Hasty decisions for my winter setup..
 

I need a push in the right direction.

Trying to narrow down my winter setup and my original plan was to use my OEM wheels for the winter rubber to avoid having to remount rubber every year and also to protect my painted summer wheels.
The problem is that I didn't really think things through when I got the TRD springs, I'm lowered about an inch now and while safety and convenience are priorities, I really don't think I can run the stock wheels lowered with THAT much suck in them, I've seen pics and it ain't pretty.

I've been considering spacers until I found out that the bolts have to be changed out for anything larger than a 3mm spacer, which I see most people run up to 20 and 25mm.

I'm new to cars and don't really have the confidence to do that kind of work.

Are there any alternatives to increase the flushness that I haven't thought about? I live in the DMV area and while our winters aren't usually treacherous, we do get 2-5 inches of snow easily and at that point it's probably not good to be driving lowered anyways. I'm trying to avoid taller tires/steel wheels if possible.

Thanks.

Dude, it's your winter tire. A little suck won't kill you. The snowbanks where I live are so big no one can see the rims anyway! You definitely don't need to worry about a 1 inch drop. I've driven through over a foot of snow on ski-hill roads with my Eibach Prokit (1 inch drop).

In the summer I run Bremmercraft BR10s in 18x9 +42. Eibach Prokit 1 inch drop.

In the winter I've run a bunch of different tires but the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2s in a 205/50R17 on the stock wheels with my pro kit absolutely dominated a foot of snow this morning. I've owned a mountain of different winter tires, these are the best yet.

For other feedback check out the winter tire review thread:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24037

Tons of people run winter tires on the stockers. I just put on a set of hankook icept evo 2 in 205/50. With a one inch drop this would be no problem.

When you live a place that snows and they are spraying the roads, the car is going to look like crap. No one is going to really care what your car looks like, its all about safety and getting to where you need to.

Check out that thread posted above and you will be fine.

Not on stockers but car is 1/2 inch lower than TRDs and zero issues in winter.
You WANT that suck in during winter. Helps keep all the spray and shit under the car not down the sides.


Don't sweat the lowered car in the snow. They work fine.

Thanks so much for the input guys. I'm definitely going to throw my stocks back on for a dry run before my winter rubber comes in.

And is the idea of a taller winter tire to increase clearance a little bit? I had a bad experience with soft tires this summer and I want to keep as much feedback and resposiveness as possible for the non-snow days.

DO NOT try to drive around on the stock tires if the temperature is anywhere even close to freezing. They become hockey pucks and you can lose control with even the slightest wrong move.


You can go with a taller tire no problem since when it gets cold even the snows will firm up.

Oh I learned my lesson last year trust me, I'll be ready when the first snow flakes drop.

How does a slightly taller winter tire compare to the same OEM size winter tire?

To many variable to really answer that to be honest. Tread and firmness have more impact than the actual size of the tire. I went with 16 inch wheels so I could have more sidewall without having a larger diameter tire. It works very well for me.

16 inch winter tires themselves will also be noticeably cheaper vs 17".

As for lowering in very deep snow, with good winter tires one will probably be able to go through, but still, that bulldozer shaped nose , that loves to dig in, not "ski-over" and sound of scraping bumper underside .. well, let's say i'm happy i'm NOT lowered.

I run 205/50/17 snows, which are pretty much the exact same diameter as my summer tires (225/45/17's), I went narrower to reduce float in deep snow. My 205 snows are actually about the same width as the OEM 215's as well.

I'm lowered on swift sport springs and have only been stuck once (and that was at stock height) and that was in a parking lot with over a foot of new snow.