Well my wheels/tires were purchased end of September and have been stored at Kal Tire, awaiting installation this Saturday. My brother payed for the tires and I covered the wheels so I don't mind not getting a discount on the Nokians.

 

I just ordered a set of winter tires/wheels from TireRack. No steelies available, so I went with a set of inexpensive alloy wheels & a set of 205/50R-16 Michelin X-Ice Xi2. I've got a long and fairly steep gravel driveway up to my house that can get icy during the dead of winter, so hopefully the FWD + these tires will work for me. Kinda concerned because I've had only 4WD/AWD since I've been here. Of course, I also have an AWD Subaru, but am hoping that I won't have to park the Fit during icy conditions.

We've already had 6" of snow up here in the Mountains although it has mostly melted away, so winter is here.

 

On a lightweight car like the Fit, wide tires like that will tend to float on top of snow instead of digging in.

 

I understand that, and your statement is correct. My bigger concern, as I kind of implied above, is icy conditions. I keep my drive well plowed, but the combination of warm sunny days and cold nights tends to create sheet ice. A wider footprint with an aggressive tread can actually be a benefit under those conditions.

The paved roads in the area I live in are well maintained and with regular plowing of my drive, loose snow doesn't concern me. I've never had a problem driving in snow up here, just a problem with ice.

My Subaru currently has P255/55R-18s on it and, while admittedly heavier, it is a much, much wider tire. No problem with snow and the width has been a help on the ice.

 

I was nervous running 50-series Dunlop Graspics DS2 in Rochester NY 100"+ winters on my '02 Protege5 (totalled in August when a Buick darted in front of me across 2 lanes of traffic)... I previously plowed long trips on snowy NYS Thruway with AWD (RAV4 and Impreza) and enjoyed confident snow travel...

Wanted to run a skinny winter tire but couldn't walk away from a great Craigslist deal on stock-sized 50series w/steelies...

PLeasantly surprised that I had ZERO traction/braking issues with the 50-series tire... so much so that I'd recommend strongly the Graspic DS2...

BTW - just sold them on Craigslist about an hour ago for exactly what I'd paid for them....


Now I can buy my new Fit wheel/tire combo

 

Thanks, pennstater. Good info.

BTW, it appears that the Dunlop Graspics have a rebate offer going on...

 

Received my winter tire/wheel combo from Tire Rack today. I went with the 205/50R-16 Michelin X-Ice Xi2, the Sport Edition F5 Silver Paint Alloy Wheels, and included the TPMS system on each. Mounting and balancing were free.

Total cost, including shipping, was $1360. Rough numbers: tires - $500, wheels - $400, TPMS - $300, shipping - $120, tire totes - $40. Cheaper tires are certainly available and you can save a few bucks if you want to eliminate the tire totes and TPMS (but then they charge you to mount and balance). Comes complete with lug nuts and centering rings & free Grilliot Tire Care Kit.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, my goal was to gear up for sheet ice. A narrower tire would have been better for loose snow, but the wider footprint will give me better sheet ice traction. Since there has been some questions about the fit of after market wheels I wanted to post this to let others know that this combination of tire and wheel fits reasonably well. In a test fitting today (not yet ready for full-time winter use) I found that nothing hits, nothing rubs. The 205 extends just ever so slightly past the wheel well.

In my initial research into what combo I wanted, I found that it is very difficult to find a winter tire/wheel combo that works with OEM sizes. Not much out there - for me anyway, since I am 120 miles from the nearest tire store.

The wheel wasn't my first choice either, but I went with cheap rather than attractive considering its intended usage.

Bottom line - if you're looking for a tire/wheel combo for winter that you know will work, a 205/50R-16 with the F5 Sport Edition Rims will do the trick. But it probably won't be everyone's cup of tea.

FWIW.

Edit:
Yes, I know that I should have taken pics, but didn't think about it until after I removed them. Will take pics and post when I reinstall them.

 

It is still wiser to go with as narrow a tire as possible...even for ice. It come down to basic physics. The smaller the contact patch on ice or snow the more pounds per square inch are applied for a given vehicle weight meaning more pressure on that contact patch. More weight being exerted on a given contact patch means more traction on slippery surfaces.

If you watch rally cars they always run skinny tires on winter stages for this reason as well. Ice or snow it is an advantage to have the skinnier tire.

 

Your point about PSI is correct (especially when you apply it to rallies and other winter racing sports, the why's of that is a whole 'nother discussion - skates vs crampons ), but with an aggressive tread, the minimal PSI delta between 185's and 205's is more than made up for in my situation. I could probably do the calculation, but too lazy. Instead just think about the amount of tread that actually hits the ice and consider how little PSI is additionally spread out when you look at where the rubber meets the road. Not much difference there. So, the more tread I can get on sheet ice, the more grip I can get. This is particularly applicable at slower speeds and on inclines - exactly what I have to contend with. A running start and continued momentum, which benefits from a narrow tire, won't work for me.

You have to match up to a particular concern or need. And, yep, this is still physics and the consideration is PSI vs surface area. In my case, wider and aggressive is better. Surface area is a bigger benefit for my particular application. If there weren't a need for a wider winter tire, then tire manufacturers wouldn't design them.

Of course, YMMV.

 

I still think that narrower tires offer better traction on ice and snow. That applies to inclines or anywhere else.

 

[quote=TheSaint;496911
As mentioned earlier in the thread, my goal was to gear up for sheet ice. A narrower tire would have been better for loose snow, but the wider footprint will give me better sheet ice traction.
quote]


You should know that the pressure of a tire tread on ice is key to traction. The smaller footprint will yield better traction given the tread compound and design the same. Do be careful.

As for traction on ice the Consumer testing last winter showed the Falken 512 was superior.
our forays into the western NC mountains shows the 175/65x15 tire has zero problems in icy conditions; unfortunarely a BMW traveling wuith us had constant problems and we specnt as much time helping them as though it was our car. (no, he was not on summer performance tires but on mich all seadson tires.

 

I'm also looking at getting snow tires on the Sport Edition F5s from tirerack.com, but I'll probably go with the Blizzak LM-25s.

Tirerack has the F5s on sale a little cheaper right now, $79 each. If I go this route, it'll be $316 for wheels, $432 for tires, and $87.91 for ground shipping--$835.91 in all (mounted and balanced, no tax in Oregon).

How annoyingly will the Fit harass me if I don't go with the TPMS system? At $300, it just doesn't seem worth it.

TheSaint, do you have yours remounted yet? If you have a chance to take a picture, it would be greatly appreciated, although I wouldn't buy these wheels because they look great either.

 

Yep, I have them mounted. Just in time, too. Much snow last several days. If we get a break in the weather, I'll get a pic and post. 8" of snow and the tires have handled beautifully so far. No sheet ice to test yet, but that is coming.

Actually, while I'm still not enamored of the appearance of the wheels, they don't look nearly as bad as I thought they would.

As soon as I get some sunlight, I'll post.

 

Still not much sunlight, but the snow let up. Here is a quick pic of the wheels:

 

Thanks everyone for sharing your research and info. It was very helpful and pointed me in the right direction.

I just bought myself 4 Nokian Hakka Rs ($155 each) and steel rims from Kal Tire. Kal Tire was willing to match the wholesale rim prices from Honda ($69). Honda's prices were much higher for a set of Michelins. I also tried Discount Tire, who didn't have anything that would fit, so I just ended up going with Kal Tire.

The guy was very impressed that I had the exact specs needed.

Now I'm all set for the 10 cm snow dump that's coming our way in the next few days in Vancouver and more.

Bring it on.