Time to get ready for Winter...

[BBQ Bandit]

Since the Mrs' Genny is her daily driver... time to get her new shoes.

Got a set of used OEM 18" wheels for $350... back in April.
Just ordered (4) Bridgestone Blizzak WS70 225/55/18 (Tirerack.com) for $708 + $47.98 s/h. Slightly thinner tire than stock.
[Rebate mail-in form $50.00 - essentially offsets my shipping costs.]

Ordered thru Ebay (4) OEM TPMS sensors for under $150 shipped.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Hyun...ccessories&hash=item2eb49ee80e#ht_3312wt_1165

Already lined up a shop with roadforce balancing.

May sound like alot... but I only have one Wife!

 

[Vlad92]

Great choice... I got my Blizzak's mounted last week. I went with the 17" tires and wheels from Tire Rack. The Elbrus wheels were recommended on this very site. Total bill with shipping came $1262.52 plus $53.00 to have the dealer mount and set the TPMS sensors. Have yet to test them in the snow, but I'm hoping for the best!

 

[Jimmmmbo!]

I always wondered what those Elbrus I02 wheels would have looked like in an actual picture on the car. I didn't care for how they looked on the TireRack website; they look much better in a real picture.

I bought the I05 wheels for my winter set and like them a lot too.

 

[dlevitt]

Do you have any pics of the I05's? You're right. It's very difficult to get an idea of the look from the website.

Also, any idea what the difference is between Silver Painted and Silver machined with Ice coating?

 

[Jimmmmbo!]

I only have a single pic with a single wheel on the front and the OEM wheel on the back. I was waiting until I mount all 4 before I was going to post pictures. Probably not for another week or two yet depending on weather in the Twin Cities.

Machined wheels have a shiny surface versus a painted surface. You want the painted surface for winter so that if the clear-coat comes off in pieces (and it will) it's much less obvious on the painted wheels than on machined wheels.

 

[dlevitt]

If I am understanding you correctly, I am better off with the less expensive silver painted rims vs. the machined Ice coat? or am I being dense...?

 

[Jimmmmbo!]

For winter, that's correct. Road salt and sand eat away the clearcoat on rims like crazy, and it makes machined rims look pretty bad. There are some pics on the net of some comparisons if you do some googling, maybe even on this site.

 

[Jimmmmbo!]

Here's a pic with one wheel on the front.

 

[musher51]

I'm putting on my Enkei wheels and Blizzak WS60s this afternoon for their fourth winter (although I have to check the tread...it might be time to buy new rubber). Viva la Blizzaks!

 

[apachestar]

If I do not add the TPMS sensors, what happens? I get a warning light on the dash, does any alarm sound? The TPMS is not REQUIRED, is it? It seems like alot of money to check air pressure, which I do all the time anyway.

Also, my 2009 has 20" rims on it now. When I go to 17" for winter tires, what about the speedometer? Does that recalibrate?

If I go from 20" to 17" does that always require a new alignment when they are changed?

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[Gurkha]

If I do not add the TPMS sensors, what happens? I get a warning light on the dash, does any alarm sound? The TPMS is not REQUIRED, is it? It seems like alot of money to check air pressure, which I do all the time anyway.
Also, my 2009 has 20" rims on it now. When I go to 17" for winter tires, what about the speedometer? Does that recalibrate?

TPMS is not required, only the dash warning light will be on.
As long as the overall diameter is the same or close (within 3%) there should be no issues. The base Genesis comes with 17" wheels in 225-55-17 so no issues switching to 17's for winter.

 

[apachestar]

I just got a 09 Genny Black with Saddle interior and fully loaded. It had 20" Verde Dimension 53 chrome rims with Hankook 245/40/20 V12's. These actually ran very nice. After reading about the suspension issues and ride, I expected these tires to be too low profile for the car. Going over expansion joints, for instance, was quiet and well handled. They did quite well in the rain, and great on the highway. However, I did see issues if I hit a certain frequency of dual bumps where the wheels lifted...this happened a few times over 1K miles and it is not so good, but really the handling is fine.

But I live in Rochester NY and I think the tires are not good for the snow. I just did a Tire Rack change out to 235/55/17 (I went to 235's vs. 225 to make the diameters of the above Hankook tires as close as possible to these). The rims are Enkei Performance EDR9 Black Painted and I went with Bridgestone Blizzak WS70. We have no snow, so I have no input there. These are a bit louder with a mild (very hard to notice mild) hum. I did not realign (one reason I kept the diameters close). The sidewalls are softer (duh) and it is noticeable, but so far no issues with that. They handle well and do good over bumps, much better than the Kooks. I am happy with the dry handling. The tires came from TR all load balanced, and at 85MPH they are true and very well balanced.
I guess the look is not quite what I wanted, but you really never know until you buy the rims. I went black painted for winter as I can keep these in good condition with touchup paint versus clearcoat machined rims. But if I had to do it again, I'd pick some chrome version for rims. For those that like picts, here are some: