steel wheel and snow tire package for about 20 dollars more than what local shops wanted just to install snow tires on my car for.

I got better tires from tirerack also. It was a no brainer.

I paid 330 dollars for a set of 14 inch wheels with snow tires for my saturn ion. The wheels were 20 dollars each, but the shipping on the entire set was 80 dollars.

330 shipped with no tax is still a great deal.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Yup, getting both rims and tires at the same time works out to a great deal from TR since they don't charge you extra for mounting and balancing.

 

[oily boyd]

+1

I just installed my new Blizzak WS-60's from TR on my '09 Camry yesterday.

Went with their recommendation to go down in width to 205 mm.

I did not get TPMS on the new rims/tires so my TMPS light is now on but I saved >$200 doing that.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Smart move on the TPMS!

Here though if the light is on, they will fail you for safety inspection. (even if WE ALL KNOW WHY THE @#%$^@& light is on..)

Just pop on the stock tires for the inspection.

I HATE the TPMS system. Glad I don't have any personal vehicles with it. Seen enough problems with it at work.

Take care, bill

 

[oily boyd]

Thanks for the tip, Bill.

We don't have a safety inspection in WI... every other year they simply hook up an OBDII scanner and look for codes before issuing tags, though.

Suppose I'm ever in an accident. Will they read the black box and conclude it was my fault since I was driving on "underinflated" tires?

Gotta love the govt looking out for us.