snow tires

[joseyu]

Does anyone here own Micheline X-ice Xi2 snow tires for their Genesis? If not, have you used them in the snow on any other cars? I have seen some reviews that say they are slightly better than the Blizzak WS-60s. I am in the process of deciding which to get for my Genesis 4.6. Thanks!

 

[imitiday]

How about using blizzaks on rear wheels only.That' all that was necessary for many
years,way back when chains were always stored in the trunk.

 

[RogerB]

How about using blizzaks on rear wheels only.That' all that was necessary for many
years,way back when chains were always stored in the trunk.

Well, I have been driving for 49 years here in Ontario. I have gone through various opinions on whether we need snow tires and, if so, how many. Forty years ago we called them snow tires, not winter tires. The main difference from regular tires was the depth of tread and design of the lugs. Snow tires were definitely far superior to regular tires on snow but that was it. In my experience they were no better than regular tires on ice and definitely inferior on warmer wet roads. Since wherever I have lived in Ontario they kept the roads clear of snow most of the time, I just had all season tires on all year long, and called that good enough.

That was then and this is now.

Today we call them winter tires and with reason. It is not just the depth of tread and design of the lugs that differentiates the winter tire from the summer tire. Winter tires are now made of much softer rubber. In temperatures of about 8C or warmer, they wear out much faster than summer tires that are made of harder rubber. So if where you are has winters where this temperature is exceeded on a regular basis, you may not want winter tires at all. In temperatures of less than 8C, winter tires provide a much better grip on the road than summer tires. Summer tires are so hard at low temperatures they just don't hold the road as well.

For some years I did put winter tires on but just on the driving wheels, as you suggest, imitiday. That sure helped on snowy roads. But I have now realized that the non driving wheels were not holding the road as well as they might because the summer tires were just too hard. Fortunately, I never had an accident during these years.

Today I put winter tires on all four wheels even though only the rear wheels of my Genesis are powering the car.

I am no expert on tires. If anyone else has more insight than me, don't hesitate to correct me if I am wrong.

 

[imitiday]

Hi Roger.I live in south western Pa.near Pgh.Our winters are usually on the
mild side,but we do have snow days that are tough on tire traction.My service
manager states that if you have 6 or more 32nds of tread remaining you should be ok.That's with all season tires. I have 13k on my 4.6 and I have
6/32nds remaining so I'm between a rock and a hardplace,so to speak.I am
considering to leave them on and see what happens.I mentioned the option
of the 17" tire and wheel package,and was told not to do that.Also told not
to use the K&N air filter because they have the oily sustance applied to it,
and have caused problems with some of it being blown into components
which are located just ahead of the filter.

 

[RogerB]

I just don't know your climate well enough to comment, imitiday. Here in Ottawa, the decision is easy. In the province of Quebec it is even easier because it is law that you must have winter tires on as of Dec. 15.

I have mine on already as we have a couple of trips planned in November and I don't want to be caught short. I hate the noise that winter tires make though!

 

[STREETS]

4 Extra rims- 4 Snows-
Don't forget the TPMS's

 

[ASHDUMP]

Does anyone know how much factory 18" rims cost? Does anyone know where to buy them other than a dealer? I would like to get a winter set of tires/rims but would like to keep with the stock look.

 

[wallymn]

Does anyone know how much factory 18" rims cost? Does anyone know where to buy them other than a dealer? I would like to get a winter set of tires/rims but would like to keep with the stock look.

Might I suggest you start a new thread with the title "Looking for take rims to buy"....

Someone that has swapped for 19 or 20 inch rims might still have the "take off" rims available for sale.

 

[Hghwy52]

Does anyone know how much factory 18" rims cost? Does anyone know where to buy them other than a dealer? I would like to get a winter set of tires/rims but would like to keep with the stock look.

Ebay usually has some OEM take offs available. Right now they have sets of 18" wheels for both V6 and V8 for $650 + $128 shipping. KAI http://www.koreanautoimports.com/store/index.php?cPath=31&osCsid=10179d341c7ab78351fc7573445e6a67 has 17" and 18" V6 wheels for $259 and $298 per wheel.

 

[Monandy]

Hi,

I ordered & purchased four (4) P235/50R18 (101V) Hankook W300 Icebear winter tires along with four (4) Macpack winter rims for my 2009 Genesis V6 3.8L sedan at Frisby Tire Co. in Kanata, Ontario, Canada.

It was no bargin that is for sure... $253.08 per tire and $165.00 per rim.

Counting all the additional charges and taxes it came to a grand total of $1983.91 (those 18" tires & rims are expensive - that's my sad story)

Tires to be installed at beginning of November 2009.

