snow tires -- right size?
 

Hi, I am looking at possibly getting studded snow tires for my Civic VX and need some input on the size. My car calls for 165/70R/13 and I currently have 175/70R/13 on my car. The ones for sale are 155/80R/13. Will these fit? The guy said they'd add an inch of height. Do you agree? Input appreciated!

Also, are studded snows not ideal for highway driving? I often travel 75 miles each way on the highway. Thanks! They're very cheap, $20 for 1 season used studded snow tires. Thanks.

The 165/70 has a 69.41" circumference. The 155/80 has a 71.51" circumference and will cause your odometer to read 3% fewer miles than the 165/70 tire, but only 0.5% fewer miles than the 175/70 tire. That said, each manufacturer's tire may have a slightly larger or smaller circumference than the purported correct circumference of any given size tire. Tire inflation will also affect the cirumference slightly.

See the tire size calculator linked in my sig. It will give you everything you need.

Thanks guys. I forgot about the tire calculator before I posted this and then remembered immediately found it upon searching this site. So the size is very similar to what I have on there now! Although I'm still a little unclear what the first number measures on the tire. (155 vs 175)
Thanks.

First number measures tread width in millimeters. That part makes reasonable sense.

Second number measures sidewall height as a percentage of tread width, which is a choice obviously made by someone who was very drunk.

so the sidewall heights of my current tires and the snow tires are nearly the same, which is what I was concerned about. Thanks animal of India.

The 155 will make a better snow tire than the same brand/model in 165 or 175. Narrower tires will penetrate down through the snow covered roads better than a wider tire. A narrow tire pressing down through the snow onto pavement will have better traction than a wide one pressing down on but supported by snow.
When the roads are clear, both tires will have rubber on the road and the wider one will have better lateral grip.

I used to run 155/80/13 Winterforce snow tires on my hondas, non-studded (also illegal in MN). They were awesome, lasted 5 seasons. Now I'm just running Goodyear 155/80/13 all seasons and they are working well. not as grippy as the winterforce tires, but good enough for me to get around with. I'm running 175/60/13 in the back and wouldn't want them on the front of my VX as I would end up losing some traction. I tried it one day and immediately switched back toe the 155s.

The smaller aero drag for the same diameter may help compensate for the added drag from the studs.

Make sure the width is compatible with your rims.

Sticky tires will wear down quickly.

I use the mile markers on the Interstate here to check my odometer calibration. The Michelin 175-70-13's I have on my VX now are exactly 1% low on odometer reading, 99 miles indicated to 100 miles travelled.

Sadly they cost me about 10% mileage, compared to the original Bridgestones ;(.

regards
gary

the 1st number is 'section width' of the tires measured at the widest point. I don't know if it's mounted or not but it's definitely NOT tread width. the cheapest craptastic tires where I work have OVER and inch less tread width vs the same numeric size high quality tire (in the 215-235ish range. gonna me more with bigger tires, less with smaller ones).

I'd go with those tires, oughta be OK but keep the pressures on the high side to compensate for the narrower section having more sidewall flex to acheive the same ground contact patch

At that price, you really can't go wrong. The Hakkapelitta-2s I had on the STi were $900 including the mount and balance. They were T-rated (118 MPH) and did just fine at a sustained 110 MPH. I didn't want to push it. ;)

I second the concept of narrower being better when it comes to snow however. The Hakks were 225mm width and floated/hydroplaned horribly on slush.

I use 155/80/13s for my winter tires. They are Winterforce studables, but this is the second season I've run them without studs. My GPS says my MPH is very close if not right-on with these tires compared to my 175/70/13s I use in the non-cold seasons (which are also not the correct size for the VX).

I think the thing with studs is that you don't want to drive more than about 50mph on dry pavement with them or the studs get hot and start falling out. At least that's the way they used to be.

Er, go back two posts and review.

Seriously, 110 mph sustained for over a couple of hours (with occassional slowing for traffic etc.). Never lost a stud doing that. The number one boneheaded thing that people do to rip studs out is turn their front wheels one way or the other while stopped! ALWAYS make sure the vehicle is moving when steering on studded tires.