Winter is coming so I started shopping for winter tires, but don't see many options for 205/55 R17 size.
What brand & model do you use on your Countryman? How do you like them?

 

Any issues going with 215/55 R17 instead?

 

i found 5 winter tires in 205/55R17 on tirerack.com

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...55&diameter=17

scott

 

I use Pirelli Sottozero runflats... good winter tyres even without snow...
Last winter i surprise big 4x4 in snow because All4 with my sottozero are very good performance with snow.. and better in ice..
Main problem: price

 

3 of them Pirelli Sottozero that are not very good based on reviews.
http://www.testberichte.de/p/pirelli...stbericht.html

 

Running 225/50-17 Blizzak WS-70 from last year. Although not much snow, was happy with them.. Not runflats but I bought a slime kit for the boot.

 

another option ....

ecs tuning sells mini oem 16" rims for the cms, in europe some cm come with 16" steel wheels and some come with 16" alloy wheels

i bought a set, they clear the brakes front and rear on my cms all4

the options for winter tires is much greater in 16" size

i have confirmed by fitting mounted tires that a 215/65-16 tire (27" od) fits with no issues on the 16" oem alloy rim

also tpms senders can be fitted to these rims

scott

 

I heard that Blizzak are noisy on dry road and too soft.
Is it true?

Anybody used Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3?

 

I have the W240 Sottozero Serie II and think they are fantastic! Mounted on my factory 18" rims in a OEM 225/45R18 size. The little beasty was unstoppable last winter...

 

I'm using the pirelli stock all-season tires. Hopefully, i can survive boston's winter this year with them.

 

i was planning on buying michelin x-ice xi3 winter tires in size 215/65-16 to fit the mini european oem 16" alloy wheels i bought from ecs tuning, but michelin has not built any yet!

their website shows the size and tirerack showed the size for a while, then it "disappeared"

Alex @ tirerack confirmed they have not been built yet

now trying to decide between

pirelli Winter Carving Edge
michelin Primacy Alpin PA3
general tire Grabber AT 2
yokohama YokohamaGeolandar A/T-S

the last 2 are on/off road all terrain tires, i have used both on my 97 gmc sonoma 4x4 and they are great in deep snow and ok on packed snow and ice ... both are quite noisey

i want the 215/65-16 size because they are 27" od, the same od as the michelin Pilot Super Sport 225/50-18 that are going to be my summer tires when the oem pirelli 225/45-18 Cinturato P7 Run Flats wear out, last time i measured the tread depth at 5000 mile rotation, i had 7/32" left of the original 10/32"

anyone used the pirelli carving edge or michelin primacy alpin pa3?

scott

 

We have 215/55 17 Firestone Winterforce tires mounted on Motegi MR-118 17x8 with a 45 offset and they fit fine with no rubbing. They were more flush, so they looked more aggressive than the stock 17s. I am not sure how the 215/55 17 will fit on the stock 17x7 with a 50 offset. We may try that this year, since we now have two Countrymen (Countrymans?) with only one set of snow tires and wheels so we don't have to buy both tires and wheels (and TPMS!).

 

yesterday i pulled the trigger and ordered a set of 205/70R-16 Dunlop Grandtrek SJ6 winter tires from tirerack (thanks for all the help Alex!) they were $91 ea and there is a $40 rebate

the rebate just about covers the freight of $46.70

the 205/70R-16 Dunlop Grandtrek SJ6 is 27.3" OD and they have 13/32" of tread depth

before i ordered, i went to my local tire store to test fit a 205/70-16 tire on 1 of my 16" wheels and found no clearance problems

scott

 

Just picked up a nice set of wheels for the winter from a MINIac in Madison, WI. Anyone else have a dedicated winter set-up and what tire are you running? Right now I'm thinking either Hankook I*cept Evo's or Pirelli Sottozero's for but don't have much first hand info on either. Also wondering if anyone knows whether the stock 17s can really handle the 215 or 225 tire width and let me know your thoughts on run flats vs standard tire for winter.

 

for winter tires, in general, you would want to go to a skinnier tire than a summer tire and a taller sidewall for pothole protection

the smaller width tire will penetrate the snow better

see my post above, i went from 225/45-18 summers to 205/70-16 winter tires

my tires arrive from tirerack monday, i still need to decide if i want TPMS senders or not

i will post photos when i get them mounted

scott

 

Narrower is better for snow or ice tires. You could think about 205 or 195 tires.

The standard tire for the R53 is a 195/55R16. My snow tires are 185/65R15. They are very close to the same diameter so my speedometer still reads correctly. This combination works very well and I have no problems going in the snow, even without AWD.

This is one of the top rated snow and ice tires in the latest Consumer Reports;

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....wtpackage=true

 

My R60 is running 245/45 on 18s the OE wheels that I intend to mount the winters are 17. Tire Rack lists 205/55 or 225/50 for the 17 wheel and Discount Tire lists 215/55 as an option as well and this is the size I was thinking of picking up but just wondering if anyone else was running that size and whether there were issues. I'm really looking for the best tire I can get away with at the lowest price as I don't wanna spend $800-$1000 on just tires

 

unfortunately, the choice of 17" winter tires is small, that is why i bought oem mini 16" alloy wheels for my CMS All4

looking on tirerack, for 215/55-17 winters i found these

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...55&diameter=17

the michelin x-ice xi3 is not the cheapest, but it does have a 40,000 mile tread wear warranty, something few if any other winter tires have, i was going to run these in size 205/65-16, but although they are listed, they are not yet available

at 26.3" od, it should fit with no problem

i am running 205/70-16" Dunlop Grandtrek SJ6 that are 27.3" od and have no clearance problem on my cms all4

scott

 

I ordered 205-55 17 Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3.
Plan to mount them on stock 17" rims then buy new set of 18" wheels for summer.

 

Rebate right now on Michelin winter tires and I'm either going to purchase the PA3 205/55/17 or the Pilot Alpin PA2 ZP in 225/50/17. Thanks for the recommendation

 

I'm running Nokian Hakka R's 215/55/17 on TSW Nuremberging wheels. They handle basically anything I throw at them and I find them more stable than the Xice3 while maintaining ice control. Find the snow a little bit better too cause of the extra run tread depth. The offset makes my car a little dirty though... RallyArmor flaps coming in!

 

Interesting hood ornament you've got there!

 

Its a very realistic christmas tree. =)

 

I have 215/55 17 sized Firestone Winterforce Snow tires installed on Factory 17" wheels, they fit fine, and no rubbing so far. Looking forward to trying them out in the snow!

 

I just had 205-60-16 Bridgestone Blizzak WS70's installed onto 16" Touren TR9 matte black 5x120 wheels (offset = 42).
No snow here as it is currently 60 degrees F :-) but I expect them to perform very well in the snow. They do feel "soft" in comparison to the stock RFs.