Snow Tires & Rims

Discussion in 'Clarity' started by aapitten, Jan 25, 2018.

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  1. amy2421

    amy2421 Active Member

    Thanks. :) I know, I was going to ask you if you were selling your winter tires/rims after the accident, but I know you're getting another Clarity so I didn't want to be tacky. :D

    There is some discrepancy about the price because some reviewers are saying they got 4 caps included for the price, which would be a good deal, but I agree that paying $31 per cap is too high if that price is per each.
     
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  3. JCEV

    JCEV Active Member

    Last edited: Nov 5, 2018
  4. amy2421

    amy2421 Active Member

    I found a seller on eBay in Canada with a set of 4 "OEM Honda" caps for $15, so hopefully they are as described and decent quality. I ordered them so will see. If they're junk then I'll wait for the price to come back down on the ones on Amazon.ca.
     
  5. dana

    dana Member

    Discount Tire just installed Blizzak WS80 215/55R17 on Vision 426 Cross Gunmetal 17X7.5 wheels. OTD $918.68 after rebate.
    Like others have said, they are noisier.
     
  6. E10

    E10 New Member

    We just had a snowstorm in NY and there was 2-3 inches and the car was bad, 18mph in a 55 bad. In heavy rain the tires are really good but don’t let that fool you, like me.

    Time for me to get a second set of rims/tires for snow tires like I always do with my cars.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  8. amy2421

    amy2421 Active Member

    Yes, I am grateful to this forum because I'm convinced too. I ordered a set of alloy rims from Costco (they came in on Thursday and are very nice for the price - thanks JCEV!!) I'll make an appointment this week to have them installed with a set of Michelin X Ice 3 tires.
     
  9. amy2421

    amy2421 Active Member

    So I got my centre caps from eBay. The match the size of the "Wheels" centre caps that came with our rims. They are plastic, shiny black with a chrome Honda H. They say "Honda" stamped on the back but I'm not sure if they're really OEM or knock-offs. The "Wheels" centre caps have a thin metal band inside the teeth that hold in the cap. The eBay caps don't have this, should I transfer them from the Wheels caps to the Honda ones?
     
  10. JCEV

    JCEV Active Member

    My OEM Honda ones did not have a metal bar. You do not need to transfer it as it snaps on pretty good .
     
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  11. amy2421

    amy2421 Active Member

    Are yours metal or plastic?
     
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  13. amy2421

    amy2421 Active Member

    For anyone still buying wheels and looking for centre caps, here is the listing I purchased from. The seller is very nice and responsive, he is in Calgary and charges $2.95 shipping in Canada. The price is $14.99 USD for 4 caps, and eBay sends out coupons periodically so I was able to apply a $5 off coupon. I ordered on Nov 6 and they arrived on Nov 13, very fast shipping especially with rotating Canada Post strikes going on.

    https://www.ebay.ca/itm/New-4pc-Honda-Wheel-Center-Hub-Caps-69-mm-Accord-Civic-Odyssey-Pilot-CRV/173548452996?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
     
  14. JCEV

    JCEV Active Member

    OEM are plastic .
     
  15. amy2421

    amy2421 Active Member

    The ones I got from eBay are plastic too. They have Honda embossed in the back, which my husband says means they are OEM, but I don't know for sure. (It does say Mfr is Honda in the eBay ad.)
     
  16. JCEV

    JCEV Active Member

    I will try to take a picture of the back of it for comparison
     
  17. amy2421

    amy2421 Active Member

    Here are some photos of the ones I received. 15422126820542.jpg 15422126820111.jpg 15422126819310.jpg
     
  18. jorgie393

    jorgie393 Well-Known Member

    These are fantastic threads. But you all are way beyond me: while you are tweaking the emblems, I don’t know an offset from a headset. :)

    Still, I need your help. I have become convinced that snow tires are a necessary investment in safety so I want to take the plunge, but I have no good local support. I am very sorry in advance for this long post. But would the group be so kind as to vet this fumbling foray into online snow tire/wheel purchase for a Clarity, for the benefit of those of us who are new to this? I bet I am not the only one.

    A lot of this uses www.discounttiredirect.com [the site redirects most of the links trying to get you to find a local store, but you can click through the tree to proper place].

    1. HOW TO GET A WHEEL THAT FITS A 2018 CLARITY....FOR DUMMIES

    OEM wheels are alloy, 18x8 5-114.30mm 50 (thanks, Sandroad in “Replacement Wheels That Fit” post #1, more details there). Note wheel nomenclature: diameter(inches) x width(inches) (bolt pattern, # x radius in mm) (offset in mm)

    Wheel size: New wheels can be 18” (OEM size) or 17”. Or 19” I guess. This is I think mostly style, plus minor tradeoffs in ride smoothness (cheaper, and smoother ride with 17” wheel) vs. handling (slightly worse for 17” wheel).

    Bolt pattern: Not negotiable. Must have OEM bolt pattern of 5-114.3

    Offset: non-negotiable but wiggle room. Must have appropriate offset (or tire will rub fender or stick out), but what the right number actually is varies by wheel width. The factory offset for the 8” wide OEM wheels is 50, so this would be goal for any replacement 8” wide wheels (?? though I actually see few replacement wheels in this offset range). The appropriate offset for a narrower wheel (for example, 17” [diameter] wheels are often 7” wide) seems to be a little smaller—around 38-40 .

