After a rough winter, and now having kids and not wanting to end up in a ditch... I bought a set of 14" Steelies + winter tires from tire rack.com It was pretty reasonable. A lot better than buying the set for my wife's Venza! 175/70R-14 Pirelli Winter Carving Edge are what I ended up getting to make up for the 14" steelie, I'll review when they show up in a few days. Chris
I kept my winter tires from my 2001 Classic, and the 14" steel rims clear the brake calipers with about 1/4" of spacing, but that's sufficient.. I have the 15" OEM steel rims with the factory all-seasons, but I really want alloy rims for summer, so my original plan was to just reuse the 14" winters until they were done, and then get the alloys, swap over the tires and use the 15" steels for new winter tires, but the 14" X-Ice2s have been so good (and going 14" works out to be cheaper by a decent chunk of change), that I'm now debating whether to go with this plan or just continue with the 14" tires...
Put them on last night, a lot "grippier" and less harsh when hitting small imperfections in the road. It was -6 this morning.... Only complaint is they are a lot noiser than OEM, making a decent road hum noise at speed, may go away some as they break in, not sure yet. And finally, no noticeable change in MPG yet. The steelie was within 1lb of the oem wheel (though a 14" not 15") not sure on tire weight. C
