Focus Ti In Snow...

[Joeywhat]

The 90's Cougars are probably the best value for cheap winter wheels (this is the RWD version before they turned it into the smaller FWD one). I picked mine up for $40 for the set. Can't beat that. They're old enough that people have them just laying around taking up space, with no real use for them. Just check them for major damage before buying.

[CDNFocusFan]

Originally Posted by liquidblue88

Thank you to everyone who has replied. Appreciate the input.

I guess then I have a follow up question... Could I get away with puttin on 15" winter tires or is that just too small?

The price difference between the 15" and 16" tires is pretty big and I don't have to really be styling when my car is covered with salt and snow.

Thanks.

My snows are 15's, but my oe tires were the 17s.

[JasDmw]

Originally Posted by liquidblue88

Thank you to everyone who has replied. Appreciate the input.

I guess then I have a follow up question... Could I get away with puttin on 15" winter tires or is that just too small?

The price difference between the 15" and 16" tires is pretty big and I don't have to really be styling when my car is covered with salt and snow.

Thanks.

Mine are dealer supplied Ford 15" wheels. Not sure what the of the tires are, but I'm sure you can use Tire Rack you come up with the right size. Not too concerned about the look; they are winter steelies! More interested in how the tires work and staying on the road.

[Citoriplus]

Originally Posted by Joeywhat

The 90's Cougars are probably the best value for cheap winter wheels (this is the RWD version before they turned it into the smaller FWD one). I picked mine up for $40 for the set. Can't beat that. They're old enough that people have them just laying around taking up space, with no real use for them. Just check them for major damage before buying.

I would be very careful using RWD rims on a FWD car.
FWD cars generally need much more offset in the wheel to center the tire over the single wheel bearing.
RWD cars as a rule have very little or no offset at all because the front spindles use 2 bearings mounted farther out from the ball joint axis.
So even if you can put RWD rims on a FWD car.
If the offset isn't very close to original specs its going to put a very large offset loading on the bearing.
Do that too long and the front (and maybe rear too) wheel bearings are going to die a very premature death.

[Tytanium]

So can I go from 18" to 15" wheels and 195 tires without affecting the speedo or anything? I want to get Michelin X-ice Xi3 tires and steelies. 15" wheels are about $35 cheaper per tire than 16".

[JasDmw]

Originally Posted by Tytanium

So can I go from 18" to 15" wheels and 195 tires without affecting the speedo or anything? I want to get Michelin X-ice Xi3 tires and steelies. 15" wheels are about $35 cheaper per tire than 16".

Yes!

[swansong]

Originally Posted by Tytanium

So can I go from 18" to 15" wheels and 195 tires without affecting the speedo or anything? I want to get Michelin X-ice Xi3 tires and steelies. 15" wheels are about $35 cheaper per tire than 16".

Well, you'll want to make sure the total tire diameter is as close to the same as possible, which depends on tire width, aspect ratio, and wheel size.

Use this calculator to plug in tire sizes, and make sure the Tire Diameter is as close as you can get it.
http://www.gtsparkplugs.com/TireCalculator.html

[gsxrboy]

2012 Ti Manual here and thanks to this website I purchased the 195/65 R15 Michelin X Ice and they are beyond excellent. I recently rode in a friends jeep and he had 4x4 enabled, he thought that he could simply whip around the block with his jeep, he learned very quickly that at high speeds, 4x4 does nothing for you and almost slid into a pole.

[CDNFocusFan]

Originally Posted by gsxrboy

2012 Ti Manual here and thanks to this website I purchased the 195/65 R15 Michelin X Ice and they are beyond excellent. I recently rode in a friends jeep and he had 4x4 enabled, he thought that he could simply whip around the block with his jeep, he learned very quickly that at high speeds, 4x4 does nothing for you and almost slid into a pole.

I have the same tires and size. They're narrower than the 17's but the diameter is the same (or almost). My speedo has been unaffected. I paid more to get the TPMS sensors because I'm OCD and the light would drive me insane.

The x-ice i3's are phenomenal. I used to slide at every intersection even when lightly pressing the throttle and my traction control was on all the time. Now it's extremely rare even in heavy snow for the light to come on.

I live in a town where there's been 4 snowstorms over 30 CM this year and where the temp is usually below -20 until the end of March. Pretty much the most extreme circumstances I can think of for these tires.

[raptor1956]

I have a 2012 Ti HB and am running the stock 17's through this winter but plan to replace the tires next winter. I've used Blizzacks before and they were great but I think I'll go with the Michelin X Ice's. I will go with 17's because that's what I have and then the next spring I'll buy a complete set of 17 inch wheels and summer tires with TPMS from Tirerack.

The stock Conti's are OK in the snow so long as there's decent tread and the snow is only a few inches deep, but if the snows deeper or the tread is worn down you're f'd. I can manage with them this year as I'm away from home in a rental car about 80% of the time, but next winter my tires will be up around 35,000 miles and I don't want to go through a winter with the stock tires worn down.


Brian