Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 12:02:37 -0600 From: Shane Almeida <almeida.spam.is.evilnospam.is.evil.mindless.com> Subject: Re: 2004 9-3 aero bad in snow
On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 11:44:23 -0500, Tex wrote: > "The Malt Hound" aoCdnXXhYrq6x4bfRVn-hgnospamphia.com... >> It's like night an day. A 9-3 is actually a pretty good car to drive in >> the snow. But you absolutely *have* to get winter tires. > > That's good to hear. Any particular recommendations? I'm guessing my > choices for these specific rims will be fairly limited. I had the same problem with my 9-3. The Pirelli PZero Rossos are, obviously, terrible in the snow. I shopped around for tires and ended up getting the winter tire package that my dealer had. The package is four 16x6.5" Arc wheels (10 spoke) and Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip GW3 tires (215/55-R16) mounted and balanced for $1050 (installation may be extra - I installed them myself). I was looking at getting a set Nokians and keeping my 17x7" wheels, but the price of the tires (225/45-R17), mounting and balancing, and installation would have been around $800. You could get a set of cheap steel wheels and save some money, but I wanted something a little nicer. I figured for 200 bucks more I should just get the package, get a nice set of dedicated winter wheels, and save myself the hassle of having to remount the tires twice a year. The Goodyears are decent tires. I can't compare them to anything else (besides the PZero Rossos) because they're the only tires I've used. They are mud and snow tires (M+S) and have the snowflake on the mountain symbol. I can get up my driveway, stop safely at intersections, and kick up nice rooster tails, so I'm happy with them.