Pleased 2009 S40 T5 AWD owner with some questions on snow/winter tires:

• Does anyone drive in New England with the OEM tires? Are they OK for most conditions or do I really need snow/winter tires?
• If you drive with winter tires, what brand(s) would you recommend?
• Do 16" wheels fit OK or should I look at the 17" tires?
• If I go with 17" tires, is it worth it to purchase separate wheels or should I just go with remounting each time I need to swap tires out?

Thanks for any recommendations/advice.

 

easiest way to find out: http://www.tirerack.com/

 

OK, so I priced out a recommended set on TireRack...

• Wheels: 16x7 Sport Edition F2 $352.00 ($88/each)
• Tires: 205/55R16 Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D Blackwall $392.00 ($98/each)
• Tire Pressure Sensors $236.00 ($59/each)
• Valve Sleeves $28.00 ($7/each)
• Shipping: $130.00

Total: $1138.00
without pressure sensors: $874.00

I guess I didn't realize that this would be so expensive...any suggestions for lower cost alternatives? Are the recommended tires decent? Also, how annoying is the warning if I go without the pressure sensors?

 

Bump...no response on my questions.

Main question I have at this time is on the wheel size. Would the 16" wheels recommended by TireRack fit OK? Just wondering since the OEM wheels are 17"...

 

Any reason you want to go down a size?

 

You could go down in size if you don't like the way the 17's feel (meaning vibrations since it's a thin sidewall). 17s look good on the car BUT the 16s ride better and smoother!

 

I've read that I'd get better winter performance with a smaller wheel...other reason would be cost. I'm not that particular about looks...any wheels that look similar to the OEM wheels would be fine.

 

You know you could just put really good winter tires on the stock wheels. It's bound to be less expensive than a whole new set of rims and winter tires.

 

Would it be over time? If it costs me $20 per mount, then I'd be paying $40 per wheel per season...which would be as expensive as the rims after two seasons.

 

Where are you from anyway?
You can probably do just fine with all season tires. I'm in NE and I drove all winter last year with bald- @ss Falken Ziex. The DSA is good. Plus you have AWD, even better.

It just seems like a lot of money to drop on something.

 

I have to agree. The 16s fit fine on my R. Got rid of those 17s because the tires kept dislodging. (Got to know the tire guys by name.) The 16s will survive an unexpected pothole a little better than the 17s too. Try blizzaks they are supposed to be the best without going to studded. They got me to Vermont mountains for three winters before I wore them out.

 

Boston area...have a 20+ one way commute 5 days a week and occasionally have to handle snow-covered roads. I'm also a skier and, while my primary ski vehicle is a Toyota Highlander, I plan on taking the S40 on occasion when I'm skiing solo or with just the spouse or my son.

My preference would be to struggle along with the OEM tires until I got some use out of them and then replace them with decent all-seasons...but if that isn't good enough to handle snowy NE winters with the AWD then I'll have to bite the bullet on snows.

 

I would do that. I've been in over a foot of snow with my stock 15's with the bald Falken's I mentioned earlier. Just take it slow and increase the time you need for braking. $1000 is a lot of money to spend on something you're just bumming around in.

Save the $1000 and buy nice rims next spring!

 

I bought my 2008 XC70 this summer and was a little apprehensive about winter driving here in Minnesnowta. Found the stock tires to be just fine (car has only 11K miles on the odometer), though. Especially driving on icy roads is probably safer with the less "knobby" tread pattern of the all season tires compared to special snow tires.
JMTCW.
Hans

 

I had the same problem on wife's V70 with 17" wheels. OEM tires were wearing out, so I really shopped around and decided that the best compromise was a set of Conti DWS Contacts. They have been just fine in the SE Michigan winter. DWS means dry, wet and snow. Check owner reviews at Tire Rack and at Discount Tire websites. Unusual in that all owners seem very happy with them. And there's enough from fools like us who have to drive in snow & ice to get a good picture, not just So. Cal. tuner boys on their hopped up Hondas.


My price, which included the replace if not repairable warranty and lifetime rotation & balancing was just under $800. And the treadwear rating was very high for a Z rated tire--540 or something like that. Not quite as racy as the OEM Pirelli Scorpions which I think had a stiffer sidewall, but my wife isn't Dana Patrick.

Check them out on the 'net. I did the same math as you're doing and decided that these all season tires were adequate. I'm still happy with that decision 3000 miles of ice and snow and dry roads later. I can't speak to snows over 6" deep, however, since we've dodged that bullet so far this year. Plus, my wife is a happy woman.