richy Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 I have always thought that I was putting my family and my health at risk by not running winter tires and wheels on my vehicles, but to be honest, could never really afford it before now. Still can't, LOL. I will outline below my process for preparing them for installation. One thing I did find strange however is that after installing them and driving, I did not get a TPS fault. I'm guessing something is wrong as the tires did not come with TPM, so my understanding is that every time I start up I should get the fault showing the system is not getting a signal. Anyway, after some research, I decided to go with 17" wheels (I run the stock 20" chrome) and Blizzak WS70's in a 235/65R 17 along with these wheels: http://www.racelinew...t/large/747.jpg I wanted to install them myself so I can store the summer set in my basement. I got them from Belle Tire in Detroit. I got the shim set for them as well. I wanted to wheels to have maximum protection from the elements so I did the following procedure to prepare them: 1) Wash them with ONR and dry 2) Add 2 coats of Optimum Opti Guard (professional version) to both the wheel faces and the barrels. 3) After an hour cure time, I added a coat of Permanon Platinum to both areas as well 4) Tires were treated to Duragloss Wet Shine I had to wait until yesterday to install the package as we drove my car to Florida to take a cruise from Miami. I did not want to be driving on them in the hot weather. It's been an extremely mild winter here so far so there has not been an issue with the stock tires on until now. Ironically, winter is hitting us tonight and the weather is changing to winter by tomorrow. My timing ended up being perfect. Here are a few shots of the car getting cleaned from the trip and then with the new wheels installed: I drove it today and was amazed at how well they handle as well as how quiet they are. I was expecting road noise from them. Not so. I am very impressed with the tires in the dry and rain so far. Tomorrow the snow comes; we'll see how they do then too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choff1138 Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 Glad to hear someone else is finally going to get some winter. Supposed to get up to 2 more feet of snow in the next 24 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOEHIO Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 (edited) Hey Richy, looking good, they really look good with the black exterior. Here in NJ, we usually don't get that much snow, maybe a few storms each winter, so I'm going to hold off for now, plus the wife would get upset if I spent extra bucks . Safe driving. Joe Edited January 13, 2012 by JOEHIO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richy Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 Hey Richy, looking good, they really look good with the black exterior. Here in NJ, we usually don't get that much snow, maybe a few storms each winter, so I'm going to hold off for now, plus the wife would get upset if I spent extra bucks . Safe driving. Joe Joe, I hear you on that. It was not a happy day in this household when she saw mine either. Truth be told, winter tires have everything to do with cold weather traction and actually very little to do with snow. It's about the rubber compound having better grip and being more pliable. I am 100% certain it adds to your safety. The other thing I have noticed is that there is less un-sprung weight with these so the steering feels much lighter. The front end almost seems "twitchy". You notice the weight reduction in other words. And BTW, the TPS system finally triggered tonight and is now triggering every time I start it. Glad to see it's working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choff1138 Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 Winter tires still sound funny to me - Seems to me the trend in AK is to either stick with good all weather tires or get studs. Which I am guessing are your winter tires with spikes. I am running the all weather that came with my car and they work great. I haven't had any problems getting going that you wouldn't have with any tires - or stopping either. I do have the 18's, which if I had the 22's, I would probably something different for winter. If anyone wants some snow, we have plenty to share this winter. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3006997055493&set=o.108536136665&type=1&theater http://anchorage.craigslist.org/for/2795977248.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorpio Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 Winter tires still sound funny to me - Seems to me the trend in AK is to either stick with good all weather tires or get studs. Which I am guessing are your winter tires with spikes. I am running the all weather that came with my car and they work great. I haven't had any problems getting going that you wouldn't have with any tires - or stopping either. I do have the 18's, which if I had the 22's, I would probably something different for winter. If anyone wants some snow, we have plenty to share this winter. http://www.facebook....