Winter tires and New wheels

Cyberbug · 08-10-2009, 07:55 PM

Less then two weeks old

Few questions after much search.

The Winter is coming and After reading much I think I am going to get a set of wheels and winter tires for the winter, I will use the one summer wheel/tire as spare for winter and vice versa.

Should I get steel or alloy wheel?

Any advantage of going wider? I am happy with stock setup.

What are good tires?

I am not looking to modify or go crazy - I already do all that on another car of mine so this is the smart one ;)

Not concerned about TPMS, I'll just put a tape on the light in winter.

regards,

SmartDigger · 08-10-2009, 08:06 PM

look at 185/55/R15s at Tirerack.com best choice for our car IMO

fortow · 08-10-2009, 10:16 PM

For winter tires do not go wider. Stay at the stock width. Winter tires should be narrower than stock but with the smart the tires are narrow anyway, particularly the front. See what tire Rack offers for winter tires for the smart.

riversidebill · 08-11-2009, 05:16 AM

Good questions. I was just about to ask them. Have just got my smart from Cherry Hill, NJ four days ago. Love it. Got Passion coup. Is NJ smart group active?

**jwight** · 08-11-2009, 06:50 AM

Pirelli 190 winter tires work very well; we have them on the Rial rims:

mvaldes · 08-11-2009, 07:20 AM

I got Pirelli snows in the stock sizes and mounted them on smart steel rims. The tires worked well, but even with the steel rims, one of our NJ potholes ate one rim. (It was replaced under the tire warranty that I bought with the car.)

Cyberbug · 08-11-2009, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwight

Pirelli 190 winter tires work very well; we have them on the Rial rims:

Thanks Smarties

That is what I am looking for under $800 shipped for the set mounted and balanced from tirerack.

Look for thread on the two week report on the 09 in the appropriate section

Brabus · 08-11-2009, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyberbug

Not concerned about TPMS, I'll just put a tape on the light in winter.

regards,

I paid $100 for a set of four TPMS. I'm going to buy another TPMS today for a rim I bought. Just so you know you don't have to pay 3 to 4 times that at the dealer if you should decide to go with TPMS. To me, it's worth 100 bucks for some piece of mind though I wish they made run-flats in 15" tires.

FWIW, The Mopar part number is 56029400AC (it's made by Schrader) and you'll need the nut which is 56053037AB. The nut is to be tightened at 35 pounds. There is one other version of the TPMS for the Smart made by Siemens which the nut should be tightened 53 pounds according to Costco's TPMS chart for the Smart. It'll say on the TPMS whether it is Schrader or Siemens.

Cyberbug · 08-11-2009, 11:15 AM

Thanks I may spring the $100 for TPMS - frankly The whole gov thing is half-baked - just the light showing low pressure is not enough and its not accurate at times.
It would not have cost much to show actual pressures in each tire. Same techonolgy

Brabus · 08-15-2009, 06:37 PM

I also bought a second set of four TPMS for $60 shipped with nuts. They look identical to the previous set. The part number is different, however I know they are 433mhz sensors (which is what the Smart uses). I haven't installed them onto a tire to see if they work or not but I'll let everyone know. They are easier to find for even less. Here's the part number for what I'm going to experiment with Mopar PN 56029359AA.

Here's the other one that is confirmed to work:

Mopar PN 56029400AC is a TMPS 'only' (Qty 1). It's made by Schrader and shows a spec of "433.92mhz".

Mopar PN 56053037AB is a Retainer Nut 'only' (Qty 1). $1.90 each

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyberbug

Thanks I may spring the $100 for TPMS - frankly The whole gov thing is half-baked - just the light showing low pressure is not enough and its not accurate at times.
It would not have cost much to show actual pressures in each tire. Same techonolgy