Winter tire package questions, alloy or steel, offsets?

k-man · #1 (**permalink**) 10-11-2009, 12:29 AM

Hi guys,

I'm looking to buy a set of winter tires for my 09 Fit Sport, I have narrowed the tires to 175/65/15 Michelin X-ice 2 tires.

However, for the wheels, I am not so sure... right now I have Honda steel rims on order from one of the local dealers but finding a nice set of wheel covers is becoming a challenge, all the aftermarket options arent very nice and the OEM Honda wheel covers are $$$ from the dealer...

Being a Canadian, we get killed when buying anything, currently with a strong dollar, buying in the US is again an option. A 15" winter tire package with the same tires and with alloy rims from tirerack.com after all taxes, fees, shipping is only $150 more than the steel rim package from the local dealer......

The question is, is it worth to get the alloy rims for winter?? will they just get ruined in the winter anyway?? also are there fitment issues? the alloy rims on tire rack are 15 x 6.5 on avg with a +38mm offset.... my fit is not lowered nor do i ever plan to..... whats an ideal rim size and offset for the fit? will the size/offset i mentioned work well? there are other offsets 40 and 42mm.... which is best?

Finally, i assume a 175 width tire works with a 6.5 width rim?

Sorry for all the questions, thanks in advance!

Fitamusprime · #2 (**permalink**) 10-11-2009, 12:53 AM

From first experience, large rims on our Fit is not ideal. earlier this summer i bought 17x7x42offset while it looks good and fills the gap nicely, but kills my fuel economy. Search the forums here at fitfreak and search key word "rotational mass"

Virtual · #3 (**permalink**) 10-11-2009, 06:48 AM

Steel rims are better than alloys for our winters imo. Alloys tend to corrode where the tire makes contact with the rim causing air leaks in the long run. I also think that steel rims are a bit tougher to deal with the potholes and rough conditions during winter.

The width of the 15" stock rims is 5.5 inches.

teamkitty · #4 (**permalink**) 10-11-2009, 05:14 PM

Look around for OEM honda wheel covers in the classifieds here or on ebay. Even thought the dealer charges top $$$, Ihad a hell of a time selling mine for pennies. Ended up going through two ebay auctions and eventually selling my 4 brand new ones (removed at 100 miles) for only 20 bucks. I got screwed. The buyer got a great deal. Just look around.

Virtual · #5 (**permalink**) 10-11-2009, 05:28 PM

Who cares about wheel covers in the middle of winter anyway? They just trap snow and ice and cause imbalance. Forget about looks and get the steel wheels for the most functionality during winter.

k-man · #6 (**permalink**) 10-12-2009, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virtual

Who cares about wheel covers in the middle of winter anyway? They just trap snow and ice and cause imbalance. Forget about looks and get the steel wheels for the most functionality during winter.

There are couple of center caps on ebay, would these fit the Honda steel rims like yours?

Can they fit flush or stick out a bit like yours to fit? Would you be able to measure the hole in the middle of wheel to see if its 5.8cm? that is what these indicate, I assume that measurement is the diameter?

HONDA CIVIC CITY ACCORD OEM 5.8CM CENTER CAPS WHEEL on eBay.ca (item 180417493200 end time 15-Oct-09 22:30:36 EDT)

1 set of 4 OEM Wheel Center Cap for Honda Civic Gray on eBay.ca (item 280403406971 end time 29-Oct-09 12:01:36 EDT)

k-man · #7 (**permalink**) 10-12-2009, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teamkitty

Look around for OEM honda wheel covers in the classifieds here or on ebay. Even thought the dealer charges top $$$, Ihad a hell of a time selling mine for pennies. Ended up going through two ebay auctions and eventually selling my 4 brand new ones (removed at 100 miles) for only 20 bucks. I got screwed. The buyer got a great deal. Just look around.

damn! 20 is a steal.... i definately would be willing to pay that much for just a single cover...

tunaman4u2 · #8 (**permalink**) 10-13-2009, 02:52 PM

How do you like your BIZZAKs? I was looking at getting them this weekend? 175/65/R15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virtual

jman13 · #9 (**permalink**) 10-18-2009, 02:39 PM

Curious to know if anyone has bought the steel rims from Honda for the winter... are they pricy? I am thinking of getting the X-ICE or the Toyo's for the winter (have the Toyo's on my Accord and they are great in the snow - here in Ottawa we have been getting lots of snow...).

I am finding these 175/65/R15 for winter hard to find...

DJ Sketch · #10 (**permalink**) 10-18-2009, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jman13

Curious to know if anyone has bought the steel rims from Honda for the winter... are they pricy? I am thinking of getting the X-ICE or the Toyo's for the winter (have the Toyo's on my Accord and they are great in the snow - here in Ottawa we have been getting lots of snow...).

