snow tires for 215/65R16 tire size?

[KustyTheKlown]

i really dont know jack shit about buying new tires but i do know i want winter tires this year. my all-seasons that came with the car are at 45k and need to be replaced anyway, so i am going to get snow tires next month for the season, and new all seasons in april/may.

i just got an e-mail from nissan with a 4th tire installed free promo. i ran a search for my car/tire size and these were the options. the cheap one is surprisingly cheap. anyone have any knowledge of what i should choose from this list? or anything that isn't on this list i should consider?

thanks all.

 

[jimmywilson69]

I've got 4 Bridgestone Blizzaks for my Forester. Its a literal tank with those on. I got them mounted on Rims and put them on my self. you being a city slicker that may or may not be an option.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

oh yea, there is no tire installation happening. i know how to put on a spare in an emergency, but yea, i am fully a 'pay someone else to do it' guy. mostly bc i live in an apartment and my car lives in a parking lot blocks away from my home. no garage. no driveway. no tools. etc.

 

[machski]

Bridgestone Blizzaks have mostly been my go-to for a long time and still use them on my Nissan Frontier. A solid snowtire, makes the Frontier almost like a tank (yes, being a pickup the rear end will still slide out on corners, but the tire grip is great and usually a touch of power cancels the slide and gets everything going straight again). Can't see but my version is directional mounted.

 

[jimmywilson69]

oh yea, there is no tire installation happening. i know how to put on a spare in an emergency, but yea, i am fully a 'pay someone else to do it' guy. mostly bc i live in an apartment and my car lives in a parking lot blocks away from my home. no garage. no driveway. no tools. etc.

what will you do with the tires during the nonsnow season? Storage unit? corner of the living room?

 

[KustyTheKlown]

what will you do with the tires during the nonsnow season? Storage unit? corner of the living room?

mom/dad or sister garage/basements in their suburb houses hopefully. otherwise in storage.

 

[cdskier]

oh yea, there is no tire installation happening. i know how to put on a spare in an emergency, but yea, i am fully a 'pay someone else to do it' guy. mostly bc i live in an apartment and my car lives in a parking lot blocks away from my home. no garage. no driveway. no tools. etc.

Are you planning on a second set of wheels/rims as well dedicated to this set of tires?

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Are you planning on a second set of wheels/rims as well dedicated to this set of tires?

do i need to be? i know nothing.

 

[mister moose]

Blizzaks have a micro cellular compound in the first half or so of the tread. They are best on ice if that compound is still on your tire. Once the compound is worn off, it's a mediocre snow tire.

Hakkapelittas are next on the list, but also expensive.

Firestone Winterforce and General Altimax have been my price/performance choice, and I've driven through 18" unplowed (AWD) getting to a powder day in them.

 

[jimmywilson69]

do i need to be? i know nothing

I would. It adds $$$ but will be more convenient for someone to put on which should equal less money each fall and spring.

 

[cdskier]

do i need to be? i know nothing.

I would generally recommend it...

1) mounting/remounting tires every season causes more risk for either a tire bead or rim to be damaged from numerous mounting/dismounting cycles (somewhat depends how careful the person doing the work is).
2) mounting/remounting costs more money than just swapping a set that is already mounted (also faster if they're already mounted).

 

[jimmywilson69]

Yep Bingo.

I live in a fairly snow less area and only put them on to travel north or if we are going to get sizeable snow. Easy for me with a house and a 2 car garage.

 

[kbroderick]

I would generally recommend it...

1) mounting/remounting tires every season causes more risk for either a tire bead or rim to be damaged from numerous mounting/dismounting cycles (somewhat depends how careful the person doing the work is).
2) mounting/remounting costs more money than just swapping a set that is already mounted (also faster if they're already mounted).

I've had a snow tire get destroyed in during unmounting with damage that wasn't evident until trying to put it on again in the fall, and it suddenly had a sidewall bubble that hadn't previously been there. I suppose there might be another explanation, but given that the shop was pretty good at breaking stuff to begin with, that's my best guess.

With that said, if you aren't concerned about rim cosmetics and drive a fairly normal number of miles, most shops can manage to do it without breaking anything. Scuffing rims is a lot more common than damaging tires.

Re: the second point, if you keep the vehicle long enough to need to replace the tires, it sometimes makes that easier too (as they can do the actual tire swap without your car being present).

Some modern cars make it a little more of a PITA with TPMS systems that want reprogramming, but my F-150 can magically figure out that I swapped wheels and which position is which. YMMV.

 

[cdskier]

Some modern cars make it a little more of a PITA with TPMS systems that want reprogramming, but my F-150 can magically figure out that I swapped wheels and which position is which. YMMV.

Yea...my current truck requires a special "tool" to relearn the tires. Takes about 30 seconds though for my mechanic to do that part. Literally put the car in tire learning mode and walk around and hold the device near each tire.

Of course this brings up another point that if you get a 2nd set of wheels you also need to ensure you get the 2nd set of tire pressure sensors for each wheel.

 

[jimmywilson69]

yeah I haven't bothered to try and reconfigure my TPMS I just put a tire gauge on once per week like the old days. LOL

 

[jimmywilson69]

Of course this brings up another point that if you get a 2nd set of wheels you also need to ensure you get the 2nd set of tire pressure sensors for each wheel.

if you buy from tirerack they include all of that. it was great I ordered mounted tires and 2 days later there were 4 mounted and balanced tires sitting in my driveway.

 

[cdskier]

yeah I haven't bothered to try and reconfigure my TPMS I just put a tire gauge on once per week like the old days. LOL

It would drive me nuts driving around with my dash lit up non-stop saying there's an issue with my tire pressure all winter long...

 

[cdskier]

if you buy from tirerack they include all of that. it was great I ordered mounted tires and 2 days later there were 4 mounted and balanced tires sitting in my driveway.

Yup...I did the same thing last time. Just wanted to make sure Kusty is aware though.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

anyone in jersey or nyc have a shop they trust i can go talk to about all this?

 

[snoseek]

I'm a firm believer that even a cheap snow tire is miles better than all seasons. I'm sure some are better than others but in my experience mid grade snow tires get it done so long as the tread is decent. I run continental that I picked up fairly cheap and they do a great job