I have 4 continental all seasons. Live in the Philadelphia area and I will be using my crossfire during the winter. I may be fine with the AS's so I will wait to see how it handles, but I was considering getting two more 18 inch wheels and snows.

Does anyone have thoughts on this, what size size tires would be recommended to use and is there any risk of damage to the car? Tire guy told me not to switch wheel sizes, but I believe the manual suggests 4 18s with snows all the way around. Please note, I plan on leaving the all weathers on the front as I am sure they will be quite sufficient for steering and braking.

Would like to know what others do for winter driving.

 

Well you can get winter tires!

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-60

I was also thinking about getting 18" rims all around but I don't think I want to sacrifice the looks of the car, especially in the back end. So I'm going to be sticking with these winter tires for the rear and still keep my goodyear A/S on the front.

 

I had the stock wheels and Conti A/S on last winter, we had quite a bit of snows and never had an issue. No real slip or slide, no real problems with traction except for the one time we had about 8' of really heavy snow, with significant ice build up, and everyone was going like 10mph, and as long as we all kept moving the Cross was just fine. Would I like to drive like that or out in the rural areas alot-no. Then I'd put true winter tires on it. But for 95% of the winter it really was fine.

 

I live right outside of Philly and to be honest, you don't NEED snow tires for the amount of snow we have gotten over the last few years. I seem to recall only one big storm last year. But you have to be careful in the snow with the stock contis. They aren't great in the snow and if the car is a manual and this is your first rwd car, it can take some time to get used to the car in snow. Also, if your all season don't have much tread left, they will be all but useless.

Having said all of that, once the stock contis wear out on my car, I'll probably try to get some more aggressive winter rubber for the stock wheels and buy a set of wheels/tires for the summer. I will tell you one thing that if you get snows for the rear, don't cheap out and keep the all seasons on the front. Brake is more important than acceleration, especially in the snow, so why give the car enough traction in the snow to get yourself into trouble without having the proper traction in the front? Think about it.

 

true that Euro. The times I needed winter only tires with my automatic in w mode was few at best. I have enough tread on the tires so not an issue, the conti A/S. my plan was to get 4 new Michelins when I did, keep the stock sizes and not worry about it a whole lot. The conti's have been fine with their tread, but next time will go with a better tire all in all for A/S use. best trade off for my driving. if I was driving alot of rural MN or WI, or PA for that matter, then I'd do 2 Blizzaks on the rear, and 2 Michelins on the front for the winter months, then remount the michelins on the rear for summer. basically 4 months of risk so could get probably 3 years out of the Blizzaks that way, and by then would need new froonts anyway.

 

Actually, a factor that should be taken into consideration is if you have a manual or an automatic in your car.

If you have a manual, I believe you should always put good winter tires on your car, because of the higher possibility of clutch slippage induced wheel spin on hills. The winter tires will give a manual car that extra bit of traction in bad conditions that the automatic car isn't going to need as much.

BC.

 

I bought a set of Blizzak LM-60's on rims from the Tire Rack. It stung some, especially as I had to buy all seasons when I bought the car. Up here in Wisconsin we get more snow than Philly, but as I was warned, the first trip you take off road through the brush, you'll so wish you'd bought the winter tires!

Good Luck

 

If you are looking for a cost effective method, you could always use a tire like a Dunlop Graspic DS-3 on all four wheels.

I use them on my beater because they have all-season compound underneath the snow compound. I have driven over 20,000 miles 24/7 and I have still not worn through the snow tread.

They are not very expensive, and they can be driven on all year. Just a thought.

 

well, I bought my crossfire in january of this year. Has the conti AS tires. I live in northwest NJ up in the hills (near mountain creek for those of you who ski, or like waterparks!). I couldn't get up the hill out of the parking lot in the development I live in. It's pretty steep, and I just couldn't do it. So, to get ready for this winter, as I drive the crossfire year round, I bought 4 18's and the blizzaks. I'm sure I won't have any problems, as I've had lots of RWD cars, and most with a lot more HP and torque than this one. I'm just going to put about 100 lbs of salt in the back, just in case...

 

Kept the conti's on for my first winter. Did fine. I live in Chicago. 'Nough said.

 

First time in the snow with new Blizzaks yesterday! About 5" heavy Colorado snow. Had the switch on W and used a very light foot ... no problem in fresh and packed snow around town, car feels heavy, solid and surefooted. Really like the Blizzaks!