My situation:

My s2k is my daily driver, I intend to drive it throughout out the winter. The winters in PA are pretty hit or miss. When it's not snowing, they aren't bad, but if/when we get snow, we usually get dumped on.
Now......I currently have my ap2 wheels in my garage that I can use. I'm wondering what would the the best route for me to take:
17" ap2 wheels w/ snow tires.
17" ap2 wheels w/ allseason tires.

16" wheels w/ snow tires.
16" wheels w/ allseasons.

From what I hear, allseasons aren't going to cut it in the snow if we get hit bad. I need something that will get me to work and back, even it if takes me a couple hours. I know 16" in snow is more ideal then 17", but are 17" tires still good enough....yet good enough for daily driving when we don't have snow?

I know it's sort of early for this topic but I want to get my tire (and/or wheels) ordered soon to get it out of the way.

 

I've researched this for the last 3 months, here is what I'm doing:

16" rims with winter performance tires. The all-seasons are not good enough. Decided on Dunlop Winter Sport M3s on 16" rims in standard AP1 sizes - 205/55-16 and 225/50-16 mounted on 16x7 wheels front and rear.

Our winters in Cincinnati are pretty close to what you have in PA I think...

Dave

 

Please explain. Winter tire grip is dependent upon the tire tread pattern and the tire rubber compound. Since you can get the same width of tire in both 16 and 17 AND have the same overall diameter of tire, why does it matter if your winter tire is 16" or 17"?
The only factor to consider is that most 17" winter tires cost more than 16" winter tires. Please tell us the specifics of what you know.

 

cuz you want the rubber to cut through the snow....not the wheel.

 

Sorry, I wasn't too specific on that. What I was referring to by going down to a 16" was also going with a wheel that had a smaller width and running a more narrow width tire then the stock 17" setup. Wider tires must carve a wider path through snow; that means more resistance and drag. Narrower tires can more easily cut a path through snow and slush. Obviously, if width is kept the same, I don't think 17 vs 16 is going to make a difference.

 

OK, I understand what you were trying to say. This is a well established concept. When going to "snow" tires, you try to downsize 1 size (in width). With the AP1 rims (6.5" front and 7.5" rear) you can simply go with the same sizing as OEM (205 front and 225 rear) for winter tires, as 205 is not really that wide for snow duty and 225 in any non-OEM tire size will already be narrower than the SO2 (which is closer to a 245).
With the AP2 rims (7" front, 8.5"rear), it's possible to go with a 205 front tire and a 235 or 225 rear for winter tires, if you want to adhere to the "concept". The OEM rims can handle this downsizing of tires. However, unless you are encountering extremely deep snow, going with OEM sizing (215 front, 245 rear) for winter tires will still work adequately well for deep snow AND these will give you some modicum of handling when the roads are dry.

 

16" snows all around. I believe the tires are 205/55-16 and 225/50-16.

 

The least expensive option is to get a used set of AP1 wheels off the forum (~$300 for a full set in good condition), and put good snow tires on, in the stock sizes (I put Blizzak LM-22 tires on; it rarely snows more than a few inches around here; I'd use the more aggressive tires if I lived where it snows a lot).

 

A Hummer H-3.!!!

 

+ This: