Winter Tires and rims

hondasport1

I have a 2015 honda accord sport. I looking to get a set of winter tires on some general steal rims. So that i can change them out in the winter. Stock tires are 235/45r18 94v. I would like to put 17s on because they are considerably cheaper. I'm just not sure what size tire would be best. I talked to several tires places and they all have different opinions. Any help would be nice.

texases

Have you looked at tire rack? I've used them for just this purpose with great results. 

Mr_Shiftright

255/45/17 looks pretty good but I don't know about winter tire availability and price in that size. For summer tires, no problem. You could also try a 245/45/17 but I'd be concerned about possible clearance problems. 235/50/17 is just about an even swap on size but again, you may not be saving any money on winter tires.

You can play with tire sizes here to find equivalents:

Tire Size Calculator

Once you have some 17" sizes that are within 3% plus or minus from your stock size (you can't vary more than 3%), then you can go to TIRE RACK and see what's available in a winter tire. All I'm seeing from playing around with this is pretty expensive winter tires in the sizes I posted.

In other words, switching to 17" might not be cheaper after all, unless you can dig up some off-brand tire---which might be okay in a pinch, but you know, you get what you pay for.

You could also give Tire Rack a call and let them help you figure something out.

kyfdx

The Sport is the same car as the LX, but with different options and bigger wheels. It doesn't have bigger brakes or anything that would cause clearance issues with using the stock 17" size off an LX or EX.

The stock 17" size for that model Accord is 215/55-17.

There should be plenty of choices in that size. Steel wheels may be harder to find. I'd try to pick up a set of used stock Accord 17" alloys (though, may also be hard to find), or a cheaper set of aftermarket alloys from Tire Rack.

I surely wouldn't want to swap tires on my stock wheels, twice per year. Or, run 18" winters, when I can get 17".

carboy21

Why buy new wheels ?? Just swap same size tires for winter. Takes 30 mins at the tire shop vs 10 mins.

kyfdx

carboy21 said:

Why buy new wheels ?? Just swap same size tires for winter. Takes 30 mins at the tire shop vs 10 mins.

Mount and balance.. $60-$80, twice per year. Plus wear and tear on the bead of both sets of tires. Plus, you can't do it when you want to do it. Plus more sidewall to soak up winter potholes.

At least, that's why I have 17" vs. 18" winters. (oh yeah, I have a staggered 18" setup, too.)

texases

Much more convenient with tires mounted and ready to swap. First snow, out comes the floor jack and power wrench, done while the snow is still flying. Worked great for 12 years in Anchorage. 

Mr_Shiftright

And you don't have to mess with the TPMS sensors either, which can break/get confused on mount and dismount.

And you can protect your tender alloys from potholes you can't see in snow and slush.

Ragtopcar

Speaking of TPMS, wouldn't you have to re-program the TPMS sensors for the winter tires on a different rim ?
This can cost $50-$60 depending on the dealership. Or can the new Accord handle 8 TPMS sensors (4 for summer tires/rims and 4 for winter tires/rims) ?

kyfdx

Ragtopcar said:

Speaking of TPMS, wouldn't you have to re-program the TPMS sensors for the winter tires on a different rim ?
This can cost $50-$60 depending on the dealership. Or can the new Accord handle 8 TPMS sensors (4 for summer tires/rims and 4 for winter tires/rims) ?

That's a good point. I don't have TPMS sensors on my car (uses the old system of measuring different wheel speeds).