Anyone has any experience with the Hankook W300 Icebear winter tires?

Just for additional information....my 2009 Genesis V6 sedan was purchased in Canada and there is "NO Tire Pressure Monitoring System on any of the original wheels.
So...when I installed my new rims and winter tires there was no need to have some TPMS installed.

I had the wheels installed on November 5th. 2009 and we had our first snow later on that day.

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[ottawainsurance]

So help me out - I just picked up the v8 - and I live in Ottawa, Canada. Obviously, my next purchase is a set of winter tires. What should I buy? where? size? (the manual says get same size - P235/50R-18, but a lot of other sites recommend going down in size for winter. I have looked at tirerack.com - anyone know if I am going to have to pay a bunch of money at customs if I order from there? Help, we got our first bit of snow today!

 

[ASHDUMP]

I bought a set of factory rims from someone on ebay for $750. They were "take offs" but had all factory protective stuff all over them (brand new).

I bought Falken Euro Winter tires along with 4 TPMS from www.discounttiredirect.com for $940. Order tires from them today and save $50 for "cyber Monday".

All in for $1690.

 

[wallymn]

So help me out - I just picked up the v8 - and I live in Ottawa, Canada. Obviously, my next purchase is a set of winter tires. What should I buy? where? size? (the manual says get same size - P235/50R-18, but a lot of other sites recommend going down in size for winter. I have looked at tirerack.com - anyone know if I am going to have to pay a bunch of money at customs if I order from there? Help, we got our first bit of snow today!

A "skinny" tire will 'bite' more in the snow. thus the recommendation some will make to drop to 225 or 215 .... As for diameter dropping to 17 is a bit tricky due to the large brake caliper. Be sure the seller of the rims confirms a 17 in rim will fit.

For me a set of LM-22 Blizzaks have been great but you could get by with LM-25s if you don't care as much about a High performance snow tire...

From my view, I paid a lot of money for a performance sedan, I would not want to lose the performance for 5 months of the year.

 

[nikesjordan]

I am not buying snow tires~ lol

 

[mk1]

4.6 owner here - purchased snow tires and wheels from Tire Rack (17" Michelin Alpins - decided to go down a size for the winter) and having a problem. Opted not to purchase the TPMS.

I get a grinding noise when I cut the wheel all the way to both the left and right. Called Tire Rack yesterday and he was looking into it - he assured me the configuration I purchased is compatible with the 4.6 Genny.

Does anyone know what might be going on?

 

[wallymn]

4.6 owner here - purchased snow tires and wheels from Tire Rack (17" Michelin Alpins - decided to go down a size for the winter) and having a problem. Opted not to purchase the TPMS.

I get a grinding noise when I cut the wheel all the way to both the left and right. Called Tire Rack yesterday and he was looking into it - he assured me the configuration I purchased is compatible with the 4.6 Genny.

Does anyone know what might be going on?

Well, obvious answer, something is grinding, If you can pull one wheel, Inspect the inside of the rim for touch points, check the hub and caliper for the same.

Tirerack would have shipped the rims with offset rings. Did you install those with the rims?

 

[mk1]

Well, obvious answer, something is grinding, If you can pull one wheel, Inspect the inside of the rim for touch points, check the hub and caliper for the same.

Tirerack would have shipped the rims with offset rings. Did you install those with the rims?

I did some checking but can't see any touch points. No, Tirerack didn't ship any offset rings - they never mentioned that. Do you think this was an oversight on their part?

 

[wallymn]

I don't know which rims you got, but mine (purchased early in 2009) came with a set of offset rings.

When I look at the 17 inch rims offered today they all seem to require offset rings.

If you post the specs of the rims we should be able to figure out of offset rings were required...

 

[mk1]

I don't know which rims you got, but mine (purchased early in 2009) came with a set of offset rings.

When I look at the 17 inch rims offered today they all seem to require offset rings.

If you post the specs of the rims we should be able to figure out of offset rings were required...

Here are the wheels I purchased:

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Whee...an+4.6&autoYear=2009&autoModClar=&qty_front=4

And here are the tires I bought:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...&partnum=255VR7PA3XL&fromCompare1=yes&wTire=1

I just looked at the specs again and noticed that centering rings are requireed. There was a label on the tire that said the centering rings were pre-installed but I didn't check berfore putting the tires on. If they forgot to install them, would this be a reason for the grinding noise?

Thanks for your help on this!!!

 

[wallymn]

These rims do require offset rings. If they were missed at install it would explain the grinding.