Hello,

At the beginning I want to mention that I live in North Jersey so we are experiencing low temperatures for few months during the year. Lastly winters are not too snowy, more rain and low temps, some ice occasionally in the morning and one or two snowstorms per winter (usually I don’t drive during it).

I have an aftermarket wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S (Summer tires) but I still have OEM wheels in basement collecting dust so I figured i mind as well use them as winter set.

I am looking for some good tires (winter or all season) on budget - i don’t want to spend 1000$ for new set, ideally would be 500-600$

sizes i’m looking for are:
- 235-245/40/R19 Front
- 255-265/35/R19 Rear

They don’t have to be great in snow (since it happens literally 1-2 days per year) but better in wet/slushy/ice conditions as usually that’s the winter nowadays here.

any recommendations? I’m opting for used tires as well if they have good thread!

Thanks in advance!

 

Good luck with the budget.
The only recommendation I can make, would be to stick to a narrow tire. Cuts through the crud better.

 

Take a look on Tire Rack, they have good quality tires within your budget. I’m considering Continental dws but might spend the extra $ for a set of Pirelli.

 

I know it’s gonna be tough in this budget, i’m just worried that my PS4S will have some issues when driving in 20-40F temps, i don’t want them to start crack or just wear excessively as I just got them few months ago, I know I should’ve think about it earlier but things in life came up and i’m not ready to get another set of tires



Thanks i will look there, i got my PS4S from that site and got nice discount back then.

—————

What would be the narrowest tire size I can put on OEM wheels without stretching tire too much?
8.5” Front, 9.5” Rear
I was thinking 235 Front and 255 Rear would be good, unless I can go lower (it also means cheaper in most cases)

 

Your vehicle been awd like mine I would only go with oem tire sizes. For one, the awd system on the vehicle requires careful tire size consideration to not do damage. Second reason is a smaller tire would only exacerbate the low profile issue, ideally you want the most sidewall height possible to prevent denting your wheels. Between a good set of tires and your awd there will be plenty of traction. You will see rally cars on very skinny tires for deep snow courses, NJ clears the snow off major roads fairly well in my experience, like Long Island where I daily drive. I’m happy my car has 18” wheels and not 19”, I already damaged my passenger side front wheel near my house on a 2” square edge a work crew left on a section of road repair. I keep my tires at 36psi cold, they go above that warm and yet my wheel got slightly bent. Be sure not to excede the factory specified tire size difference % if you deviate from factory sizes. Tire rack will warn you if the tire sizes you choose are outside of specifications if you enter the correct information about the vehicle before you start shopping for tires, be sure to specify your vehicle as having awd.

 

I just got my IS350, but on my BMW M4 I had the 19" Vredestein Wintrac Pro. They are cheaper than most of the other performance winter tires and tested well in tire racks tests. I am in Iowa, so I drove these on roads that ranged from dry, to ice and deep snow and they performed well. I got 4 winters out of them before trading my M4. There was enough tread for at least another season, and I would be using them on my IS, but the wheels don't fit. if I end up getting winters for my IS I will go with these again.