This morning I really thought I was gonna crash the max. Luckily I didn't. So this first snowfall gave me a rude awakening. Looks like I'm gonna need new tires.

Here's the story-
MY CAR IS DROPPED ON HR AND ILLUMINAS
On my 99 SE are 6th gen 17X7 wrapped in cheap nanakang NS1. 225/45/17 ( I was desperate at the time and needed tires and was taken advantage of.) These are supposed to be MS but they sure did not act like it today. No traction, i noticed they dont evacuate snow well at all. Im no tire guru, but I will tell you that they sure are fun on the back roads of PA.But today, I actually got nervous, and really thought of the weather ahead and how I am destined to be in an accident with these things on there.

So Im gonna get a quality tire put on, a real MS tire. I am also thinking of upping the size to 225/50 as these are a bit bumpy. Do I have to worry about rubbing? I rubbed in the rear when I had the 225/55 r17's on for the very short time i had them on. (thats why I was desperate for new tires in the first place)
Im thinking the toyo proxes4 as it seems to be the favorite budget tire around here. I dont want to spend an absurd amount of money as I will be putting this on my Credit card. BTW what does UHP mean in all the tire threads?

 

man the wider the tire the worse the grip. you need to put on the steelys or the stock wheels. i would say save the 17's and go with stock for winter. I am from Minnesota so trust me I know all about driving in the winter.

 

take it from a real great white northian also. haha

yea your completly right. You'd think bigger, wider tires would be better, but youll just end up like a taboggan and slide faster and faster. best thing to do is get some nice road tires for your new wheels and save them for the summer. (better for nice wheels too) and get some beefy sticky winter tires on your stock rims and just stick them in your garage, or your room.. until the snow falls

 

Thanks for your replies guys, but the second number getting bigger does not make the tire wider, it makes it taller. I am sticking with a 225 on both tires so they will be the same width, the sidewall will be a little higher on the 225/50 vs. the 225/45.

 

Im running 225/50/17 on the front and 235/50/17 on the rear with S techs over morgans with no rubbing.

Hmm i do have rolled fenders though.. There is like an inch and a half of clearance when my car isnt moving or anything, so i doubt youll rub unless you do hard turns or have lots of stuff in your trunk.

And UHP = ultra high performance

 

do you have a pic of this setup please? BTW are you using stock rims? Im kinda weary on the whole putting a 235 on a 7 inch rim. Some people say its no problem, others say its not safe at all to do. I am looking for the best response to the road. Im also thinking i might lose some of the steering response going from a 225/45/ to a 225/50 as there will be more sidewall. So you think that it will be noticable?

 

Yep, pictures in a second..





Okay, so maybe its not an inch and a half.. Maybe a good inch.

I also have subs in my car which are pretty heavy (Good 50 lbs with box)

Hope the pics help. Sorry, i cant help you on your other questions.. im not much of a tire guy at all.

Not sure the drop on H&Rs, but iirc Stechs are lower.. Mine are -2.2 and -1.8

 

I'm on a tokico drop, which is about 1.5f, 1.3r, and I have 225/50/17's. No rubbing. I know where you're coming from. Last winter I was riding around on some potenzas (stock 350z rims/tires), and I didn't realize how bad they were until we got a bad snow/ice storm here in NY. no traction whatsoever. 0. Trying to get home, I slid all over new york, getting passed by school buses and garbage trucks. I managed to pull the car into a dunkin donuts parking lot, got a ride home, and returned with my stock 15"s and a jack. Put those on and drove home without issue The next day i went to a tire shop and put on some Hankook Icebear MS tires (I never heard of them, but they were the best ones that the shop had to offer). They actually held up pretty well. Good traction and no rubbing.

 

Luckily for my car and tires, but unluckily for me, hawaii doesnt have snow =(.

 

Yeah, your car's looking good with those rims, good job i don't mind the snow, long as I don't have to drive in it the potenzas were great during the summer though.

 

Thanks.. but sometimes its fun having crappy traction. When i had my supra (goodyears) and it rained, i could press about half throttle and i would start the rear sliding haha