question about AK370's winter setup
 

I am just about to purchase a setup from Tire Rack similar to AK370's, only with LM60's instead of LM25's. I was just wondering if the 225/50R18 will fit propertly on the TRMotorsport C2 18 X 8.5 wheels since the recommended rim width range is 6"-8"?

Anyone? ... I really need your help guys as I am planning to purchase these wheels & tires soon.

I spoke to someone from Tire Rack and they said that they cannot guarantee that they will mount the 225/50R18 tire on the 8.5" wheel (only if someone is a bit careless and doesn't happen to notice the larger wheel width). He also mentioned that the tire manufacturer would not guarantee proper performance of the tire since it would be used beyond its recommended mounting width. By the way I have settled on 225/50R18 Michelin X-Ice Xi3's with silver Sport Edition A7's. I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and my Z is daily driven so I am looking for all the snow & ice traction I can get.

Sounds like good advice. I definitely wouldn't recommend stretching winter tires (or tires in general, but especially winter tires)

why not the sports edition A7 like the tirerack.com recommended?

I got Blizzak LM 60s with the sport edition a7s as well...I got black though. Figured it would show less grime from the road during the winter. We will have to compare our experiences once it snows! I just need to order my car jack and torque wrench now.

I will be choosing the Sport Edition wheels ... plus I figure the A7 wheels will look bigger on the car since the spokes are longer compared to the C2's, and the extra weight will help out the traction

It's still a toss up between the Blizzak LM-60's and the X-Ice Xi3's. There are so many mixed reviews out there. Despite being a performance winter tire, according to Tire Rack's survey results, the LM-60 seems to have better light/deep snow traction and comparable ice traction to the X-Ice Xi2, yet it's dry traction and handling isn't as good. I understand these survey results are based on customer reviews but they seem to contradict what you would expect from these two tires (performance winter vs. studless ice and snow) ...

Consumer Survey Results By Category

I went with LM-60, I'm dealing with NE weather and plan to stay and work from home if its icy out there. I could not find enough information about the Ice Xi3.

This is the email that I sent to Tire Rack ...

"According to your definition, a performance winter tire should have better wet/dry traction and not as good snow/ice traction. According to the survey results, the Blizzak LM-60 has better snow traction and not as good wet/dry traction compared to the X-Ice Xi2 (a studless snow/ice tire). I understand that these results are based on customer reviews but it makes it very difficult to choose between these two tires. The size I am looking at is 225/50R18. The Michelin would of course be the X-Ice Xi3. Ultimately I am looking for better snow and ice traction, but the X-Ice seems to receive many negative reviews about its snow traction."

and this was their response ...

"When looking at tires on our site you should not really compare different types of tire categories to each other. This will give you inaccurate information. We design the site to compare tires in the same category. The performance winter tires are designed more for the sport performance vehicles. They focus on handling and less ice traction. If you want the best snow and ice traction then you would go with a stud less ice and snow. The trade off to the stud less ice and snow is on the dry days you do not get as good as handling response. They will feel a little like marsh mellows compared to a performance winter tire."

here are some more ratings from a Canadian online tire store ...

studless ...

http://winter-tires.pmctire.com/x-st...valuations.pdf

performance ...

http://winter-tires.pmctire.com/x-st...valuations.pdf