peet

My favorites thus far (for a performance car) Michelin Arctic Alpin ... have had these on multiple cars and this time I bought the Arctic Alpin Pilots... they're pretty good dry and still great snowy.

The thing to think about - if you live in a metro area, the snow on ground time is pretty short - the rest of the season you sit around in salty dry roads. Kind of a waste to pop on full-bore snow tires like Noks or Haps. But if you are in the boonies - I'd recommend the Finnish stuff.

P

zimmer26

There would be no sense in going to a 225/55 because its just as wide (bad for snow) and is too tall and will throw off your speedo as a result. Here's how you can figure it out:

Right now you've got 225/50=

225*.50= 112.5= sidewall height
You want to arrive at a number close to 112.5 (assuming your sticking with 16s.) Same idea but a little more math if you wanted to do a 15. If I were you I'd try to go w/
205/55 (112.75) assuming your wheels can accomodate the narrower tire, but you may want to get another set of wheels so as not to sacrifice summer performance anyway. On that note if you don't want an all out snow, the H rated Nokian NRW or new WR is simply the best choice. Real good (not quite as good as Hakka 1) but much better dry handling and longer tread life - 50k warranty! Check them out @etires.com. Let it snow!

truelove

does anyone have any suggestions on all weather, all purpose, really good tires that will fit on the C7 rims. i'm not talking about winter tires (although i'll take suggestions for those too, if they're cheap), but really nice, all purpose tires to put on my coupe with C7 and keep them on. i have about $800 to $1000 to play with, and that includes getting them put on by sears or something.

oh yeah, i know nothing about the specs on rims and tires and all that, like all the measurements and bolt spacing and all that. so basically, what do i need to look for when shopping at tirerack.com or somewhere like that. like what tires will fit on my C7 rims and all that. keep in mind, i know nothing, not even what the numbers mean. when i go on sears.com, i can select my tire size and it gives 3 drop down lists for sizes 1, 2, and 3. what are these and what do i have for C7 rims.

and another, about how much does it cost to have sears put on four tires?

sorry, one more. what are the really good tire brands out there.

zimmer26

What do you need to know about bolt spacing? You're keeping the same wheels, yes? You should keep the same size tire -225/45/17. If you want some real snow capability- Nokian NRW/WR (H rated) at etires. Yes they're a bit pricey but well worth it. If you want to save some $, you can try the Sumi HTR+. I can't vouch for this tire as I can the Noks, but tire rack seems to like it. From what I gather it would be a little better dry/wet, but the Nok will smoke it through the white. If snow or expense is less of a factor, go will Pilot A/S- just don't expect the 30 or 40k that you'd get from the Nok or probably Sumi as well- warranty to 50k on Noks.

truelove

yes yes, i'm keeping my wheels. i was just rattling off everything that i don't know about. sorry. yup, i just wanna change tires. so bolt spacing doesn't apply.

truelove

and yes, these tires need to go through snow. i live in the midwest and i don't wanna change my tires with the seasons. does anyone know what it will cost at a place like sears to put tires on?

oh yeah, and i don't want the tread to wear out after 2 years either. they need to last a little while.

tommy

I'll add the required post by your mother.

You should get dedicated winter rims with serious snows, especially in your neck of the woods. I got a set of 16" steelies with vredestein tires that handled our snowfall pretty easily this morning (they're closing down our office bldg. at 11! whoo hoo! I feel like a hs kid on an snowday ).

There really is no all-season that really can handle winters very well (especially on a RWD car when you need as much traction as possible). I'd give a dedicated set of winter rims/tires some serious consideration.

truelove

don't worry about it. i drove a 92 cougar for 3 years during the winters here and the tires are about shot. i handled it just fine. it was a pain in the *** sometimes but i handled it and it was rear wheel drive, no abs, and bad tires. i'm thinking about going with the SUMITOMO HTR+ tires.

i'll ask again, does anyone know how much it will cost to have tires put on by sears, i know someone has a rough idea.

slcvr6

Save the C7 wheels and the related scuffing they will undoubtedly receive when removing/installing tires and buy a set of dedicated snows and steel wheels or alloy take offs. You can easily do that in your price range and save the nice wheels for the warmer months. Tire Rack can create a package that is ready to bolt on and will take 1 day to get to you.

