Winter tires and winter wheels

AmpUpCO said:

Thank you all for your honest input!

I live in Denver, Colorado. So for the safety of my family and my fellow drivers, I'll be purchasing a set of snows. Blizzaks are a #1 favorite on the forum. Any others? Price comparisons?

Last Q from the Penny-Pincher: I can simply use my existing rims, right? If I go to Discount Tire, they'll remove the standard tires and slap on the snows without issue, right?

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Sure, if you want to pay someone to remount and rebalance your tires twice a year. I suspect a second set of rims will be far cheaper in the long run. Especially if you can get a set of used S14 rims like others seem to have gotten at a good price.

Over here (scandinavia) everyone uses snow tires in winter. In fact you would be heavily fined if found driving in the snow on unsuitable tires. I have never heard of a single person not having a second set of rims for the snow tires though.

The only reason I can think of to not have a second set of rims is if you drive so much that the tires only last one season. But then we are talking about 40,000+ miles a year...

Nobody mentions the Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D, but I had these on a 2WD van a few years back and they performed very well. They were better (less "squirmy") on dry pavement than the Blazzaks, seemed to wear better, and were quieter. I plan to get these again for my Leaf when it arrives.

Tire Rack stocks them:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...er+Sport+3D&tireMake=Dunlop&i1_Qty=4&i1_Qty=4

AmpUpCO said:

Thank you all for your honest input!

I live in Denver, Colorado. So for the safety of my family and my fellow drivers, I'll be purchasing a set of snows. Blizzaks are a #1 favorite on the forum. Any others? Price comparisons?

Last Q from the Penny-Pincher: I can simply use my existing rims, right? If I go to Discount Tire, they'll remove the standard tires and slap on the snows without issue, right?

Click to expand...

Speaking from experience, a second set of rims is definitely the way to go. Drive by a tire store the morning of the first real snow of the season - it is packed full of folks waiting to get their tires swapped. You can do it yourself in your garage in half an hour once you've done it a couple of times.

jkirkebo said:

AmpUpCO said:

Thank you all for your honest input!

I live in Denver, Colorado. So for the safety of my family and my fellow drivers, I'll be purchasing a set of snows. Blizzaks are a #1 favorite on the forum. Any others? Price comparisons?

Last Q from the Penny-Pincher: I can simply use my existing rims, right? If I go to Discount Tire, they'll remove the standard tires and slap on the snows without issue, right?

Click to expand...

Sure, if you want to pay someone to remount and rebalance your tires twice a year. I suspect a second set of rims will be far cheaper in the long run. Especially if you can get a set of used S14 rims like others seem to have gotten at a good price.

Over here (scandinavia) everyone uses snow tires in winter. In fact you would be heavily fined if found driving in the snow on unsuitable tires. I have never heard of a single person not having a second set of rims for the snow tires though.

The only reason I can think of to not have a second set of rims is if you drive so much that the tires only last one season. But then we are talking about 40,000+ miles a year...

Click to expand...

jkirkebo said:

Sure, if you want to pay someone to remount and rebalance your tires twice a year. I suspect a second set of rims will be far cheaper in the long run. Especially if you can get a set of used S14 rims like others seem to have gotten at a good price.

The only reason I can think of to not have a second set of rims is if you drive so much that the tires only last one season. But then we are talking about 40,000+ miles a year...

Click to expand...

The Leaf is my first car with TPMS. I normally have a second set of rims, but when I bolt them on, it puts the TPMS in alarm. So the expense of getting a second set of rims will also have to include a set of pressure sensors and the cost to linking them to the car. (unless you just want the warning light on the dash all the time.)

I wonder how DIY it is to link a pressure sensor to the car and if you can have more than 4 sensors at a time...

I ordered the Blizzak WS70 with studs installed. Now i just need to locate another pair of Aluminum rims and TPMS. The Nokian Hakka7 are rated as the best, but they really cost alot more.

FairwoodRed said:

(unless you just want the warning light on the dash all the time.)

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Its just warning you that you have your winter tires on, and to remove them once spring comes. How did we manage before TPM were available?.. the horror.

So I ended up ordering the General Altimax Artic studded tires (21lbs.)  The Blizzak WS70 tires can’t be studded, so they were never ordered.  I also ordered Raceline 126 aluminum wheels (17lbs.)  I chose to go with out TPMS for winter wheels because $280 for four wheels is a rip off. Bring on the snow, now I just need an outlet at the ski resort to be able to plug into.
 

ColumbiaRiverGorge said:

So I ended up ordering the General Altimax Artic studded tires (21lbs.)  The Blizzak WS70 tires can’t be studded, so they were never ordered.  

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You know the Blizzak is designed as a "studless" snow tire that is equal to Studded snow tires, right? The idea is that you have none of the skidding, sliding, & road damage that studs cause, while keeping all of the traction because of thier "magic rubber". I used to be a studded tire guy until one of my coworkers turned me on to the Blizzak.

I've never been able to do my own side by side stopping comparison. Wanna volunteer when your studs come in? Maybe we'll wait til next year I can use a QC network to get to you

From Tirerack.com:

Snow Tires: Studded vs non-studded
http://www.tirerack.com/videos/index.jsp?video=47&tab=winter

Snow Tires: FWD - 4 tires vs 2 tires
http://www.tirerack.com/videos/index.jsp?video=92&tab=winter
*Keep in mind that Tire Rack would of course want you to buy 4 tires instead of just 2 from them.

