Winter Tire and Wheel Recommendations

[IZwack]

Does anyone have a recommendation as to Winter tires/wheels, better yet where they are on special so I can use the Ford Canada "won't be beat on price" Winter tire event to perhaps get a better deal?

Get on TireRack.com and compare the user reviews for winter tires.

 

[JustB_Rad]

Hmmm - are Ford Edge wheels interchangeable with Explorer?

Yes, I have a set of 17" Painted Edge wheels that fit great for my Winter Setup...with TPMS from Tirerack, Mounting and Balancing, I spent $1200

 

[peterk9]

calb, you can view customer reviews on both tirerack.com or 1010tires.com.
Since you are in Ontario, I suggest using the latter since I have found instances where tires available here in Canada do not appear on the tirerack site.

 

[peterk9]

Hmmm - are Ford Edge wheels interchangeable with Explorer?

According to another thread I've read a while ago, apparently not all of the Edge model years will fit. I think if you want to do it properly, you will be spending more than the $1000 Costco discount.

 

[HughCares]

I live in Ontario Canada and purchased Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1's, SE 17" alloy wheels and the TPMS's from tirerack.com for $1762.00 (CDN) for my 2012 Limited. That was an all-in cost that included shipping which on it's own was just under $300.00. They come fully mounted and ready to be installed (did that myself) and a new set of lug nuts are also included. I store my 20 inch polished OEM wheels in my own garage. I saved over $400.00 from what it would have cost in Canada and the alloy wheels are so much lighter than the ugly steel wheels with or without wheel covers and they look awesome on the EX (even for 17" wheels!). The same setup from 1010tires.com in Canada were at least a couple hundred dollars more....I recommend tirerack.com 100%. The Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1's are terrific and a much better tire than the Michelin X-ice tires (which I happened to have on my other vehicle (Mitsubishi Endeavor) so I can qualify my opinion.

 

[blueka]

we just got firestone winterforce... they are AMAZING!


Si

 

[Kerrsy]

We just got our first couple of snowfalls in the last few weeks, we got the Blizzak's installed by the dealer. It was included in the winter tire promo (we also got $1000.00 Costco rebate)! The combination of smaller footprint of the 17" tires and the Blizzak's is night and day in comparison to the stock 20" Hankooks. My wife actually called me to thank me for buying the X and getting the winter tires put on, she had no problems getting anywhere after freezing rain followed by 4" of snow. She had way more trouble getting around in the school bus she drives!

I have had friends who love their Michelin X Ice as well (Jeep GC).

 

[peterk9]

I live in Ontario Canada and purchased Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1's, SE 17" alloy wheels and the TPMS's from tirerack.com for $1762.00 (CDN) for my 2012 Limited. That was an all-in cost that included shipping which on it's own was just under $300.00. They come fully mounted and ready to be installed (did that myself) and a new set of lug nuts are also included. I store my 20 inch polished OEM wheels in my own garage. I saved over $400.00 from what it would have cost in Canada and the alloy wheels are so much lighter than the ugly steel wheels with or without wheel covers and they look awesome on the EX (even for 17" wheels!). The same setup from 1010tires.com in Canada were at least a couple hundred dollars more....I recommend tirerack.com 100%. The Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1's are terrific and a much better tire than the Michelin X-ice tires (which I happened to have on my other vehicle (Mitsubishi Endeavor) so I can qualify my opinion.

Seems like a good deal. I didn't want to store the 20" wheels. I found the 19" ones I had on the Highlander heavy enough to carry. When you're a senior citizen you take the easy route. I didn't want alloys for my Winter tires. A friend of mine had them and they did look good, for a couple of Winters. Then the salt, sand etc, got to them. The downside of the steelies is that they can tend to rust but a good coat of paint will take care of that. Good luck with your Limited and your new wheels.

 

[peterk9]

We just got our first couple of snowfalls in the last few weeks, we got the Blizzak's installed by the dealer. It was included in the winter tire promo (we also got $1000.00 Costco rebate)! The combination of smaller footprint of the 17" tires and the Blizzak's is night and day in comparison to the stock 20" Hankooks. My wife actually called me to thank me for buying the X and getting the winter tires put on, she had no problems getting anywhere after freezing rain followed by 4" of snow. She had way more trouble getting around in the school bus she drives!

I have had friends who love their Michelin X Ice as well (Jeep GC).

