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winter tires

racsan

4xford
just got a 2011 escape awd after thanksgiving. has good tires but they are touring tires and not really suitable for snow. got a set of used escape 16" alloys the other day and want to get some winter tires, thinking of going a little smaller on size, say a 225/65/16 ( stock is 235/70/16) want the narrower footprint and a slightly smaller height. any reason that would be a bad idea? and also- im not buying tpms sensors, Im sure i'll have a tire pressure dash light but other than that would there be any issues? I can keep check on my own tire pressures and dont need a idiot system for that. love the escape, its quite a hot-rod. with decent tires it could be quite a snow eater.
 

fatherdoug

Tonto Papadapolous
Only issue I'm aware of would be difference in speedometer numbers between the two tires. Speedo would read a tiny bit more compared to old tires.
 

smokey

Hitech hillbilly
Staff member
Should be ok. I had one it got around good.
I bought it for my daughter to drive to college in the winter and to work.
She hated it at first till the first snow storm. Said everyone was stuck and she didn't have a problem at all. She loved it from then on.
 

Fellro

Moderator
Staff member
Main key to look for in a tire that isdn't season specific is that the tread is more open to be able to dig through better. I haven't gone to the point of having snow tires, just good all season that has open tread. Make sure it has good traction in the wet. I live on gravel that quickly becomes mud in the spring and this philosophy has served me well.
 

john112deere

caffeine junkie
Staff member
10,807
405
central Vermont
I went skinnier than stock on the snow tires I just bought for my little car...they had a "cheat sheet" behind the counter of interchanging tire sizes. I think I went from a 205/55-16 to a 195/60-16 but I'm not sure. No issues so far, but not seeing much difference over the stock-size snow tires I had before, either.
 

CowboyBilly9Mile

Charter Member
7,118
442
USA
..... thinking of going a little smaller on size..... and a slightly smaller height. any reason that would be a bad idea?........

Less ground clearance when the snow gets deep.

..... and also- im not buying tpms sensors, Im sure i'll have a tire pressure dash light but other than that would there be any issues? ......

Some people take the TPMS sensors out of each wheel, put them in a PVC tube and pump air into it, toss the thing somewhere in the vehicle, no more annoying dash light, call it a day.
 

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