Separate wheels for winter?

[musher51]

All I can say re pseudo-manual is to try it. It worked for me a few times in 1-3 inch snow (starting in 2nd). As a 27 month lessor, I have no intention of buying a second set of tires, and something keeps those 8 versions of BMW and Mercs driving all winter here. I'm a heck of a lot less worried than I was pre-experience. YMMV of course, but so far I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the 4.6 to anyone in the snow belt as long as they exercise restraint and don't overdrive the car.

I had a chance to try using the sorta-manual shifter last night. Rush hour traffic was crawling due to five fresh inches of snow, and I ended up stopped on a cloverleaf ramp with a steep incline. Things were so slick due to the new snow, heavy traffic, exhaust-based ice, etc., that at one point, it appeared that I couldn't get started from a dead stop. Just when I thought I was about to meet three or four of the drivers right behind me (to get a push), I upshifted with the steptronic option (or whatever it's called) and I was able to make my way up the hill.

All in all, I've driven about 400 miles in 3" - 5" of snow in the past week, and I have no complaints or concerns about the Genesis' ability to handle winter driving (provided that I don't have to stop often on an incline!). At various points last night, I was comfortable cruising 10 - 15 MPH faster than the various FWD and AWD vehicles on the freeway, tracking straight and true through several inches of snow.

Wow, no snow tires for you, BTHBC? To be fair, I didn't even give the stock Dunlops a chance on snow (they were "convicted and sentenced" based solely on negative reviews on tirerack.com), but given my experience using performance summer rubber on snow with previous RWD cars I've owned, I'm convinced that good snow tires are well worth the investment, particularly since I drive ~10K miles/year in those conditions. But I envy you the cost savings...

PS I did have a few hairy moments with the wiper's ability to keep the windshield cleared, but I think I'll tee that up in a separate post.

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

"I upshifted with the steptronic option (or whatever it's called) and I was able to make my way up the hill."

Glad it worked for you. I've also found that downshifting using the pseudo works well too, and that I can actually come to a stop without ever touching the brakes (except to warn others that I'm stopping).
That said, caution is still the watchword.

 

[jwaters943]

Well, I finally broke down and decided to get different wheels w/ snow tires for the winter. I'm getting them installed this weekend.

I went with a set of 17" Drag DR-19 wheels from Discount Tire Direct. They were a steal at $110 each (free shipping). I then purchased 4 Dunlop SP WinterSport 3D tires from The Tire Rack for $185 each (including shipping). I decided to go w/ the Dunlops because of their pricing and positive reviews on numerous sites. This morning I ordered the ever-important Tire Pressure Monitor Sensors from my local dealership at $47 each. All together that works out to about $1370, plus I'll have to pay for removal of my old wheels and installation/balancing of the new tires/wheels, so I'm probably looking at a ground total of around $1500 when it's all said and done. Definitely not cheap, but not too bad either IMO.

Either way, I'll be sure to post my thoughts once I get to drive the Gen in the snow w/ the new tires. I'm curious to see how well it stacks up to my '01 Range Rover w/ all-season tires, but no stability control, in day-to-day winter weather driving.

Here are some pics of the wheels/tires for those interested:

 

[musher51]

Shall we assume that walking past the dormant Genesis to the Range Rover in your garage finally became unbearable?

 

[jwaters943]

I love my Gen. It's smoother, faster, and worlds more refined than the RR, but there is something to be said for the ability to traverse through 2' deep snow and off-road with relative easy. I also like the visibility afforded by driving an SUV.

With that said, if I had to pick between the two, the Gen would win hands down. I'm already planning on upgrading to a fully-loaded V8 in a few years, once Hyundai incorporates Direct Injection and the new 8-speed automatic.

 

[Disaster]

We went with 17" Elbrus i06 black ice wheels. Like the way they look with the black Genny.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelCloseUpServlet?target=wheelCloseUp&wheelMake=Elbrus&wheelModel=I06&wheelFinish=Black+Machined+w/Ice+Coating&partnum=I0615656535BDCI
For tires, went with 215/60 Michelin X-Ice Xi2's. These are one of the best rated at TireRack and if I recall, the highest overall in Consumer Reports winter tire tests. Went with the narrower tires because they were less expensive and narrower tires cut better through snow...which is the reason for them.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=X-Ice%20Xi2
The wheels and tires arrive today. I'm always impressed at how fast TireRack is to ship. We are supposed to get 4-6 inches of snow tomorrow so the timing is perfect.

P.S. TireRack gave the stock Dunlops a pretty good review...for a 3 season tire. I suspect they get knocked down by users for their cold weather performance and wear.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=15

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=SP+Sport+5000+M&partnum=755HR05000M

FYI: Here is my detailed post on why everyone, who lives in 4 season climates, should get winter tires.
http://www.genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showpost.php?p=37952&postcount=40

 

[Disaster]

Here is what the Genny looks like with the 17" Elbrus i06 Black Ice and Michelin X-Ice 215/60's (note the snow in the background.)

 

[TJPark01]

Here is what the Genny looks like with the 17" Elbrus i06 Black Ice and Michelin X-Ice 215/60's (note the snow in the background.)

Looks tremendous. Keeping a black car clean in winter....it's like having a second job.

