at sub freezing temps you'd have to do burn-outs to get tires to summer temps. :D

but ive tried summer tires in the past in snow in my dd. doesn't work very well at all.

You can get them up to pretty decent temperature. :)

But yeah, when it's like 10 degrees out just be careful. :icon17:

FYI I put all seasnons on for winter, mostly for temperature. Cost me about $1k installed for Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires and they are highly rated for light snow.

That's a good idea. I am not worrying about it this year but next year I am probably going to slap some Michelin Alpin PA3s on a set of winter wheels. They give great dry performance and are still great on the snow (not as good as some but still way better than an all-season). Here in NOVA we have cold winters but we really don't have to do too much snow driving, so something like the Alpin would be nice.

Get some winter tires with some other rims. A lot of members like last years have bought the 18" OEM used and put Winter tires on them.

I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do. The snow we got in November was brutal, car is a death trap. Stock tires, 80% worn. I was actually making the road worse for other drivers because my nice, wide, mostly bald tires leave the road compacted and glass smooth behind me. Every gear was eek up to ~2,000 rpm, shift, slip and slide for a few seconds, repeat. 12 miles took me 90 minutes. At least I waited for all the traffic to be gone first, and tried to stay out of other peoples way.

Have a big hill before my house, didn't even try it the first night. After 2 days of partial melt, lots of sand, and plowing I tried it and spun the car down the hill (thankfully didn't hit anyone/thing, again partly because I waited for there to be no traffic).

Now I'm in a catch 22. Can't afford new tires yet, can't afford not to work. I read that chains, even "S" clearance, may not fit, and none of the alternatives (snobootz/autosocks) fit 295/35-19. Was trying to find the thread talking about alternative tire sizes for the sport wheels in the hopes that maybe one of our optional bigger sizes will have matching bootz/socks. Bleh.

"It never snows in Seattle!" they say. :mad:

Get a setup like AK has. Some 18s with a narrow Blizzak. I think he runs a 225 all the way around. For snow its best to run a square setup and the narrowest tire you are comfortable with.

For my 5.0 I am fitting some 235s on the smallest wheels that fit my brakes... some 18x9. Per Blizzak, the maximum recommended rim width for their 235 LM-22 is 9 inches, so I will be in pretty good shape for snow.

Forgot to say... check tirerack for closeout deals. I got my LM22s for 155 each.

Your other choice is a second car. But buying a POS doesn't mean it's better in snow and you may still need snow tires...albeit cheaper tires than ones for the Z.

If snow is really that rare in Seattle then a set of all seasons may be a more economical choice. Not as good as snow tires in the snow but will be considerably better than Summer tires. The downside is they won't have the ultimate traction of a Summer tire in the Summer, but they will wear better.

Agreed. A second car (with the proper tires, of course) is ideal to drive in the treacherous stuff. But RWD sports cars are definitely capable in light-moderate snow conditions with the right tire. :tup:

You can also get one of the performance winter tires which will give you pretty good dry pavement traction along with light snow traction that is still well above the best of the all-seasons. Something like the Michelin Alpin.

The problem with tires is that they are always a compromise, so if you can afford it it's best to have a winter set and a summer set if you live in a climate where you expect to do some snow driving.

yah, my beater runs WS60's in the winter and are kickarse. :D drives like a AWD car on a/s tires. absolutely no issue in deeper snow.

I've been training in OH for the past few weeks. Morning have been below 10°. Days when there's now snow.. I drive but do notice that tire thumping. Days when there's snow, I go with the others training in the van the Marriott has.

I'm actually moving to Alaska and taking the Z. I bought Blizzaks and am getting them installed this Saturday (back home).

I just put my order in for some wheels and Dunlop Wintersport M3s. Should be good for the DC area.

Continental tires
 

Conti Extreme Contact DWS tires may be a partial answer. I spoke to my tire dealer about the conti's. He says the new version is flying off the shelves. They are not a panacea but the are far better the OEM's that came with the car. He claims they are also much quieter than the Bridgestones.
The price for the set on my 19" wheels is a bit over $1000.00 complete.
Looks like that will at least give me a fighting chance in the cold, rain, and light snow.

I had them installed. They are quieter, though they still pick up every pebble and fling it against the wheel well.

I may get a chance to find out how they do in the snow tomorrow.

Problem with all of the solutions is that I'm broke. I'm not kidding either, I mean broke like 2 digits in the bank in between bills.

I found a deal on a single 285/35R19 DWS and bought another new. I know, you want narrow and square, but I can't afford that either. The deal on the one tire was good enough that it made buying another one new cheaper than any other option.

Can't afford fronts yet of course, so that will be interesting. I know it's a bad setup, but the winter isn't getting any better (had snow on the ground for over a week again already which parked me, thankfully we were able to borrow a truck but that's gone now too). The stocks are so bad that I couldn't get out of my driveway. Roads cleared 2 days later meant literally nothing to me because I couldn't get down a 300 foot long flat piece of driveway. :mad:

The plan is to put DWS on the front sport wheels as well when money permits. Then these will likely become my winter wheels/tires and I'll work on new wheels to start over for summer. What a giant PITA. Very light snow and cold cold roads are the norm, and I think the DWS will be perfectly fine in that. This crazy 4+ inches on the ground for 10 days at a time thing, bleh.

