snow vs. winter tires

Dr. NO · Post by **Dr. NO** » Nov 30th, '06, 15:24

SkiDork wrote:OK tire dudes - I'm looking at TireRack and right away I have a question:

I know I want narrower. TireRack offers 16" and 17" for my vehicle. I want 16" right? Or what do i want?

Here are the options (tire AND rim packages)

Choose current vehicle tire size(s).

16" Recommended: 245/75-16

16" Alternate: 265/70-16

17" Recommended: 245/75-17

17" Alternate: 265/70-17

You want the rim and tire combo to be what you have on the vehicle NOW. If you change that portion of it, the wheel diameter, you will screw up miles and MPH on your speedometer. If you don't care, then try the larger rim. Width of the tire tread is what gives you the traction. Go wide for a better ride but you lose traction in bad conditions. Go narrow and yo lose some stability but when the snow and slush are under foot, you will get better traction.

Stormchaser · Post by **Stormchaser** » Nov 30th, '06, 15:24

SkiDork wrote:OK tire dudes - I'm looking at TireRack and right away I have a question:

I know I want narrower. TireRack offers 16" and 17" for my vehicle. I want 16" right? Or what do i want?

Here are the options (tire AND rim packages)

Choose current vehicle tire size(s).

16" Recommended: 245/75-16

16" Alternate: 265/70-16

17" Recommended: 245/75-17

17" Alternate: 265/70-17

16 vs 17 isnt a big deal, although the 16s are probably cheaper, and 16" tires too

the narrower the tire the better -

if it were me, id go - 16" Recommended: 245/75-16

SPORE · Post by **SPORE** » Nov 30th, '06, 15:50

Stormchaser wrote:
SkiDork wrote:OK tire dudes - I'm looking at TireRack and right away I have a question:

I know I want narrower. TireRack offers 16" and 17" for my vehicle. I want 16" right? Or what do i want?

Here are the options (tire AND rim packages)

Choose current vehicle tire size(s).

16" Recommended: 245/75-16

16" Alternate: 265/70-16

17" Recommended: 245/75-17

17" Alternate: 265/70-17
16 vs 17 isnt a big deal, although the 16s are probably cheaper, and 16" tires too

the narrower the tire the better -

if it were me, id go - 16" Recommended: 245/75-16

Here is something that is easier to read:

16" Rec - 30.46" X 9.64"

16" Alt - 30.6" X 10.4"

17" Rec - 31.46" X 9.64"

17" Alt - 31.6" X 10.4"

The 17" tires are 1" taller due to the 1" larger diameter rim.

Stormchaser - I was behind you on Rt 7 last Sat...That box you have on your jeep is friggin hugh! Must kill your gas mileage!

Stormchaser · Post by **Stormchaser** » Nov 30th, '06, 15:56

SPORE wrote:
Stormchaser wrote:
SkiDork wrote:OK tire dudes - I'm looking at TireRack and right away I have a question:

I know I want narrower. TireRack offers 16" and 17" for my vehicle. I want 16" right? Or what do i want?

Here are the options (tire AND rim packages)

Choose current vehicle tire size(s).

16" Recommended: 245/75-16

16" Alternate: 265/70-16

17" Recommended: 245/75-17

17" Alternate: 265/70-17
16 vs 17 isnt a big deal, although the 16s are probably cheaper, and 16" tires too

the narrower the tire the better -

if it were me, id go - 16" Recommended: 245/75-16
Here is something that is easier to read:

16" Rec - 30.46" X 9.64"

16" Alt - 30.6" X 10.4"

17" Rec - 31.46" X 9.64"

17" Alt - 31.6" X 10.4"

The 17" tires are 1" taller due to the 1" larger diameter rim.

Stormchaser - I was behind you on Rt 7 last Sat...That box you have on your jeep is friggin hugh! Must kill your gas mileage!

How else am I supposed to carry around 10 pair of skis? I feel like I'm driving a sail boat when that thing is on the roof!

Were you the tan jeep than blew by me on the right just before rt 4 turns right and heads up towards mendon/k?

SPORE · Post by **SPORE** » Nov 30th, '06, 15:57

Stormchaser wrote:How else am I supposed to carry around 10 pair of skis? I feel like I'm driving a sail boat when that thing is on the roof!

Were you the tan jeep than blew by me on the right just before rt 4 turns right and heads up towards mendon/k?

If it was Grey...then it was me.

Stormchaser · Post by **Stormchaser** » Nov 30th, '06, 15:59

SPORE wrote:
Stormchaser wrote:How else am I supposed to carry around 10 pair of skis? I feel like I'm driving a sail boat when that thing is on the roof!

Were you the tan jeep than blew by me on the right just before rt 4 turns right and heads up towards mendon/k?
If it was Grey...then it was me.

could have been...

Geoff · Post by **Geoff** » Nov 30th, '06, 16:27

SkiDork wrote:OK tire dudes - I'm looking at TireRack and right away I have a question:

I know I want narrower. TireRack offers 16" and 17" for my vehicle. I want 16" right? Or what do i want?

Here are the options (tire AND rim packages)

Choose current vehicle tire size(s).

16" Recommended: 245/75-16

16" Alternate: 265/70-16

17" Recommended: 245/75-17

17" Alternate: 265/70-17

First, go look at the tire size that's on your truck.

Use an onine tire calculator (Google "tire calculator") to see what other tire sizes will give you a similar tire circumference. There will typcally be two 16" and 17" tires that are quite similar circumference so your speedo will only be off by 1 to 2%.

Look in your owners manual or call your car dealer and ask what load factor you need on that monster. The narrower tire will likely have a lower load factor and you may not be able to use it.

Look at the available tire sizes for several brands of snow tire to see if any of them match both size and load factor.

In 2003, the Hakka SUV was the only thing that fit my Mountaineer and that was only with 16" rims.