Yesterday 12+ inches of snow, today 30 milles of hwy freezing rain with heavy ice and no gravel, salt, or rock laid down for me. Loving the tires i purchased, the General Altimax Artic studded. Tomorrow i am off to a Mt. Hood ski area.

My concern with snow tires would be the possible decrease in range, since I am pushing the limits. Around here the roads get plowed and sanded before I head out most of the time. Otherwise I just take my Jeep, which is one of its functions. So far I am finding that the stock tires on the LEAF are handling snow quite well, although I expect that to decrease as the tread wears. I also bought some "Portable Tow Truck" mats for getting up my steep, curved, driveway if I don't have time to shovel it all or it gets icy.

If the range hit is small or non-existent and I can find some rims at a decent price I might go back to using snows. I did that for many years in Boulder when I had only one car. I agree with those who say that extra rims are the only way to go with snow tires.

dgpcolorado said:

My concern with snow tires would be the possible decrease in range, since I am pushing the limits. Around here the roads get plowed and sanded before I head out most of the time. Otherwise I just take my Jeep, which is one of its functions. So far I am finding that the stock tires on the LEAF are handling snow quite well, although I expect that to decrease as the tread wears. I also bought some "Portable Tow Truck" mats for getting up my steep, curved, driveway if I don't have time to shovel it all or it gets icy.

If the range hit is small or non-existent and I can find some rims at a decent price I might go back to using snows. I did that for many years in Boulder when I had only one car. I agree with those who say that extra rims are the only way to go with snow tires.

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From what I've observed, the reduction in range is fairly low. I am getting probably getting ~4-5 miles less range (based on GOM at the end of the trip) in a 54 mile trip vs the OEM tires.

I'm searching local junkyards for a set of cheap wheels to use for winter tires. The OEM S14s aren't quite as popular out here as they are on the west coast, so I've been trying to find others that might work.

It looks like 95-99 Maxima and 00-03 Maxima OEM 16x6.5 wheels will work. From what I can gather elsewhere, they appear to have the same +40mm offset and 66.1mm hub size as the Leaf.

It also looks like the 02-06 Altima 16x6.5 wheels might work. Again, the hub size appears to be 66.1mm, but I haven't been able to confirm the offset yet.

Any other ideas?

Offset/hub circle should be correct for just about any 5-bolt FWD Nissan that I've seen. However, I think reeler said he had brake caliper clearance issues with some Altima wheels, so make sure you are able to test fit before making a commitment.

I recall doing a little investigating last year and found that in addition to the 240SX, the OEM wheels from Altimas, Maximas and older Z cars make for acceptable OEM (66.5 mm bore) substitutes for the Leaf. The correct (as long as it is larger) bore dia is not really necessary IMO since this isn't a vehicle that is subjected to the type of loads or speeds that would benefit from it. As long as you're not doing something incorrect while putting them on, being lug-centric should be fine.

They worked out really good for me this past winter that I am considering picking up another set to replace the OEMs. I tossed the OEMs back on last weekend and just in weight alone, the S14 wheels have an obvious advantage. Garsh, you are correct, due to the popularity of the S-chassis on the West Coast there are an abundance of those OEM wheels and +1's and +2's aftermarkets that are available on the used market. I don't know how in demand S14 wheels are on this forum. There was some guy on the Northwest Nissans forum locally selling eight(8) S14 wheels last month for $200 for the bunch. Would it be helpful to post any Nissan 5-lugs for sale locally I will post them on this forum? Maybe on the Seattle Nissan Leaf facebook page?

Does anyone know for sure if late 90's Maxima rims (16x6.5 5 spoke) have fitment issues on the Leaf with respect to brake calipers?

Thanks

ElectricTiger said:

Does anyone know for sure if late 90's Maxima rims (16x6.5 5 spoke) have fitment issues on the Leaf with respect to brake calipers?

Thanks

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Well, I can definitively say the late 90's Maxima rim DOES NOT FIT.
The outer portion of the spokes rub the caliper.

I drove to a local junkyard and test fitted one.
Needless to say they were happy they prep'ed the wheel for a sale and I did not buy.

The 240SX 5 spoke must be a different shape on the backside of the spokes.

drees said:

Offset/hub circle should be correct for just about any 5-bolt FWD Nissan that I've seen. However, I think reeler said he had brake caliper clearance issues with some Altima wheels, so make sure you are able to test fit before making a commitment.

Click to expand...

Found reeler's post.

reeler said:

The 2008 Altima rims rubbed against the brake calipers so no luck there.

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I'd guess that the spokes rubbed the caliper same as the Maxima wheels ElectricTiger tried.

ElectricTiger said:

Well, I can definitively say the late 90's Maxima rim DOES NOT FIT.
The outer portion of the spokes rub the caliper.

Click to expand...

Just to confirm, did you test the 16"x6.5", 5-spoke aluminum wheel?

Just a quick report: I had Michelin X-Ice Xi2's on my Crown Victoria this past winter. They don't perform as well in deep snow as Blizzaks, but they have better rolling resistance, are much quieter, and offer way better cornering performance and less wear on dry pavement. In fact, I'm surprised how well they perform for being winter tires. They aren't the cheapest option, but I was able to price match to Walmart/Sams and then stack a rebate on top of that at Discount Tire.