Questions about winter tires and wheels
 

Instead of hijacking pbigger's thread, I am starting a new one to ask a few questions about winter tires and wheels, hope someone could help me out.

background: '08 3.2 s-line that comes with 19in wheels and summer tires

now questions :)
1) do 18in wheels have enough clearance? or better off with 19in wheels (I am not picky about wheels, as long as affordable and last though winter)

2) could I skip the sensors for the winter tires?

3) I checked out costco's "Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus all-season (just tires)" and tirerack's on-special "Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 snow + 19x8.5 moda MD2 wheels", both come down to ~US$1250, any comments towards the choice?
edit: did not include pricing of sensors from tirerack)

To be honest, pricing is a concern at the moment; however, winter is getting nearer, I am getting a bit panic since last year's snow...

Thanks!

(unfortunately, I am not allowed to post URLs yet, tirerack.com should have all the mentioned tires/wheels)

Nict

Re: Questions about winter tires and wheels
 

There's not much reason to worry about the higher rotational inertia of larger-diameter wheels in Winter since maximum performance is not an issue, so go with whatever you think looks good. That said, skinnier tires provide effective grip for Winter, so you may want to stick to an 18" wheel in order to get a lower wheel width.

You'd be better off using the heavy OEM 19" for Winter, and getting some lightweight 18" (or 17", if possible) for Summer - there will be a decent increase in acceleration, handling, and braking performance with a lighter, lower diameter wheel. It will also be a more comfortable ride on bumpy roads.

Also, why would you buy a dedicated Winter setup and get All-Season tires? A/S tires suck in snow. Unless maybe you get very little snow and just want something that won't get you killed, i.e., Summer-only tires?

Re: Questions about winter tires and wheels
 

Definitely use the smaller wheels with slightly narrower winter tires, reserve the larger sizes for summer. Winter tires should be full on winters which all have a "mountain and snow flake" logo, if they don't have it, it's not a true winter tire. Dunlop, Nokia, Micheline, Bridgestone all excellent.