    Question 1: When I put in 17” radius wheels on Discount Tire, specified to fit the 2018 Clarity, I get suggested wheels in the width range 7” wide-7.5”. They have a range of offsets that don’t exactly correspond to the width. Same thing with 18” wheels, at 8” wide—a range of offsets, and all much smaller than the OEM 50mm. In general, is it correct that there is some small range of acceptable offsets….and I can 90% trust Discount Tire to offer me only ones that would actually physically fit without rubbing or sticking out too much? Hobbesgsr implies this is so in thread in “Aftermarket wheel compatibility” post #1. I’m looking specifically at the Vision 17x7.5 which have offset 40 (since I can’t find a US equivalent of JCEV’s inexpensive Costco alloy wheels), and user “dana” has actually used them (for both of these, see earlier in this thread “Snow Tires & Rims”).

    Question 2: Other threads re. new wheels for spares also have discussions about “centering adapters” or “hub centric rings”, and in addition raises concerns about getting the wrong lug nut shape (so they don’t fall off). These are alarming…robert_alabama’s helpful but hair-raising initial post on thread “Couple of issues I found after I bought a spare wheel for spare tire” nearly makes me want to swear off the whole thing.

    Do I need to worry about this if going through something like Discount Tire, or is it generally standard practice to send me lug nuts and/or hub centric rings that fit? I will call them of course, but wanted to know the general principle. Note: per Hobbesgsr in “Aftermarket wheel compatibility” post #3, the relevant OEM specs are “64.1mm centre bore and [lug nut thread] M12x1.5 thread”, while lug nut shape would depend on wheel. If I get a wheel with a bore of 73 mm like the Vision 17x7.5, should I get a set of 73-to-64.1 mm hub centric rings? https://www.amazon.com/Hubcentric-Rings-Pack-Hubrings-Centerbore/dp/B00AAOETG2 [Edit: I see that Discount Tire adds on to the order a $45 "Installation Kit" that includes lug nuts. I wonder if it includes the hub centric rings].


    2. HOW TO PICK A SNOW TIRE THAT FITS A 2018 CLARITY….FOR DUMMIES

    OEM tires: 235/45-18 , load index; 94 (thanks Sandroad in “Replacement Wheels That Fit” post #1). Nomenclature is (width in mm)/(aspect ratio*)-(wheel diameter in inches). *Aspect ratio is the amount tire extends outwards from the wheel, expressed as a % of the width (so OEM sidewall height = 235mm*0.45 = 105.75mm )

    Make: Can be any snow tire, with Blizzaks (e.g. WS80) and Michelin x-ice 3 being frequently mentioned here, but:

    Radius: not negotiable: Has to be right radius for wheel selected above.

    Width: Not negotiable, but some wiggle room: width has to be in the right range for the wheel above. Specifically, 7” wide wheels are usually best fit by 205-215 tires; 7.5” wide wheels best fit by 215-225 tires; and 8” wheels usually best fit with 225-235. Exceptions allowed. (From https://www.tyresizecalculator.com/charts/tire-width-for-a-wheel-rim-size-chart)

    Question 3: Is this idea of approximate matching of tire width to wheel width correct? Anyway, for winter tire handling, should I be pushing for the widest possible, or narrowest possible, contact (instead of just the middle of the range)?

    Outer diameter: So that speedometer stays accurate, new tire should be close to the same outer circumference as the OEM tires. This can be determined at https://www.discounttire.com/learn/tire-size-calculator. (thanks Sandroad, in this thread, post #26). In this case, a 215/xx-17 tire would have to have an aspect ratio of 55 to give the same outer circumference as 18 inch OEM tires, and therefore to have speedometer be accurate (so full designation would be be 215/55-17).

    Acceptable load index/loading: Tire needs to have index in the 90s, as I understand it (OEM is 94) (Richard Kelly, post # 29, this thread)

    Question 4: What else have I forgotten? Do I need to buy valve stems (that Discount Tires tags on as an option)?

    Whew. But IF you do all this, it seems one can get tires and wheels that will fit.

    Thanks for guiding a newbie to this process as I try to get a safe ride, and I hope this guide (which adds nothing new, but assembles data from lots of posts) helps someone else as well.
     
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2018
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  19. dana

    dana Member

    FWIW, Discount Tire used Gorilla Auto 73-6415 wheel hub centric rings ($5) and Gorilla Auto lug kit ($45) when they installed the Vision Cross wheels.
    "Rubbing or sticking out too much" is not an issue in my opinion.
    And more good news: They haven't fallen off. Yet.
     
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  20. amy2421

    amy2421 Active Member

    Every Honda dealer that I called to get a quote on tires all gave me the exact same spec for winter tires: 215/55R17. And FWIW, for those in Ontario, Honda dealers universally had the cheapest prices for tires and they also offer a price-match guarantee, which I couldn't use because their price was already lower than anything else I found.
     
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  21. Vezz66

    Vezz66 Member

    You should not change the offset by more than 5mm. As it is measured from the center it is not affected by a narrower wheel. Changing it will affect the scrub angle, which might affect handling and potentially also the driver assists. Maybe I’m overcautious.

    A 17 inch (215/55R17) X-Ice here in Canada is 65$ cheaper than the OEM size, so it offsets part of the cost of the wheels.

    7” width is the measured width for that size tire, it’s what I installed.

    9DC0F638-48C5-4854-A2A1-3536D78C010E.jpeg
     
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  22. rickyrsx

    rickyrsx Active Member

    My personal philosophy about winter tires is that if they prevent you from getting in even one accident, they have paid for themselves. I got some rims and Continental SI's put on last week. IMG_0580.jpg
     
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  23. amy2421

    amy2421 Active Member

    Those rims look great with that colour! :)
     

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