 

[scottdk]

Looks tremendous. Keeping a black car clean in winter....it's like having a second job.

Keeping any color car clean in the winter is a second job

 

[Disaster]

And by the way, the new TPMS sensors in the extra set of wheels that I bought for the snow tires had no problem being recognized by the car. No re-setting of any kind was needed. It was as simple as mounting the new snow tires on the new extra set of rims, with the new TPMS sensors in the rims, and then mounting the wheels/tires on the car. Very simple and pain free.

That threw me too. They are supposed to require calibration. I'm wondering if the darned things are even working? I suppose the only way to tell would be to let air out of a tire. I wonder if that would generate an error code because the car would then realize it could not determine which wheel the low pressure was on (I was told the calibration was required to match the sensors to wheel locations.)

I went with a set of 17" Drag DR-19 wheels from Discount Tire Direct. They were a steal at $110 each (free shipping). I then purchased 4 Dunlop SP WinterSport 3D tires from The Tire Rack for $185 each (including shipping). I decided to go w/ the Dunlops because of their pricing and positive reviews on numerous sites. This morning I ordered the ever-important Tire Pressure Monitor Sensors from my local dealership at $47 each. All together that works out to about $1370, plus I'll have to pay for removal of my old wheels and installation/balancing of the new tires/wheels, so I'm probably looking at a ground total of around $1500 when it's all said and done. Definitely not cheap, but not too bad either IMO.

Nice wheels. I might have gone with the black version of those wheels if I had seen them before I saw the Elbrus ones I got. IMHO, the black wheel...with a touch of chrome, makes a great match to a black car. The TireRack total price came closer to $1300 (mounted and balanced with sensors installed, including shipping)...but I went with less expensive 215/60 Michelin X-Ice's ($109/each.)

Looks tremendous. Keeping a black car clean in winter....it's like having a second job.

Thanks. Distant photos, like this one, hide a world of imperfections. Originally, I just cleaned around the emblem areas, so I could install them, but couldn't leave it with two wiped clean areas...especially because I wanted to get the wife's feedback and take pics. I ended up doing a quick wipe down of the entire car (splash on with wash cloth...dry with another wash cloth) and finished up with tire foam. It desperately needs a real car wash.

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[mjsmith3]

Jswaters,

I like the look of those Drag rims and was thinking of the Dunlop Winter Sport 3Ds to go with them. I didnt see you post how happy you were with this purchase. Care to comment?

 

[ellsworth007]

We went with 17" Elbrus i06 black ice wheels. Like the way they look with the black Genny.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelCloseUpServlet?target=wheelCloseUp&wheelMake=Elbrus&wheelModel=I06&wheelFinish=Black+Machined+w/Ice+Coating&partnum=I0615656535BDCI
For tires, went with 215/60 Michelin X-Ice Xi2's. These are one of the best rated at TireRack and if I recall, the highest overall in Consumer Reports winter tire tests. Went with the narrower tires because they were less expensive and narrower tires cut better through snow...which is the reason for them.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=X-Ice%20Xi2
The wheels and tires arrive today. I'm always impressed at how fast TireRack is to ship. We are supposed to get 4-6 inches of snow tomorrow so the timing is perfect.

P.S. TireRack gave the stock Dunlops a pretty good review...for a 3 season tire. I suspect they get knocked down by users for their cold weather performance and wear.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=15

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=SP+Sport+5000+M&partnum=755HR05000M

FYI: Here is my detailed post on why everyone, who lives in 4 season climates, should get winter tires.
http://www.genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showpost.php?p=37952&postcount=40

Great info if your looking for winter tire feedback

 

[orr4ever]

I was going to do the whole deal with Tire Rack, but my dealer quoted me $41 per TPMS Sensor. Might just buy everything and have it mounted locally.

I bought sensors from Town Fair Tire for my Michelin Alpine PA3 winter tires for approximately $50 each but they were unable to activate despite trying three different sets of sensors over two months. This has caused my TPMS light to stay on.

They sent me to my local Massachusetts dealer and they are quoting me $103 per sensor and then $46 to activate EACH TIME I swap tires!

Has anyone else experienced this and what kind of pricing are you seeing for TPMS sensors and activation fees?

 

[dg_moore]

I bought sensors from Town Fair Tire for my Michelin Alpine PA3 winter tires for approximately $50 each but they were unable to activate despite trying three different sets of sensors over two months. This has caused my TPMS light to stay on.

They sent me to my local Massachusetts dealer and they are quoting me $103 per sensor and then $46 to activate EACH TIME I swap tires!

Has anyone else experienced this and what kind of pricing are you seeing for TPMS sensors and activation fees?

My dealer charged me $39 to remove summer tires/rims and install snow tires/rims (already mounted and balanced with TPM installed) and sync the TPMS. While I could do it myself, I'm happy to pay 10 bucks per wheel to have all four swapped. It requires removing everything from the trunk to access the jack, followed by a lot of jacking and lifting, and dirty work to boot. At my age I have better things to do with whatever time I have left.

 

[Jimmmmbo!]

Here is what the Genny looks like with the 17" Elbrus i06 Black Ice and Michelin X-Ice 215/60's (note the snow in the background.)

Disaster: Are you still running these wheels and tires? How have they held up? Is the machined part of the wheel showing any wearing away of the clear-coating over it?