&type=1 http://anchorage.cra...2795977248.html That's a lot of snow, but we get our share too...and more besides LOL (see below). There's a big difference between those areas that just get a "taste" of winter, and those places that get real winters. I've never gone without real winter tires on any of our vechicles, out of necessity not choice. And I've worked in areas in Canada where I'd have to fly south to get to Alaska LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11edgelimited Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 I have always thought that I was putting my family and my health at risk by not running winter tires and wheels on my vehicles, but to be honest, could never really afford it before now. Still can't, LOL. I will outline below my process for preparing them for installation. One thing I did find strange however is that after installing them and driving, I did not get a TPS fault. I'm guessing something is wrong as the tires did not come with TPM, so my understanding is that every time I start up I should get the fault showing the system is not getting a signal. Anyway, after some research, I decided to go with 17" wheels (I run the stock 20" chrome) and Blizzak WS70's in a 235/65R 17 along with these wheels: http://www.racelinew...t/large/747.jpg I wanted to install them myself so I can store the summer set in my basement. I got them from Belle Tire in Detroit. I got the shim set for them as well. I wanted to wheels to have maximum protection from the elements so I did the following procedure to prepare them: 1) Wash them with ONR and dry 2) Add 2 coats of Optimum Opti Guard (professional version) to both the wheel faces and the barrels. 3) After an hour cure time, I added a coat of Permanon Platinum to both areas as well 4) Tires were treated to Duragloss Wet Shine I had to wait until yesterday to install the package as we drove my car to Florida to take a cruise from Miami. I did not want to be driving on them in the hot weather. It's been an extremely mild winter here so far so there has not been an issue with the stock tires on until now. Ironically, winter is hitting us tonight and the weather is changing to winter by tomorrow. My timing ended up being perfect. Here are a few shots of the car getting cleaned from the trip and then with the new wheels installed: I drove it today and was amazed at how well they handle as well as how quiet they are. I was expecting road noise from them. Not so. I am very impressed with the tires in the dry and rain so far. Tomorrow the snow comes; we'll see how they do then too! I get a little confused when people say they can't afford winter tires... You can afford a $50,000 car but you can't afford another $1000 in tires and wheels? I would say if money is that tight you shouldn't have bout the Lincoln and bought the edge instead.... I live in NY and people here have to have a "sports" car for summer so bad that they go and buy a Camero or mustang and then drive it in the winter..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smoothballer Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 what was the total cost on the tires/wheels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlepse Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 I get a little confused when people say they can't afford winter tires... You can afford a $50,000 car but you can't afford another $1000 in tires and wheels? I would say if money is that tight you shouldn't have bout the Lincoln and bought the edge instead.... I mostly agree with this but unfortunately a lot of people buy all the vehicle...house...etc they can afford at the time and don't leave much in their budgets for other things or circumstances that might come up. I normally put snows on ever vehicle we own, AWD or not because drivetrain doesn't help me stop or turn. One saved accident will save me a bunch of money in insurance/liability. I also have found having dedicated snows ends up costing no more over a few years because I don't end up paying for mounting and balancing two times a year. Plus if there is a mild winter I can rock the all-seasons and switch back easy if it gets nasty. With all that said I don't have snows on the Edge but it isn't money related...we are trying to sit through one winter to see what happens since we are having several issues with the vehicle and want to make sure they are resolved before investing more money. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choff1138 Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 That's a lot of snow, but we get our share too...and more besides LOL (see below). There's a big difference between those areas that just get a "taste" of winter, and those places that get real winters. I've never gone without real winter tires on any of our vechicles, out of necessity not choice. And I've worked in areas in Canada where I'd have to fly south to get to Alaska LOL! Glad to see someone else is getting some winter. Our snow snap is on hold until the cold snap goes a way. I would much rather the snow than have this negative temps. I have always put studs on my cars until the Edge and really feeling very confident with not having them. We always have the truck that we can drive if conditions got too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richy Posted January 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 what was the total cost on the tires/wheels? At the time it was $1030.00 give or take. I think they're on sale now for less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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