I searched without too much success, so heres my question:

I'm currently running with Goodyear Eagle GTs on stock steelies, 195/60/15. I thought I'd be able to sneak by the winter without changing over to winter tires, but a near-death experience during the last snow has made me think otherwise. I'm currently looking for decent snow tires, not terribly expensive and I was thinking about reducing the tire width for better snow traction. I was thinking of 185/65/15s? Is this even possible on stock 15'' steelies? I plan on getting new rims (16'' or 17'', havent decided yet) come spring, so the winter tires are going to stay on the steelies.

Also, any suggestions for winter tires would be appreciated. I'm working on a limited budget right now due to the holidays, so high end michelins are out of the question. The winters here can get bad, but not like "true" upstate NY (Buffalo, Rochester), so I want to be prepared, don't want to wreck the cavi I just got paid off due to @!#$ty all seasons...

during the winter months (when my car was running) i run a set of stock 14" steelies with 195/70/14 Firestone Winterforce studable snow tires on my Z24. its not legal to use studded tires where i live, but the option is there with those. very nice tires. good traction on snow and ice, nice smooth ride and they're cheap. i think i spent around $50 per tire when i bought them 3 years ago. this would've been my 3rd winter with them. i think i've put around 10,000 miles on them in the 2 seasons i used them and they havent even really worn at all yet. whatever snow tire you choose you'll definately notice a difference over an all season. i believe the best on the market rite now is Bridgestone's Blizzak, but they can be very pricey. theres a lot of good, cheap winter tires around. i would read reviews on tirerack and such and shop around a bit.
i dunno if i would go any skinnier than stock, as it may actually put a bit of stretch on the tread, but i don't really have any experience with skinnier tires on those wheels. i've had good luck with stock size.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Saturday, December 18, 2010 11:56 AM

Idk I'm in upstate ny aswell an I run good year eagle gts on my cav 16s with no problem just drive a little slower and downshift before you brake is what I do

I've been running a set of Cooper snow tires this year and I love them. Brand new only ran me like $75 per tire, and the grip and traction is outstanding. Definitely happy with these.
I'm running on steelies, and stuck with 195/70r15, though I guess there is some debate about which sizing is better...I had thought about stepping down to a 185 as well.

Im running some General Arctic Altimax something or other snow tires and love mine. I think they were $225 for 4 for my s10

The Blizzaks are super nice in the snow. They feel like ass on the dry and have like zero wet traction (aka I think about touching the throttle a little hard in 2nd and they spin)


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I got dunlop graspic 205/55/16 on my Z. I go to college in upstate NY and the winters are getting rough on Long Island. I love these tires. I really have amazing traction in the snow, I believe I got them for around $75 a tire. Well worth it.