I did notice quite a bit difference in mine. I'm not saying it's a track monster now but I do feel a lot more confident in the traction and handling now than with the stock 17s. Of course the trade off of going with large wheels and tires is the increased weight but I think it's a fair trade off if you keep the wheel size within a reasonable size.
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For people who have upgraded to bigger, wider tires...
- Thread starter jtvang125
- Start date
My wider than stock tires make my car seem to handle worse in the snow. But I've never had the car with the stock size... just it seems similar compact/mid-size cars handle better in the snow, and my tires have at least as much tread as those, but maybe due to weight and weight distribution, among other things.
Do wider tires (all-season) perform worst in the snow? Got to love Houghton, MI... hills and snow in a FWD. When it's snowing bad, there's only about two ways to get up the major hill, each on the opposite ends of town. I've stopped bothering trying to make it up steep hills only to start going backwards and have to turn around, heh.
Do wider tires (all-season) perform worst in the snow? Got to love Houghton, MI... hills and snow in a FWD. When it's snowing bad, there's only about two ways to get up the major hill, each on the opposite ends of town. I've stopped bothering trying to make it up steep hills only to start going backwards and have to turn around, heh.
D
Deleted member 4644
I noticed an improvement when I moved from 225 to 245, however, I also got a higher quality rubber as well --- hard to say which was more important.
James Bond
Diamond Member
Yes. In snow, the wider the tire, the worse.
My snow tires are 17's (like my summer tires), but marginally more thin. This allows for more weight : surface area ratio, which in turn, allows the tires to grip better.
mitaiwan82
Platinum Member
if you're really performance-oriented and got the cash, then you could get some forged wheels which are lighter than most stock wheel/tire combinations.
Demon-Xanth
Lifer
Going from 255/65R16 to 285/60R16 I noticed a big positive difference. Going from 285/60R16 to 295/65R16 on the rear I noticed a big negative difference.
thomsbrain
Lifer
295/65 puts less rubber on the pavement than 285/60, so i guess that's consistent with your findings from your original upgrade: more rubber = positive difference.
i would guess that upgrading to better rubber would make a bigger differance than just using wider tires, especially since stock suspensions are designed to make best use of the stock footprint, not a wider footprint.
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
You never want to add to the unsprung weight of a car. :thumbsdown:
Dr. Detroit
Diamond Member
Has more to do with the tire tread than the size. While wider will help, your confidence is most likely due to new/unworn tires as well as stickier rubber.