DCS

I realize that narrower tires are better able to push through snow, but when buying "real" snow tires, does it make a difference?

For example, if I were to buy snow tires like M2's or WR etc... would getting 205/50/17 be a much smarter idea than the stock 235/45/17? I guess since their snows, width shouldn't matter right? Or by getting 235, am I defeating the purpose of snow tires?

ex-quattro PETE

The idea is the same: by having a smaller contact patch, you exert more pressure per square inch onto the driving surface, which causes you to more effectively cut through deep snow and reach the pavement underneath, rather than ride on top of the snow. Doesn't matter if it's an all-season tire or dedicated winter tire - same idea.

You're not defeating the purpose of snow tires by keeping stock width (235), but I suppose you could make deep-snow driving even better if you reduced the width. Keep in mind, since your car (with sport pkg I assume, given your wheel size) has relatively low ground clearance, you may not be able to do too much deep-snow driving anyway - you'll be plowing it with your bumper :-)

DCS

I'm just tossing around the idea of getting the 205/50/17 and putting them on stock rims. that would save me a lot of cash. but then again, if I'm using the stock rims in the winter, I might as well get the stock tire size (235/45/17) but I didn't know if that's a good idea.

so now I'm back to thinking about going the 215's on 16" rims again... but hey, as long as it's 70 degrees out, I don't need to do anything right now.

RKA

I just got mine last weekend. Eyeballing them, I would say the 225 WR's are wider than my 225 Michelin Pilot Sports.

I'm going to drive over a piece of paper with the Michelins, and do the same with the Nokians when I install them around T-giving, and see what the difference between the contact patch widths are.

DCS

I would think that 225mm is 225mm, no?

ex-quattro PETE

look at the specs of various tires. You'll see that tread width and section width is not the same for various tires, even if they have been assigned the same size, i.e. 235/45/17.

brick22

Are the differences going to affect the size rim you use?

ex-quattro PETE

They can make a difference between rubbing and no rubbing though, if you're using one of the big sizes where suspension/fender clearances are very small.

Again, looking at tire specs, you can tell what rim widths are recomended for the particular tire you're considering.

brick22

Did you have them mounted on an extra set of rims? Any first impressions just looking at them? And are you going to use them for winter only?

brick22

where to look. On the Nokian chart, do you mean the 7-7.5 number? How do I know how wide my rims are? (They're 2002 16" option on the Avant.)