bdmac

This may seem silly but I'm relatively new to winter driving (MN) so here goes...

The salesman at the dealership suggested I get a 2nd set of wheels w/winter tires to swap on come winter. Now obviously the winter tires makes sense but why the 2nd set of wheels? I asked him if he meant narrower wheels since that give you better snow traction but he said no...

Second, if I DID get a 2nd set of wheels w/winters on them, do I have to store them in my garage or something and take them one at a time in the trunk to have them put on (not doing it myself hehe) or can the dealership store the 2nd set for me or something?

Thanks in advance!

Jenman

I'm guessing he suggested the 2nd set of wheels so you can run 17" snow tires. That way you wouldn't worry about messing up your 18s when driving around in the slippery conditions. Also, I'm sure 17" snow tires will be cheaper than 18s....and you wouldn't pay for mounting/balancing each time you switched from summer to winter tires.

I'm thinking about doing the same but would need some cheap, but decent looking 17" wheels for the winter.

ES3

Let me know when/what you find, that clears your brakes, if you have a 350? Most 17 inch rims won't...

Also, would you stagger your winter rims, or just try all 4 same size rims?

Jenman

I forgot about the clearance issue on the 350 w/ the larger brakes....that most likely would be a concern if trying to run 17s for the winter.

bdmac

So does the dealership store the other set of tires for you? Hauling 4 tires, one at a time in the trunk, to the dealership to swap them would be a pita...

kensteele

you can get 4 tires/wheels in this car.

ES3

You did TireRack's 18inch wheel package, staggered, right?

Regarding storing wheels, yes, check with your dealership, most have a winter program, where they charge you a fee to swap out and store for you unil the Spring.

Bichon

All four fit easily. Put the two smaller ones in the trunk, and the two bigger ones on the back seat. Make sure that they put the tires in plastic bags to protect your interior.

cdeslandes

The IS350 comes with 17" wheels standard, the 18" are optional. So finding 17" winter wheels that fit should be possible.

Thing is, last time I checked, Tire Rack had no 17" wheel/winter tire combo available for that car. Hopefully in the fall, that's what I was planning on doing.

sailing217

Someone said tire rack sold out last year of some winter sizes. I'll probably pull the trigger just before Thanksgiving. Blizzaks or Dunlop Winters I'm not sure yet.

I have the stock 17" and will upgrade to 19" wheels for the summer. I'm very happy with my stock 17" and they'll look good during the winter as opposed to people that get steel wheels for the winter on their cars.

tgara

You can do this a couple of ways.

First, you can have one set of wheels and change the tires to snow tires in late fall. This approach obviously entails taking the car to a tire shop, having them swap the tires, rebalancing them, and remounting.

The other way is to have a second set of wheels with snow tires already mounted. A bit more expensive, since you have to buy wheels and tires (and pressure sensors if you have the monitoring system), but easier and faster to change. In fact, it is something you can do yourself with a lug wrench, torque wrench, and a good floor jack.

One more thing. You can often find good deals on OEM wheels on eBay. Usually, someone has purchased a new car and puts on aftermarket wheels, so they sell the OEM wheels. This is a good option for snowtire setups IMHO since all the specs and dimensions will be correct without a lot of guesswork or worry about aftermarket wheels.

mort

I have mentioned this before on another thread concerning winter tires, that my dealer ordered me 4 - 16" steel rims with corresponding tires, 225's. He has used this combination on IS 350's last winter and had no ploblem with brake clearance. He is also storing the wheel/tires for me as well as my 18's in the winter.

c5mtl

16inch....can u make sure it was a 350 and not a 250.....that would be awesome and way cheaper......i dont see how you could get a 16inch rim on a car with 13 inch rotors and huge brakes.....hope u r correct

mort

No, 350 IS...have checked with them again and again.

c5mtl

well ....i'm gonna buy a 16inch rim this weekend or next and try that thing out.....what a relief if it works.....think u can get me the specs of his wheel...offset???winter should be fun with some nokian hakka 4 with eco studs...totally outdoing thise clowns with all wheel drive and 4 season tires