[Mikael1052]

I know Solberg rocks discs that better resemble bicycle tires than street car wheels when they rally on snow but realisticly, how big of a deal is width for winter? I am going to order some 17x7.5 Rotas with LM-25s but need to decide between 215 and 225. Guys with winter setups, what width tire do you run? Anyone do anything more drastic? Thanks.

[weitek]

im not really qualified to recomend anything to you one way or the other but i can comment that i run 225 dunlop wintersport m3's and they seem to work really well.

[RBMike]

I have a set of Falken ZE-512 225/45/17's on some stock sized Rotas and they worked very well in the snow & rain. The tread width is noticably narrower than the stock 070's (maybe about 1cm narrower).

[straightouttajersey]

in snow the narrower the tirer the better...I ran 225 blizzaks on mine and it was fine...

[Dr. Gonzo]

I had 215 pirelli snow sports, but I blew one out and since they were all getting low on tread I had to replace all 4. The local discount tires just happened to have some barely used 235 michelin aplin's of a S4 that 'fit' for cheap ($410 balanced and installed). Anyways: IMHO, the 235's do have a little more trouble 'playing' in snow filled parking lots (6 in +) but the increased surface area was beneficial on ice and packed snow, which is where I do the majority of my winter driving, saddly enough.

[DARKSTI]

I ran Blizzaks in the stock size and no problem in this:

[SSteve00]

Tire width is fundamental to tire performance on snow or ice, especially when loose snow is covering ice or hard pack snow. German snow tire tests gave low ratings to all 17" snow tires. I'm unwilling to run 17s on my STI in the winter. I've ordered a group N brake package with 15" gravel wheels to run 195 65 15s. I'm trying to decide between Hakka 2s, Pirelli Winter Carving or Hankook W409. Many drivers are highly satisfied with their winter tire setup because they don't know what their missing.

[Mikael1052]

1st I was going to ask how the hell are 15'' wheels gonna fit over your Brembos but then I read through a second time. So, instead, I'll ask this: You're swapping your brakes out just for your winter set-up? That's hardcore.

[SSteve00]

I paid $2900 for rims and brakes. The 15" tires cost half as much as 17" tires. I'll save on the cost of replacement pads and rotors in the future. Most importantly, there's no more cost effective mod than the correct tires on Alaska's winter roads.
OT: I used to live in Utah and miss those roads! Great pair of toys you've got there.

[lackskill]

in alaska you really have to have good winter tires, and in a 17 there isnt enough sidewall for a tire to be REALLY effective on the snow/ice. If Im not mistaken, sidewall flex is a big portion of what give a good winter tire good traction on snow/ice...

[Datadatum]

I have run Dunlop Wintersport M3's 225/45R17 the last two Chicago winters.

We don't get much snow (compared to the other side of the lake), but it is below freezing often, with a great deal of salt/sand on the roads. The M3 is a great compromise between cold weather traction and getting through the really nasty stuff now and then. Great for areas like where I live.