16" or 17" for winter? Blue rims on blue car? TPMS or not?

[Deslock]

I'm purchasing my snow tire setup, and I've decided to get alloy rather than steel rims since I'll be keeping them on the car ~5 months/year. Some choices:

1. 16" or 17" rims?
   
   
   • 16" $150 ea, Metegi MR125 16x7, 15.5 pounds (black)
   • 17" $200 ea, Kosei K4R 17x7, 14.0 pounds! (light gray)
   • 17" $250 ea, Alleggerita HLT 17x7.5, 15.4 pounds (blue)
   
   I originally figured I'd go with 16s, but I haven't found anything reasonably priced that's lighter than the above 17s. 16" tires are cheaper, but not by much.
   
   
2. Color? Will blue on blue look stupid? (see attached photos)
   
   
3. TPMSes? They're $62 ea ($248 for four) and I'd need to spend another $150 for the ATEQ TPMS Quickset Tool. I'm on the fence... I originally figured I'd just ignore the light, but I intend to have the car for ~10 years, and TPMSes can actually be useful.

Any thoughts?

[Miniata]

Personally, in general, I prefer to go with smaller diameter wheels for snow tires, I don't really care about wheel weight for winter wheels, and I never bother with TPMS for winter wheels/tires.

[avp1]

I would keep 17" size. You would have enough rubber height with them for winter. Light grey blends better with blue color car for me. TPMS is a MAST for all high speed cars. Remember, you buy them once for the life of the car regardless of how many tire sets you go through.

[Miniata]

Originally Posted by avp1

I would keep 17" size. You would have enough rubber height with them for winter. Light grey blends better with blue color car for me. TPMS is a MAST for all high speed cars. Remember, you buy them once for the life of the car regardless of how many tire sets you go through.

This is a "high speed car"? LOL Anyways, I would sure hope he isn't going at "high speeds" on winter tires, and besides, TPMS sensors aren't just a one time purchase. The batteries do wear out and AFAIK (in most cars anyways) the batteries aren't replaceable.

[avp1]

Originally Posted by Miniata

This is a "high speed car"? LOL Anyways, I would sure hope he isn't going at "high speeds" on winter tires, and besides, TPMS sensors aren't just a one time purchase. The batteries do wear out and AFAIK (in most cars anyways) the batteries aren't replaceable.

Try to get into turn with tire pressure significantly below norm. You can easily end up in the ditch. Car that can do 0.92G stock is a PERFORMANCE car. I had TPMS sensors on my previous car for 8 years and they didn't require replacement due to battery failure in any of wheels. So I consider them one time purchase for a new car.

Never try to save on safety features. Whatever your savings are, they won't be enough to pay for a proper funeral.

[RedLeader]

TPMS sensors get rebuilt when you get new tires, most tire shops know how to do this, they effectively just change the battery and reseal the unit. That being said, there's no reason why not to spend this money and use these wheels for summer wheels and keep the stockers for winter. Get two sets of TPMS sensors and the dealership can calibrate them both to your car's system. Switching wheels would just require a trip to the dealership to re-cal the sensors (my dealer will do this for free, YMMV).

I won't comment on the color choice, it's your car, get what YOU think looks cool, not what someone else thinks looks cool. Besides, all color mistakes can be easily remedied with paint.

[Blue86]

I definitely think blue wheels on a blue car are ok :-)

Just make sure the tyres always look nice and glossy to offset it

[Deslock]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Today is the last day for MICHELIN's $70 rebate, so I ordered:

• Kosei K4R 17x7 rims
• X-Ice Xi2 215/45R17 tires
• TPMS sensors

[Chad]

Blue rims are meh....