FAQ Camaro Winter Tires - Wheel/Tire Thread 2010

[GQ4Life]

Originally Posted by SRFnSNO

I changed my Wheels out yesterdat Sat 9 Oct.
Took car out fot test run around town last night drives great.

Every time you start car need to flip tire pressure signal off. No TPM on Winter wheels.
Just flit it back to MPH on the DIC.

Today the Temp is 38 Deg outside.

You put the winters on already.. Snow is still long away.

[GQ4Life]

I know in rally racing deep snow you want a skinner tire.
So is that what you recommend for camaro for snow driving NY and upstate NY?
245 all around over 245 & 275s

[alexw]

Have a LT/RS (not SS) with 20 inch wheels, 8 wide in front, 9 wide in back. Looking to get a set of Scorpion Ice and Snow's for the winter (PA, it's coming...).

Just to clarify, is this what I should be selecting, 2 of each?

245/45/R20
275/40/R20

If there are other size options for the 20 inch RS wheels, what are they and what's the difference?

Never bought tires like this before, on other cars just took it to the shop and said "gimme 4". So any help appreciated. Thanks!

[Toasty]

Originally Posted by alexw

Have a LT/RS (not SS) with 20 inch wheels, 8 wide in front, 9 wide in back. Looking to get a set of Scorpion Ice and Snow's for the winter (PA, it's coming...).

Just to clarify, is this what I should be selecting, 2 of each?

245/45/R20
275/40/R20

If there are other size options for the 20 inch RS wheels, what are they and what's the difference?

Never bought tires like this before, on other cars just took it to the shop and said "gimme 4". So any help appreciated. Thanks!

the other option is to do the 245's all around, they will fit on the rear also

[Rudy@Tirerack]

Originally Posted by GQ4Life

I know in rally racing deep snow you want a skinner tire.
So is that what you recommend for camaro for snow driving NY and upstate NY?
245 all around over 245 & 275s

Yes a narrower tire will cut snow better. For best winter traction a 245/40R20 front and rear is best. The narrower tire will still fit the rear wheel fine.

Originally Posted by alexw

Have a LT/RS (not SS) with 20 inch wheels, 8 wide in front, 9 wide in back. Looking to get a set of Scorpion Ice and Snow's for the winter (PA, it's coming...).

Just to clarify, is this what I should be selecting, 2 of each?

245/45/R20
275/40/R20

If there are other size options for the 20 inch RS wheels, what are they and what's the difference?

Never bought tires like this before, on other cars just took it to the shop and said "gimme 4". So any help appreciated. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Toasty

the other option is to do the 245's all around, they will fit on the rear also

+1 to what Toasty says. You can run 2 245/45R20 and 2 275/45R20 or you can go 4 245/45R20.

[alexw]

Originally Posted by Rudy@Tirerack

+1 to what Toasty says. You can run 2 245/45R20 and 2 275/45R20 or you can go 4 245/45R20.

Thanks for the responses. Just to clarify, for the 275's on the rear, should it be 275/40R20 or 275/45R20? I wrote 40 and you put 45.

Another question, sorry if it sounds silly. The rim is X size wide - 8/9 inches. And that first number, if I understand correctly, is how wide the tire is.

So how can we fit the 245 on a rim that also fits the 275, if the 245 smaller? Stretching it tighter?

And if so, will that change the sidewall height to the naked eye, or affect performance for better/worse?

Guessing better as we have several 245 x 4 suggestions here. Just trying to figure out the logic to all this.

Thanks!

[Rudy@Tirerack]

Good catch on the rear size. I edited my post. 275/40R20 rear is correct. Tires strech and have a rim width range. This is a spec from the manufactuer that is not over streching the tire. The 245/45R20 fits on a 9 inch per manufactuer specs. The wheel width is not going to change the diamater. It will just maximize the width of the 245 tire.

[alexw]

Sounds good. Thanks for clearing that up. Will be placing my order soon!

[goblue255]

Has anyone purchased the recommended 17" package from Tire Rack for an LT? I currently have 19" wheels and was thinking about buying 18" wheels and snow tires for the winter, but it looks like a 17" set could be $400-500 cheaper.

Do the 17" wheels handle ok, and are there any potential problems with properly supporting the weight of the vehicle (and therefore any warranty issues) with driving on wheels smaller than the recommended OEM size?

[philthy]

I purchased it on Saturday....shipped out today. Rudy at Tirerack was great to work with. I also wanted to get the 18's, but the 17" package was such a great deal! I figured for the few months I will need winter tires, I can deal with the taller sidewall. I will post up pics when I test fit them this weekend.

[goblue255]

Originally Posted by philthy

I purchased it on Saturday....shipped out today. Rudy at Tirerack was great to work with. I also wanted to get the 18's, but the 17" package was such a great deal! I figured for the few months I will need winter tires, I can deal with the taller sidewall. I will post up pics when I test fit them this weekend.

Thanks for the response, I look forward to seeing how they look! The 17" wheels + Pirellis should show a 0.5% difference in speedometer reading compared to the 19" instead of 0.1%, which is how different the tires for the 18" wheels would be compared to the 19". 0.5% is so small that it shouldn't make a meaningful difference. Let me know, too, if you get a StabiliTrak warning with the 17" wheels (again, you shouldn't with a total wheel+tire diameter so close to stock).

[CamK18]

I bought a set of Pirelli scorpion ice and snow for my Red LT last year from tirerack. FAST shopping, arrived in great shape. Tires preformed very well, not once close call last year. Here are some pics. The rims are 18" OZ.

[Rudy@Tirerack]

Originally Posted by goblue255

Has anyone purchased the recommended 17" package from Tire Rack for an LT? I currently have 19" wheels and was thinking about buying 18" wheels and snow tires for the winter, but it looks like a 17" set could be $400-500 cheaper.

Do the 17" wheels handle ok, and are there any potential problems with properly supporting the weight of the vehicle (and therefore any warranty issues) with driving on wheels smaller than the recommended OEM size?

There will no problems with load capacity or warranty. The tires are very similar in overall diameter. The handling is not as good as 19 inch and snow tires don't exactly set any cornering records, but they will be much, much better in the snow and ice.

Thanks everyone who has ordered and please feel free to post pics as I am sure it would help to benefit other members on the site!

[Mike529]

Originally Posted by goblue255

Has anyone purchased the recommended 17" package from Tire Rack for an LT? I currently have 19" wheels and was thinking about buying 18" wheels and snow tires for the winter, but it looks like a 17" set could be $400-500 cheaper.

Got mine yesterday (ordered them Saturday) and the final shipping cost was actually $30 LOWER than they quoted when I ordered them online!
This is the preferred 17" package with the Moda EB1 wheels and Blizzak DMV1 tires: $784 advertised price, $1149 with TPMS and shipping.
Also, after re-learning the sensors and checking the pressure with a guage, it appears the aftermarket TPMS sensors that Tire Rack installs are more accurate than the factory ones!

I did have to remove the Moda logo from the center caps and install a "custom" one (last photo)...

All in all, a great experience with Tire Rack; highly recommended!