BaxBaxter

Hi All,

I recently took delivery of an Iridium Silver GLE63 S Coupe. I live in the US Northeast and do plan to drive the car year round. I’m not brave enough or foolhardy enough to think I can do that on the OEM wheel and tire setup in the inclement weather we typically get in winter. Yes, I do realize it’s not necessarily the most sensible winter vehicle for where I live, but life would be dull if all choices were sensible I’m interested in hearing what others living in winter climates are using for winter wheel / tire setup, unless the answer is a Subaru as a 2nd car ;-)

Thanks in advance for any help.

Chedman13

Congrats. What is your current setup? Personally, I run a 23" or 22" wheel summer setup and a 22" winter setup (Blizzak).

I used to run 21" OEM wheels with winter tires, but the 21" tires are so expensive and I'm not a huge fan of the Pirelli winters though most others are.

I'd prefer not to run smaller diameter in the winter, though many do run 19's and 20's. It's preferred, but the 22" winters look better in my opinion and the Blizzaks are fantastic.

BaxBaxter

Hi Chedman,

Thanks for the info. Current setup is OEM, which is 22” wheels with 285/40R22 front tires and 325/35R22 on the rear. I completely agree with you on the better appearance of 22”, but am leaning towards 20” to have a bit more sidewall between the potholes and wheels (potholes are definitely a factor where I live)! I’d also prefer to go a bit narrower for winter - perhaps 275 all round.

Bax

Chedman13

how much room do you have? Even with my Brabus lowering module, I can easily fit 285/45/22 Blizzak DM-V2. At full u-turn it rubs a little plastic inside fender but nothing harmful. Regular driving it's fine.

I have 22x11 HRE's and that tire is a tad narrow but within the range and fits fine. Bought the tires from tirerack.

the oem tires that come with that setup are summers right? They also are rated something like 280 tread or less. They probably won't last long.

now you have to find a second set of wheels, that might influence what tire you run.

BaxBaxter

I have to investigate the space some more with the help of a mechanic friend this week.

You're correct that the OEM tires are summers.

BTW, the HREs on your car look very sweet, as does the rest of the car!

Thanks again for your very informative responses.

Chedman13

If you want to stay as close to stock diameter with no rubbing issues, you can use the OEM Range Rover Winter tire of 275/40/22:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

I prefer the Continental winter tire over the Pirelli, but probably not enough to pay the difference in price:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

I've had the Continental Winters on my minivan for years, they were the perfect blend of highway + snow/ice storms.

If you're fine driving with those crazy 325's (as in awesome wide) in the rear in the summer, you should have no problem with potholes with 275/40. Usually a 40 series is good enough. When you get to the 35 series, that can get more dicey.

But then you see cars like the Porsche and Audi sedans with rubber bands for tires and no idea how they survive.

FedM

I do drive 275/40 and love it on 22x10 wheel