So I want to get a set of winter tires with wheels and I've narrowed it down to:

$530: Altimax Arctic, 185/70R14

$430: Altimax Arctic, 185/60R15

Both are the same width, the only difference would really be that the 14's I think would have a slightly larger overall diameter (2%)? Is there a reason to spend the extra money to go with the larger rims or does it really not matter?

Never bought tires before. I'm assuming if I buy from tirerack installing them would be just like putting on 4 spare tires at once? No special equipment besides maybe a torque wrench?

Thanks.


EDIT: This should be in the tires section, my bad.

 

Buying them with wheels it would be no different than putting on spare tires or rotating the tires. Buying without wheels you would of course have to unmount and mount and balance the tires. (I assume Tirerack will ship them mounted with valve stems and balanced, and not merely the tires and wheels separately, but it would be wise to double-check that.)

Assuming the smaller diameter wheels clear the brakes etc., there's no advantage to larger wheels for winter tires. There are difference in handling, but it's not like you're going to be racing or pulling huge g's in the corners during winter driving—at least, I hope you wont.

Make sure that you have the right kind of lug nuts for the wheels (the right mating surface); there are a few different shapes/types.

 

Don't forget you'll have to recalibrate TPMS since the tire diameter will most likely change.

 

went with the smaller ones, tirerack will mount and balance them so it'll be just like putting on spares. Anyone know how important proper lug nut tightness is (vs overtightening slightly?)

 

IMO the actual torque value of the lugnuts is less important than how consistent you are.

So, if you add 5 foot pounds to each nut, you are not going to hurt anything. What is important is that all the nuts are the same tightness within a couple percent.



++++++++++++

Regards Tire Rack, when you buy the wheel and tire packages, they ROAD FORCE balance them. That's a great service. (look it up) We got a set of snows and rims for our '07 and they are working well 120K miles later.


Did the guys at Tire Rack say that the 14" wheels could be fitted to the '15? That would be good news for us, as we are considering getting a 2015 Fit later this year.

 

Yeah their recommended package is 14" wheels with some shitty dunlops.

I called to make sure anyway though :P

 

That is the same setup I purchased, TR sends the correct lug nuts for the steel wheels too. I haven't tried them yet but I had the Altimax Arctic on my last car and they are great winter tires. I started using a torque wrench on my last car and found the lug nuts would come off without requiring a lot of force. Not fall of or come loose, just require a moderate amount of force to get started and then turn out by hand. On my prior cars using an impact gun to mount the wheels I routinely ended up with the lugs not wanting to come off and breaking the wheel studs. It's worth it in my opinion to use a torque wrench. Many auto parts stores will loan specialty tools if you don't want to purchase one.

 

I'm so anal about this, I bring my torque wrench to the tire store and (properly) re-torque the lugnuts right there.

 

That's why I still rotate my own tires. If I put them on, I can get them off when I need to.

 

i went taller with mine, 185/65-15. fit needs more ground clearance and the 6mt needs taller gearing in snow, both accomplished with said tire size.

 

For winter tires/wheels, the diameter doesn't matter as much as the width. You want skinny. It just works out that smaller diameter wheels tend to be skinnier. That said, my other car's winter wheels are 17 x 7.5 and that's way bigger than the stock sizes for the Fit, and it works just fine (RWD too).

In terms of torque, most current Hondas wheel lug torque spec is 80 ft lbs