14"STEELIES FOR WINTER??

[MR.MCSICK]

Would it be such a bad idea to throw some 14s on the ol'lady's GT for the winter? i got a good deal on 4 from a plain jane leggy L. The only problem i could possibly think of is the clearance of the caliper. That would be most unfortunate. Im really trying to save some cash on tires, but i want her to be safe. With a smaller diameter rim i can still afford a good winter tire without paying out the nose. I could use some suggestions. thanks.
Adam

[shazapple]

I think 15" is the smallest you can go on a GT since they have 10.7" rotors in comparison to the 10.25" of the L

[MR.MCSICK]

Would you recommend a 15X6 or 15X6.5? The stock Gt wheels are 6.5s.

[shazapple]

The slimmer the tire for winter the better :-D

[Huffer]

Yeah, like iceskates. :)

[Wiscon_Mark]

you distribute your weight over less area, and you'll have more Force per square inch, getting better grip, so you don't float all over snow....iceskates glide, I would hope your tires don't :lol:

Just playin' Huffer, I know what you mean ;)

[Legacy4Life]

I use 195 65 R15 for tires on mine. It gives pretty much the same OD as the 16 I run on the stock mags in the summer.

It cost me a little more the first year, but in the end, I've saved the mags and the tires cost less for the 15's then the 16's. And man can that puppy move in the snow with good winter tires! There's no comparison, especially up here where it can get heavy snow and really cold.

[AWD-in-VT]

These guys have some steels for cheaper than I would have expected... http://www.hubsandwheels.com/swcatalog.htm.

[BAC5.2]

Winter tire choice can be difficult. Deep fluffy snow, I think you want narrow so you can cut down underneath the snow, and the wheels have a semi-rudder effect.

For packed snow, though, would you benefit from a slightly wider tire for stability? What about ice? I guess for ice, studs are the only thing that will save you.

I run 225 width All-Seasons on the Forester, and they are fine in the snow. Alignment helps though. I'm more comfortable with over-steer, and a blip of the throttle rotates the car into a very controllable slide.

That's weird using "controllable" and "slide" in the same sentence.

[shazapple]

Packed snow would still be the same. Theres less friction with snow/ice so you want more force per unit area. Not great for turning and such, but were more worried about forward traction this time of year. Bigger tires help spread out the weight like snowshoes and ride ontop of the snow.

[BAC5.2]

I would have imagined that is what you would want for packed snow (not ice). Stability and surface area.

I was more thinking of the turning aspect than the go-straight aspect. AWD gets me going just fine, though I can see a distinct benefit to the narrow tire deal for go-straight.

I am also curious about running a lot of camber in the snow, and how that would help or hurt? I bet a good bit of Caster would help a great deal in the snow.

Though Summer tires are no-go. My car was almost immobile in wet grass with the RE070's. I just sat there and spun and spun and spun inching my way towards the road.

[jey]

Though Summer tires are no-go. My car was almost immobile in wet grass with the RE070's. I just sat there and spun and spun and spun inching my way towards the road.

Some of that depends on the alternative. I tried driving in the snow on my Kumho MXs (had my all-seasons in the trunk, needed to get to a safe place to change tires), and it ended up being better than the experience I had last year driving on the stupid OEM RE92s.