I have a seperate set of rims for my winters

Got extremely lucky on my set, because when I bought my BMW X1 from the previous owner, he also had a set of winters which were 17's

The car itself is very picky because not all 17 inch wheels fit due to clearance issues with the brake calipers

I might have asked this before but I can't remember but is anyone running Michelin's CrossClimate tires? They are marketed as all seasons that have the snowflake symbol rather than as all-weather tires. From what I've read in real life terms it may not really be any better than a regular all-season tire in the snow but that doesn't square with it getting the snowflake symbol.

It's otherwise got stellar reviews and I'm thinking of going to it year round and kicking my winters to the curb since I'll be driving very little in the next few years.

I've sold them to clients once they get over the tread pattern. Jack of all trades kind of thing, but because the compound is a bit harder than a Nokian all-weather, it won't commit suicide in the summer months. However, I've heard no complaints about lack of traction in the snow when running them.

Free honda rims
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...ok_story_share

I'm driving a 2021 GLI, I normally don't bother with winter tires, but we have quite a few ski trips this year, so going to do so.

My buddy works for Conti, so I'll probably get some tires from him, but if I look for wheels, should I be sticking with 18's, or should I look for a set of 17 inch wheels?

I'm clueless as hell which would be easier to find here.

Go for 17s. The more sidewall the better for winter. Plus smaller tires tend to be cheaper.

I run 205/50/17 on my GTI using the base model wheels (I ended up with a 2019 Base/DSG/DAP). Vikingcontact 7's were cheap at that size, and running narrow can help with traction. Plenty of 17" 5x112s to go around, but there are replica Mk6 GTI 17s for cheap that will fit. I bought one to run as a full sized spare.

Yup exactly it.

When I bought my 17 inch Michelin Snow's 215/55/17, they were 700 bucks taxes in

If I were to go with an 18 inch set up, rims would cost more, and the Michelin Snow's would of been well north of $1000

This is great info. Thanks folks.

Last question, good spot to buy some cheap 17 inch alloys for the winters? Steelies aren't a good move?

Steelies are fine. I like getting cheap OEM VW wheels off Craigslist/FB marketplace, there's tons of them around. That way you know the offset and center bore is correct.

https://vancouver.craigslist.org/rch...377241438.html

Like so

Same. I grabbed a set of OEM 18” RDX wheels off FB marketplace to put my winters on.

OEM take offs are typically fairly cheap across most brands. Then you have BMW OEM wheels......

This. You can get a bit creative with how you want to style with VW/Audi takeoffs. Bear in mind though that some Audis are 66.6 CB while VW is 57.1

I bought some Continental True-Contact on CT about 9 days ago as they went on sale. All stores had inventory at the time, been 9 days later and still not ready for pick-up. Got annoyed because I had another home item I ordered and that was ready for pick up. Made no sense to go pick up one item and then go home, and go back again when tires were ready.

Been 9 days and the website shows inventory available for the tires, I called and asked them what the hell is going on. They told me the item could be defective in store or website not updated. It's fucking misleading customers from these clowns, selling something they don't even have ready for pick up. If it weren't for the "sale", would have bought tires elsewhere.

That whole store is garbage. I try to avoid ct where I can.

Got the tires mounted, and washed em like they’ve never seen before. I don’t care who you are, this XXR 527 is a great looking wheel

https://i.ibb.co/PG8CzKZ/FC6897-FB-3...930-C482-F.jpg

^i actually like going to CT to buy tools i only seldomly use.

^ only if they're at least 60% off though.

Andddd have a Triangle 20X points + Spend $$ get $ offer. :noyoudidnt:

It's insane how much those tools are marked up. I shop at CT a lot so know a lot of their tools go through cycles of their high sales and low sales, and how absurd the full prices are compared to the sales.

Even when it looks like 30% off is a great deal to someone that doesn't go there often, it's like, nah, wait for the 60-75% sale that cycles through once a month. EleGiggle

Anyone with real road comments or feedback on the Michelin Pilot Alpin? I know they are one of the priciest but that doesn't mean the best.

I bought some PA4s of CL with 90% tread left for my 335d so I’m excited to feel what they’ll be like as I’m used to Pirelli Snowsports and Blizzak LMs. Tire reviews show the PA line does surprisingly well against competitors of similar type winter tires. Since I’m not doing hardcore snow trips with the car and Vancouver is mostly dry/wet I wanted to know what the PS4S of winters was all about. I won’t mount them up to the car on my driveway until a week before snowfall though so my review might come too late for you.


I ran nearly new DWS06 on the 335d in the snow last year and while they “got me by” they weren’t nearly as confidence inspiring compared to dedicated performance snows which prompted me to go for winters this year.

I had the alpin pa4 for 3 years on my focus RS.

Mostly pro’s, for performance vehicles you actually get a tire that can keep up with your car. You give up very little handling, road noise isn’t too bad

Biggest con is that they are not comparable to the big boy real winter tires. It performs more like an all weather tire, which Is perfect for Vancouver. But if you’re doing interior trips or enjoy snow driving, I’d suggest a real good snow tire.

That being said I never had a seconds thought going up to big white or going ice racing with them. Better than an all weather tire, not as good as an aggressive snow/ice tire

Has anybody tried the Nokian WRG4? If yes, thoughts, experience, and yay or nay?

I've had a set warrantied because the rubber failed showing the cords. Had plenty of tread left. Kal tire did the warranty for me but a different shop told me that they've seen premature failures on nokians before. In the end, kal tire let me use the warranty as credit towards Michelin xice.

Nokians are notoriously made of cheese. The summer heat kills them here and they're dead in less than two years. If anything they're geared more for northern European climates where heat isn't a big factor affecting wear.