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      02-25-2013, 09:31 AM   #1
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Replacing Winter Wheels

Hey folks.

I hit a pothole on the New Jersey Turnpike last week and it apparently bent 2 of my winter wheels. The front-right wheel took the brunt of it and shows the most bend, but the right-rear also shows damage. The car has a shake to it when traveling over 30-40 mph. The dealership quoted me just under $200 for repair and rebalancing, but I'm not a fan of these wheels to begin with (they're 5 spoke and look kind of ghetto on a bright white D). This has me shopping for new winter wheels for next season.

When looking for specifically winter wheels, is it better to go with heavier (25-30 lbs) or lighter (18-24lbs) wheels for traction?

My D has the sport package which has wider rear wheels than in the front. Should winter wheels be similarly offset?

Thanks,
Rob
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      02-25-2013, 01:48 PM   #2
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All things being equal for winter you want smaller and narrower. Lighter is always better in general.

You do NOT need to have a staggered setup even with ZSP a square setup will also work just fine.
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      02-25-2013, 04:00 PM   #3
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I have the sport option and staggered setup for summer (225/40R18 and 255/35R18). However for winter I went with a set of BMW 17" style 158 and square 225/45R17 Nokian Hakka 7 non-RFT. Very happy with my winter setup!

For winter narrow is better, I don't know about the weight but I doubt the weight of the wheel is important relative to the car's weight when it comes to winter traction... Lighter is usually better for wheels.
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      02-25-2013, 07:39 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roadrunner143 View Post
I have the sport option and staggered setup for summer (225/40R18 and 255/35R18). However for winter I went with a set of BMW 17" style 158 and square 225/45R17 Nokian Hakka 7 non-RFT. Very happy with my winter setup!

For winter narrow is better, I don't know about the weight but I doubt the weight of the wheel is important relative to the car's weight when it comes to winter traction... Lighter is usually better for wheels.
This. 225/45-17 is THE winter setup for a D.

If you do more highway driving, wheel weight won't matter as much; that normally affects acceleration and stop and go driving more than highway.

Biggest decision is whether to go with sticker, lower-speed winter/ice tires, or higher-speed performance winters (less snow/ice traction than a dedicated winter tire).

Nokian Hakkapilitas (5, 7, etc...) generally regarded as the best out there, but other great winter and performance winter tires available. A check of TireRack.com will give you a good idea of how guys like their tires for each particular application.

Cheers
D.
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      02-25-2013, 08:08 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DnA Diesel View Post
This. 225/45-17 is THE winter setup for a D.
.
+1 to that! I run Blizzaks (performance snows) in 225 on 17s square and they are perfect.

As far as which wheels to choose, this is more of a budget thing than anything else...they are winters, after all, so they don't need to be too crazy nice. I think if I were to do it again, I would pick up some apex arc8s. My winter wheels look decent, but they're pretty heavy (still a little lighter than stocks, though). Bright side is that they are high pressure cast, durable, and when I switch over to the lightweight summers it feels like I've awakened from my winter slumber.
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      02-25-2013, 08:31 PM   #6
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I use Blizzak LM-25 225/45-17 winter tires on my OEM Style 284 8Jx17 wheels. When winter ends I will get new wheels and new tires. I really like the Blizzaks. Admittedly I have not driven in any snow or ice yet so not sure how great they are in snow but they are a lot less slick on cold wet roads.
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      02-25-2013, 08:43 PM   #7
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I run Rial Salerno rims. Very cheap at $120 a piece and extremely light. They do bend easily though but they look good, the OEM center caps fit and they work well. I have those coupled to Dunlop Winter Sport 3D's. 225/45r17 oh and those rims clear our front brakes too.
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      02-25-2013, 10:28 PM   #8
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Just got a set of Blizzak LM-25s 225/45/17 RFs and I put them on a used set of 159s that I put together from a couple other members around here. Recent snowfall proves them more than adequate pretty rough but not too bad, they are winters after all. No issues getting up medium grade hills with a couple inches of unpacked snow.

Trouble is, on wet or even dry (but slightly sandy/salty) roads I can't keep them from spinning even with around half throttle (traction control takes over quite often). Not sure if it is the tires or the torque as I only had the stock conti pros on for a few days when I bought the car and there was no snow (and thus no salt/sand).
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      02-25-2013, 10:43 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ddeliber View Post
Just got a set of Blizzak LM-25s 225/45/17 RFs and I put them on a used set of 159s that I put together from a couple other members around here. Recent snowfall proves them more than adequate pretty rough but not too bad, they are winters after all. No issues getting up medium grade hills with a couple inches of unpacked snow.

