I am looking at getting winter tires for my 09 GT this fall. Has anyone with an 09 GT put the 205/55 R16 on your GT and if so how did it handle. I already know the spedo will be off.
Welcome to GenVibe Several of us here have already done this in order to preserve the alloys from getting destroyed. Here is a pic showing mine with Kelly Navigator All Season tires on 16" Camry steelie rims. Notice the original 18" safely stored up near my garage ceiling. The drive is much smoother and very little change on the speedometer. Definitely do this if you're up here in the midwest where the winters will eat up your nice alloys.
GotNet wrote:Thanks for the quick reply. I have been a long time reader of this site. I live outside of Columbus and I differently need a pair.
Not sure what you mean by pair, but you do not want to run only a pair of snows. If you do, they need to be on the back and the same size as the tires on the front.
GotNet wrote:Thanks for the quick reply. I have been a long time reader of this site. I live outside of Columbus and I differently need a pair.
Not sure what you mean by pair, but you do not want to run only a pair of snows. If you do, they need to be on the back and the same size as the tires on the front.
Set of winter tires not a pair. That was a typo. Thanks for catching that.
We also use a seperate set of wheels and tires on both our Vibes during the winter months. We have 2009-2010 Vibe 2.4L Base / AWD 16" steel wheels and wheel covers with 205/55/16 Kelly Explorer all season tires and 2003-2010 Vibe steel wheel / wheel cover-specific lug nuts for a complete OEM setup. The ride is slightly improved over the 18s and the speedometer doesn't seem to be effected at all since the wheels and tires are OEM size.
On a bit of a side note, 16" wheels are the absolute smallest that will fit over the 2009-2010 Vibe GT's massive front brakes.
Check out our Garage threads (links in my signature below) to see pictures of the winter setups installed.
2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
2009 Steel Blue Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage