Good Morning Everybody,

Since I received my beautiful red baby in April and thoroughly enjoyed it all summer with the top down, it is time to prepare for the winter season.

I live in mid-Michigan where cold, grey skies and lots of white stuff is near (so depressing - why do I live here again? ). I have to make a decision on my change of tires from the 19" stock summer tires. So, I am looking for advice from our northern climate friends. Do I go with an all-season tire or go with the second set of wheels and snow tires? I leased the G for 3 years. Looks like there are plenty of options out there.

Any assistance and guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

You can pick up 4-18" rims & Michelin Xi2 for about $1200.00 from Tire Rack...its what i am trying out for this winter...I havent had much luck finding a used set in Michigan area..

 

sdmac99, which specific car you got?

If it's not a sport, and 17" wheels fit, I have a brand new set of snow tires/wheels (blizzak ws 70 215/55/17), that would work.

Bought them for my previous new car, but got rid of the car after only a few months of ownership. Can't use them on the G because of the sport brakes requiring 18". PM if interested.

 

get General G-MAX AS-03 (Ultra High Performance All-Season)....

 

I did the same as pryan62. This is my first RWD sports car and I live in NJ where we get lots of snow and bad weather. I went with some 18"x8 Enkei EKM3 and the Michelin ice tires. 1500 total package with shipping. I spent about 200 more on the wheels since I really didnt like the other selections tirerack gave you. Just need to confirm fitment with whatever you choose.

I commute about 40 miles each way, so I need the insurance of snow tires. if you can afford to not drive your car in the snow go all season. Good luck with your choice. I also weighed buying 19" blizzaks and having them mounted/demounted each season... once you add up the cost over 3 seasons you bought your wheels, in addition to having to lug the tires to the shop and have them mounted....

 

i don't own a convertible, but i too am a first rwd owner. winters here aren't too bad, but i have a set of all season potenza 960's on the stock wheels, and a separate set of summer tires on a different set of wheels. rwd, from what i've heard, handles particularly well in the snow -- with dedicated snow tires. i've heard a LOT of great things about blizzaks. i'm in for a second set of winter wheels + tires. good luck!

 

is there something funny about these tires?

 

Thanks for the input. I am very much undecided.

I have a 2010 G37 Vert with 225/45r19 on the front and 245/40r19 on the back. Spending some time on Tire Rack, I ultimately need to decide if I will go with Blizzaks and a set of winter rims or try an all-season tire. The all-season may be fine - I only drive about 8 miles each way on my commute and it is mostly freeway. Is there anybody out there in the northern climate that goes through the winter with an all-season?

I actually have looked closely at the G-Max as well on the Tire Rack site. Is there something I don't know about the tire?

 

G-Max are great tires plus price is reasonable too.

 

I run LM-60's with the stock 19's. So far I can tell you that they drive great in snow and coming from someone who has an X sedan as well...I have greater confidence in the Vert with LM-60's, than I do in the sedan which handles/stops like crap in the snow.

I know I'm going to get it for this, but personally I would not recommend going with tires narrower than 245 in the rear with snows. Snow tires provide lousy dry traction under acceleration to begin with, now you're reducing the cars contact with the road...I don't think its worth 6 months (if you live in the north) a year of spinning tires in the dry. Even with 245's I can still spin them from a dead stop with t/c on; don't want to think about how bad narrower tires would be.

 

I've done both - snow tires in the winter months and all-seasons year-round (both on my former G35 RWD sedan). I can say that, if you are a confident driver in the snow, the all-seasons will be fine. However, snow tires add a bit of extra security that may be worth the $$ trade-off. I decided to go with Blizzaks on my '11 RWD sedan mostly because I found a great deal on eBay. I am going to mount them on my OEM's and look to get a set of 19's for the warmer months. I will likely end up getting all-seasons for the 19's and run them year-round since Cincinnati winters aren't terrible.

 

I think the funny part was the tires being marketed at "Ultra High Performance All Season Tires"... not sure that something like that is possible which is why there is a split between summer/performance tires and pretty much everything else

 

I found a set of 18" G35 wheels for $100 and mounted a set a LM-60 Blizzaks. They're sitting in the garage waiting to be put on. I'm putting it off as long as possible. I really don't see the need for all season's if you run summer's the other part of the year. I'd go winter tires instead.

 

Did you check the offset of g35 18s will they fit the vert?

 

Ahh, no? Hope I don't regret assuming if they fit the coupe they'll fit the vert.