With winter coming up and the need for new tires, I don't want to spend the money to get a new set of winters when I need some good all seasons as well so I'm compromising with these. I need decent winter traction but all around good use. I don't want to shell out the money for winters if I don't need to.

http://www.kaltire.com/index.php?page=tires&tire=50

What do you think and what size of tires would you get on my stock 17s?

I have a 2007 Grand Prix GT SE.

Thanks in advance!

-Garrett

lets trade wheels i have 16s i dont use anymore that you can use for your winter set

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TOP SWAPPED-LS6springsXPcam3.4MPS-SD'sCustomDHPtuneMsdCustom painted/polished genV SSCsGXPforged alcoasSPOgrilles/spoiler/SElip/GMPPhandling
14.02@100 2.294-60'
L32Swap 13.7@102 O.o

No all-season tire will ever compare to a dedicated winter tire....winter tires is all I use for winters...I don't know where you live but I live in Canada so I pretty much have no choice

I run 225/55R17 on my summer wheels....225/60R16 on my stockers for winters.

I can't comment on those tires since I never used them but for winters, thinner tires are better for cutting through snow than wide tires, so keep that in mind.

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I'm in Edmonton! Maybe I should put that into my profile.

Our winters I would say are twice as bad as yours. Not only do we get about a week or two of -30 w/ wind chill but we usually get lots of snow.

I really don't have the money to shell out right now on a dedicated set of winter tires. I would need to get steelies plus a set of tires which would really put me back. I live in the city so the streets are "usually" plowed by the time I get up so it's not really the snow that kills me, it's the slush/ice/snow combo. I don't drive tooo much in the winter either, work/school, home and out on occasion.

Anyway I could get away with a cheap set of winters?

Twice as bad you say, hehe don't kid yourself, we also get the few weeks of -30 temperature then add to that the wind chill which pushes the temps to -40 and lower for those few weeks due to our extremely high humidity levels plus we also get tons of snow...winters of 07-08 and 08-09 we almost broke our city snowfall records (close to 12ft IIRC)...last winter we were blessed which usually dictates that were due for another few years of harsh winters again....my girlfriend's grandparents were forced to move out west to St-Albert a few years back because of their medical condition (emphysema) due to the humidity beeing considerably lower out west. They mentionned how they enjoyed your winters better than out east, especially with the lower levels of humidity but I personally can't comment...now Toronto, they get it easy compared to either of us, they get a couple of inches of snow and its a city wide panic lol

In any case since you live in Canada in an area where we get it far worse than any city south of the border so I would strongly recommend a winter tire...Its already the law in Quebec to have winter tires during winter and its coming to Ontario...don't know if that will ever fly out west but you never know...I live a few minutes from the city and work downtown but when there's a bad snowstorm and its snowing nonstop, the plows can't keep up, city streets can collect up a few inches of snow and then even winter tires will struggle...

Even a cheap set of winter tire will outperform any all-season...Ive been driving for over 12 years and I never owned a vehicle without running winter tires in winter but have driven other peoples vehicles with all-season's and the difference is night/day...in winter on my GP I run Goodyear Nordic's from CTC but have run Michelin X-Ice in the past, I will never buy Michelin's again, they are good tires but the Nordic's are just as good, Michelin winter's are too expensive because you are paying for the Michelin name (its like saying I only buy Nike cause its the best...but its not always the case, alot of Nike stuff is garbage and overpriced)....winter driving habits should not be the same as summer just because you have a winter tire, so wether you buy Goodyear, Hancook, General Tire, etc... either way your going to get somewhere, just with more money in your pocket.

If you don't want to spend alot this winter, buy winter tires and get them mounted on your stockers, then next winter buy steelies...hell you can even go to a wrecker and buy used steelies if you want to save even more...I ran my winter tires on my stockers the first winter I owned my GP, the following summer I bought summer wheels and kept my stockers for my winter tires...

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I take my remark about winter back. Obviously they're about even in terms of cold but the snowfall seems to be in your favor. I remember when I was flying back from Texas in December and we drove from the airport back home and it was 80+ in Texas but when I got home it was about -40 with the wind chill for that whole week I was gone. I was literally wearing a t shirt and shorts when I got back haha! Yes the humidity here is nill unless it rains. So the winters here are very crisp and calm cold. Going down south and feeling the 110+ humidity makes me miss home when I'm down south.

