Monday, October 17, 2011

Snow tires for the Suzuki SX4

Suzuki SX4 snow tires and wheels - Subcompact Culture
Bring on the winter. Earlier this year, I scored a set of free (yes, free) 15" alloy wheels off of craigslist so I could mount some snow tires. Not sure who makes the wheels and I don't really care. They look better than black steel wheels. Did I mention they were free?

Another recent visit to craigslist yielded a set of barley-used General Altimax studded snow tires. The price? $150. Not too shabby. In fact, this is the third set of snow tires I've bought used via craigslist. Maybe I'm just cheap, but I have a hard time spending the cash on new ones, since they only get used part of the year.

My SX4's stock tire size is a 205/60/16, which doesn't allow for many size options in snow tires, and even fewer if you're looking for used ones on craigslist. That's why I decided to move down to a 15" wheel size. I was looking for either a 195/65/15 or 205/65/15 tire. The Generals that I bought are the latter, and are actually closer to the OEM diameter.

I happened to have a spare set of TPMS sensors from the original steel wheels I had for the car, and had them installed during mounting and balancing. Hopefully they'll pair right up. Although, since TPMS is a PITA, I'm sure they won't. Regardless, I'm ready for the snow, ice and cold. The SX4, with its i-AWD system, should be a regular snowmobile with these tires, too.

5 comments:

Steve Baker said...

Love the AltiMax Arctics - I ahve a set for the Yaris which is perfect for Rhode Island winters.

D2M said...

I never thought to use craigslist for finding tires. :o

Andy Lilienthal said...

@Steve: That's good to hear. I've had Nokian and Hankook snow tires, but this is my first experience with Generals.

@Draw2much: It is a GREAT place to find cheap tires. Although this is my third set of snow tires via CL, I also bought the BF Goodrich tires on my Sidekick via CL, and also the wheels that are on my Sidekick, too. Highly recommended.

Chevy HHR cold air intake said...

Because you love cars so much, getting a tire for "free" doesn't mean your cheap. You did all you can to get it for free, after all.

CGS intake said...

Yep, winter is here and time to prepare those winter tires. Wonder if there are still those at craigslist?