Winter Sizing: Who has gone narrower with 215/65R17?

[janus287]

I've purchased a nice set of G35 OEM 17 rims to use as winter rims. (exact same size, 17.5 x 17J ET45, as the 2008 EX35 base size wheel size). (glad to find a good, OEM option)

For QX50/EX35, the standard OEM tire sizes are:

• 225/55R18 (current base)
  245/45R19 (I currently have this)
  225/60R17 (base for 2008 EX35).

Tire Rack suggests two sizes for 17 winters: OEM of 225/60R17, and alternative of 215/65R17 (very close in diameter).

Many/most tire shops recommend considering a narrower tire for winter. I'm thinking of following the advice to go narrowers for winter, and going with 215/65R17 (as 225/60R17 is same width as the now standard 225/55R18).

Searching through old threads, I'm not sure I noticed anyone saying they went with the alternative narrower size for winters. I know with narrower width, I will lose some performance and cornering, but potentially gain better performance in big storms.

Has anyone gone with the narrower 215/65R17 size for the winter, and if so how did you like it?

[CDNicecube]

I didn't, I uses 18 and find them fine. I don't think the benefits of thinner tires on a AWD, perhaps so/more with FWD. And I experience lots of winter and snow.

[janus287]

There are tons of debates on internet forums about whether narrower for winter is really better or not, surprisingly hard to find tests that compare exact same tires in different widths to provide some facts. What is the difference in snow, slush, ice, dry, wet....

I did find two good references that I thought I'd share. Both sources there was a test of two different widths in same tire:

1) Edmonds compares winter tires, all season, and summers on the same car, and they do compare same brand of Michelin winter tires in two sizes: 215/45R17 and 205/55R16. Article is from last winter (so quite recent).
http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/feat ... tires.html
The narrow winter tire was better, but the test focussed only on performance in snow. And in forums, many people point out snow is only one condition and that wider might be better on ice.

2) On Subaru forum, one poster found a Swedish test that most notably included both 205 and 225 Nokians (it's all in Swedish, but I can read Swedish (with help of google translate)).

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.p ... a9608592fb&

Summary: 225 ever so slightly beat the 205 for braking on ice and ice skid pad. But the 205 Nokians beat the 225 Nokians on all other tests including acceleration on ice, handling on ice, wet braking, dry braking, and performance on snow. The advantage was pretty small in most categories, with exception of braking in snow were the 205's were significantly better.

For me 225/60R17 vs 215/65R17 is a pretty small difference, so real world difference would be small. But it's good to have some real tests to inform me.

[janus287]

Update, just put on the winter tires on 17" rims today, downsized from the 19" wheels I use for non-winter seasons.

I ended up sticking with the 225/60R17, instead of 215/65R17. I would have expected the 225/60 to be more expensive than the 215/65, but for some reason which my tire shop could not explain, the 225/60 was less expensive so I just stuck with the 225/60R17.

Got the Michelin X-Ice i3, and put them on a set of OEM G35 Sedan rims. This design is easy to clean. Also put nu-finish on the rims to make it easier to get winter dirt off.

Here's a picture:

[Sedonaman]

Do you notice a difference in the ride comfort , since there is more rubber ??

Thx

[janus287]

Do you notice a difference in the ride comfort , since there is more rubber ??

Thx

Well this is actually my wife's car, and we've had the winter rims on for only one day, so not a lot of experience yet. But sure, the ride does seem a little less harsh with the 225/60R17 than my summer 245/45R19.

I saw your other posts, and no doubt you should have a more comfortable ride with smaller rim and higher profile tires. Trend now days is to go big on the wheels, mainly because they look cool. But there will be a loss in ride comfort (and higher expense).

[NJGuy]

Got the Michelin X-Ice i3, and put them on a set of OEM G35 Sedan rims. This design is easy to clean. Also put nu-finish on the rims to make it easier to get winter dirt off.

Here's a picture:

Nice, thanks for sharing.

I've gone back and forth about deciding to get a set of wheels and tires for the winter. Your setup with the G35 wheels and Michelins was at the top of my list for what I would probably run.

[janus287]

Nice, thanks for sharing.

I've gone back and forth about deciding to get a set of wheels and tires for the winter. Your setup with the G35 wheels and Michelins was at the top of my list for what I would probably run.

Thanks. I have Michelin X-Ice i3 on both of our cars now. I've used other brands in the past, but the Michelin X-Ice is rated #1 for good reason. It's not much more expensive than other comparable brands (and there are lower rated tires that are more expensive), and they are very quiet, with long tread life. As I mentioned, for some strange reason, for the X-Ice, my go to tire shop had the 225/60R17 at a lower price than the 215/65R17 (most of the other brands, the 225's were more expensive as one would expect).

Do you notice a difference in the ride comfort , since there is more rubber ??Thx

Sedonaman: have had the 17" on for a few days now, including one long trip by my wife (3 hours round trip), and she confirms that as you would expect the ride comfort is noticeably better on the 17" rims versus the 19" we have for the rest of the year.

I guess it comes down to practicality versus looks, and the trend now days from all manufacturers is to go to bigger and bigger wheels (especially on the "premium" packages) because the public seems to like the appearance of bigger wheels, even if it comes at a cost of harsher ride. I guess some would say that you might get better handling in corners with lower profile tires, but the reality is that few of us are going to push the limits where it will make a difference. Still I must admit I do like the looks of the 19" wheels, but for winter, I want to be more practical -- with something that looks good (alloy not ugly steel), but smaller wheel size and higher profile tires as there are more potholes.

Funny, a few months ago, I saw a Honda Odyssey mini-van with wheels so large that there was no more than one inch thickness of the tire sidewalls for rubber. I'd never seen such low profile tires before, and it looked ridiculous on a honda mini-van.

[ggalloro]

I am also looking at winter tires. Thinking I should go to 17" rims from my 19" rims but has everyone also put in the tire pressure sensors in their 17" rims?

[janus287]

I did not put TPMS on my winter rims.

If you have a separate set of winter rims, you choices are:
(1) Don't put TPMS sensors on the winter rims, this means you will have the TPMS warning light on all winter.
(2) Have the tire shop move the sensors from summer rims to winter rims and back. I would not recommend this option, as sensors can get damanged, and the tire shop will charge for the hassle (which is reasonable),so not cost effective in long-run.
(3) Get separate TPMS sensors for winter rims.

If you go with (3), note you many need to go to the dealer to have the car recognize the new set of TPMS sensors, and you will need to do that again in the spring when you switch back (a hassle, and costs extra). However, there are manufacturers that make "cloneable" TPMS sensors that clone the RF signature of your original sensors -- this should save you the hassle and cost of getting system reset twice per year.

I have not looked into cloneable TPMS sensors, as I am happy with option (1).

We all did fine without TPMS sensors. If you go without TPMS sensors, you just need to periodically check the tire pressure yourself (just like the old days). And other than having the warning light on, there is no impact. The only car make where there is any impact in Honda/Accura, where if warning light is on, you can't DISABLE traction control (but there are very few situations where you would want to disable traction control).