JargonGrinder

Hey friends,

So my Vette is my daily driver and only car and will see the Idaho winters and snow . I have an extra set of Y2K wheels which I'll have to use for my winter setup. I believe they're 17x8.5 in the front and 18x9.5 in the rear.

I want to go as narrow as possible and this is what I think will be the best fit, please let me know if there is a better one:

225/50/17 on fronts and 245/45/18 in the rear and really looking into the Pirelli Sottozero3's.

This is the only option, I have no beater or other car so only suggestions on sizes and tires pls! Thanks.

leadfoot4

I know that Goodyear made snow tires in the OE C-5 sizes at one time, don't know if they still do. The problem you'll face, however, is two fold. A) ANY tire that's even close to the correct OD for a C-5, is going to be a wide tire, and wide tires aren't that great in snow; B) a C-5 is low, and there's the possibility of getting hung up snow.

Having said that, I'm NOT trying to rain on your parade, and YES, there have been pictures posted of a guy in my area that tows his snowmobile around in the winter, with his Z06.

A "practical" solution might be to find a $1200 "beater" that would last you 2-3 winters, and park the Corvette. (snow tires are going to run you around $1000, anyway) Otherwise, check the Nokian tire website. They make some really good snow tires.

JR-01

Good luck. Take lots of pictures of your car getting stuck, pushed out of snowbanks, hung up on deep snow, and of course that inevitable fender bender. I don't know how the winters are where you live, but if you get a few inches on the roadway and some icy conditions you are in for a wild ride. However if you just get a dusting of snow once in awhile then you should do just fine.

Sydwayz

Unless you have flexibility to ONLY drive when the weather is clear...
...park the Vette.

1999-2004 Pontiac Grand Prix or Buick Regal or similar G-body would be a perfect winter car.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_G_platform_(1995)

Cliff8928

For what it's worth, I run the 245/45R18 Pirelli Winter SottoZero Serie II on my Saab which is FWD with approximately 295 ft-lb of torque. They do everything far better than the factory all season tires in their intended conditions. It's kinda disappointing when I have to switch back to the all-seasons, but I'm just too cheap to replace them before they're worn out. I could only see the 3 being even better in the snow.

One thing to keep in mind is that it's not recommended to run the 245 on an wheel wider than 9". Maybe you can get an extra set of front wheels or something from a Camaro that's a little narrower?

vettestream

I did the corvette thing in the snow for a while, and while it was managable it was not fun, espeically going up steep hills, that being said, if you are definitely going to do it I would look into a set of Bridgestone Blizzaks, they are what most guys with sports cars run with great results (you will have the check the sizing)

jcgunn

I have had my 03 Vert here in Idaho for about eight winters. It is trapped in the garage for 2-3 months every year. To answer your question, if you have spare wheels get a good winter tire in close to stock sizes. You will find that packed snow is a problem and don't even think about driving up Horseshoe Bend Hill unless the road is dry!

dbgoodwin

I love driving my z in the snow.

Last year during one storm I took it home and was having so much fun I drove around for an extra 30 minutes.

It's massively better than my old 350z and easier to drive than my fiance's 5 speed Corolla.

That said really deep snow and wet Ice are much more difficult. At stock height it works though.

leadfoot4

Your avatar says you live in NC........You have NO IDEA what snow is like!

JargonGrinder

Practical sure, but not in my case and I've made my bed so I have to lay in it! No space for another vehicle and any 1k vehicle would probably need little things that would add up quick. I'll check out Nokian.


I know ya'll are trying to help and I really appreciate it, I knew full well what it would mean getting this as my only possible vehicle so I'll make it work!


I've been doing some looking online and this seems to be a fairly common fitment question, apparently it'll stretch a little bit which really only would affect not having rim protection, am I correct? It wouldn't look the best so I could go with 255's but just wanted to go as narrow as sensibly feasible.


I'll check it out, thanks. Only 1 steep hill around my usual haunts and I can just go an alternate route anyway.


Fortunately I'll just be in the Boise area around town. Any trips and I'll carpool or something ; )


Finally someone positive haha. I'm stock height but well aware deep snow is the main problem no matter what treads I have. If it's that deep I'd probably just work from home and bum rides off people.


Really this just needs to get me around town with light snow and ice and lots of dry roads but very cold temps. More extreme and I'll make other arrangements. So my tire sizes I mentioned in the OP should work (possibly 255 for rear instead though)?

JR-01

From what I have learned Boise has mild winters with little snow. All season tires should do the job and stay home if it gets real bad. My comments were based on my experiences with Wisconsin winters.

73Corvette

I'd take the air dams/ snow plows off for the winter too...

JargonGrinder

Yeah Boise is typically pretty mild with relatively little snow but every few years we get a more aggressive winter. I already have summer tires so may as well just get better winter tires than all seasons and not compromise as much ( I ran all seasons on my previous AWD car since I just wanted to keep one set year round).

JargonGrinder

Bumping my question. I was going to order fairly soon and want to know if that size is fine and doesn't mess with any ratios or anything.

JargonGrinder

Bumping pls. While stock sizes would be simplest I was going to go as narrow as possible but want to make sure I order the correct sizes.