On the plus side, the TrailBlazer SS on Toyo Proxies II is rocking it. Thing eats up the snow and ice too surprisingly. Stops like a bus (when doesn't it), but turns and accelerates like the snow isn't even there.

Really, really wish I could park the Z for the winter. I'm more afraid of other drivers than anything else. And the 2 big hills haha but I can always park at the bottom and have the g/f pick me up in the TBSS. :nutswinger:

:iagree:

Post whore :bowrofl:

nope just bumping so pple dont repost threads XD

Damn now I have to buy some winter wheels, probably stock 18's will do with some snow tires or something. Long Island can be a pain in the A. Also when those pot holes start to pop up all over don't want my 19's in them.

yep im gonna probly get fired i cant afford a second set XD

Still rocking the bald stock fronts, with 285/35 R19 DWS rears.

Much better than stock, drivable at least in the snow. Made it up the big hill last year after putting these on, but didn't feel comfortable trying the downhill side (where it spun before hehe). For normal driving I'm fairly happy. Their wet traction isn't what I'd hoped it would be, but they break loose so predictably that it's almost more fun sliding it around than it would be if they just hooked up anyways. :bowrofl:

Probably going to put some 255/35 R19 DWS up front and keep the stock wheels for winter driving and do some big Vossens or something for summer. Mostly driving the TBSS now to avoid miles on the Z's front tires which are beyond their lifespan for sure. I think the 255/35 was the closest match I could find.

PS: The never snows in Seattle thing was me being mad because that's what I was told, and it has snowed 5 of the 6 years since I was told that lol. This year they say is going to be another bad one, so make that 6 of the last 7. Already down to 34 degrees at nights, so all it's going to take is some water added to the mix.

255/35 would be way off in diameter from the 285/35 based on the manufacturer information (almost 1" diff). 245/40 would be a much closer match.

how much are the tires ?


anyone know how falken 452's do in the snow..... ? they do greatt in rain

Haven't driven them but based on the tread design I would say pretty poorly. Snow traction comes from lots of biting edges which requires small more square tread blocks.

Rain traction is all about evacuating water from underneath the tire. Chris is right, with snow traction, it's all about biting edges. If you look at snow tires they have almost an off-road look to them, and the tread blocks have tons of jagged sipes designed to grab snow. They also have a compound that won't harden up when extremely cold, like all summer tires and some all seasons.

The 452s aren't going to do well in snow at all.

falken 452's are garbage in the cold (sub 35F) even in the rain. i speak from experience on a wheelset i bought locally for my honda fit years ago. comparing that to even the low-end bridgestone Fusion tires for tuner cars, Fusion tires were night/day improvement in the same condition.

452's will NOT work on a RWD car on a snow day or any cold day for that matter.

452's work great in the summer

Got my fronts today. The size difference is right on the outside edge of recommended, but so far so good. It took the rears a solid 200 miles for the shine to wear off and for them to stop feeling like traction was a thing of the past so I'll give the fronts at least that much time before commenting on how they behave.

They do look a bit small in the wheel well due to the lost height. And I know some have said they look too busy and clunky, but I kinda like the look. I'll post pics eventually, as that will require I wash the car. :P

I already know it's not going to be good in the snow, it just has to be enough to get me home if I get caught out in it. I still won't be taking it out to intentionally get in the snow hehe.

255/35R19 front, 285/35R19 rear, DWS all around.

dumb question can u mix your rims so that you only have to buy 2 lol (i would never do it who wants 2 diff rim types )

What do you mean mix your rims?

Let me know how they do, I am thinking of getting these for my Z too. My tires are about shot. I am running the stock Nismo setup of 245 40 19 and 285 35 18.

like have 18's for the rear for snow and 19s stock summer tires XD would look ghey tho

It would look stupid and would be dangerous. With snow tires in the rear you would be able to accelerate but with summers up front you wouldn't be able to turn or stop.

I can already tell you, despite the low sidewall, the fronts are too soft. I can feel the tire flexing in hard turns and then sort've rubber banding back. It's unnerving.

The rears do the same, but it being tail happy isn't a big deal and is actually kinda fun. The same feeling from the front...:eekdance:

Definitely going to have to put something else on the front when summer returns. Maybe some DW (minus S) hehe.

PS: I guess I should also say that with so few miles on it maybe it's just a different sensation from the stockers and is throwing me off. I'll post again after a few hundred miles, and probably a snow storm or two, and we'll see if it's worth it hehe.

The stock tires on the ray's are terrible in the snow.i picked up my Z the day after a snow storm drove 45 mins to home, when i got there i got stuck for 1 hr pulling into my street... next day i ordered some michelin IceX2s and 4 18" wheels. Problem solved!!!

You drove it home after the Snowtober storm? Damn that was ballsy. :tiphat: Only just got my electric back last night from that.

stock 18" OEM potenzas: snow performance?
 

Will the stock 18" potenzas be as bad as the 19" potenzas in snow?

Pardon my cluelessness; first sports car and never had to deal with tire science :stirthepot: