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Winter Tires

The Smart 453 comes with 185/60R15 rear and 165/65R15 front tires as standard. ie. not 165/60

If you can't get a matched pair of winter tires in these sizes, simply fit 185/60R15 winter tires all round. They fit fine on the 5" front rims.

 

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Vredestein Quatrac 5 four-season tires are available in Smart 453 sizes.

205/45R16 83H

Vulcan Tire Sales - Tire Search

185/50R16 81H

Vulcan Tire Sales - Tire Search

Although four-season tires are not full winter tires, compared with summer tires these have a lot more grip in the snow. Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires have the 3PMSF symbol, which means that they have passed a test for traction in the snow.

Information about Snow Tires and the 3PMSF symbol on Wikipedia

Snow tire - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

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Whatever you get, you might want to ask the seller if either size has a rim protector. Tire manufacturers will often use different terms to "rim protector" but it's all the same thing. It's extra rubber moulded into the sidewall that is supposed to help protect the rims from kerbing damage, but often they are not very effective unless you use a minimum rim width for that tire size. By using a minimum rim width for a particular tire size the tire's sidewalls will bulge out more so that if you gently graze a kerb you might get away without damaging the rims.

I don't like rim protectors and try to purchase tires without rim protectors. The reason being that they make the sidewalls flex less easily and therefore make the ride harder. This is however disputed by the tire manufacturers who will often claim that thick rubber rim protectors moulded into the sidewall will make no difference to ride comfort. I suspect that this is just PR on their part so that it doesn't affect their sales.