Where is a good place to buy a set of 14 or 15 steelies and some winter tires?

How much should I expect to pay new?

What Tire and Rim size have you guys found to work well?

 

I just ordered the recommended winter package from tirerack.com for my 2009 Fit Sport with Navi. The package consists of 14 inch steel wheels ($41 each) and 185/70 Continental ExtremeWinterContact tires ($64 each). Tire Rack is going to mount and balance these tires and wheels for no extra charge and then ship them to me. The shipping costs $95, so my total was $515. When it gets cold enough, I'll swap out my OEM wheels for my winter wheels in my garage.

On the TPMS issue, I've decided to put up with the TPMS light during the winter months. I did consider at buying an extra set of sensors for my winter wheels. If the only downside was the cost of the sensors themselves, I would have done it (the cost was $144 for a set of sensors). The big problem is with getting the Fit's ECU reprogrammed with the ID's of the new sensors. You either have to take the car to a shop that has the reprogramming equipment, or buy the ATEQ quickset tool and try to do it yourself (which is evidently a hit-or-miss operation).

As an aside, there are apparently TPMS sensors that can be keyed with the same ID numbers that are currently used by the OEM sensors. This would eliminate the need to reprogram the ECU as the new sensors would "impersonate" the existing OEM sensors. However, you would still need some way to read the ID's of the current sensors from the ECU in order to do the intial setup. Also, these programmable TPMS sensors do not seem to be widely used or available. Maybe they will be some day.

Anyway, the 14 inch wheels with a higher profile tire seemed like a good idea since they offer better protection from pot holes. The tires and wheels are also cheaper. Several folks on this board have reported that there is no problem with 14 inch wheels clearing the brake calipers. The tire calculator shows only a .8% difference between my stock 185/55-16 tires and the winter 185/70-14 tires:

Tire size calculator

This will be the first set of snow tires/wheels that I've ever purchased. So my views are by no means authoritative. Just wanted to share what I decided to do based on the info I've found here. I'll be interested to read what others have done.

 

I was looking at that exact package today....it was around $500 shipped...is that a good deal?

 

I am planning to get bridgeston blizzaks in 175/65/R15. From what I have read narrower tires are better for winter, and this size is more readily available on the stock size for my 2010 fit. I called one local place, and was quote a price of around $800 CAD for the 4 tirea with balance and installation, steelies extra.

However, I am still contemplating wheter I need them or not? This would be the first time I would ever be using winter tires (previous car was an SUV with AWD).

Also, when do you think the best time to get winter tires is? I was thinking Mid October to beat the rush. By November it gets to freezing temps.

 

check tirerack.com

they have cheapo wheels and black steel wheels + covers if you want them. nice selection of snow tires too. i have WS60's set on some borbets for the GE.

 

I bought a set of 14" steelies with 185/70/14 snow tires last year from Tire Rack. Strangely, I had to convince them that that was the size I wanted, because last year their recommended size tire was 175/65/14. I told them that I wanted the 185/70s since it's much closer to overall diameter of the stock tires than their recommended size...interesting that this year they switched to the size I bought as the recommended size.

 

Is $500 shipped for 4 14 steelies and 4 Continental Xtreme Winter Contact a good price New?

 

I went with Craigslist for used Alloy Integra 15" mesh wheels and a nice set of General Altimax Arctic tires last year. Wheels Cost me $50 for all 4 and the tires Mounted/balanced on those rims were somewhere around $84 each so my total for highly rated tires & Alloy Wheels was about $375. I got the Tires through Sears as they were cheaper than anything that tireRack or DiscountTire offered (after shipping) and I still would have had to pay for mounting/balancing).

Craigslist/local tire shop FOR THE WIN!

~SB

 

I went ahead and ordered this

14X6 New Steel Wheel Black Painted
for 2010 Honda Fit Sport In Stock 4 $41.00 $164.00 Important Notes:
Reuse O.E. lug hardware.

185/70R14 Continental ExtremeWinterContact
for 2010 Honda Fit Sport
Download Warranty Brochure PDF In Stock 4 $64.00 $256.00 These tires and wheels will be mounted and balanced at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE. Shipping Sub-Total: $79.12 Sales Tax: $0.00 Excise Tax: $0.00 State Waste Tire Fund Fee: $0.00 Order Total: $499.12

 

i had 15" WS60's wrapped on steelies shipped for 535 or something. WS60's are by far the bestest snow tires to date. (well, that i know of. )

 

Blizzaks were the only snow tires I could find-which is OK-in the stock alloy rim size. In Cleveland, it's not an option when you drive 20+ miles/day to work at fwy speeds. Blizzaks made a HUGE difference on the wife's 2003 V6 Camry over the Goodyear (lack of) Integrities it came with.

 

I still recommend going the Craigslist route as it saved me over $200 (US).

You are correct about narrower tires for winter. They cut through the snow/slush and get better traction vs a wider tire that will have a tendency to float on top of the snow.

As to when to install them on the car... Whenever you start to get snow (not a flurry or two) is a good time. The OEM tires work fine when it gets below freezing and are ok for many light snowfalls. Once you get into winter, where snow lays constantly on many roads and the storms average more than 2" on a regular basis, it's time for the snows.

I ran the first winter on the OEM tires and the 2nd with snows. Night & Day difference as far as stability and traction. Did the same with our altima and again, it was very noticeable. Do you need snows? If you want any kind of traction close to the AWD vehicle, Yes. If not, no... but I'd still recommend them. The first winter was decent on the All Seasons but I also have a Ridgeline for the nasty weather days. No snows give you the capability of AWD on decent All Seasons but it's not too far off, especially with decent snows on.

~SB

 

Not yet a fit owner but I ran my WRX with Nokian Hakkapeliitta's. Besides being great in swow, they have a firmer sidewall which is good on ice. I don't think tirerack has these and honestly I have found that my local shops will match or nearly so the online prices which avoids the need/cost to ship.

 

I found the same here. My snows came from Sears as their price after shipping was better than what TireRack or Discounttire could do (by $10-$20/tire) Plus mounting & Balancing was no charge as I bought them there. The manager also drives past my house on his way to work so he picked up the winter wheels the night before and they were mounted the next morning when I got there. I went with the General Altimax Arctic tires.

~SB