Winter tires for GT

[LavaMyVibe]

My first time posting here but I've been enjoying this forum since before I bought my GT in July . With ol' man winter coming soon, the GT's 17" tires gotta be swapped for 4 winter tires.Question: what tire size would match the best? I've seen 195/65 R15's recommended here but I suspect that was for the base Vibe. If my math is right, the 205/65/R15 is about 1mm larger in diameter than the original 17" tires so it seems to be a better choice. Anything else to consider?Thanks all.LMV

[Devlop]

Are you planning on getting new rims and tires for the winter or just putting winter tires on the 17" rims that you already have because both of those tires that you mentioned are for a 15" rim.

[LavaMyVibe]

Sorry, I should have mentioned in the original post that I have 15" steelies from my 1990 Celica GTS that I'm hoping to reuse.

[Devlop]

Ahh, well I'm not a genius at tires, but I'm sure when you go to buy the tires, the guys at the store should know what size will match best. Just remember that if you go larger than your oem setup (overall diameter of wheel and tire), your speedo is going to show a slower speed than you are actually going.

[AKLGT]

i went this morning to find out about tires for my GT. i also have the 17's. looking at 15" tires, you'll want to get 195/60/15. i will have to buy some ugly black steelies so it will cost me even more money! ugh! i was quoted $339 for winter masters, el cheapo winter tires, and $479 for nokian hakkapalita's, super winter tires.... and black steelies for $196! so.... will cost me $550-680! and if i wanted studded 17" tires, would be $996! hell no! i'll keep searching...

[goodvibe]

My math is the same as yours 195/65 or 205/60 would be closest to the standard diameter.

[AKLGT]

yes, i got back from the tire shop and changing from 17's to 15's we'll need 205/60/15 tires. that is the closest in diameter. we compared teh 195/60/15 tires and they are too big a difference. would be ok if we were going from 16's to 15's, but not 17's. looks like there will be plenty of space for the brakes too on the 15" rims. i have to go back tomorrow for a fitment test. they didn't have the right bolt pattern today.

[MadBill]

Hey trd, the charts I looked at on http://www.tirerack.com showed 205/ 65 x 15" as the closest diameter.

[AKLGT]

quote:Hey trd, the charts I looked at on http://www.tirerack.com showed 205/ 65 x 15" as the closest diameter.ok, maybe that's it then. i didn't write it down.

[AKLGT]

so i had the rim fitment done today. the 15's work, but have only about 1" of room for the calipers. the 205/60/15 are a bit off, so will get the corrected size 205/65/15 tomorrow. my guys going to charge me $400 w/ rims mounted and installed for some hancooks winter slalom (i think they're called?) studded tires! not bad at all! always love to give my clients business.... will save me $200!

[LavaMyVibe]

Yeah, the caliper fit is tight with the 15" wheel but should be fine. I mean, once the wheel is mounted, it ain't moving any closer to the caliper. What made you go with the Hankook tires? Price is a definite plus and I've read good things about them. Just wondering what was the clincher for you. I'm leaning towards the Pirelli 210 or the Dunlop M2 (but then again, these are not studdable). LMV

[ragingfish]

There's a pretty extensive discussion of good winter tires here: http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=5336Seems the Dunlop M2 is a good tire.Personally, I am intrigued by the Green Diamond tires (http://greendiamondtire.com/).

[Sub-Vibe-R]

I've got 15" tire for my Vibe. It will fit both, base and GT as they share the same front brake. 195 65 R15 if the closest size to the standard tire diameter. You can also get 205 65 R15. The tire will be a little bit wider and you'll lost some grip in show, but not much.

[AKLGT]

the 195/65/15 didn't even come close to fitting! they may work w/ 16's but not the 17's. what size did you switch from, sub?[edit] oops, i think we tried the 195/55/15! guess that'd make a big difference, eh? lol

[AKLGT]

quote:Yeah, the caliper fit is tight with the 15" wheel but should be fine. I mean, once the wheel is mounted, it ain't moving any closer to the caliper. What made you go with the Hankook tires? Price is a definite plus and I've read good things about them. Just wondering what was the clincher for you. I'm leaning towards the Pirelli 210 or the Dunlop M2 (but then again, these are not studdable). LMVi went with the hancooks because i've talked to several people here that like them. they are supposed to be very good winter tires. also, i MUST have studs for the winter. i don't think it'll be an option. too much snow and ice here to take the chance with the GT.

[Sub-Vibe-R]

quote:the 195/65/15 didn't even come close to fitting! they may work w/ 16's but not the 17's. what size did you switch from, sub?[edit] oops, i think we tried the 195/55/15! guess that'd make a big difference, eh? lol getting 195 55 instead of 195 65 will made a big difference. Almost 1 inch diameter less.I know 17" stock wheels have a little bigger diameter, so may be to get closer tire size, you should go with 205 65 instead of 195 65 like I did. 195 65 15 the almost exact size then the 205 55 16.

[MadBill]

quote:Yeah, the caliper fit is tight with the 15" wheel but should be fine. I mean, once the wheel is mounted, it ain't moving any closer to the caliper.... LMVTrue, Lava, but the caliper can move closer to the wheel! Since the Vibe has floating calipers, they move inboard as the pads wear, and my tire shop has seen cases where wheels fit OK with worn pads, but fouled the calipers when new ones were fitted. That said, my 15" (Corolla, I think) Steelies are also tight but OK, ~1/4" with new pads.

[LavaMyVibe]

quote:Yeah, the caliper fit is tight with the 15" wheel but should be fine. I mean, once the wheel is mounted, it ain't moving any closer to the caliper.... LMVTrue, Lava, but the caliper can move closer to the wheel! Since the Vibe has floating calipers, they move inboard as the pads wear, and my tire shop has seen cases where wheels fit OK with worn pads, but fouled the calipers when new ones were fitted. That said, my 15" (Corolla, I think) Steelies are also tight but OK, ~1/4" with new pads. Thanks MadBill! I didn't think of that. I have a grand total of 1600Km's on my Vibe so I don't expect there has been much wear on the breaks. I'll definitely keep that in mind for my other car when I get snows for it.

[AKLGT]

think mine will be ok? i just crossed 9K miles on it yesterday or the day before? hopefully the pad haven't worn too much already!

[goodvibe]

If anyone needs to check for proper diameters. Manufacturers have a revolutions per mile spec. Match to oem and you're there. 205/60 or 195/65 is closest. Falken ZE512 was rated the #1 all season tire in consumer reports vs about 20 others including all the major tire makers regardless of price. It was also the cheapest. Not true winter tires but I thought it to be good info for the forum.

[MadBill]

No trd, Im sure you wouldn't have even 1/8" of pad wear, so unless the caliper was grazing the wheel right now, it wouldn't touch with brand new pads.Re the All Season vs. Winter tire choice, even a mediocre Winter tire is better in snow than the best All Season, so unless "Winter" in one's area consists of torrential rains and you have Summer tires that are poor in the wet, you would pretty well always want true Winter tires as a second set.

[AKLGT]

ok, here's the link to my latest additions to the vibe... winterize! note the beautiful black rims and tires accented by the red lug nuts...

[LavaMyVibe]

Finally got my winter tires! I went with the Pirelli Winter Carving, directional. Got a great deal from a local dealer in Toronto; C$500 or about US$375 including taxes, mount & balance. Check it out:

78777=2508-Winter_Carving.jpg