Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2004 23:31:28 GMT From: th <someguynospamwhere.se> Subject: Re: Winter Tires
Tom Reingold wrote: > Shane Almeida wrote: > >> As I slid passed a stop sign and right through a four-way intersection >> this morning, I thought to myself, "Self, it's time to get some winter >> tires." I have 17 inches wheels with 225/45-17 tires. tirerack.com >> says I should consider "minus-sizing" for winter tires. I think I'd >> rather keep the same size tire on the same wheels to save a couple >> hundred bucks. How important is minus-sizing for getting better >> traction? They say it's because wide tires have to plow through more >> snow, but my tires aren't *that* wide (7 inches), are they? I don't >> have a lot of experience with Saabs and/or winter tires, so I'm >> wondering what fellow Saab owners think. I'm going to call Tire Rack >> and maybe Pat Greer (the guy Dave Hinz has mentioned a few times) >> later today as well. Thanks. > > > > > Do it right. You won't regret it. Get tall, narrow tires on ugly steel > rims, with the minus size. OK, they don't have to be ugly, but it's nice > not to worry about your rims for two or three months a year. Get real > snow tires like those famous Bridgestones or some Nokians. I have the > Nokians, and I seem to have traction equal or better to those driving > SUV's. I'm driving a 1995 9000CS. > > Every year, I bolt on the snow wheels in December and the 3-season > wheels in March. I'm not even a home mechanic, but I can do this myself > with the scissor jack and a bicycle pump. Takes me an hour, and I get a > bit of exercise. Or you could pay about $20 to have someone do it quickly. > Removing the wheels every now and then, and cleaning the hubs from rust, is also necessary if you drive in wet/snow climate where roads are salted. If you don't, you may loose your wheels due to broken bolts, as a result of the decreased tensioning of the bolts. Saabs had very little problems with rust on hubs until the 9-3/9-5, where it seems necessary to clean the hubs very carefully at least twice per year if you have alloy rims. If you have a 9000 or older models the rust problem (at least on Saab original hubs) is not very significant but a brief cleaning at least once per year is anyway recommended. Thus there is no extra work involved in changing between summer and winter tyres. Saab workshops doesn't seem to do anything about the problem. When I had my 9-5 rear hubs/discs changed some time ago, they just attached the wheels, no protection in the form of copper or aluminum paste, and after a couple of months the 9-5 hubs had rusted more than the 9000 hubs do in two years. -- th
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