Winter tires and rims
- Thread starter Mai-Lin
- Start date
MerlintheMad
10000 Posts Club!
Howdy. The search feature on the forum is spotty, but you should find discussions about winter setups. I've posted in them (go figure). Just going by memory (human memory is a fallible device, not to be trusted - Roger Waters, The Wall), the consensus is that up in the Great White North you simply have to have dedicated winter/snow tires; likewise, when traveling into higher elevations you need them. If your area has a lot of above freezing daytime temperatures, and lengthy periods between snowdrop, you can get by fine on good A/S (I do that). Neither A/S or snow tires are going to work on black ice. So no matter what you have you must be wary of black ice conditions and avoid where possible or drive with EXTREME caution otherwise.
Equipment: I finally opted to use my OEM GT wheels as my winter setup; that way twice a year I just swap out the wheels and their tires without having to remount the tires. Saves on headache and wear on the rims/tires, by avoding removal and reinstallation.
Others change tires twice a year.
Others have cruddy looking (my opinion), cheap steel wheels for winter and save their OEM wheels for fair weather. (The two main reasons why I opted to use the OEM wheels for winter and A/S tires is that they are heavy; my replacement wheels weigh 13 and 14 lbs less than the OEM wheels; the other reason is that the finish on the OEM GT wheels is delicate and I got tired of trying to keep them looking unscuffed: and had them powder coated gloss black: much easier to touchup that and keep them looking spiff even in crappy weather conditions).
Equipment: I finally opted to use my OEM GT wheels as my winter setup; that way twice a year I just swap out the wheels and their tires without having to remount the tires. Saves on headache and wear on the rims/tires, by avoding removal and reinstallation.
Others change tires twice a year.
Others have cruddy looking (my opinion), cheap steel wheels for winter and save their OEM wheels for fair weather. (The two main reasons why I opted to use the OEM wheels for winter and A/S tires is that they are heavy; my replacement wheels weigh 13 and 14 lbs less than the OEM wheels; the other reason is that the finish on the OEM GT wheels is delicate and I got tired of trying to keep them looking unscuffed: and had them powder coated gloss black: much easier to touchup that and keep them looking spiff even in crappy weather conditions).
Revvdmedia
1000 Posts Club!
I've been running on Nokian tires for a few years and I'm convinced they're worth every penny. I swear, they were the key to making my former Mustang drivable year round. I picked up some Nokian Hakkapelliita R3 last year on 18" alloy wheels from Kal Tire. The setup cost about $2,000 CAD with TPMS and everything. These tires were fantastic on the Stinger last year. The only thing with Nokian is you can only buy them from Kal Tire in Canada, no other retailer carries them.
My second pick on tires would be Michelin X-Ice 3. Steel wheels are ugly and I think paying for alloys is worthwhile cosmetically on a car like this.
My second pick on tires would be Michelin X-Ice 3. Steel wheels are ugly and I think paying for alloys is worthwhile cosmetically on a car like this.
Revvdmedia
1000 Posts Club!
I agree that black ice is completely unpredictable and no tire is the magic bullet. I do like to differentiate for those asking advice on which winter tires to buy, I ask "do you typically drive on snow covered/packed roads, or are they more frequently icy?" A tire like Bridgestone Blizzaks are said to work best on snow, where-as a tire like Michelin X-Ice seems to have better performance on ice. Because the roads I drive on are typically plowed, I aimed more ice performance when I was looking, but my Nokians are kind of my magic bullet, I really like them. Them Fins know how to make a tire!
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Bought Fast wheels Switch 18” from an online retailer to replace the 19” OEM, fit over the Brembos on the GT. Picked up the Bridgestone WS90 at C.... (not sure the rules on mentioning retailers) they had the 1 penny install and 70$ cash card promo couple weeks ago.
Canuckdan
YOW
Canuckdan
YOW
ktstinger
Member
Putting winters on my OEM rims as I bought new rims for my summers. Buying Toyo Observe GSi-6HP in the staggered size. $1401.53 CDN after taxes, installed (I ordered OEM TPMS off Ebay for $108CND for set of 4). Got them from OK Tire.
SteveCo
1000 Posts Club!
As the car has been out for a couple of snow seasons now, this has all been hashed through pretty well, in a number of threads.
Pour yourself an adult beverage, pull up a chair and have a look through these, which are some of the more popular threads on the subject. Lots of good info and suggestions in there ...
Snowshoes
Snow tires + AWD?
Winter Rim Setups
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Hockster
Stinger Enthusiast
I also run Nokian Hakkapeliitta snow tires. They're well worth it.
