225/45/17 for winter ok?

[Phuviano]

I've potentially found a deal for a set of oem wheels with winter tires. I know the factory size is 215 45 17, but these are 225 45 17. I've read its better to go -1 sizing for winter, but these are a decent deal, and i've rather not run 16 inch steel rims for the winter. I like having actual wheels for my car all year round.

Do you guys see any potential harm in running 225 45 17 for the winter?

[churchx]

If you don't have to drive over snow/ice, why not. If you do and want most grip, worth go narrower. "harm", hmm, 225 will work. and work better then summer tires, just worse then they might. Think of it like aquaplaning, wider tires on light car will have it harder to cut through snow slush to harder pavement to gain grip, will be more susceptible to "floating above".
For savings, even more so, longterm savings, imho worth getting for winter 16" wheels (eg. steelies, to protect good looking summer set of wheels), that should let save even more on, for each future winter tire set (eg. 205/55/R16 hakka8 set vs 205/50/R17 was 150eur cheaper for me).
Winter tire sizing wise i often in addition to -1 sizing also go for extra notch higher sidewall/profile, for some extra ground clearance.
As too much depends on quality of tires/amount of their grip, my own choice is to always get best possible, never save on tires & brakes on any car.

[RToyo86]

I used a set in that size for a short time. The quality of the rubber is most important. In my case they were Toyos and didn't feel as planted or grip as well as my 16" pirellis even in the dry.

Ideally you are correct, a narrower contact patch will help with snow traction. That's probably the main compromise of going a bit wider. But if they're good tires they should work fine.

[DarkPira7e]

You'll be fine. While thinner generally is "better" there's not a sliding scale here that has a "best" to "worst" category that changes based on size alone.

Running a 245 Blizzak will still be better than a 215 all season

[Ohio Enthusiast]

The recommendation for narrow tires is probably a good rule of thumb, but stock size is already pretty narrow. My Focus ST had 235 width summer tires and the recommended winter tire width was 215. I would guess cars with even wider summer tires would have winter tires recommended that are wider than our 215.
If the tires you can snag are good winter tires, you should be fine.

[churchx]

But may i guess that mentioned Focus is heavier car? And FWD layout simplifies/hides traction loss a bit, versus RWD, where grip loss is more apparent, needs more care to handle. Car weight wise imho even stock 215 wide is above optimal for winter. 215-225 sounds better fit for 1.5t (common generic family car weight). Take off 300kg off that, and car seems better paired with 185 or 195 (by my gut feel 1.1-1.2t cars on 185 seemed just right). Or at least with 205, as going below that may require downsizing wheels aswell, due usually lowest width coming in 205 for 17".
BTW, wider tires will still add a bit traction on tarmac, on regularly plown/salted roads, even in winter, hence my question, how much car will actually need to drive over snow/ice on unplown roads (or who knows, maybe see ice tracks, though there i'd prefer also having studded tires to not crawl at snail pace, not street legal option in several countries though and really hits hard in NVH area as for roadnoise).

[gravitylover]

If they're great winter tires you'll be fine, if they're just ok winter tires you'll still be fine but if they have some miles and age to them you should question whether to go for it or not. The narrower thing is pretty important on lightweight vehicles so you're putting down more pounds per square inch but the quality of the new winter specific tires will make up for some of that loss. I'm guessing that being from Ontario you deal with some significant winter driving conditions and probably not always on great quality pavement which again leads to narrower and now taller due to using 16" wheels so you have more sidewall height. I like the way my 215/50/17's feel over beat up pavement but I think I'd rather have even more sidewall height and go to 205 or 215/55/16 for winter.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by churchx

Car weight wise imho even stock 215 wide is above optimal for winter.

Originally Posted by gravitylover

The narrower thing is pretty important on lightweight vehicles so you're putting down more pounds per square inch

That's really a great point, and I haven't considered it. However, considering that plenty of people run all-seasons in stock (wide) size in winter (and snow), I'd say that a wider winter tire would still be much better than a stock width all season. Obviously a narrower winter tire would be better for snow/ice traction, but would also sacrifice dry/wet traction. Depending on the weather where you are it might be important or not.

[ZDan]

Actual difference in winter capability of 215 vs 225 is going to be close to nil... 225/45-17 will get a smidge more ground clearance which IMO would be worth more than any alleged benefits to the slightly narrower 215...

FWIW I run 225/45-17 winters on my car as I'm using the 17x7.5 factory PP wheels and IMO 215/45s look a bit puny on those wheels...

[N_Raged]

GTA roads are usually well plowed in the winter. So I would set the car up for what the conditions are the majority of the time: cold, dry, and sometimes wet/slick. Not deep snow. But don't get a performance winter tire, stick with studless ice & snow tire for the few times the snow is deep.

I have 215/45R17 Michelin Xi3's on the 7.5" performance pack rim and I wish I had more traction in the dry/wet. The car is too squirmy for my liking. 215/45 is also stretched on a 17x7.5" rim which a winter tire should never be (no lip protection or compliance over bumps). Next set I get for this rim will definitely be 225/45R17. As others have said, this will give slightly higher ride height which is beneficial in the winter.

The aspect ratio of winter tires come into play as well so it's not always a straight answer of tread width. For example my FWD Saab 9-3 had a factory tire size of 225/45R17 on a 17x7.0" rim. A -1 setup 215/55R16 Continental ExtremeWinterContact on 16x6.5" steelies felt fine. Sure the car felt boaty but still within expectations of how a winter tire handles. I then switched to the same tire but in 215/50R17 on the factory 17x7.0" alloy and ride quality suffered (worse than a stock 225/45R17 all season), and more importantly the braking distance suffered. I once had to slam on the brakes on damp roads and could not stop in time - ended up softly rear ending a mail van. This would not have happened if I were on 215/55R16 or 225/45R17 winter tires because those had better brake feel. The 215/50R17 & 17x7.0" combo required more tire pressure than 215/55R16 (16x6.5") or 225/45R17 (17x7.0") to support its sidewalls, which added to its lack of compliance and grip.

[Phuviano]

Thanks everyone for their advice. The tires are Blizzaks WS80, and I've owned a set of them on another vehicle I've owned.