Should I go with 18” tires for winter?

[tonycardazzi]

Greetings to you all…newbie here and I just purchased myself a Sting.
Question for winter driver connaisseurs. Would I see any difference in driving performance if I were to downsize to 18” for winter on my Stinger? Or am I just better off not bothering and sticking with the recommended 19”?

 

[Sybaritic]

No, you’ll be ok with 18”, and with cold weather and snow, how hard can you really drive? It’s cheaper for tires and rims too with 18”, and you can use one size all around, but it wouldn’t hurt with 19s”, would look nicer but cost more in tires or tires/rims.

I just ordered brand new Continental Viking contact 7 with some Kia dealer issued FAST black wheels and tire pressure sensors. Very expensive, but I liked the look of the wheels and for a car like this? didn’t want to buy cheap-ass tire brands like Triangle, Kapsen, LingLong or Sailun (no-name brand used tires/rims or old tires only on kijiji these days).

 

[tonycardazzi]

No, you’ll be ok with 18”. It’s cheaper for tires and rims and you can use one size all around, but it wouldn’t hurt with 19s”, would look nicer but cost more in tires or tires/rims.

I just ordered brand new Continental Viking contact 7 with some Kia dealer issued FAST black wheels abs tire pressure sensors.

I gather I would be ok with 18” but would I see any difference in how the vehicle plows through deep snow more efficiently than the recommended 19”? Weather in Quebec can be brutal sometimes.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Welcome.

Narrower is better in snow. So, 225 squared setup on 18" would give you the best grip and a comfier ride on crappy roads. (You'll be leaving the hooning around for the return of warm days; then you can put your 19" summer wheels and tires back on.)

 

[RM7]

First, no one is driving through the 2-feet of snow it would take to make a narrow tire work better on a car like the stinger, you'll turn the front end of the car into a snow-plow long before narrow tires do their thing. No difference here, no need to go to ridiculously narrow tires. That said, narrower tires are cheaper, so 225 tends to be a very common size that is decently affordable. More important for me is being able to use a square setup for at least the winter, so I can rotate it around and get the max life out of the tires.

Second, they will have better ride quality and possibly more important, more flex and ability to grip when deformed. Wet driving tests show bigger sidewalls outperform short sidewalls in the wet performance, the sidewall flex that is detrimental to dry grip actually helps with wet grip (there are good vids you can research on this). But 19 isn't going to be horrible, only being one size up. Theoretically the patch on 19 is going to be a bit bigger (because they aren't true cylinders, they deform some under the car's weight), which gives a little possible traction advantage, but again, wet performance had smaller wheels with larger sidewalls on top.

The most important part is going to be the tire itself, whether it's a blizzak WS80, whether it's studded or not, etc...

Personally, I'm using the stock AWD Stinger 18" wheels for my winters, I mounted studded Toyos on em. I went with aftermarket 18s with high performance AS for wet performance for my "summer", but with an emphasis on shoulder seasons and to provide a wet conditions backup for my race car. I've done 10 winters here in Alaska in the snow and ice. It's the tire and compound that make the difference. The width isn't as important. The diameter isn't as important. It's the tire and the compound.

 

[RedCal]

You live in Quebec? - 18's.... You need all the sidewall you can get to suck up the pot holes lol (JK)
As others have said 18/255 on all four corners will be less expensive, (rims and tires) and let you rotate them, just put some good quality rubber on them and enjoy

 

[tonycardazzi]

You live in Quebec? - 18's.... You need all the sidewall you can get to suck up the pot holes lol (JK)
As others have said 18/255 on all four corners will be less expensive, (rims and tires) and let you rotate them, just put some good quality rubber on them and enjoy

That’s about it here in Quebec, we pay more for our plates and permits and they don’t invest in maintaining our infrastructures properly.
Anyhow thanks for the sound advice, any chance of telling me where I could find wheels (on line) that are compatible with my GT model?

 

[MerlintheMad]

As others have said 18/255 on all four corners

You meant to say, "225"?

 

[87and66]

my stinger came with 18" wheels. 225 square. They perform just fine and are cheaper. And less prone to damage from pot holes since there is more sidewall. They don't look quite as good as 19s but they have their benefits.

