Time to Winterize!

[ronna]

Rims is another word for wheels. You don't need bigger or fancy wheels unless you want more performance/better looks. You can have Goodyear mount snow tires on your factory wheels.

thanks, Pickles. And I decided to go with the General brand over the Kumho brand ... due to budget constraints! Looks don't mean anything to me right now but I do want adequate performance in snow! )

[Pickles]

I am loving the Dunlop ds-3s I got. They aren't the best under heavy braking but are more than adequate. Everything else they perform great at, have already driven in an unpolowed 6" of snow with no problem. I think my total was 330 for all 4 shipped to my door

[milesvinson]

Yes, rims is another word for wheels. While it is not necessary to buy different wheels for the snow tires, it really makes things easier and cheaper in the long run.

A set of snow tires will usually last several winters depending upon how much you drive. A set usually lasts my wife about 3-4 winters, but she drives 3000 miles a month. The set I bought for my mother who lives in the Detroit area have 4 winters on them and they still had 9/32 of tread left on them when I put them on her car yesterday. They should last her another 2-3 years at that rate.

Around my house, mounting fees usually run around $15 a tire. That would work out to around $120 + tax a year if you only have one set of rims. Most tire dealers will mount your tires for free if you buy from them. I'd suggest buying a cheap set of steel wheels and have the snow tires put on them. This way you can keep the fees to a minimum. You can buy a cheap set from a junk yard or from RockAuto.com or ask your local tire dealer. Many tire dealers have used wheels available. This will keep you from having to pay for tire dismounting and mounting fees every spring and fall. Then you can just unbolt the complete tire/wheel assembly in the spring and bolt on your regular tire/wheels. In the fall, you can unbolt the regular tire/wheels and bolt on the snow tires/wheels. I usually run my snow tires from November until March.

If you do not have room to store the extra set of tires/wheels, many tire stores offer off-season storage. I know in the Detroit area, Belle tire offers this service. Customers can go online and schedule an appointment to have their snow tires removed or mounted and then they just show up and evryhting is taken care of for them.