What winter tires and rims do you use in the colder months?

Have any of you considered "All Weather" tires instead of dedicated winter tires?
My understanding is that All Weathers have the Triple Peak & Snowflake certification but are not as grippy as dedicated winters.
And they are designed to be run year round so there's no seasonal wheel changing necessary.

I imagine they will reduce range but not as much as dedicated winters. And for my purposes, it is winter range that is most limiting; summer range is not an issue. Also with two sets of tires, there's a chance they will get too old before they wear out, if the car is not driven enough. That's happened to us with dedicated winters.

Examples: Nokian WRG4, Michelin CrossClimate, Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady
 
If you're in a milder climate, sure. But eastern Ontario is -30C far too often for half measures. It also depends on your travel habits. It sounds like you are a low mileage household. I live in a rural area. If I want to accomplish anything it's always a hundred km round trip, including to the nearest hospital. The annual tire swaps take a few minutes, they get me into the dealer at regular intervals allowing for no-fuss check-ups. And, driving 25 to 30k a year means that the threat of my tires expiring of old age before going bald as a bean is nil. Analyze your situation. To each his own.
 
electriceddy said:
I am amazed that the same dealer who recommended the rims finds out (by learning process) that they in fact don't work. Hopefully no $ out of pocket.
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They didn't recommend 16 inch rims. I asked them whether 16 inch rims would fit (hoping to save some money on winter tires) and their reaction was : I don't know. After some more prodding, I got them to actually try it with a spare rim they had laying around. It doesn't fit.
 
Pcph said:
I finally got my dealer to try on 16 inch rims on my Kona EV.

Short answer : they don't fit.

Long answer : the 16 inch rim fits, as in it can be put in place fully. But once it's on there and you try rotating the wheel, you can feel it gently scraping against the brakes. You really don't want that to happen on the road. It's really a question of a fraction of an inch. So we have to stick with 17 inch rims.
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Now I'm wondering if that's just that set of rims or all of them.. I was told by PCM Tire's customer service that the ones I was looking at would fit it (I specified the electric model). Are the brakes different from the gas version?
 
Pcph said:
I finally got my dealer to try on 16 inch rims on my Kona EV.

Short answer : they don't fit.

Long answer : the 16 inch rim fits, as in it can be put in place fully. But once it's on there and you try rotating the wheel, you can feel it gently scraping against the brakes. You really don't want that to happen on the road. It's really a question of a fraction of an inch. So we have to stick with 17 inch rims.
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I ordered the steel winter 16" rims from costco online. I really like their return policy, so if they don't fit, I'll return them.
Cambodian Tire has a special on their Continental WinterContact SI 215/60/16 tires for 123/.00 ea so I bought a set. Also a 90 day return policy, so if rims don't fit the tires will also be returned.
I'll let you know how it goes for me.
 
Kamloops_KoNa said:
I ordered the steel winter 16" rims from costco online. I really like their return policy, so if they don't fit, I'll return them.
Cambodian Tire has a special on their Continental WinterContact SI 215/60/16 tires for 123/.00 ea so I bought a set. Also a 90 day return policy, so if rims don't fit the tires will also be returned.
I'll let you know how it goes for me.
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Thanks, looking forward to your answer
 
Wildeyed said:
Wait, he's switching the Nexens for safety reasons... with something called Cambodian tires?! ;)
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I'm switching into ice radials because its required by law to travel on the provincial hwys here, but I'll replace the generic tires and possibly even the rims in the spring as I think they look kind of odd.
I can't see how the stock rims could have any appreciable difference on the drag resistance or range vs other styles. Mind you, I drive my EV for the enjoyment/torque vs trying to squeeze every metre out of its range
:)
 
SnowtiresRightSide (2) (Small).webp

Test fit my new 16" rims with Michelin X-Ice xi3's on them last night. I'm good to go for a few winters now. They're not as aero looking as the factory rims, but each rim/rubber weighs 9 pounds less than the factory set so that should compensate a lot.
 
