SteevieO

I have read about 20 pages of tire questions and I learned a bunch. All that reading helped me decide some things but not all. I have been convinced to keep 15" tires on my Camo xB. The xB is the second family car (wife and a 5 and 7 year old). Our plan is to make this the errand, soccer game, trip to Maine car since we put 10,000 miles on the new minivan in 5 months and the 2005 xB I just bought only has 800 miles on it. My plan is to put the stock Goodyear LSs on new alloy wheels and put some snow tires on the steel wheels. I know I didn't read a lot of good about the LSs but they only have 800 miles on them. When they go I will seek opinions on a better replacement. Here are my questions.

I have checked a lot of the recommended websites for tires and I really do not know the difference between a quality wheel and something that is not worth getting. With so many choices can I get something decent for under $100 each? I would also like a wheel that is lighter than the steelies. Which wheel would you recommend and where to get? Any recommendations for local shops in the Boston area? I went to Direct tire and $150 was the cheapest wheel they had.

6.5" or 7"? Since I am keeping the stock tires which wheel size? I realize they both work but any advantages to one over the other?

Offset? 2 days ago I did not know what offset was. Now that I know what it is, I do not know what offset to get. What is the offset of the stock wheel? Should I justg stick with that?

Studded or non-studded? Which winter tire? Guy at direct tire said new technology is better than studded tires. Is this true? Any recommendations for a winter tire?

Anything else I need to know? Sorry for all the questions! Thanks in advance

xbboxjdm

I would be very careful in running 15 X 7 on stock wheels. This is completely possible, but a bit dangerous as I learned this past weekend. Just like you, I had wanted to purchase upgraded 15" inch wheels for my stock 185/60/15 tires. I finally settled on a set of Rota 15's, received these on Friday and had them mounted Saturday. Drove the box a few hundred miles this weekend without a hiccup. Unfortunately on the way to work this morning, things took a turn for the worst. As I was navigating a lazy left onto the expressway this morning, the box suddenly started sliding out from under me headed straight for the ditch. Come to find out, the drivers side rear tire had slipped off the rim thus causing the vehicle to loose control. I'm almost certain this was caused due to the 15* 6 tire mounted on a 15 * 7 rim.

Persocon

that is stretching a lot of tire. It may look nice but very dangerous even for regular driving.
Stay with the stock tires width.

Offset is just to prevent your new wheels (if they're quite wide) from rubbing the strut assembly and wheel well.

Lighter wheels I would check out Konigg they have 15 inch wheels that are very light, but will cost more than the $100 you stated.

FModFTD

For wheels that are cheap yet decent quality, you can't go wrong with Rota. There's many styles and colors in 15x6.5 with offset of 35 to 40. Stock tires will work on those rims, although 205/55-15 is the best fit.

Gsnorgathon

Since the stock wheels are 6", I'd definitely stick to 6 or 6.5 if you're going to keep the stock tires. Most of the bad I've read about the stock tires is about their wet handling, so they ought to make decent summer tires.

mattxb

15 x 7 is hardly a stretch. Correct me if I am wrong but its only a .5 diff from the stock steelie. I have had 15x7's for quite some time now and have had not issues what so ever.


^^^^^

That sucks that your tire slipped off your rim, but could that just be attributed to a poor mounting job?

Stock steelies



15x7



as you can see, its not a very drastic difference at all. got these bad boys for like 90.00 a pop.

SteevieO

Thanks everyone for the info. Matt, where did you get your wheels? What make and model?

mattxb

SteevieO.... I ordered these from www.discounttiredirect.com

They are Voxx MG 15x7 +38mm
Check out this link.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...100&vid=008416

Looks like they upped the price 10.00 from when I got them. When they came in the mail, Pep Boys did the tire switch for like 21.00 a rim. Not to bad.

good luck......

Shmoo

lol the polished lip on those stock wheels are definitely a new look to me. Very creative!

Box-ster

For inexpensive wheels, I like Rota too. Take a look at the tirerack.com for wheels, most of the stuff they have is good quality - they have a cool interactive viewer that you can use to see what the wheels look like on your car.

I don't see any problems mounting the stock size tires on 15x7" wheels.

Snow tires - for driving on ice there is no replacement for studs. But for 99% of what most of us will encounter, ice/winter tires are the way to go. They provide outstanding ice/snow traction and acceptable performance on dry pavement (where studs really suck). I have had good luck with Michelin x-ice , Yokohama Ice guard and Nokian WR tires. I am currently running the Nokian's on a rear drive Mercedes - this is my daily commuter car for crappy weather. They work great.