I cried "Uncle!" Winter setup Friday

[cmgww]

With no end in sight for this terrible winter (not to mention the potholes that won't be fixed until mid April)...I had to make the tough call to finally get a winter setup. Going with GT Radial Champiro 18" 55 sidewall tires, Konig Crown rims. It's all I can afford right now, but I also can't afford to keep bulging tires and bending rims. I got lucky with the Discount Tire warranty that covered the Pirellis, but I have to look long term. My guy at Discount has me lined up for Friday, $900 installed with TPMS too. The reviews are pretty good for a "economy" tire, and the rims don't look too bad either.
I don't live beyond my means, and probably shouldn't have been so hardheaded about getting a winter setup. I am just trying to save as much as I can for our upcoming baby, due in June.

 

[jimmyh]

Don't worry. Winter should be over by July or August. September the latest.

 

[cmgww]

Don't worry. Winter should be over by July or August. September the latest.

Haha. No joke. I hope this isn't like 1816, "The Year Without a Summer." Read about it sometime if you don't know...it was snowing in mid July in the Midwest...crops ruined, famine, etc. All due to several big volcanic eruptions that occurred in the years prior to 1816. And people still think climate change is all man made...wait, not going down that road.

 

[QSilverGS]

Well congrats on the new kid and make sure you pick out a suitable Recaro car seat to match the interior! (no, we didn't fork out the cash for one though). Those wheels are pretty wicked and look like another members wheels I just saw from an older post. You should be able to stretch the winter set for quite a few years. Good luck and don't rash up the new rims!

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[Garrus]

Congrats on the winter setup purchase and triple congrats on the incoming child!

Do you guys know the gender or going in unknown?

Think this could be the first kid born on the Buick Forums.

Names...? Black Diamond? Quicksilver? White Diamond? Copper? Smoky? Tri?

 

[BLKGS12]

Congrats on the winter setup purchase and triple congrats on the incoming child!

Do you guys know the gender or going in unknown?

Think this could be the first kid born on the Buick Forums.

Names...? Black Diamond? Quicksilver? White Diamond? Copper? Smoky? Tri?

Actually my wife is due may 19th with our first. And its a girl

 

[cmgww]

My wife is due June 11th, it's a boy. I won't give away the name, but his initials will be MPH! Fitting given my racing lineage. My distant relative, Bill Holland, won the 1949 Indy 500. My father was a great weekend drag racer, and competed for several years in the Silver State Classic in Vegas/Ely Nevada, winning his class in 2001 in a 1992 modified Corvette (145 mph class). Nothing we own is stock. He has a 2003 Z06 that puts down 594 RWHP, more than the C6 ZR1. He has a modded HHR SS with over 320 HP. And a Yamaha FX-SHO Waverunner that is modded and does 80 mph...on the water.

I myself have the G8 that is slightly modded, a Yamaha GP 1200R WaveRunner that is GPS confirmed at 78 mph, and the GS.
Sorry to hijack the thread, but I'm proud of my gear head roots. I'm not the mechanic/engineer my father is, but I am learning.

Oh and I have to wait until Monday to get my winter setup. My guy at Discount couldn't get the tires in from Ohio...this winter has been so bad there is a shortage of winter tires. Should be fun, as were supposed to get 6-8" of snow this weekend. Driving the truck or G8 for sure (G8 has studded winters on 17"s)

 

[Mackiesback]

My wife is due June 11th, it's a boy. I won't give away the name, but his initials will be MPH! Fitting given my racing lineage. My distant relative, Bill Holland, won the 1949 Indy 500.

That's funny. A friend of mine is the grandson of Mauri Rose, 3 time Indy winner, who got fired from the team that year for ignoring team orders and trying to pass Bill Holland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949_Indianapolis_500

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[jimmyh]

Where do you live? I don't think snow tires are worth it in urban areas. Even with all this snow this year, I've only driven on snow a handful of times. They clear snow so fast here in Chicago. Furthermore, snow tires wear really fast on pavement. So if you drive 25k a year like me, you are only going to get one good winter out of them. After 10k miles, they are really no better than an all season tire.

 

[88 E5PR1T]

Where do you live? I don't think snow tires are worth it in urban areas. Even with all this snow this year, I've only driven on snow a handful of times. They clear snow so fast here in Chicago. Furthermore, snow tires wear really fast on pavement. So if you drive 25k a year like me, you are only going to get one good winter out of them. After 10k miles, they are really no better than an all season tire.

I thought that was really interesting the first time I read it... snow tires DONT wear on snow, but on pavement they wear worse than a "normal" tire. They also wear more if you drive on them in temps 50+.

 

[jimmyh]

It's been almost 10 years since I had snow tires (so maybe they are better now) but I noticed when I put them on the second winter, they weren't any better than the all seasons I had just taken off the car. Which blew my mind because they were blizzaks that were awesome the first winter.

 

[cmgww]

That's funny. A friend of mine is the grandson of Mauri Rose, 3 time Indy winner, who got fired from the team that year for ignoring team orders and trying to pass Bill Holland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949_Indianapolis_500

That's cool!

As for urban areas and snow tires...If we have more winters like this in Indy they will be well worth the price, if only for the pothole "peace of mind". This is the 5th winter we have put on the same set of studded snow tires on my G8, and they just now are starting to wear. They aren't as good as they were in late 2009 when I bought them, but that car still gets around quite well in the snow. However, we also don't put the miles on that car like I will the GS. It's going on 5 years old and only has 53k miles. I'll do that in two in my GS. But that is also why I didn't blow $$$ on Blizzaks either. We will see how it goes with these, and if they wear too fast I will go to an all season next time. I just want more sidewall and a softer tread compound. 55 is a lot better than 35 in terms of absorbing blows from the terrible roads.

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[Walt G]

Exactly what size tire did you end up getting for your snow set? I haven't made a purchase yet, but when I was looking around I considered a 225/55-18. But that tire will be about 1 inch larger in diameter than the tires that come on these cars. I can barely fit my skinny fingers between the rear tires and the rear inner fender wells, so I was concerned that these might not work.

A 215/55-18 would be closer to the OEM diameter, but I think would require a narrower rim which I thought might not clear the Brembos in front.

In any case, please let us know what size tire and wheel you end up with. Thanks.

 

[Mackiesback]

Where do you live? I don't think snow tires are worth it in urban areas. Even with all this snow this year, I've only driven on snow a handful of times. They clear snow so fast here in Chicago. Furthermore, snow tires wear really fast on pavement. So if you drive 25k a year like me, you are only going to get one good winter out of them. After 10k miles, they are really no better than an all season tire.

Minneapolis is an urban area and snows are a great help, in spite of the efficiency of the road crews. I also drive 25 k a year and I have easily gotten over 75k on a set of Blizzaks.

 

[cmgww]

Exactly what size tire did you end up getting for your snow set? I haven't made a purchase yet, but when I was looking around I considered a 225/55-18. But that tire will be about 1 inch larger in diameter than the tires that come on these cars. I can barely fit my skinny fingers between the rear tires and the rear inner fender wells, so I was concerned that these might not work.

A 215/55-18 would be closer to the OEM diameter, but I think would require a narrower rim which I thought might not clear the Brembos in front.

In any case, please let us know what size tire and wheel you end up with. Thanks.

I will let you know what the exact size is...but my guy assured me there wouldn't be any fitment issues with the brakes or wheel wells. I know they are a 55 sidewall for sure.

Oh and that big winter storm? They whiffed badly. Got about 2 inches on the north side of Indy. They were calling for 5-9"....but in fairness they did say it was a really tricky storm to predict, precipitation wise. Thank God...so sick of the snow!