Downsizing winter tires better?
 

Hey sorry if this has been posted somewhere else.
Today I was talking to a fellow frs owner I met at Timmies and he said that smaller winter tires (16") are better in snow than 17". To me that makes no sense but I'm finding a lot of people here get 16 inch winters.

Question is, which one is the safest ?/ is there any difference


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It's my understanding that the diameter of the rim doesn't make any difference.

However, some say that a narrower tire helps cut through the snow better, thus increasing traction.

I think the tread compound and tread pattern makes the most difference.


humfrz

I have 16s. The outer diameter is the same size as the 17 inch tires but since the wheel is smaller you get an inch deeper sidewall. The deeper side wall gives you that little bit more tire depth to dig through the snow. I also went with steel wheels instead of anything spoked so they can dig through easier and don't get chunks of ice built up in them that make you bounce down the road.
I highly recommend that set up (and it its cheaper!).

What @Tcoat said, except for the steelies part.

Can't have your ride look ugly in the winter. Get some cheap 16" alloys.

Hey I like the monster truck look! I used to use alloys on my other cars and got sick of slush building up in there and freezing. Boy does it throw off the balance. May be less of an issue for people that don't spend as much time on the highway as I do but was a pain in the ass for me. Don't really care how it looks in the winter anyway.
My wife got me some "nice" hubcaps for Christmas a couple of years ago that look OK at a glance. Last year however I "forgot" to put them on. Still have "forgot" so far this year.

Plus there are the functional benefits that steelies are more durable and provide a bit of extra weight for digging into the snow.

Downsizing winter tires better?
 

But what will have more grip on the road? I don't mind paying the extra.i do live in Canada haha


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As Hum said the grip is dependent on the tread not wheel size. The smaller wheel with the wider sidewall tire just lets you get that tread/grip to the road better.

Agree with Tcoat on the Steelies. One of my favorite set of wheels were 16" spare wheels from a Forester (see attached).

Guide for choosing a winter setup I think could be helpful.
http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/...jsp?techid=126

Do they spin? Because if you're going to have hubcaps, you may as well go all out.

Well, just before Christmas I jokingly pointed some spinners out at the auto store and said "that is what I need for the winter". I then noticed her expression and very quickly qualified that I was joking and did not want spinners. if I hadn't I would be Dubbing all over town now.

Pick up a used set of bugeye WRX wheels. They'll cost you about the same as steelies, but will look better and be hubcentric. (This is coming from someone who actually likes the look of steelies, btw)

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media...6imfrjzgvl.jpg

I'll be the odd one here. I put winter tires on my stock wheels (17's). Local tire shop had 17's winter tires on sale, so I went with that. Two winter in the snow without an issue.

If they didn't have sale, I'll prob did same with with others and went with 16's, cuz it's cheaper.

I'm in the odd club as well:

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...10283be2c0.jpg