Does the IS350 need to run a staggered setup toperform correctly? Tirerack man says yes. I dunno though.

I'm looking to get some winter tires (17's) and the setup that Tirerack recommends is:

front: 225/45-17
rear: 245/45-17


Is that true? Is this the best winter tire setup for a set of 17" tires and rims?

 

I would go with a 225 width for the rears for better traction in the snow. After much poor direction from my dealer regarding this, I have decided for at least this winter to keep my stock wheels and go with Bridgestone Blizzak LM25's (225/45's all around). If like last winter, there will only be a few really bad days of extreme snow to deal with and I have an all wheel drive to handle the really bad stuff. Also, I wash my care at leat weekly. I drove my FX35 for 3 winters and did not experience one bit of damage to the wheels from salt and sand.

 

Has anyone thought about the effect of deviating from the OEM wheel diameter on the rears ? 245/45/17 has a 26" diameter, 225/45/17 are 25". The 1" reduction will affect the speedometer and odometer readings, but not sure about the other computerized nannies . . .

 

I used staggered 18" last winter here in Toronto Canada, and they were great, no problems, don't use all seasons, buy winter rated tires!!!

 

I think it would depend if the electronics measure the front or the rear wheels, unless it uses both. Alternatively you could use 235/45/17 for the rears, which are only 0.3" smaller than the 245s.

Interesting that switching from OEM 18" wheels to OEM-sized winter 17" wheels automatically affects the rear wheel size:

225/45/17: 25.0
245/45/17: 25.7

225/40/18: 25.1
255/40/18: 26.1