 

[RedCal]

That’s about it here in Quebec, we pay more for our plates and permits and they don’t invest in maintaining our infrastructures properly.
Anyhow thanks for the sound advice, any chance of telling me where I could find wheels (on line) that are compatible with my GT model?

My winter's are Fast Wheels - (Canadian company) check with your dealer too - they have a deal with Fast so you might get a better price (volume)
Or alternatively one of the tire chain stores, plus Costco and the like

Fast Wheels | Canada’s Leading Direct Fit, Performance Alloy Wheels

fastco.ca

CanadaWheels.ca - Your Experts in Wheels, Tires & Auto Parts

Perfecting your Car, Truck, SUV & Jeep in winter and summer through an expanding inventory of wheels, tires & auto parts. Welcome to our online store.

www.canadawheels.ca

1010TIRES.COM® — Tires and Wheels Online Authority.

1010Tires.com is the absolute online authority on tires, wheels and packages selling in the US and Canada. Featuring car accessories such as custom seat covers and windshield wipers. Tires for passenger cars and light truck tires and wheels popular brands such as: BFGoodrich tires, Bridgestone...

www.1010tires.com

 

[ldusseau]

Welcome.

Narrower is better in snow. So, 225 squared setup on 18" would give you the best grip and a comfier ride on crappy roads. (You'll be leaving the hooning around for the return of warm days; then you can put your 19" summer wheels and tires ba

Welcome.

Narrower is better in snow. So, 225 squared setup on 18" would give you the best grip and a comfier ride on crappy roads. (You'll be leaving the hooning around for the return of warm days; then you can put your 19" summer wheels and tires back on.)

Hate to be a dummy, but what does "squared" mean?

 

[87and66]

Hate to be a dummy, but what does "squared" mean?

Same width for all 4 tires, rather than staggered which would be wider in the back.

 

[ldusseau]

Same width for all 4 tires, rather than staggered which would be wider in the back.

Thank you!

 

[I Stung U]

I went with 235/45/18 all around... Not great for deeper snow, as the tires I went with only have freaking 9/32 tread depth, and 10/32 is what most "Sporty Winter" tires have, but the price and great consumer report results on them (3rd place out of many better brands)... so i went with them and the've been pretty good for two winters now. this likely will be my last, for safety.
Oh, though not deep tread, they're super grippy on just cold, cold wet and icy days !!!
Rims, I'd stick with max 7.5" wide (if 235 are ok for tha size ?) save from curb rash.
Nexen Winguard Sport 2's .. again great consumer report testing.. you can see these results in my video below.

also, here's me taking a 180 degree off ramp and reaching mid 80's kph, with these tires.. I likely could have reached upper 80's kph... no squeeling, just grip on a cold but sunny day in winter.

 

[ht_addict]

Greetings to you all…newbie here and I just purchased myself a Sting.
Question for winter driver connaisseurs. Would I see any difference in driving performance if I were to downsize to 18” for winter on my Stinger? Or am I just better off not bothering and sticking with the recommended 19”?

I went with 18's on a set of CRW Rims that are direct fit. All in with sensors I paid $1700 and change.

 

[Buzz]

You can go with a set of squared 18s with a bit of extra sidewall that are so close to the offset of the 19 inch offsets the diameter is only 1.2% off.

Have a lot of the details posted here when I did exactly this for my winter tires 3.3TT - Downsized to 18 inch symmetrical black Konig Control wheels with 235 /45 R18s

The size won't really change anything, but you can buy better more expensive winter tires for the same price and have more sidewall to work with / rub hidden curbs.

However if you are truly worried about optimal snow performance low profile tires are super wide and terrible for the snow, you could go a lot narrower than I went and get better snow tire, Narrower is better for snow but you will be sacrificing your contact patch when you dump your stinger's power on a dry day and probably peel out / traction control / squeak a good deal more than OEM.

Overall, I absolutely LOVE how aggressive it looks with a bit more sidewall, I just needed tires that don't turn to hockey pucks so I went as wide as I could without stretching, but you could go a lot narrower for serious snow.

 

[GT Elite]

You can go with a set of squared 18s with a bit of extra sidewall that are so close to the offset of the 19 inch offsets the diameter is only 1.2% off.