On a side note, I think I'm probably one of the very few, if not only the one, who wished that the Limited would have been available with the 17" wheel option. I think it rides a little bit better now that I have the 17" Winters on and I wouldn't be as worried about brushing up against the odd curb. It would also be better for light off-roading, if one was so inclined.
Welcome to the Forum Kerrsy. Always nice to see more fellow Canadians on the site.:wavey:

 

[CDN_Explorer]

I'm getting the hankooks ipike that my dealer carries installed right now. I heard mixed reviews about them, more good than bad though. They are faily cheap compared to other makes. I guess we'll see next time it snows.

 

[peterk9]

I'm getting the hankooks ipike that my dealer carries installed right now. I heard mixed reviews about them, more good than bad though. They are faily cheap compared to other makes. I guess we'll see next time it snows.

According to 1010.tire.com there are two models for the i-pike. They both score 4.4 out of 5 in customer reviews. That compares to 4.2 for the BFG and 4.1 for the Bridgstone DM-V1. Biggest difference seems to be in treadwear. Hankook received 4.2, BFG a 3.7 and the Bridgestone a 3.1.
Unable to find your tire on the tirerack.com site.

 

[rojomoto]

calb,

I just recently picked up the same set of winter tires as Peter but without the hubcaps and lugs and it was $1100 incl tax at the dealer and will come with a $50 Mail in Rebate from BFG.

I usually go with Michelin x-ice but am really liking these so far. Winnipeg winters are generally pretty bad so all my cars get winter tires.

 

[peterk9]

calb,

I just recently picked up the same set of winter tires as Peter but without the hubcaps and lugs and it was $1100 incl tax at the dealer and will come with a $50 Mail in Rebate from BFG.

I usually go with Michelin x-ice but am really liking these so far. Winnipeg winters are generally pretty bad so all my cars get winter tires.

I'm pretty happy with them so far as well but we haven't had much snow yet. They are a fairly quiet tire. Just received my rebate this week. I sent it in Oct. 28th.

 

[CDN_Explorer]

I just bought the ipike RW11 for my 20" rims. Cost 1300 CDN installed and balanced. Pretty good price!! The tire gets 4.4/5 starts on 10-10 tire.com. I'm looking forward to testing these in the snow. So far I'm happy with the look, nice and aggressive. I like it better than the all seasons. The only thing I noticed so far, and this is only normal due to thread, is a bit more road noise. I will review them again after the next snowfall.

 

[CDN_Explorer]

I just slapped on winter tires on my new 20" rims. It looks pretty sweet. The winter tires a even a little bit wider than the stock all season's. 265/50/20 instead of the 255/50/20. I went with the Hankook i*Pike RW11's, they get pretty good reviews and are very affordable (I paid CAD 1300, mounted and balanced) from Ford. Their tread pattern is quite aggressive and deep, I'm really looking forward to the next snow

 

[Turdle]

I feel sorry for those wheels with all the salt up there. Be wary, they no likey winter.

If I had a set of nice wheels like that they would sit in the shed until the melt.

 

[CDN_Explorer]

I feel sorry for those wheels with all the salt up there. Be wary, they no likey winter.

If I had a set of nice wheels like that they would sit in the shed until the melt.

I have nice wheels on my Audi winter setup too and as long as they get washed frequently they are fine. Besides I will be buying 22" for the summer next year. These are nice, but I find them too small still. So I demoted them to winter rims.

 

[FLOffroad]

At the risk of hijacking this thread (sorry), if CDN isn't getting rubbing with those tires, then 245/70R17 Goodyear Duratracs should fit (assuming wheel offset is in a good range -- other 245's should work too, assuming treadwidth is below 8.2" and rev's/mile is above ~680).
Sort of winter tires, but also very good offroad tires for anyone interested.
That's all. Sorry for semi-hijack.

Thanks for the photos CDN, it's good to see a more aggressive thread/sidewall on a 2011.

 

[CDN_Explorer]

At the risk of hijacking this thread (sorry), if CDN isn't getting rubbing with those tires

Thanks for the photos CDN, it's good to see a more aggressive thread/sidewall on a 2011.

NO Rubbing!! The dimensions are still very very close to the original ones. There is room to go bigger!!

 

[peterk9]

Just a reminder for those looking to put on Winter tires that narrower is better than wider. Less resistance. The difference between the OEM 20" tire width and the new Winter tires is the Winter Hankooks are 0.40 inches wider.
Speedometer Difference: 1.331% too slow. Not sure why an increase in tread width would affect the speedo but apparently it does.