I am finding these 175/65/R15 for winter hard to find...

I went to the dealership last week and they ordered me 185/60/R15's for the 09 Fit. Try them out perhaps. More selection, and possibly better pricing!

Virtual · #11 (**permalink**) 10-18-2009, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jman13

Curious to know if anyone has bought the steel rims from Honda for the winter... are they pricy?

I got the 15x5.5 steelies (pictured above) from Honda for $61 CDN each. I think there are aftermarket some 15x6 that are a bit cheaper.

jman13 · #12 (**permalink**) 10-18-2009, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ Sketch

I went to the dealership last week and they ordered me 185/60/R15's for the 09 Fit. Try them out perhaps. More selection, and possibly better pricing!

Is there any impact to speed / odometre when going to 185s over 175s? Or is that just tread width...

DJ Sketch · #13 (**permalink**) 10-19-2009, 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jman13

Is there any impact to speed / odometre when going to 185s over 175s? Or is that just tread width...

It's a very small difference when I use the calculator off of Car Bibles (Thanks again fitfreak.net):
Car Bibles : The Wheel and Tyre Bible Page 2 of 2

It's a difference of 0.9% in circumference, and when the speedometer reads 70mph, you are actually going at 69.37mph. To me, its such a small difference that I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

vickenp · #14 (**permalink**) 10-19-2009, 11:40 AM

Me too looking 4 a set, here in montreal....at the dealership I'm thinking of winter tires on rims - micheline - with that $50 mail in and I found an extra $25 couple on reddeals website - dealership is charging $909 all balanced, setup etc

Any other places you guys in montreal can suggest?

09 fit lx 5sp

k-man · #15 (**permalink**) 10-20-2009, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vickenp

Me too looking 4 a set, here in montreal....at the dealership I'm thinking of winter tires on rims - micheline - with that $50 mail in and I found an extra $25 couple on reddeals website - dealership is charging $909 all balanced, setup etc

Any other places you guys in montreal can suggest?

09 fit lx 5sp

Where are you getting information on all these rebates, please post info/links

jman13 · #16 (**permalink**) 10-25-2009, 09:38 AM

Update from me. First off thanks for info and advice, these forms are awesome.

I went to OK TIRE here in Orleans (east end of Ottawa)...

Got the following:

4 x 15 Winter Rims
4 x 175/65/15 TOYO Observe G-02

There is a $50 rebate on the TOYO site for these tires (the OK TIRE guy had the rebate filled out for me when I picked up my car).

Installed (pre-rebate) was $853.57

I have had the X-ICE and the G-02. X-ICE better on Ice... G-02 better in snow.

This place was 40-50 bucks cheaper then a few other places.

Good hunting!

k-man · #17 (**permalink**) 10-25-2009, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jman13

Update from me. First off thanks for info and advice, these forms are awesome.

I went to OK TIRE here in Orleans (east end of Ottawa)...

Got the following:

4 x 15 Winter Rims
4 x 175/65/15 TOYO Observe G-02

There is a $50 rebate on the TOYO site for these tires (the OK TIRE guy had the rebate filled out for me when I picked up my car).

Installed (pre-rebate) was $853.57

I have had the X-ICE and the G-02. X-ICE better on Ice... G-02 better in snow.

This place was 40-50 bucks cheaper then a few other places.

Good hunting!

Good deal, you need those snows in Ottawa, I moved back to Calgary from Ottawa last year.... boy does it snow in Ottawa!!

I picked up my set from the dealer this weekend...

15" x 4 Honda OEM steel rims
175/65/15 Michellin X-ice 2 tires
Wheelcover set

$866 incl all taxes, and incl all rebates... not too bad

Aviator902S · #18 (**permalink**) 10-25-2009, 09:55 PM

Go with steelies. They're cheaper and therefore more expendable, which means you won't feel quite so bad when you get cut off in slippery conditions and have to choose smoking the curb rather than the ass end of the car driven by the idiot who made it necessary.

The performance benefits of mags would be lost due to the less agressive driving habits you'll need to adopt in order to accommodate the winter driving conditions, and then there's the issue of salt dining on the succulent taste of said mags.

I paid $81 apiece (total = around $170 incl. taxes) for my 15" steelies from Honda (inflated Canadian prices, especially in smaller maritime cities vs. larger centers such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver--- I'm in Fredericton), but couldn't justify getting sodomized by them by also purchasing their over-priced tires there.

Instead, I went to Walmart for the winter treads (again, it's winter driving conditions so summer performance characteristics are not an issue to me). The total for 4 of these 175-65R-15 tires mounted, balanced, taxed and enviro-levied came to around $340, for a grand total of $510.