[LordOfTheFlies]

I have SSR Competition 17x7.5 wheels with Pirelli P Zero Nero M/S tires on my 3 month old '04 MCS and am wondering if I should buy some 15" or 16" rims+tires off of ebay from people who have upgraded their tires.

The difference in overall diameter between the 15" 175/65/15's I'm looking and the 215/45/17's I currently have is minimal - 9mm or 1.4% shorter than what I have right now but being in NYC I'm a little worried about the crud on the streets when it gets slushy or snowy. Especially since these wheels cost me $1400 alone and the tires were another $500.

Since I've only owned the MCS for three months, can anyone give me some feedback on how their tires (stock or aftermarket) performed during the winter? It doesn't snow all that much here but when it does, it sure does....and being so darn crowded the salt and dirt etc. gets all pushed into the street and thus onto my wheels!

Or maybe I should go with 16" wheels and tires instead of the 15's? The difference there would be 4.4mm or .07% shorter than what I have.

Any feedback is really appreciated.

[MiniMelaz]

17's are fine in the snow! everyone thinks big rims = terrible in winter. The only reason I would say dont drive you're MCS with ssr comps in the snow esp. around NYC is that the salt can def. effect you're rims (fading). I suggest you getting a NICE set of snow tires like Blizzaks or something of that matter. Why not just use you're stock rims with diesel snow tires?
Hope that helped a bit.
-Tyler

[LordOfTheFlies]

Quote: Originally Posted by MiniMelaz

17's are fine in the snow! everyone thinks big rims = terrible in winter. The only reason I would say dont drive you're MCS with ssr comps in the snow esp. around NYC is that the salt can def. effect you're rims (fading). I suggest you getting a NICE set of snow tires like Blizzaks or something of that matter. Why not just use you're stock rims with diesel snow tires?
Hope that helped a bit.
-Tyler

I sold my stock rims and tires for $720......which I probably shouldn't have done now that I think of it...but they were too heavy (25lbs wheels only!) so I figured that I might just look around for some take offs between now and the winter time.....rims+tires or just rims......
I have a garage so it wouldn't be a problem of parking it on the street but still I'd have to wipe 'em down everytime I drove 'em.....

[spanky]

To ease your mind, I'd suggest buying and mounting a set of 15" someone else took off. 15s come with narrower tires than the 16s and narrower is better in snow. I haven't checked prices lately, but you should be able to buy wheels and tires for less than $400 in nearly perfect condition. I bought a set of 7-hole with M+S tires and work pretty well here in Pittsburgh where we get some pretty significant snowfalls and generally bad winter weather. True snow tires would be better, but I'm surprised how well the M+Ss work. The 7 holers are easy to clean, too.