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[jc824]

Went into a local tire shop and asked about winters on my OEM 19's. They actually recommended the following:

F: 225/40/19
R: 265/35/19

I have no issues with the recommendation on the rear as they are same as stock (although I guess one size down to 255 may be better for winter driving).

But questionable on the front recommendation. Fitment is fine. I understand a more narrow front helps with winter driving but is 225/40 a bit small? Seems a bit skinny.

Any major con's for this setup? (other than the skinny front tires)

[slicer]

Most people run 255/35 in the front because 245/35 is not available.

[maesd74]

Originally Posted by jc824

Went into a local tire shop and asked about winters on my OEM 19's. They actually recommended the following:

F: 225/40/19
R: 265/35/19

I have no issues with the recommendation on the rear as they are same as stock (although I guess one size down to 255 may be better for winter driving).

But questionable on the front recommendation. Fitment is fine. I understand a more narrow front helps with winter driving but is 225/40 a bit small? Seems a bit skinny.

Any major con's for this setup? (other than the skinny front tires)

I run 255/35/19's on the front and 275/35/19's on the rear.... LM-60's. No issues whatsoever.

[jc824]

should I go bigger in the front... say 245/40/19?

[slicer]

Originally Posted by jc824

should I go bigger in the front... say 245/40/19?

No that is a full inch too large. 255/35 is your best option for the front.

[Transfer]

245/35 is stock size in front, go with that if you can

[jc824]

would 245/40/19 work tho? Or will this rub?

[Chowster]

Originally Posted by jc824

would 245/40/19 work tho? Or will this rub?

That's too big. What tires are you trying to fit on there?

For 19" winters, almost everyone runs some combination of 235/245/255 in a 35 profile on the front, and 255/265/275 in a 35 profile on the rear. Your choice, dependant on your weather conditions, tire choice, and size availability.

I've had 235/35 255/35 in Dunlop Wintersports, and also 255/35 275/35 in Blizzak LM60s.

[LiM3y]

Originally Posted by jc824

Went into a local tire shop and asked about winters on my OEM 19's. They actually recommended the following:

F: 225/40/19
R: 265/35/19

I have no issues with the recommendation on the rear as they are same as stock (although I guess one size down to 255 may be better for winter driving).

But questionable on the front recommendation. Fitment is fine. I understand a more narrow front helps with winter driving but is 225/40 a bit small? Seems a bit skinny.

Any major con's for this setup? (other than the skinny front tires)

Your best bet is to buy a set of 18" x 8" rims with 235/40 R18 winter tires on rather than try and fit a set of winter tires on the OEM rims. Tirerack supplied Sport Edition A7 are a solid rim for this purpose. This set up performs much better (better rear traction) in crap conditions that the wider tires (well it does in New England with our wet snow).

I upgraded from Bridgestone LM-25 to Nokian Hakkipillata (wrong spelling?!), and these too are significantly better winter tires than those offered by Tirerack (a New Hampshire buddy recommends these tires to his customers who absolutely need to travel in any conditions over other brands).

[jc824]

Thanks for the advice.. duly noted

[slicer]

Originally Posted by LiM3y

Your best bet is to buy a set of 18" x 8" rims with 235/40 R18 winter tires on rather than try and fit a set of winter tires on the OEM rims. Tirerack supplied Sport Edition A7 are a solid rim for this purpose. This set up performs much better (better rear traction) in crap conditions that the wider tires (well it does in New England with our wet snow).

I upgraded from Bridgestone LM-25 to Nokian Hakkipillata (wrong spelling?!), and these too are significantly better winter tires than those offered by Tirerack (a New Hampshire buddy recommends these tires to his customers who absolutely need to travel in any conditions over other brands).

I agree that 18" wheels / tires is the better option. If you want to go this route I would get a set of OEM 219M 18" wheels. Buy a used set from a forum member... I am not a fan of cheap wheels.

[jc824]

I actually had the Nokians on my IS. Overall pretty good tires but I did have AWD as well.

I think I'm going to try 19s for this winter and get new wheels this spring. If I don't like them, I'll switch to 18s next winter