Topic: Costco Tires and Wheels - I'm Confused

[OliverD]

I actually like the look of black steelies and am a bit disappointed that I likely won't be able to use steel wheels on the Clubman.

[Slow_lane]

I run steelies in winter but always dress them up with a nice set of hubcaps. Surprisingly the Kia dealer had a really nice looking set generic of 16 inchers for $45.00 for my Forte. I was surprised to see such a reasonable price at a dealer.

[sailor723]

Black steel rims are also my preferred option.  To avoid rust, I have typically painted them before having the tires installed.  That has resulted in years of use without any rust or fading.  So while black steel winter rims (painted or otherwise) will never draw a swooning crowd of admiring car guys, at least my winter rims look new all the time.

I had a set of alloys & Blizzaks on the departed Crosstrek for 3 winters.  They held up well and still looked good.
I'm ordering a set for the CX-5 this week.  Blizzaks and alloys again for me.  Swoon.   

Agreed. I've had cheap alloys on 3 cars including 5/6 winter seasons on the MDX and they're fine. Your winter rims are on your car for like half the year, people! Life is too short for steelies.

^ This...I had cheap ($100-ish) alloy wheels from Tire rack on the ML for six seasons and they held up OK. I don't think anywhere uses more salt than NB.

[tortoise]

Clearly you haven't been to Ottawa in the winter.

[johngenx]

If I had a snazzy car (like I used to...lol) I'd use alloys in the winter.  But, not factory alloys - man, OE alloys are nice now!  And super expensive to replace.  I'd buy some inexpensive wheels for my winter tires.  I doubt dealers have a good supply of take-offs anymore - OE wheels are nice now.

[tortoise]

I'm going to mount my Blizzaks on my OEM rims.

From there I will either sell the tires or mount them back on in the spring.

With a lot of TDIs being returned on their winter rim there's a glut of VW rims on the used market. It's easy to get a mint set with decent tires for $500-$600.   That coupled with wanting to upgrade from 15" to 16" or 17" wheels means it's probably the way I will go.   But, I do like how smooth the ride is on the 15's.  And the tires are really cheap.

[Brig]

I finally pulled the trigger and placed my order with Costco for the Blizzaks.  I will source the steelies elsewhere.  While the 4tires.ca website had great prices, I'm extremely risk-averse when it comes to dropping that kind of cheddar on the unknown.  By getting them from my local Costco, I am covered if something goes wrong.  The sketchy English on the 4tires site did not help matters.

Why Blizzaks over Michelins?  I pondered this a great deal.  Noise vs lack of confidence is what swayed me.  The Michelins on my Santa Fe did not impress in deeper snow (I vividly recall spinning tires after a 15 cm dumping), and I'd rather live with noise for a few months than lose confidence on my way in/out of a snowy trailhead.  Yes, the Michelins were almost all-season-quiet and very good in the cold/wet, but that was about it.

My best memories of snow tire shenanigans were with the Jetta.  I had cheap Crappy Tire Nordic Ices on steelies.  They were noisy, they were squishy but goddamn - the Jetta was a tank after a big snowfall.  I want that feeling back!  I'm also looking forward to testing Miss Peanut's AWD system with the snow boots on.   

[sailor723]

^^^

X2 on the Blizzaks. I've been pleased with the various Blizzak models I've had over the years and have also never found the noise to be an issue.

[sszoomzoom]

I finally pulled the trigger and placed my order with Costco for the Blizzaks.  I will source the steelies elsewhere.  While the 4tires.ca website had great prices, I'm extremely risk-averse when it comes to dropping that kind of cheddar on the unknown.  By getting them from my local Costco, I am covered if something goes wrong.  The sketchy English on the 4tires site did not help matters.

Why Blizzaks over Michelins?  I pondered this a great deal.  Noise vs lack of confidence is what swayed me.  The Michelins on my Santa Fe did not impress in deeper snow (I vividly recall spinning tires after a 15 cm dumping), and I'd rather live with noise for a few months than lose confidence on my way in/out of a snowy trailhead.  Yes, the Michelins were almost all-season-quiet and very good in the cold/wet, but that was about it.

My best memories of snow tire shenanigans were with the Jetta.  I had cheap Crappy Tire Nordic Ices on steelies.  They were noisy, they were squishy but goddamn - the Jetta was a tank after a big snowfall.  I want that feeling back!  I'm also looking forward to testing Miss Peanut's AWD system with the snow boots on.   

I too got the Blizzak over the Michelin for the same reason. My experience with Michelin is similar to yours.