You know what I think you've swayed me quite a bit. I think what I'll do is put some winters on my stock tires for now then after the winter I'll have enough money to buy myself some good summer tires. I could seriously use a good balance and adjustment since I know my car is a little out of whack. Where do you get your tires put on? When do you put on and take off your winter tires?

haha that's hilarious, such a tourist thing to do at work two years ago we had a consultant from the US come to do some work for us for a few days and he knew it was winter up here so he came prepared with a winter jacket but he didn't think our winters were this harsh....boy was he in for a suprise, temps were around -30 or lower, he was staying at a hotel about 5 minutes walk away but he couldn't brave the cold so he took a cab morning and evening to get back to his hotel that was no more than 1 mile away, haha

Since I bought the tires at CTC, included in the price is mounting/balancing so I got them to mount them on the wheels and I put them on the car myself. I usually put my winter tires on the car around November and then switch to my summer tires around April. Trust me you will be happier by going about it this way since you can save up and buy a good set of summer tires instead of compromising on set of all-season tires that will be just "ok" year round.

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Yep haha I would trade our winters for a southern winter any day but I would love to keep our summers as well. If there is a place in this world like that I'm moving there!

Sounds like a great idea. I just need to figure out which winter tires I should get. I don't want to get anything too expensive but work very well in the snow. Also, I don't want it to be too loud. How much do you think I'm looking at? If you don't mind how much did yours cost?

IIRC it was around 450-480$ CDN for four 225/60R16 Goodyear Nordic's winter tires on sale.

For 225/55R17 your probably looking at around 600$ CDN on sale.

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Get some Falken Ziex 912s... I have no idea how they'll handle in winter, but I have a feeling it isn't gonna be pretty... lol

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Although gold dust is precious, when it gets in your eyes, it obstructs your vision.

haha that would be ugly!! I had those as summer tires before my current Eagle GT's, they weren't super bad as a summer tire, better than the OE Eagle LS but I wouldn't trust them one bit in the winters we get here...

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I'm trying to get some quotes from different places and it seems like the numbers are pretty crazy ($1000+). If that's the case maybe I should just order some 17's with steelies from Tire Rack or something and get them installed at Kal Tire.

Has anyone ever ordered tires from them?

Thelongone and I live in WI.. shiiitt... What ya'll know about winter. You got nothin on us.

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Canada's winters > Yours.

Back on topic! I need tires! haha

Do NOT under ANY circumstances buy Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires. They don't last for shit. And Tyler, I hate to break it to ya, but Canadian winters would pwn ours in terms of sheer suckiness.

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Although gold dust is precious, when it gets in your eyes, it obstructs your vision.

Okay I found some relatively cheap steel wheels at Canadian Tire for 70$ a piece. That means 300 for the rims then only 500ish for the tires. That would save me quite a bit of time and money I'm sure rather than buying a more expensive set of rims. Should I get 17 or 16" steelies?

Check local scrap yards for steelies if your on a budget, you may find them dirt cheap...

If your car has stock brakes then 16" steelies will fit....and sticking with the budget idea, 16" tires and steelies will be cheaper than 17" so it works in your favor.

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Okay now my car is the 2007 Grand Prix GT SE... Do you know if it comes with the stock brakes? I haven't really checked up on the specs on the brakes yet. I would have to get 225/45/16s then correct? What's the minimum and maximum on tire size for 16" rims?

Unless you (or previous owner) changed out your calipers/rotors to F-body or other setup then you have stock brakes. For 16" you should get 225/60R16 which is the stock 16" size.

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Does the offset or anything like that matter for winter tires? Sorry about all of the questions haha you've been a huge help to me Pascal! I really do appreciate it.

You should only be concerned with offset when you are purchasing a wheel.

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I meant if I get steelies, would I really need to worry about offset?

These:


http://www.yokohamatire.com/tires/avid_trz.aspx

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2005 GT owner [Non S/C] with a "big DIC".
Two years later and I still love the car.
Thanks Pontiac...Bleen is keen!

Most plain basic steel wheels (commonly used for winter tire applications) are constructed using a very similar design (unlike alloy wheels) so you don't need to be concerned with offset really...if you decide buy them at CTC you will be fine.

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Alright thanks again for the help!

PS (I tinted my tail lights today, I'll have pictures up later.)