I'm purchasing some Blizzak WS70s for my G37x sedan. I called up discounttire for a quote. The guy on the phone kept telling me that I should go with a different size than the one listed for my car (225/55/17). He was saying I would have better luck with a 215/55/17. Is there any particular reason he's trying to squeeze a thinner tire on this car or is he just trying to unload excess stock of that size?

 

A thinner tire is typically better for snow tire applications because the tire will have to plow less snow out of the way to get down to a hard surface to grip on (i.e. the road). That having been said, 225 is plenty narrow for snow and 215/55R17 will put you at a -1.65% overall diameter which may make your AWD system mad (+/-1% is the rule of thumb for the G37x so while you'd be close there is a definite risk of problems with the AWD).

 

Narrower tires help cut through the ice/snow better than a wider size. The wider footprint of a larger tire keeps the car on top of the snow rather than cutting down through it to the pavement. In winter, narrower is better.... in summer wider is better. If using the same size front/rear you'll have no AWD issues. The overall diameter of your oe tire is 26.8" and the 215 snows are 26.3 - 26.7" depending on the make/model. That's perfectly within the tolerance to keep things happy.

 

^ I love tirerack, is there any reason why you folks don't sell Nokian tires? I had to purchase from a different site this year as I really wanted to give the Nokian Hakapelita R2 tires a shot, and you guys don't carry them.

 

I stand corrected

 

I'm sure there is but they dont' tell us little fish