Test of snow tires vs all season-video from Road and Track

theoldwizard1 wrote:
The other tip with winter tires, especially if you are mounting them on a second set of rims, is to go down 1 size, especially true on today's SUVs/CUVs. If you have 19" rims drop down to 18". Double check that your vehicle can accommodate a 1" smaller rim.

More important, drop the tire width down 1 or 2 sizes (say 255 to 245 or 235) and UP the aspect ratio (from 55 to 60 or 65). Just double check the load capacity [i[(you will probably lose a few pounds of capacity per tire, but it will be small and not matter).

Taller, skinnier tires do better in the snow.

Great advice. I did this with my daughter's Toyota FWD. Went from 17 to 15" which dropped the width by at least 20MM, and resulted in a much taller sidewall, which is a lot better for hitting potholes with. The other bonus is that the actual tires are dramatically cheaper, as you decrease rim diameter, and bump the aspect ratio up. OTOH, my son tried to do an even swap for winter tires on his newer GTI with very low profile, wide tires. It was a waste of time and money, as the wide tread, and torquey motor made the thing about useless in snow.