Hi everyone, I have the 2002 I-35,, thinking to buy the snow tires for the car.
should I stay with 225/55/17 or 215/55/17 ?
which one should I take?
any idea?
Thanks
snow tires question..
Re: snow tires question.. (hangout)
I would go with the 225s, that would give you a wider contact patch.
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MinisterofDOOM
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Re: snow tires question.. (hangout)
With snow tires, a narrower contact patch is actually desirable. Wider tires "float" more, where narrower tires will sink into snow more for better bite or traction on the road surface itself.225 vs 215 isn't a huge difference, but if I were buying those tires I'd definitely go with the 215.
I go from 245 in the summer to 215 for the winter.
Honestly, though, with the I being FWD, any snow tire will be good. You might also want to consider how wet your winters are. Really blocky tread designs are often poor in the wet but excellent in the snow. I went with a snow tire that combines a good V pattern tread with beefy tread blocks for good wet and snow traction. A lot of Blizzaks have good water evacuation traits, as do my Hankooks (iPike).
The other thing to consider is studs. I wouldn't bother with studded snow tires on the I35, as most states strictly restrict when you can run studded tires, which is a pain. And (again) with the I being FWD, you probably won't ever need studs.
When I had my Maxima, I actually ran all-season tires even through the winter. Snow tires definitely would have been an improvement, but the fact that I could get through our alternatively snowy, wet, and icy winters without them says a lot about the Max's snow capabilities. So as long as you get a half-decent snow tire you should be just fine. I know my parents run all-seasons all year on their '04 Max as well, without any unfortunate incidents so far.
I go from 245 in the summer to 215 for the winter.
Honestly, though, with the I being FWD, any snow tire will be good. You might also want to consider how wet your winters are. Really blocky tread designs are often poor in the wet but excellent in the snow. I went with a snow tire that combines a good V pattern tread with beefy tread blocks for good wet and snow traction. A lot of Blizzaks have good water evacuation traits, as do my Hankooks (iPike).
The other thing to consider is studs. I wouldn't bother with studded snow tires on the I35, as most states strictly restrict when you can run studded tires, which is a pain. And (again) with the I being FWD, you probably won't ever need studs.
When I had my Maxima, I actually ran all-season tires even through the winter. Snow tires definitely would have been an improvement, but the fact that I could get through our alternatively snowy, wet, and icy winters without them says a lot about the Max's snow capabilities. So as long as you get a half-decent snow tire you should be just fine. I know my parents run all-seasons all year on their '04 Max as well, without any unfortunate incidents so far.