Trouble is, on wet or even dry (but slightly sandy/salty) roads I can't keep them from spinning even with around half throttle (traction control takes over quite often). Not sure if it is the tires or the torque as I only had the stock conti pros on for a few days when I bought the car and there was no snow (and thus no salt/sand).
Hmmm, that's too bad. My experience with them has been quite good in terms of smoothness and traction on wet and damp cold roads. My only gripe when I first got them was they didn't seem to track as straight as my OEM RFTs. Now I guess I have just got used to them. I have trouble breaking loose even when I nail it. My OEM RFTs all-seasons were slippery when damp out or cold.
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      02-26-2013, 12:51 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Got_Diesel View Post
I run Rial Salerno rims. Very cheap at $120 a piece and extremely light. They do bend easily though but they look good, the OEM center caps fit and they work well. I have those coupled to Dunlop Winter Sport 3D's. 225/45r17 oh and those rims clear our front brakes too.
These are the wheels I have now (which got damaged) on Blizzaks.
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      02-26-2013, 01:57 PM   #11
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For whatever its worth, the Elbrus wheels I linked are some of the strongest cast wheels I've owned. I daily circa 100 miles on pothole-ridden dc roads and no bends yet (knock on wood). I've owned gravity & lp cast wheels in the past and had all four bent by the time I went to rotate.
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      02-26-2013, 04:00 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FormerRotor View Post
For whatever its worth, the Elbrus wheels I linked are some of the strongest cast wheels I've owned. I daily circa 100 miles on pothole-ridden dc roads and no bends yet (knock on wood). I've owned gravity & lp cast wheels in the past and had all four bent by the time I went to rotate.
Those Elbrus wheels do look nice. That's more the look I would be going after for a replacement.

The pothole that ate my Rial is on the Jersey Turnpike southbound in the right lane about a mile south of the truck.car merge.
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      02-26-2013, 08:45 PM   #13
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^yeah, i hate potholes. I see your rides alpine white too. FYI, this is what they look like...


They're not the highest quality wheels you can buy, but I think they're about the highest quality wheels you can get for $130ish. I bought them because they were cheap, high pressure cast, came with a 3 yr finish warranty, and fit the look of the car (they actually look a lot like m3 wheels). Overall, this made them sound like a good winter setup. Again, though, I think if I did it all again I may buy the Arc8s, but there is a price differential to be thought of.
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Last edited by FormerRotor; 02-26-2013 at 08:58 PM..
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      02-26-2013, 09:09 PM   #14
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If you live in alaska, this is your only car, get narrow winters.
If your plans for winter driving include freezing rain, slush, a coating of snow, cold roads... go with wide if you want.
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      02-26-2013, 09:13 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ddeliber View Post
Just got a set of Blizzak LM-25s 225/45/17 RFs and I put them on a used set of 159s that I put together from a couple other members around here. Recent snowfall proves them more than adequate pretty rough but not too bad, they are winters after all. No issues getting up medium grade hills with a couple inches of unpacked snow.

Trouble is, on wet or even dry (but slightly sandy/salty) roads I can't keep them from spinning even with around half throttle (traction control takes over quite often). Not sure if it is the tires or the torque as I only had the stock conti pros on for a few days when I bought the car and there was no snow (and thus no salt/sand).
Bummer. To be honest, I never expect too much traction in slush as This is just about the hardest possible test to put tires through. My experience with the Blizzaks seems to be different from yours, though, I drive with DSC/TC off at any opportunity and on when in traffic or otherwise in need of added safety, and I have found my set of LM-25s to be quite easy to control in nearly all conditions. They tend to be a bit noisy when outside of their design conditions (we get stupid random 60 degree days in the middle of a sub-35deg week), but this is to be expected. In the dry/cold, I can launch with a brake boost to about 1800rpm with nominal wheel spin while modulating the throttle. If I just jam it from a stop, I would imagine that the wheels would spin, but I don't often do that (or launch for that matter).

My overall review of the LMs would be that they make the car a tank in the snow, predictable on ice, comfortable at speed, and not sloppy on the corners. They definitely have a focus on the snow as far as tread design, but sidewall rigidity and compound seem to be much more geared toward speed (hence performance snow RFTs). There is no comparison to my summer performance tires, but I also don't expect there to be.

Maybe our alignments are different or our vehicles vary in another way?
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      02-26-2013, 11:11 PM   #16
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Well, I am reserving judgement for now on these. Our roads are pretty salty/sandy so this can easily be the cause of the wheel spin. I don't take off that often, but every time I have in the past couple weeks TCS slowed me down.

Once on wet (and still a bit sandy) roads I tested it with the system all the way off and launched it and the tires just spun until I backed off on the throttle. We'll need some rain and then some dry weather to see how well they work. Having said all of this, they are great in snow/slush.
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      02-28-2013, 01:17 PM   #17
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Run General Altimax in size 215/50/17, I know, not the correct size, but I really appreciate the add'l sidewall. Especially traveling on regular basis to NJ, and avoiding the craters that we call potholes.

Altimax are dirt cheap, and whilst not perfect on ice, they do great on snow/slush. Make sure you keep pressure around at least 40 psi, unless you prefer a Cadillac comfy ride.
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