Winter Tires & Wheels

[NeilBlanchard]

I am thinking of getting winter tires, and it makes sense to buy new wheels, so I can swap them out myself, and save the expense of having them all mounted and balanced twice a year. In addition to the wheels, I think I will also need a set of tire pressure sensors.

Has anyone done this? How much do the wheels, and sensors cost?

 

[Tetondoc]

I recently purchased a set of Toyo Celsius all-weather tires. These are a 4 season tire that is rated for snow and has snow tire ratings comparable to a dedicated snow tire. I suspect I will only get 2-3 seasons out of them... but don’t have to worry about switching out tires twice per year. So far not a major difference in range from the tire swap, but I am seeing significant drop in range from colder temps.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

On the Toyos, better dry traction too? No chirping or spinning? How about road noise and cornering?

Neil, Town Fair Tire offers free lifetime seasonal changeovers, amongst other things, with a set of tires. Maybe other big tire stores do too?

 

[Tetondoc]

Toyo Celsius seems better all around than the factory tires. Dry road performance similar, perhaps slightly better. You can still chirp the tires on 0-60 full acceleration. Cornering is better. Wet road performance is significantly better than the factory tires. Haven’t had a chance yet to drive the new tires in snow.

In terms of road noise, I don’t notice any difference between the two, but I realize some people are more sensitive than I am to that.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

Good to know about the Toyo tires. How well do they coast?

We have Nokian WRG3 all weather (4 season) tires, and they are low rolling, but not ultra low. They are okay in the winter (not as good as Nokian winter tires, like the Hakka R2) and they are much better than the stock Continentals that came with our e-Golf.

Town Fair has mostly mediocre tires, and I have been using a local shop.

Do we know what stock wheels and pressure sensors cost?

If I buy winter tires, I'd get the Nokian Hakka R2:

https://www.nokiantires.com/winter-tires/nokian-hakkapeliitta-r2/

 

[SeanNelson]

I have Michelin X Ice 3 tires on my Prius C, and plan to get a pair for my Bolt when it arrives. We don't generally get that much snow here in Vancouver BC, but last winter we had an extended cold snap that left us with snow and ice on the residential streets for a few weeks. The X Ice 3 tires performed terrifically, even on the hilly icy roads I was navigating to see Christmas lights. I'm very happy with them.

I did see around a 10% reduction in fuel economy, although some of that was doubtless due to the cold and the fact that the tires weren't worn in.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

I had a set of the first generation X-Ice tires on my Scion xA, and they worked very well. They rolled well, and they were also great in ice and snow.

 

[oilerlord]

In the US, figure on about $60 per TPMS sensor. Here's a site in Canada that has them (but most tire shops probably do too):

https://www.gmpartsdepot.ca/p/Chevrolet__Bolt-EV/Sensor-tire-pressure-monitoring-system-sensor-tire-pressure-sensor-tpms-sensor-valve-stem/65123958/13598772.html?partner=googlebase_adwords&kwd=&origin=pla

I just went through the same task of shopping for wheels, winter tires, and sensors for my EV. We're selling my wife's BMW 330, and have a set of nearly new Michelin X-Ice tires I was hoping to adapt for the Mercedes. They are 205/50-17 but my EV uses 225/50-17. I bought a set of Mercedes replica wheels on Costco.ca that look fantastic, however they are 8-inches wide, and the spec for those Michelin tires allow for up to 7.5 inches. I then considered taking them back, and finding rims that WOULD work, however I decided saving a few bucks to go with a tire size that the manufacturer doesn't recommend isn't all that smart.

In the end, I went with a set of Pirelli WInter Sottozero 3 tires. Tire Rack has them for the Bolt:

The set cost about $200 more than the Michelins do (for my car), but I wanted more of a performance tire this time around.

 

[portable]

https://midwestwheelandtire.com/wheels/chevrolet/bolt/2017-bolt

This is the cheapest place i could find for OEM wheels .

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Energy+Saver+A%2FS&partnum=15HR7ESASV2

And after towing my car to my dealership and waiting over a week for them to find me a self sealing michelin . I gave up and ordered a pair of these tires. Exactly the same just lacking the "self sealing" Goo they put in the tread area. I was run off the road by a "non looking" lane changer. I ran over the edge of a bus shelter sidewalk and blew out the sidewall of my front passengers tire. Could have been much worse if there was a fire plug or a telephone pole in that ditch, I guess.
But i will never be without a spare again, what a Dilemma this was.

 

[boltage]

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Energy+Saver+A%2FS&partnum=15HR7ESASV2

And after towing my car to my dealership and waiting over a week for them to find me a self sealing michelin . I gave up and ordered a pair of these tires. Exactly the same just lacking the "self sealing" Goo they put in the tread area.

The tire shown in that link is supposed to be the Chevrolet Bolt OEM tire. Tire Rack does list three different Michelin Energy Saver tires in 215/50R17, one generic (90V load/speed rating), one that is the Chevrolet Volt OEM tire (91H), and one that is the Chevrolet Bolt OEM tire (91H). Shouldn't the last of the three have the self-sealing goo in it?

 

[EldRick]

There are low-use OEM tires for sale in the other forum - I've got a set for sale. Go to the end of the thread.

http://www.chevybolt.org/forum/12-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension/15538-fs-stock-michelin-energy-saver-s-selfseal.html

 

[NeilBlanchard]

Thanks for the links - the price of the wheels plus a set of pressure sensors would pay for 4 years of tire swaps. That is a pretty big investment ...

 

[SeanNelson]

Thanks for the links - the price of the wheels plus a set of pressure sensors would pay for 4 years of tire swaps. That is a pretty big investment ...

But it would come in sooo handy to be able to swap your own when you get an unexpected early snowfall and there are long lineups at the tire shops...

 

[NeilBlanchard]

I use a local shop, and they come to my house, and do the swap for a reasonable price.

 

[SeanNelson]

I use a local shop, and they come to my house, and do the swap for a reasonable price.

Nice. But even they probably get pretty busy after the first snowfall of the season.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

I do have to make an appointment, but I would rather support my local shop, than buy wheels and pressure sensors. Jacking up the car four times is pain. And storing wheels is harder than storing tires.

 

[oilerlord]

From experience struggling years doing it the hard way, I finally figured out that the right tools make it easy. You'd be surprised how quick changing four wheels is with a decent jack and cordless impact wrench (which neither cost a lot these days). It's now actually fun to do. Kind of like being part of a NASCAR crew.

To your point, there is the issue of finding (or paying for) a place to store those wheels. After the set of I just bought for the Mercedes, I'm at 12.

 

[SeanNelson]

From experience struggling years doing it the hard way, I finally figured out that the right tools make it easy. You'd be surprised how quick changing four wheels is with a decent jack and cordless impact wrench (which neither cost a lot these days). It's now actually fun to do. Kind of like being part of a NASCAR crew.

Interesting - I've never even thought about getting an impact wrench, but now you have me intrigued...

 

[mdfreeman]

Thanks for all the winter tire information!

I am wondering if a "must" to have TPMS Sensors in your winter tires. What is I don't get them. Will the car just not start?

 

[SeanNelson]

I am wondering if a "must" to have TPMS Sensors in your winter tires. What is I don't get them. Will the car just not start?

This YouTube video demonstrates that the car will run fine without TPMS sensors, it will just show an icon on the dash.