Winter Tires and Wheels
 

I just installed my winter tires and thought I would post my notes. The Z is an ’11 GM coupe, 6MT, Touring, Sport. I chose Blizzak LM-60 255/50R18s (correction 225/50R18) all around with the 18x8 F10 Sport edition wheel from TireRack. The guys at TireRack assured me that this wheel would fit over the sport brakes and they did. I can post pictures but the wheel is shown with this tire on TireRack. As I live in PA and the packages shipped out of Delaware I had them next day, well 3 of them, number 4 arrived the following day.

Installation :
There are two things to report regarding installation. (1) there are pins in the front rotors to prevent putting the rear wheels on the front. I don’t know if the new wheels would have cleared, I just pulled the pin which is actually a spacer on a machine screw. (2) The factory lug wrench does not fit in the lug wells of the new wheels. I'll need to carry an appropriate lug wrench for these wheels.

Appearance :
I was a bit concerned how the 50 profile tires would look as the “Wheels on Vehicle” view on TireRack is not impressive. The car, however, looks better than I expected. The rear wells are bit empty looking.

Driving :
The initial drive was in the dry. Amazing how much quieter these tires are compared to the summer Bridgestones which seemed to get even louder as the temperatures dropped.
The TCS seems very invasive. I haven’t come to a conclusion as to whether this is really the TCS reacting to the 18" vs. 19" or that there is really that much less grip. I’ll report more later as I gain more experience on these tires. Day 5 was in the wet, no TCS, no drama, just take it easy pulling away.

TPMS :
I did not pay the $470 for TPMS. The TPMS light didn't come on until the 3rd day (maybe 2 hours of driving). Now it flashes for about one minute then goes solid. I don't really notice it but may cover it with black tape anyway.

That's all for now. Hope some finds this useful.

Did you mean 225/50R18s?

In the dry when it's not too cold out the winters have considerably less grip than the OEM summers. Especially if you are running 225s like I suspect you are. You just have to do your best to keep off the loud pedal because you can really burn through those Blizzaks quickly if you are too aggressive in the dry.

Another footnote on the lugs. The ones from Tire Rack are SAE (English measurements) and the stock lugs are Metric. Make sure and use the appropriate wrench for each lug or you'll rip up the smaller ones. (Trust me. I did it. :( )

I've got the same wheels and love 'em. Also, keep an eye on the hub-centric rings and springs. Mine keep wanting to fall out. I screwed up when I pulled the wheels off this past spring and one of the springs was actually stuck on the hub. I put the factory rims back on and people kept telling me that my wheel was loose. I kept tightening the wheel down, then I finally figured out that the spring was stuck between the wheel and the hub.

the lugs i always get from TireRack for my cars are metric. 17mm or 19mm usually.

ive yet to get SAE lugs.

Mine definitely are. It's a slight PITB when changing wheels because I have to keep switching back and forth.

Yes, I meant 225/50R18. Thanks for the catch.

Yes, the TireRack lugs are SAE. Thanks, that is a great point I should have made clear.

Yep, you're putting 332hp to some skinny back tires that generally don't have much in the way of dry performance grip, so it will be super easy to light them up!

They will be great in PA snow, though. :tup:

I uploaded some pictures. Album name is the same as this post. Thanks for the comments and Happy Thanksgiving to all !

I'm running the x-ice 2s on the same wheels sizes all around. Have you thought about getting spacers for the back? I have been thinking about it due to how recessed the rears are compared to the fenders. Someone told me they are unsafe though?

werd, send them back. all of my lugs from tirerack are metric. :)

aftermarket for this car is usually 17 or 19mm depending on the lug bore size.

I did think about spacers but I've done no research so I can't comment on the downsides of using them. Appearance aside, there is also the narrower rear track. In any case, my bottom line is that it's winter, I'm driving easy (to preserve the expensive Blizzaks for starters).

Report in on those x-ice 2s.

i had the Blizzaks on my Benz they worked good but had really bad grip as it got warmer so on the Z i went with Icex2s sofar had them in 1 foot of snow and was no problem at all and as temps went up they performed at-least twice as good as the blizzaks. both do their intended task very well though.

Blizzaks are good when they are new but after a winter or so, they become as good as all seasons. You'll notice that the center will wear out fast. They are just like that.

Also, the bolt on the front rotors are for sport package wheels. It prevents garages from putting the rear wheels on the front.