I know it's depressing to think about winter and all but I know I've seen a few threads here and there about what types of rims will fit the SS/SC, particularly when it comes to mounting snow tires. As anyone else who's tried to get spare rims probably knows, the SS/SC takes sort of an odd lug pattern. I called Firestone (since I'm planning on getting Blizzaks) to ask if they happened to have any idea what other cars MIGHT have rims that would fit, they gave me this list of other cars that also have the 5x110mm lug pattern. Here's the other cars you could take rims from:

Cadillac Catera
Chevrolet Malibu 2004-2005 (I'm not sure if they're specific to a certain trim level or not, the guy didn't say)
Pontiac G6
SAAB 900 (1998-2002)
SAAB 9-3
SAAB 9-5
Saturn L-series
Saturn Ion Redline

Not a very exhaustive list, but it should

Good thinking Alley. i have been searching around for winter rims and tires too. It's gonna be a pain. All i want is some steelies and winter rubber. It's hard to find tho. If I find anything for a good price I'll post.

Good thinking Alley. i have been searching around for winter rims and tires too. It's gonna be a pain. All i want is some steelies and winter rubber. It's hard to find tho. If I find anything for a good price I'll post.

Thanks, I knew others were looking for steelies, so I figured with a list of cars we could start calling junkyards. I'm looking for 16" and then getting 215/60-R16s for it...that way I've got lots of "padding" from potholes. The steelies are like $50 each from Tire Rack, I was hoping to pay $75 or less at a junkyard for a complete set. What really sucks is that all the other Cobalts have different lug patterns too.

yea I know, it sucks...

yea I know, it sucks...

Every car has to have one thing be the "money pit" I guess we've found the SS/SC's already...between almost $800 for summer tires, $600 (assuming I'm stuck with TireRack's steelies) for winter tires and wheels...tires are enough to bankrupt a person!!!!!!

Every car has to have one thing be the "money pit" I guess we've found the SS/SC's already...between almost $800 for summer tires, $600 (assuming I'm stuck with TireRack's steelies) for winter tires and wheels...tires are enough to bankrupt a person!!!!!!


You found steelies on tire rack that fit our cars? Can I get the link.

Anything wrong with getting other 18" rims and mounting winter tires, and do you think I could get away with all seasons?

Jason

You found steelies on tire rack that fit our cars? Can I get the link.

Sorry didn't see your post until now, if you go on Tire Rack and put in your car's info, year, make, model, and click on winter package they do now offer steelies for like $48 each.

Here's the link to the main winter package page for an SS/SC (http://www.tirerack.com/snow/WinterPackageMain.jsp?autoMake=Chevrolet&autoModel=Cobalt+SS&autoModClar=Coupe&autoYear=2005)

Anything wrong with getting other 18" rims and mounting winter tires, and do you think I could get away with all seasons?

Jason

There's a few issues with getting another set of 18s - first of all it's going to be a lot more expensive than it needs to be. 18" rims are a LOT more expensive than 16" or 17", not to mention the cost of tires. At Tire Rack, 16" Blizzaks start at $92, whereas 17" Blizzaks start at $141. I would rather go with the 16", which the wheels AND tires are cheaper (17" tires alone are an extra $200).

The 2nd problem (and more important than just $$$) with 18" and our cars is that you're still going to have to go with a fairly low profile tire to fit in the wheel well. Tire Rack doesn't even list 18" as a recommended winter tire size for the SS/SC. That fact aside, a smaller wheel + larger sidewall (the goal is to keep the overall tire diameter the same as stock) offers your precious wheels a LOT more protection from the dreaded potholes that like to destroy rims and alignments.

All seasons might work, but you're sacrificing some performance if you run them year round in exchange for better-but-not-the-best winter traction. If you're going to run 2 sets of tires, then to me it's a smarter choice to go with performance summer tires and honest-to-goodness winter tires rather than all seasons. If you live someplace that has a VERY mild winter and you may only see a little snow here or there, all seasons might work as snow tires.....MIGHT.

You bring up all seasons.. but I haven't been able to find any in stock size.

Good idea cause im gunna need this stuff soon cuz jersey starts winter early i hear.

You bring up all seasons.. but I haven't been able to find any in stock size.

I've never looked, just because they're not practical for me. The only case they'd be practical is if you lived someplace that had a winter that had enough bad weather to make summer tires unusable but mild enough to where you could get away with all-season tires. (Say you only get maybe 1-2 snows a year and never more than 2"-3" per snow, enough to make the roads bad but not enough to make conditions REALLY bad.)

Where all have you looked for tires? I highly doubt they're going to make them in a stock size because of the low-profile. You'd still need different rims to fit the tires on.