[hana]

o.k. i know it's still summer but i am checking around for winter/snow tires, got a quote from the local tire guy
bridgestone snows a little taller than the tires now 169.00cn he said they are normally 225.00cn, they are cheaper now rather than ordering later, makes sense... my friend told me to go to bellingham washington to buy the snow tires, kc or eldizzle, any good tire places in bellingham??? are tires cheaper in the states???

 

[Xpressionz]

Hana, at the current exchange rate its not too much off; save the trouble and get them here. give me a holla i may be able to help u out 604-329-9863 or u can go to MF-tech; they sell tires fairly good price.

but if u want to check out the states....www.vulcantire.com

datz where I got my Azenis at.

 

[hana]

thanks

 

[Clarice]

I'm looking for winter tires too... preferably on rims so i can put them on and take them off myself. my question is that the tires i have on at the moment (all seasons) are 195/55R16, can i get any other size for my cube? the current size is a rare size apparently and I am not able to find them for under 780.00 (for 4 tires without rims).

 

[hana]

hi clarice, i was told the bridgestone blizzak and the michelan x ice ?? are good tires. the bridgestones are $169.00cn. for my size 15inch, the michelans were cheaper at costco. i will be buying the bridgestones. the tire guy said the rims are too expensive to buy right now, told me to wait until next year, so the snows will be mounted on my wheels now, i don't have the alloy wheels. i live in b.c.

 

[hana]

welcome clarice, i think you are new here ??? this is a very good site, helpful and informative, and very interesting at times the bolt pattern is posted somewhere here ??

 

[Clarice]

thanks hana! yeah i'm new here. i bought my cube almost a month ago now. love it to pieces. wish winter wasn't so close tho.
i wish cubes were more popular in edmonton, then it might be easier to find these tires lol.

 

[hana]

hey marilyn and clarice, check out apa.ca for winter tire comparisons, i've changed my mind on the bridgestones.

 

[hana]

advice please......my tires now are 195/60/15, is it o.k. to put on 195/65/15 for snow tires ???
thanks

 

[AGCube]

advice please......my tires now are 195/60/15, is it o.k. to put on 195/65/15 for snow tires ???
thanks

Hana,

Here is what I know about tire sizes; your size 195/60/15; means the following:

195 - is the width of the tire in millimeters.

60 - is the percent of the width that the tire is high. So for your tire 195mm * .60 = 117mm. With your tire mounted on your rim and properly inflated you should measure 115mm from the outside edge of the rim to the tread of your tire.

15 - is your rim diameter in inches.

If you changed to a size 195/65/15, the height of the tire is going to change from 117mm to 126.75mm the difference being 9.75mm or .3839 inches or a little more than 3/8 of a inch, not that much of a difference, I doubt you would even notice it.

The one thing I have heard about snow tires is if you are going to change from your original size is to purchase them a little less wider. The rational for this is a slightly narrower tire will slice through slush easier than a wider tire. But you don’t want to depart too much from the original, maybe 5 or 10mm less.

 

[vfc]

Hana,
Here is a link to a tire size calculator:

http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp

The snow tires will put you over the recommended diameter change (3.02% larger). I would suggest 205/55.

 

[Marilynfan]

The dealer parts department sent out an email about great deals on snow tires/rims. HA! I emailed for a price on a cube and the bridgestone blizzaks were $1000 Cdn plus tax including OE rims and installation.

 

[TrevorS]

advice please......my tires now are 195/60/15, is it o.k. to put on 195/65/15 for snow tires ???
thanks

Yes it is! Further, a slightly taller tire won't hurt you in winter driving (it'll actually help), you just need to be aware that your speedometer will read slightly low (3.2%).

PS. This tire calculator gives you the amount of speedometer error:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

[Marilynfan]

The dealer parts department sent out an email about great deals on snow tires/rims. HA! I emailed for a price on a cube and the bridgestone blizzaks were $1000 Cdn plus tax including OE rims and installation.

They also just clarified that these are for 15inch rim and tires. Does that make a difference on my SL pretty sure my tires are currently 16s?

 

[aftershock141]

I would definitely look into some Blizzacks. They are great tires for the money.

 

[TrevorS]

The dealer parts department sent out an email about great deals on snow tires/rims. HA! I emailed for a price on a cube and the bridgestone blizzaks were $1000 Cdn plus tax including OE rims and installation.

They also just clarified that these are for 15inch rim and tires. Does that make a difference on my SL pretty sure my tires are currently 16s?

Check the tire size imprinted on the sidewalls of your currently installed tires. The last number, be it 15 or 16, cannot be changed unless you purchase new rims. Also verify the first two numbers so that you definitely know what the car came with.

 

[hana]

The dealer parts department sent out an email about great deals on snow tires/rims. HA! I emailed for a price on a cube and the bridgestone blizzaks were $1000 Cdn plus tax including OE rims and installation.

we have that here too, $1200.00 all in.

 

[hana]

thank you all for your responses

 

[Marilynfan]

Check the tire size imprinted on the sidewalls of your currently installed tires. The last number, be it 15 or 16, cannot be changed unless you purchase new rims. Also verify the first two numbers so that you definitely know what the car came with.

Is there a benefit to buying separate rims if I have no intention of changing them myself? Also if I did buy the rims too which I probably will does it make a difference if I go down to the 15s instead of the 16s I have. Which would be better in snow.

 

[TrevorS]

Is there a benefit to buying separate rims if I have no intention of changing them myself? Also if I did buy the rims too which I probably will does it make a difference if I go down to the 15s instead of the 16s I have. Which would be better in snow.

The rim radius primarily affects appearance, though as the tire profile shrinks (to accomodate taller rims) the reduction in tire side-wall height will change both handling and ride comfort. The difference between 15 and 16 inch would probably not be particularly noticable except for appearance. If you currently have 16" rims, I don't see any advantage in switching to something smaller.

As I mentioned in another thread, I installed snow tires on my factory rims and the OE all-season tires on aftermarket rims. That may make sense for you, or may not -- depends on what you want. The thing to remember is you don't want to run snow tires in non-winter seasons. They'll wear much more quickly than all-season or summer tires. Either have the tires changed on the OE rims twice a year or swap the complete wheels twice a year. I personally find it very convenient to swap wheels, and then I have my aftermarket alloys on the car for the warmer months .