Yes, tires make a huge difference. All tires are made for certain weather, and roads. Keep in mind that 16" wheels will not clear the brake calipers.

 

Snow tires are far and away worth every penny. As soon as you get them, even after 12 years without them, you will never not have them again. Most definetly get a 2nd set of rims and get the most aggresive looking tread you can. Firestone winterforces are awesome and cheap. The only thing with going 16 inch is you get a lot more body roll with your car because of the increase in sidwall of the tire, not to mention road noise from the aggresive soft tread.

 

All seasons will do just fine in all but the extreme conditions. I don't live in Canada so I'll assume that you probably have much more extreme conditions up there. I've never had a problem with all seasons in Michigan.

 

get winter tires. SO worth it. my car is like a tank in the snow.

 

I know zippo about wheels and tires, but I'm having the same total lack of traction with my '08 Sport. I've got P205/50R17 Pirelli tires with the polished aluminum wheels.

Can I run snow tires in front with the low profile Pirellis in back? Other options are a set of winter wheels with just some inexpensive all season. So 5 x 110 16s won't fit?

Old school was to grease your chrome wheels for the winter if you couldn't change them. Would that help prevent pitting in my polished aluminums?

 

5x110 16's will fit your 08 Sport, but not the 08+ SS's with Brembo's. You need 4 snows or your back end will want to kick out and slide forward when braking.

 

Are there any winter tires even rated for that? From what I hear they are so soft and mushy you slide around on dry roads at high speeds. Sounds like you nearly won yourself a darwin award for going that fast in freezing temps... If that is indeed what your saying

My stock painted wheels saw alot of flaking after the first winter I put em through. I have a second vehicle for bad weather driving, but I did get caught once in some pretty good snow. If the left lanes wern't open to let me go about 40mph on the highway I would have been stuck several times. I had the stock perellis with about 30k mi on em so they were pretty well done too.

I'm looking into getting some all-seasons on 16"s so they take the salt. Here in southern ohio I don't think we get enough bad snows/ freezes to justify snow tires.

 

i just bought 4 blizzaks and 4 steelies for 500$ and got a 50$ "credit card" from Tirerack.

Tossed them on the other day and can totally notice a difference

 

Winter tires are worth it. I noticed the stock Pirelli's sucked even in the wet in summer so I saved up for steelies and Blizzaks. Now the car handles awesome in the snow.

 

on my 08 lt with the hankooks, they work good enough in the winter

 

Just curious about what size wheels and tires? Seems like a good deal since the tires alone go for $100+.

 

X2 on that ^^^^ i will buy them right now if you give me a link for my 07 ss/sc for 500 for tires and wheels

 

Just picked up a set of low milage HHR factory brushed wheel/tire combo yesterday. They are those firestone all seasons, but atleast it will allow me to keep summers on the 18s.

I had no problems with the pirellis in the wet. I've had all-seasons perform worse new on other cars. But now with almost 50kmi on em they definately push.

 

you can usually find hhr wheels for fairly cheap..i found some, rims and tires, for 150 on craigslist but the guy must have unloaded them before i found him

 

Dedicated winter tires are well worth it.

 

With 12" (of snow) predicted for later this week, just ordered (4) 16" Sport alloy wheels and (4) General Altimax Arctic tires for our '08 Cobalt Sport for our winter driving pleasure. Bought thru Tire Rack. Total price including shipping =$649.11. As soon as they are on, I'll post a review.

 

anyone know any good snow tires for ss/na

i live in IL and im still on fence about buying a set of winter tires, especially since i dont want to spend that much

its either,

all seasons

or

a set of winter, and a set of summer/a/s

and they usually have the roads plowed within a day
so is it really worth getting snow tires in IL?

 

Get winters. Like others have said, you will have wondered why you've gone without them. Especially with how this winter is shaping up to be here in the Chicago region, you'd be better off getting a set.

I'm getting better traction on my '05 SS/SC with 6/32" left on a set of Nokian WRG2 than most other cars around me and that alone still makes me happy with my purchase, even if the upfront cost was a bit high.

 

found something that put the nail in the coffin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdtAm...eature=related

watch it, youll reconsidering buying all seasons (if it snows in your area)

 

I bought all season tires, and in a way I regret it. Today there was heavy snow and I had to be pushed several times and it was not easy to get moving from a stop. Winters probably would have been better on this day. But hey that was one day out of the year, the all season may be better the other 364 days than the winter. I got all seasons because I live in southeast Michigan with the 4 season and usually light snow. I thought winter tires would be unnecessary and get worn out on dry pavement. Wish I could have had them today though. I can't imagine what it would have been like with my summer performance tires. I probably could not have made it to the road, I could barely do that with all season tires!

Awesome video. Everyone should watch this video, it is educational and also very interesting. I wish I had watched this video before buying all season tires! Winter tires are clearly the best way to go in snow!

 

Okay guys, I just gave in the other day and Bought some Hankook w300 Icebear Winter tires for my Cobalt SS/TC! MAN O MAN, the difference is amazing, I mean I knew it would be better, but I honestly didnt know if it was going to be worth the price. Man was I wrong, it was pretty expensive, but I live in MI and after that 8 inch snow storm we just had, I took my car out and I was honestly AMAZED at the difference. 1000% improvement. I mean I knew it would be better, and I survived on stock tires on my old Redline, but i'm glad I went ahead witht he purchase. Thanks for all the help guys!

 

Another convert

 

I had the same questions as everyone..Do I need snows?..Can I just get 2 for the front...16s?...17s??

We were the "all seasons should be fine" type, but with a car this light and with this much power, we quickly found that snows are a must.

We're now nearing 40" of snow for the month of December and soooo glad we bought snows.

Couldn't be happier with the General Altimax Arctic (do a little research) and the wheels from Tire Rack are decent.

As much as I hate winter driving I'm singin' ....let it snow ..let it snow...let it snow....

 

ya the first winter with my ss/na was alright since the roads usually stayed pretty dry but this year my pirelli's were worn out and winter was just around the corner so i spent the money on full winters - the hancook icebear w300's. and i drove all of october on dry pavement and only went through half a 32nd on the fronts and nothing on the rears which i was really quite suprised at considering winter tire on dry pavement isn't always good for tire life.