Bugblndr said:
View attachment 6336

Test fit my new 16" rims with Michelin X-Ice xi3's on them last night. I'm good to go for a few winters now. They're not as aero looking as the factory rims, but each rim/rubber weighs 9 pounds less than the factory set so that should compensate a lot.
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So glad it worked!! I plan to get those same tires. Do you mind sharing the details of the 16”? I had one test fit yesterday and it didn’t fit on the rear wheel so I thought I needed to go with 17”. I don’t know the specifics of the 16 my guy tried. He did say there are variations of 16s. I read through this forum and saw someone else had a 16” fail so I was going to give up. I’d love any advice! (I’m in the US if it matters and also have ceramic blue!!).
 
Henrysaunt03 said:
So glad it worked!! I plan to get those same tires. Do you mind sharing the details of the 16”? I had one test fit yesterday and it didn’t fit on the rear wheel so I thought I needed to go with 17”. I don’t know the specifics of the 16 my guy tried. He did say there are variations of 16s. I read through this forum and saw someone else had a 16” fail so I was going to give up. I’d love any advice! (I’m in the US if it matters and also have ceramic blue!!).
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These are the wheels I bought:
https://pmctire.com/en/wheels/rssw/...mat-16x6-5-5x114-3-deport-offset-40-67-1.tire
They're a 16 x 6.5 wheel, 5 x 114.3 bolt pattern, 67.1 center bore and a 40 mm offset.

I also test fit these rims and they also fit:
https://pmctire.com/en/wheels/rwc/m...anthracite-16x6-5-5x114-3-67-1-deport-40.tire

There's not a ton of extra clearance with either, so I could see how some 16's won't fit. But I know for a fact that the above two do fit, which means a bunch of others should too.
 
Bugblndr said:
These are the wheels I bought:
https://pmctire.com/en/wheels/rssw/...mat-16x6-5-5x114-3-deport-offset-40-67-1.tire
They're a 16 x 6.5 wheel, 5 x 114.3 bolt pattern, 67.1 center bore and a 40 mm offset.

I also test fit these rims and they also fit:
https://pmctire.com/en/wheels/rwc/m...anthracite-16x6-5-5x114-3-67-1-deport-40.tire

There's not a ton of extra clearance with either, so I could see how some 16's won't fit. But I know for a fact that the above two do fit, which means a bunch of others should too.
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Thanks for the info regarding the other rims you're looking at.

After ordering 16" tires and steelie rims from costco; I decided to use the existing mediocre 17" stock rims and put on Continental Winter Contact SI's on them and returned the steelies. Ironically the 17's were cheaper than the 16 tires by 50 bucks. I plan to get some nicer more stylish rims for summer (or 3 season) use along with new rubber. I doubt that the stock rims actually do anything for its range; waxing the body probably has much more of an increase to the range than any rim would.
 
Just starting to research winter tires as I live in snowy Buffalo NY, and put snow tires on any non AWD vehicle I have owned. I have always just had the tire shop use the same rims. Taking Summer tires off the rims and putting snow tires on, then the opposite in Spring. They charge a minimal fee to rebalance them. Is there any negative to just doing that, and those not dealing with the variables of different rim widths, weights and aerodynamics? Though we have a reputation for loads of snow, reality is we get a couple of storms a year (max) that drop 12-36 inches, with the occasional year or decade with a huge storm of 7 feet. Between storms, much of Winter, pavement is clear.
 
JumpingIntoEV said:
Just starting to research winter tires as I live in snowy Buffalo NY, and put snow tires on any non AWD vehicle I have owned. I have always just had the tire shop use the same rims. Taking Summer tires off the rims and putting snow tires on, then the opposite in Spring. They charge a minimal fee to rebalance them. Is there any negative to just doing that, and those not dealing with the variables of different rim widths, weights and aerodynamics? Though we have a reputation for loads of snow, reality is we get a couple of storms a year (max) that drop 12-36 inches, with the occasional year or decade with a huge storm of 7 feet. Between storms, much of Winter, pavement is clear.
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This is the most optimistic assessment of Buffalo winters I have ever read! :)
 
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