My solution was to just take the car off the road for the winter (8 months old, 3000 miles) and buy a beater. My 11 mile round trip commute doesn't need to occur in my coupe, especially on days like today, where we have a couple inches of fresh snow.

slcvr6

Tire removal, mounting and balancing will run you roughly $75 in my area with a lifetime balance, which would be useless to you if you are going to put the stock tires back on in the spring. It may be more in your area. I use Discount Tire, which seems to be better than some of the other chains.

truelove

another questions,

at tirerack.com, when you can list the installers in your area, there is a column labeled DROP SHIP with either a yes or a no for the installers. what does this DROP SHIP mean?

bagwell

go with discount tire - skip sears - I'm not sure about the cost I think its only about $15 per wheel with balancing.

you 'll be outta there in 30 mins !! as opposed to: "UH we're busy - I think we can get to it in 3 hours"

truelove

there isn't a discount tire in peoria. i found a good installation place listed at tirerack.

sorry guys, i just can't afford to get a set of dedicated winter tires with new wheels too. i can get all season sumitomos for 500 including installation. and like i said, i'm used to driving a cougar with RWD, bad tires and no abs so i can handle it.

bagwell

and the tires I recommend:

Bridgestone S03
Continental sport contact2's
Continental Sport contact
Mich Pilot sports

these are all summer tires...suck in the snow

might try Mich Pilot Sports A/S

the cheap way:

Kumho 712's

bagwell

they will ship them directly to your installer !

truelove

sweet

truelove

i'm gonna order the sumitomos tomorrow.

avlis

You say you have $800-$1000 to play with, then you say you can't afford a dedicated wheel+tire setup? I got take-off alloys and Dunlop winter sports mounted, balanced, and shipped to my house for around $700-$800. This saves me the $120/yr and the hassle of mounting new tires twice a year. Plus, I get good performance in both seasons- not a compromise.

Matt230K

Why don't you price tires at a local shop? Many of them will mount and balance for free, but only if you buy the tires from there. Even if the tire costs more, there is no shipping charge and no installation charge. It might end up being cheaper if you find the right place.

BTW, some name brand all seasons are:

Dunlop SP Sport 5000
Pirelli P7000
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S

There are some others too. The Sumitomo seems good, and probably one of the cheapest.

truelove

i do have 800 to 1000 to play with but i'd rather not spend that much. 500 seems better for me right now. and i would just rather have all season tires. now if i can sell my C7 tires on ebay, that would be great.

avlis

Ok, whatever...

If you have the Michelin C7 tires, I might be interested in buying them directly.

slcvr6

The preferred package from Tire Rack is this:

http://www.tirerack.com/snow/SnowSel...&autoYear=2003

$812 before shipping, probably $60 and you are under $900. You'll spend lets say $650 with tires/shipping/install/reinstall of originals in the spring, so for $250 more, you have a 10 minute swap on your own 2 times a year with no more waste of time waiting at the tire store and no ongoing cash outlay. Easy solution in my mind...yes it is more money, but when you get a nice big scuff on one of the C7 wheels from elective tire removal, you will be pissed and regret your decision.

zimmer26

Good luck with them. I expect a full report of how they compare (dry/wet) vs. your Contis or Pilots (whatever you have.) But what I'm really interested in (and somewhat doubtful of) is can they really handle snow. I have the Noks on my MR2, so I'm leaning toward this tire for year round on C7s as you are. Don't know how much longer I plan on keeping the 2, so I wanna make sure that the tires I do get can handle the snow. Caught between the excellent but pricey Noks - which I know can do the job, or maybe the Sumis. So please let me know of your findings when you've seen all conditions in them!!

Thanks,
Zim

Lynn

With steel wheels, the price is $116 lower. Also keep in mind that Tirerack ships the tires and wheels mounted and balanced with the proper lugbolts.

Sooner or later, and most likely sooner, the tire mounter will mess up one of the C7 wheels.

truelove

i would only swap once. i would put the all-season tires on and sell the original C7 tires. with price, shipping, and install for the all-season sumis, i'm looking at $460 vs. $880 on the winter package (i don't want steelies, but haven't totally ruled them out yet) a difference of $420 and i plan on washing the car every week and it's garaged, so the rims wouldn't get ruined. plus, if it's real bad out, my wife and i will just share her car. i don't know, i'm still thinking. does the C230 even have a jack in it somewhere?