Have a lot of the details posted here when I did exactly this for my winter tires 3.3TT - Downsized to 18 inch symmetrical black Konig Control wheels with 235 /45 R18s

The size won't really change anything, but you can buy better more expensive winter tires for the same price and have more sidewall to work with / rub hidden curbs.

However if you are truly worried about optimal snow performance low profile tires are super wide and terrible for the snow, you could go a lot narrower than I went and get better snow tire, Narrower is better for snow but you will be sacrificing your contact patch when you dump your stinger's power on a dry day and probably peel out / traction control / squeak a good deal more than OEM.

Overall, I absolutely LOVE how aggressive it looks with a bit more sidewall, I just needed tires that don't turn to hockey pucks so I went as wide as I could without stretching, but you could go a lot narrower for serious snow.

When one goes to smaller diameter or narrower tires the size of the contact patch does NOT change. This is strictly a function of the weight on the tire and it’s air pressure, I.e.
Contact area = weight / air pressure. What does change is the shape of the contact patch. For wider tires the contact patch is wider and shorter than a narrow tire where the contact patch is narrower and longer.

All other factors being equal a wider tire gives more lateral grip with the longer contact patch in the direction of cornering. A narrower tire will brake and accelerate better than a wider tire as the longer contact patch is in the direction of the applied force.

 

[RM7]

You can go with a set of squared 18s with a bit of extra sidewall that are so close to the offset of the 19 inch offsets the diameter is only 1.2% off.

Have a lot of the details posted here when I did exactly this for my winter tires 3.3TT - Downsized to 18 inch symmetrical black Konig Control wheels with 235 /45 R18s

The size won't really change anything, but you can buy better more expensive winter tires for the same price and have more sidewall to work with / rub hidden curbs.

However if you are truly worried about optimal snow performance low profile tires are super wide and terrible for the snow, you could go a lot narrower than I went and get better snow tire, Narrower is better for snow but you will be sacrificing your contact patch when you dump your stinger's power on a dry day and probably peel out / traction control / squeak a good deal more than OEM.

Overall, I absolutely LOVE how aggressive it looks with a bit more sidewall, I just needed tires that don't turn to hockey pucks so I went as wide as I could without stretching, but you could go a lot narrower for serious snow.

Are you really driving in snow that often and not compacted snow or ice? I mean, like new-fallen snow where the narrower tire actually helps? The reason I ask is because you are sacrificing traction everywhere else for that one situation that just doesn't seem all that common. I live in Anchorage, AK and you bet we get snow, but we are also driving on ice, compacted snow (basically ice), black ice (frost) and freezing rain surfaces a lot of the time. Except for soft snow, which only exists during or right after a snow-storm before plowing, that "narrow tire" situation just doesn't exist very much and you are sacrificing traction for everything else. So are you driving in new snow all that often? I know in Utah mountains it's a lot of new very light snow very often, one of the most frequent places, but this idea of going narrow as possible is taken way too far IMO.

 

[Buzz]

I was dubious due to also modifying radius but stuck it into a calculator BND TechSource - Tire Data Calculator and for my rear I got
OEM 587.37 cm2 vs my downsized 18s 564.5 cm2, I thought the difference would be higher, Learned something new.

 

[Dan00Hawk]

I went with 235/45/18 all around... Not great for deeper snow, as the tires I went with only have freaking 9/32 tread depth, and 10/32 is what most "Sporty Winter" tires have, but the price and great consumer report results on them (3rd place out of many better brands)... so i went with them and the've been pretty good for two winters now. this likely will be my last, for safety.
Oh, though not deep tread, they're super grippy on just cold, cold wet and icy days !!!
Rims, I'd stick with max 7.5" wide (if 235 are ok for tha size ?) save from curb rash.
Nexen Winguard Sport 2's .. again great consumer report testing.. you can see these results in my video below.

I used the Nexen Winguard Sport 2's the last 2 winters on my VW GTI. I thought they were a very good "performance" winter tire that did well in the dry and wet, and acceptable in the snow. They wore very minimally, which is reassuring when they don't have as deep tread as most to begin with. If one is in an area that regularly gets plowed and you are more often dealing with dry and wet pavement, it's a solid winter tire that'll still be far better than an all season in the snow, and at one of the cheapest prices out there.