I just mounted a set of new winter wheels on my '06 coupe and thought I would share my experience. I did a lot of research and didn't find as much direction on winter fitting as I liked so it is my hope that this post will be a godsend for those owners who have made the supremely irresponsible pact with Satan to drive their queen through the deleterious void of winter and a have torn out most of their remaining hair trying to decide on how to make this next small fortune investment in this awesome penismobile.

This is my first year with this car and I bought the coupe intending to run in winter. Not the best choice for the season of course, but I fell in love with the Xfire and I wanted to drive it and save my 88MR2 SC from the winter salt. I didn't not want to drive some crappy beater and deal with the logistics of owning yet another vehicle. Lest you think I am a insensitive *******, I do own a 99 Jeep Cherokee to get me through the really rough stuff - that is if Minnesota ever decides to back away from becoming a Kansasian climatological perti dish.

The Xrossfire came with Yokohama Advan S-4s and I found that these performed well in the summer. However, I got the message that these could be trouble here in MN in snow especially since I have a steep curvy hill to climb every morning.

My search for winter tire package included quotes from 3 local shops and Tire Rack. These ranged from $1450 to $2200. Tires that made it to my final list were:

Dunlop WSport 4D
Bridgestone Blizzack W70 and LM60
Goodyear Ultra Grip P2
Michelin Pilkot Alpin PA4
Nokian WRG2 and Hakka R

Budget Wheels were:
Ultrawheels Alpine 402
Sport Edition ST3

I went by the manual and tire rack recommendation for 225/40R18 all round.

If you use the tire selector on Tire Rack, you will not have any results because it does not find this configuration. It will try to size 19" wheels for rear and 225/45R18 tires. An agent was able help out here.

I like Nokians, but they are not widely available so I crossed them off.

Opinions abound for the remaining tires but most luxury sports forums seemed to be discussing mostly Dunlops and the Blizzaks. I changed my mind several times before I read a post by Gary@Tirerack on a Motortrend forum that Blizzak LM60 is a great choice for those torn between performance and snow traction. Besides, with a name like "Gary" he probably has changed a lot of performance tires in his time. Since they were the least expensive on my list, that was hard advice to ignore.



Weighing options:

A big part of my decision involved TPMS. Four new wheels for my Xfire would require 4 new sensors or a rebuild/transfer of the old ones to the new wheels. All tire shops are required to maintain this system by federal law. Although this may be a useful safety system this appears to have turned into a cash cow for some tire shops. I even found an trade magazine article about how this would present just such an opportunity for retailers. The local shops wanted $400 for new sensors - Tire rack had them for $123, however they were not in stock.

I was considering doing without them and risking an FHSA/ATF RAID on my garage. I never had them in the past and could not think of any time in the 33 years I have been driving where they would have been vital to my well being. Since the previous owner had acute OCD, he took careful notes on the maintenance of the car and this showed that after buying a new set of Yokos, and having the sensors rebuilt for $30, the batteries started going dead and the sensors where freaking out. So, he had the TPMS deactivated.

Thing about Tire Rack is that you can opt out of buying new sensors at checkout if you promise to have a local shop transfer and register the old sensors to your new wheels by checking a box with your DNA signature. Of course, if you mount them yourself the tire police can't force you to use sensors or a condom!

My purchase from Tire rack was:

QTY 4 Bridgestone Blizzak LM60 225/40R18 mounted on 18" Sport Edition ST3 wheels.
included mounting lugs and no sensors. Total: $1445.

They arrived in 3 days with full instructions and I mounted them on a Saturday with the help of a jack, air driver, torque wrench and a couple of Jamesons on the rocks.

After installation, the front of the car was raised an inch and the rear was lowered as much, essentially leveling the chassis with the pavement.

The test Drive:

Tires are new - not broken in.

Pavement: Dry Asphalt
Temperature: 45F

Compared to the Yokos, these tires were:
Quieter
Smoother ride
Smelled better
Handing was nearly as good except would let loose on hard turns.

I liked the feel of the tires and they performed well on dry cool pavement, but they were limited when pushed hard. These tires will force me to drive like a man that has 2 teenage daughters getting reasonable grades in a private secondary school - which I am not.

Once I get a few hundred miles on them and the weather starts to get ugly, I may have more shocking updates. Unfortunately, my employer has decided to move the company within 6 miles of my home so I may not get to break them in until the season is over. If it snows measurably in the next couple of months, only then will I be able to judge the merits of the LM60s on the "snow" part of the "snow tire" equation.

Stay Tuned. Stay very tuned.

 

Well Arydant, it certainly sounds like you did your homework.
But if you really wanted to turn your XF into a "sporty" Jeepster to get you thru those snowy MN winters, I think you could have done so for a little less money.
Now I'm sure "Gary" from Tire Rack has a great deal more expertise in this area than I do, but in my opinion, I would have gone with a taller tire with a more narrow tread.
I usually recommend purchasing 16" wheels off a Mercedes SLK320 from a salvage yard like LKQ. Then simply install 4 Blizzaks. 205/55 in front and 225/50 on the rear.
The narrow tread will tend to plow through deep snow, where a wider tire is more likely to ride on top of the snow. We are only talking about a fraction of an inch in width, so there really should be no difference between the size you picked over the tires I'm talking about. I'm just saying it may have saved you some $$.
Don't forget to add about 150lbs under your hatch. Since you have a steep hill to climb, you will need it. Good Luck

 

Thanks for the advice. I do plan on adding a couple bags of salt in the hatch. I did look around for some used wheels and wasn't getting anywhere. Having them mounted and shipped was very convenient although it probably did cost more. Fortunately, any one looking for winter wheels will have two good options to consider when searching the forum.

 

By the way, the wheels you have are pretty nice looking. Any photos of the MR2? We like other cars here too.