Winter driving with stock tires

[bentoutofshape]

First and foremost, what company sells steel rims and snow tires already mounted?
I have a pure and i'm going to try to get by the first year without getting snow tires. Keep in mind, my commute is 25 miles each way and i have to clean the snow off the sidewalks at work. The intent is to put the snow tires on the pure rims.

[mvaldes]

Your dealer will sell you that combo. It's less expensive to buy the rims from the dealer (or on eBay if you're very lucky) and the tires elsewhere, such as tire rack, and have them mounted and balanced by your dealer or a local shop.

[Padawan]

Originally Posted by mvaldes

It's less expensive to buy the rims from the dealer (or on eBay if you're very lucky) and the tires elsewhere, such as tire rack, and have them mounted and balanced by your dealer or a local shop.

This is what I did, and it was definitely the least expensive approach. I bought a new set of steel (Pure) wheels from my dealer, then ordered a set of Blizzaks from Tire Rack. I had my dealer mount and balance them, and now I'm just waiting a bit before I install them on the car.

[smark]

Are you guys just doing just the rear wheels? I wonder if you can mix! Traction is in the back of the car. I wonder what 50 pound sand bag would do over the engine cover.

[Padawan]

Originally Posted by smark

Are you guys just doing just the rear wheels? I wonder if you can mix! Traction is in the back of the car. I wonder what 50 pound sand bag would do over the engine cover.

Definitely not. You always want to install winter tires on all four wheels. Remember, your front tires do the majority of the braking and all of the steering. Installing winter tires only on the rear would cause a serious traction imbalance and compromise safety.

[driven2succeed]

Originally Posted by Padawan

This is what I did, and it was definitely the least expensive approach. I bought a new set of steel (Pure) wheels from my dealer, then ordered a set of Blizzaks from Tire Rack. I had my dealer mount and balance them, and now I'm just waiting a bit before I install them on the car.

Warning: The question below is probably indicative of my ignorance....
Can I ask why you are specifying STEEL wheels? Is this something I should worry about or just your personal preference? I have a cabriolet which I plan to drive throughout the winter. Is there some reason why I should not have snow tires mounted on the current rims and taken off again in the spring?

[Padawan]

Originally Posted by driven2succeed

Warning: The question below is probably indicative of my ignorance....
Can I ask why you are specifying STEEL wheels? Is this something I should worry about or just your personal preference? I have a cabriolet which I plan to drive throughout the winter. Is there some reason why I should not have snow tires mounted on the current rims and taken off again in the spring?

Not ignorance at all. When I buy winter tires, I normally try to find a new set of wheels to mount them on, so that I can simply swap the winter and summer setup whenever I want. I chose the steel wheels because they were less expensive than the original Passion alloys.

There's no reason why you couldn't have your winter tires mounted on the stock Passion wheels and then have the original tires reinstalled in the spring. The only issue would be the expense of having the tires mounted and balanced several times throughout the year, and the additional possibility of scratching the wheels because of all the tire mounting and removal.

[Karl Roth]

wanting steel wheels for me was the failure mode of steel vs alu
Rather limp home with a bent wheel than a broken one after sliding off the road and hitting something. Have to admit it is a belt and suspenders thing, if it makes you feel better why not.
The stock all season tires got me through last winter and will remain in service this year as well for the time being.
karl

[smark]

Karl how much snow do you get. Here in the midwest 6-8 inch.

[forestacademy]

Originally Posted by smark

Karl how much snow do you get. Here in the midwest 6-8 inch.

When I lived MA just North of Boston I lived through 2 100"+ plus years.

Here near Madison last year we finaly made it to 100" for the first time.

Cool thing near boston is, If they get a lot of snow overnight everyone stays home, Bad thing is if it snows after noon the afternoon commute can take all night.