I just use 18" Sparco Terras in winter. They are durable, look better than steels and are pretty cheap.
Also, IMO All season should be called No seasons. Rather have the best compound and treadpattern for the season than some jack of all trades master of none all season tire.
There's a lot of logic in this. Like, life is too short to not use summer tires in summer. I went against this with my stinger, since I might try using it during wet-autocross and AS would be a better choice, but if I didn't have a more dedicated summer car (my SS 1LE) I would be doing just like you say. Cars that come with AS are shit here, since it works like crap in the winter and it works like crap in the summer, especially when they are runflat AS. We have real winter where the ground stays frozen until the sun angle gets high enough, impacted snow and ice, anything that falls will stay frozen, whether rain or snow, and again, a lot of ice. But decent summer tires are one of the best upgrades you can do to a car for summer handling.
Ive run A/S my whole life in MN winters and never been an accident or anything. I would say stick with the stock wheels and tires till you can afford a nice summer set but that's just my two cents.
See, I also live in MN and I never got stuck, until I got stuck. Have used snow tires on my cars every year since then and I've never had an issue. Well, last winter was my 1st winter without snows since my car was new and I didn't have a set of winter rims yet. Last winter was pretty easy though so I feel the stinger did ok. I also feel that we won't be having an easy winter like that for awhile. So I'd rather be prepared then be caught with my pants down.
There's a lot of logic in this. Like, life is too short to not use summer tires in summer. I went against this with my stinger, since I might try using it during wet-autocross and AS would be a better choice, but if I didn't have a more dedicated summer car (my SS 1LE) I would be doing just like you say. Cars that come with AS are shit here, since it works like crap in the winter and it works like crap in the summer, especially when they are runflat AS. We have real winter where the ground stays frozen until the sun angle gets high enough, impacted snow and ice, anything that falls will stay frozen, whether rain or snow, and again, a lot of ice. But decent summer tires are one of the best upgrades you can do to a car for summer handling.
When it's wet here it tends to be colder, the use would be way too limited for a wet summer. That's a very narrow window/chance of being useful. My PS4S are miles better in the wet than my Supercar 3s were. The SC3s were real sticky, but tramline so bad and at the first hint of wet they would be hydroplaning.
When it's wet here it tends to be colder, the use would be way too limited for a wet summer. That's a very narrow window/chance of being useful. My PS4S are miles better in the wet than my Supercar 3s were. The SC3s were real sticky, but tramline so bad and at the first hint of wet they would be hydroplaning.
Jesus, anything I've driven is better than the SC3s in the wet. I can't even begin to list all the tires, because the SC3 is that bad. PS4S is decent in the wet, but like you say, there are dedicated wet tires that are even better...just the window of use is too small to make them practical for anything, unless you are doing races and have multiple wheel setups, etc.
That's why he went with steelies. They're probably much cheaper than most wheels. I personally wouldn't rock em but I can see why somebody wouldn't wanna spend an arm and a leg on wheels just for winter. Here in MN, I feel like winter lasts almost half the year, couldn't see myself looking at steel wheels for that long on my car.
I chose the MSW 49 Matt Gunmetal 8x18 ET30. They sit 4mm more to the outside compared to the OEM 18" but I think that's ok for winter anyway. I used to be a fan of steelies for winter but they just look crazy weird on the Stinger.
I haven't decided which direction to go yet, still looking at options. I may just put winters on the stock 19s since I've already decided to get a lighter set of forged alloys for the summer.
I haven't decided which direction to go yet, still looking at options. I may just put winters on the stock 19s since I've already decided to get a lighter set of forged alloys for the summer.
They are staggered, and I do understand that I wouldn't really be able to rotate them. My milage is low enough that I'll still get 3 or 4 winters out of a set. By then, I just might decide to get a set of the Sparcos.
I hate winter but the Stinger is excellent in the snow, especially with snow tires. Having a heated steering wheel, heated seats and heated side mirrors definitely makes things easier.