Question: Snow Tires

[exceptionaLS]

Does anybody know what is the widest I can go on my stock 16's? The stock tires size is 215/40/16.... Do you guys know If I can put 235 or 245 on it? I dont think it will be a problem but I was just wondering. Thanks in advance for anybody who answers.

 

[02LincLS]

as someone mentioned in a recent thread, you want narrow snow tires to increase contact pressure and dig down in. i thought they said they fit a 205 wide tire on a 16" rim and still kept the speedo reading acurate.

i hate winter!

 

[Sn8kbordin]

I think that you don't want wide snow tires as wide tires don't want to cut thru snow to the road like narrow tires do.
Or something like that.

 

[02blackls]

That was me, I just put 205 60 16's on my car, they don't look bad, and get good traction and the speedo is within like 2%

 

[pektel]

I'm putting snow tires on today, but on my stock 17" wheels. the stock size is 235/50. The closest I found to that in a narrower snow tire was 215/55.

What's the stock size tire on a 16" stock wheel?

 

[exceptionaLS]

the stock 16'' wheels have 215's. That sucks , I wanted wide tires. I guess that skinny tires are good for snow, I never would have thought of that. I suppose that 215's will still be good because I dont think that 10mm is gonna make a huge drastic difference. I suppose I will look for anything in the 205-225 range. Thanks guys.

 

[exceptionaLS]

While were on the subject, just for giggles :shifty: , do you guys think that I could get Porsche wheels on the back one day? Like over 300mm width? I really want to do that....It would look so cool.

 

[Sn8kbordin]

While were on the subject, just for giggles :shifty: , do you guys think that I could get Porsche wheels on the back one day? Like over 300mm width? I really want to do that....It would look so cool.

you can if you figure out what wheel will make it possible (enough clearence, offsets...)

 

[exceptionaLS]

Ah the illustrious "offset" question. Im kinda a working on cars newbe and I dont understand what an offset is really. If somebody would succinctly explain that would be cool. My best Idea is its like the ratio of where the center of the rim bolts to the hub in contrast to width of the rim and thus is a measure of the clearance that is allowed.....right? something like that?

 

[Sn8kbordin]

besides... its hard to get my 245 summer tires to break when flooring it. 245 seems sufficient for an LS

 

[toomanyfumes]

How do these cars do in the snow anyway. Mine's a V6 with just the traction control. Can I slide the back end sideways around a corner and kind of steer with the throttle or will the TC spoil the fun?

Is some weight in the back a good idea?

I'm not too worried, I drove a Thunderbird through 12 winters with no problem, and I have new all-seasons on the LS

 

[Eric0508]

How do these cars do in the snow anyway. Mine's a V6 with just the traction control. Can I slide the back end sideways around a corner and kind of steer with the throttle or will the TC spoil the fun?

Is some weight in the back a good idea?

I'm not too worried, I drove a Thunderbird through 12 winters with no problem, and I have new all-seasons on the LS

uhm... maybe just turn the TC off if you want to have some fun, i do it all the time.

 

[Sn8kbordin]

How do these cars do in the snow anyway. Mine's a V6 with just the traction control. Can I slide the back end sideways around a corner and kind of steer with the throttle or will the TC spoil the fun?

Is some weight in the back a good idea?

I'm not too worried, I drove a Thunderbird through 12 winters with no problem, and I have new all-seasons on the LS

LS should be better as IIRC it has more weight over rear wheels.

Some weight in the trunk is a very good idea. My subwoofers are about 80lbs so I am good. One time I took it out and it really makes a difference.
My dad puts about 100 lbs in the trunk in the winter in his 03 LS.

 

[toomanyfumes]

I figured the LS might have a little more weight over the rear wheels. I'm actually going next week to see about having my subs and enclosure and amp installed. I'll probably throw some extra weight back there,too, it helped alot in the T-bird.

 

[97stscaddy]

someone mentioned in a recent thread, you want narrow snow tires to increase contact pressure and dig down in.

If you get REAL snow tires, it shouldn't matter how wide they are. On hard packed snow the tires don't reach the road surface anyway so what you rely on to get you moving is the tread biting into the snow and holding firm. On the fluffy stuff snow tires with good tread will move the loose stuff out of the way and pack down the rest. And in slush your tires will be able to contact the road, so what you need is good tread that will evacuate the water from the tires path. But when I say GOOD snow tires, I mean tires from somewhere that actually gets SNOW, like Canada.

How do these cars do in the snow anyway. Mine's a V6 with just the traction control. Can I slide the back end sideways around a corner and kind of steer with the throttle or will the TC spoil the fun?

You won't even be able to move with the TC on. Just drive sideways, you'll get further that way.