Winter Tire and Wheel Recommendations | Page 6 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Winter Tire and Wheel Recommendations

I just bought Winter Tires/Rims.

Tire: Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 $900.57 taxes in out the door at Costco
Rim: 17" Steel Rim $69.99 each + tax
 



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I have run NITTO SN2 on various vehicles and have had great luck with them when my hankook dynapro's wear out thats what im going to go with they dont look too aggressive but give great traction on/in snow and very impressive on ice. looks a lot like the Blizzack i think.

For those of you who do not know nitto is associated with Toyo (some of the best tires ive owned ever and priced like it). Nitto was branched off into there own entity a few years ago and seem like very good quality from my experience.
 






I have run NITTO SN2 on various vehicles and have had great luck with them when my hankook dynapro's wear out thats what im going to go with they dont look too aggressive but give great traction on/in snow and very impressive on ice. looks a lot like the Blizzack i think.

For those of you who do not know nitto is associated with Toyo (some of the best tires ive owned ever and priced like it).
That statement likely won't go over well with former Toyota Highlander owners. The OEM Toyo tires were a great source of complaint among the Highlander owners. Very poor tread life was the major problem. Many owners had to get Toyo dealers to replace them early or worked a deal to get a better Toyo tire. As with many OEM tires, they are usually not the company's best tire. Mine were good and I also had them on my '81 Datsun 510 wagon and they lasted forever.
The Nitto NT-SN2 Winter tires looks like a good one. 143 reviewers on the site I read gave it a 4.5 out of 5.

http://www.tirebuyer.com/tires/nitto/nt-sn2-winter/p/style/36261

Peter
 






I just bought Winter Tires/Rims.

Tire: Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 $900.57 taxes in out the door at Costco
Rim: 17" Steel Rim $69.99 each + tax
So 17" wheels will fit then. While I was getting my 17" Winter wheels put on today I spoke with the parts manager about this. He checked his books and Ford recommends using an 18" wheel. If the 17" fits that is good news.

Peter
 






So 17" wheels will fit then. While I was getting my 17" Winter wheels put on today I spoke with the parts manager about this. He checked his books and Ford recommends using an 18" wheel. If the 17" fits that is good news.

Peter

Peter, I'm confused. For which trim line does Ford recommend 18"? KanewtZ lists his Ex as a LTD, which we know will work with a 17". I need to know whether an 18" will work on a Sport,
 






Peter, I'm confused. For which trim line does Ford recommend 18"? KanewtZ lists his Ex as a LTD, which we know will work with a 17". I need to know whether an 18" will work on a Sport,
18" is recommended for the 2013 Limited according to the Ford manual he had.
I didn't inquire about the Sport because if I got another Ex, it would likely be a Limited.

Peter
 






Peter, I'm confused. For which trim line does Ford recommend 18"? KanewtZ lists his Ex as a LTD, which we know will work with a 17". I need to know whether an 18" will work on a Sport,

18" wheels will work on a Sport. I went with the 18" steel Interceptor (police) wheels for winter use. Sport and Interceptor use the same size brakes.

Besides brake clearance, with the Sport you also have to make sure whatever wheel you choose provides adequate ventilation to the brakes. Ford found brake overheating to be a issue when testing the Interceptor's and this is why they have the new Interceptor wheel design.
 






18" wheels will work on a Sport. I went with the 18" steel Interceptor (police) wheels for winter use. Sport and Interceptor use the same size brakes.

Besides brake clearance, with the Sport you also have to make sure whatever wheel you choose provides adequate ventilation to the brakes. Ford found brake overheating to be a issue when testing the Interceptor's and this is why they have the new Interceptor wheel design.

Thank you. That is exactly the information that I was looking for. I forgot about the Interceptor wheels but got a good deal on a set of take-offs from an XLT. My Sport, which was ordered July 5, hasn't been built yet, and it is looking like the winter tires may go on as soon as it arrives.
 






Is there any potential issues with not getting the TPMS? I'm debating whether then extra $280+tax is really worth it.

The only potential issue is there will be a flashing light on my dash and an occasional chime?

Would the Explorer automatically recognize the TPMS from my stock tires when I put them back on in the summer?

Anyone here running winter tires without the TPMS?

I ran snows last year without the TPMS. All you get is the steady low pressure light on the dash with a one time chime and occassional warning. You hit the LH OK button and the warning goes away.

Sometimes it wouldn't happen for 10-12 miles after starting the car. I figured that the car was sensing the tires stored in the garage as noted first thing in the AM.
 






I have a set of 245-65-17 on 08 sable wheels I am going to use for winter, they are Mastercraft Courser MSR's with studs.
 






I have a set of 245-65-17 on 08 sable wheels I am going to use for winter, they are Mastercraft Courser MSR's with studs.
Just make sure the wheel fits properly. There is more to it than just the bolt pattern. Things to consider are center bore, offset, backspacing etc.

Peter
 






Done all that, they are a better fit than the Avaitor and some of the other wheels I have laying around.
 






Winter tire size help?

So i have a 2011 explorer with the 245/60/18 all seasons, My buddy has offered me a set of winter tires that are 255/65/18. I know that these are just under 5% bigger but some websites say dont go over 3% and some say under 5% is fine.

I would appreciate any comments as i am just lost on this. Bolt pattern is fine for the rims just not sure on the size of the tires.
 






Never a good idea to go BIGGER for winter. How old are the tires (check the DOT code date on the sidewall)?? If they are 5-6 years old.....PASS.
 






Well they are free and bought new last year, does that make a diffrence? :)
 






Whats wrong with going bigger for winter? More sidewall = less rim damage

You could have Ford reflash the speedo for the winter tires. Or even better, get rid of the 245/60 for a set of 255/65 and have it flashed once. The newer explorer's need some bigger meat
 






Whats wrong with going bigger for winter? More sidewall = less rim damage

You could have Ford reflash the speedo for the winter tires. Or even better, get rid of the 245/60 for a set of 255/65 and have it flashed once. The newer explorer's need some bigger meat
Narrower is better. The issue here is going to a wider tire. Bigger/wider tread means the engine has to work harder, especially when driving in snow.
I replace my 20's with 17's in the Winter and love the extra sidewall. Wished 17's were an option on the Limited.

Peter
 






So i have a 2011 explorer with the 245/60/18 all seasons, My buddy has offered me a set of winter tires that are 255/65/18. I know that these are just under 5% bigger but some websites say dont go over 3% and some say under 5% is fine.

I would appreciate any comments as i am just lost on this. Bolt pattern is fine for the rims just not sure on the size of the tires.
You are correct in that it is just under 5%. I comes to 4.99%. Most recommendations say to not exceed 3%. When your OEM wheel show 100 kmph, the 255/65's will actuall be doing 104.99 kmph. The speed variance would be 4.75% too fast.
My OEM wheels are 255/50R20 and my Winter wheels are 245/65R17. A diameter variance of only 1.66%.

Peter
 






Whats wrong with going bigger for winter? More sidewall = less rim damage

I should have been more clear. Peter stated it better than me.

"It's not a good idea to use a wider (bigger footprint) tire for the winter."
 



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bought new last year, does that make a diffrence? :)

Dosn't matter when they were purchased. What is the DOT code date? If more than 5 years old, make a swing out of 'em.
 






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