Thanks again! I honestly did try to find threads on this stuff but there is so much info on here that it makes my head spin. I'm not the most car savvy so any tips or info from people that have been there is very helpful. I don't want to take away the sleek look of the car by buying cheap stuff either. I also am looking for folks that live in a similar climate. We get a lot of snow, freezing rain and freezing temperatures..
Revvdmedia
1000 Posts Club!
I don't think there is any issue posting retailer names for stuff like this. But I can't imagine who you would have bought from. Couldn't be a Costco[mpany] or a Canadian [that sells] Tires, eh?
Possibly Costco(mpany) .
You can t go wrong with either the Michelin Xice or the Bridgestone WS90. As for rims Fast definitely makes a couple that fit if you are looking to downsize to 18s from the 19s. Btw I live south of YOW so, I understand your winter blues.
You can t go wrong with either the Michelin Xice or the Bridgestone WS90. As for rims Fast definitely makes a couple that fit if you are looking to downsize to 18s from the 19s. Btw I live south of YOW so, I understand your winter blues.
Gtecko
Stinger Enthusiast
has everyone ever tried ANTARES GRIP 60 ?
there is a shop locally in NS that offers all 4 for $450cnd taxes in ... cant beat that, here is the thread below which looks quite decent to me.
thinking of the SWITCH from rims as well, I am unsure about the finishing for the Titanium ones ... if some owners could chime in, that would be great !
there is a shop locally in NS that offers all 4 for $450cnd taxes in ... cant beat that, here is the thread below which looks quite decent to me.
thinking of the SWITCH from rims as well, I am unsure about the finishing for the Titanium ones ... if some owners could chime in, that would be great !
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Revvdmedia
1000 Posts Club!
A quick Google scan leads me to believe these are Chinese made (and engineered?) tires. I've run knockoff winter tires before and the conclusion I have is that they will get the job done and usually work better than an all season, but won't be quite as stellar as a top of the line tire like an X-Ice or Nokian. For a comparison, my wife currently had Goodyear Nordic (3rd gen I think) from Can Tire, and when I drive her car I find I need to slow a lot more on on-ramps that lead to freeways and when braking. With my Nokians I have utmost confidence on any surface except sheer ice which nothing can really be immune to. To me, paying 1200 bucks for a set of tires is worth the cost with the driving confidence I have driving with them.
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Gtecko
Stinger Enthusiast
I did see they are Chinese made but nowadays, does that really matter ? I did have Antares before on a Mini Cooper S but now having an AWD and much heavier car, I wonder if anyone else had experience.
Does your wife drive a Stinger ? It would be hard to compare the tires and driving though ...
Revvdmedia
1000 Posts Club!
I don't have an issue with Chinese manufacturing, I've been working with it in my industry for years. The only thing I think about Chinese tires is they are usually a knockoff of an existing tread, but slightly different. Depending on the level of engineering that goes into the tire, the rubber compound may also be inferior to a larger company that spends a copious amount of time and effort on R&D.
My wife has a Santa Fe, so there are other vehicular dynamics that vary (FWD based AWD, higher center of gravity, more sedate suspension and handling), but the fact remains that in winter the single biggest determinant of confidence is tire capability. The 3rd gen Goodyear Nordics have a much harder tread than prior second gen I ran on my old Grand Prix, I feel their performance is more like an all-weather than a true winter, and she's noted she thinks they aren't performing nearly as well as new even though they still have about 8/32 on them.
Anyway, there is probably nothing wrong with buying tires from smaller brands, I just advocate getting the best tire you can afford to match your climate. Again, pretty much any winter tire will be better in adverse conditions than even the best all season tires, so opting for winter tires is always a good choice in my opinion.
I guess as a final observation, I was behind a 2015+ Mustang Ecoboost (I had a 2015 GT that I drove year round) and he COULD NOT get moving once stopped. It looked like he was on factory all season tires and it took him a good 30 seconds to get up to 20km/h, no joke. Comparatively, I drove my Mustang all year with Nokian Hakka R2's for the winter and I had no issues. I was able to keep pace with FWD cars with no issue. I believe tires make all the difference.
MerlintheMad
10000 Posts Club!
True. The main consideration is the mean: what is your most common denominator? Get the tire that suits the kind of driving you're going to want to do (or be able to do) the majority of the time. If the Stinger wants to "GO", then get the tire that is going to allow that the most. If our Valley roads were snow packed often, I'd not waste an hour getting the best snow/winter treads available. But since our roads are clear and dry 90% of the time (in a typical winter), A/S is the tire for me. I wouldn't want to be driving around for days/weeks at a time on winter tires on dry roads.
Gtecko
Stinger Enthusiast
I would never dream of using A/S with this car during our Canadian winters... I read so many bad stories with the oem Michelin that comes with the car...
The Antares Grip 60 look to have a good thread, for 400bucks, I will be the guinea pig and report back next May
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
