New Snows on the OEM MS3 Rims

[WagonMan]

Had my Dunlop Wintersport M3 snows put on today on the stock rims, size 225x45x18.

Initial thoughts, the wider tire looks good, a little bit more aggressive. Size wise it fits no problem. Sticks out nicely from the side of the rim, and should provide good protection, but does not look to wide.

Driving feel is softer, turn in is noticably less sharp. Still feels like it will handle well, but with an overall lower level of feedback. I have only driven them a couple of km, so I will have to update in a couple of days once the tires are worn in a bit. Given that they are a low profile, high performance winter tire, I am somewhat surprised at the difference in feel. I don't notice the same difference when I switch to snows on my 540 wagon with sport package, and that goes from 235x45x17 performance summers to 225x50x16 Dunlops M3 for winter. Goes to show what nice driving feel the MS3 has!

It has been above freezing and rainy here in Toronto, so I am not able to provide any snow driving opinions yet, I will update once the white stuff falls (if it ever does this winter).

Anyone in the Toronto area want to put an offer in on my stock summer tires, they only have 1500 km on them? I will be getting new rims and tires for summer.

Merry Christmas,
Wagonman

 

[dread]

pics?

 

[tsunami]

18" snows can't be cheap why go that route and not a smaller size?? just due to ease ofvkeeping stock rim as a winter set?

 

[WagonMan]

18" snows can't be cheap why go that route and not a smaller size?? just due to ease ofvkeeping stock rim as a winter set?

Wanted to maintain as much of the summer handling as possible during the winter, which after breaking the M3s in I can say was pretty successful. I would say I have 95% of the handling limit I had with the summer tires, plus I find the M3s have a better breakaway at the limit then the RE050A OEM tires, less sudden, and more predictable. They really are a very nice snow tire for aggresive cold weather driving in dry conditions.

As well I think they look great on the car (I will eventually get around to pics). The other thing this does is force me to buy new rims and tires for the summer, something I might put off if I had a separate set of winter rims.

Price wise they were US$182 each, so expensive, but in my opinion worth it.

 

[slammie]

Just curious...providing I drive fairly normally and not too aggressively, what kind of wear can I expect from the MS3 high performance summer stock tires and a pair of high performance winter tires, such as the Dunlops or the Blizzacks.....40 or 50k for each set? Or are these much less durable than your usual cheaper all season tire that I'm using on my 626?

 

[jbiird317]

subbing to see how they handle in the snow....

 

[WagonMan]

I don't think we are ever getting snow again in the winter in Toronto. It is raining right now. I will post my impressions if we ever get any white stuff.

I guess for distance the stock summer tires on the MS3 will last around 20,000 to 25,000 miles, people with more experience on this tire can correct me.

As for the M3s, I don't know, the set on my other car are on their 3rd season and appear to have very little wear.

And Happy New Year

 

[RPI-Speed3]

My winter tires (Dunlop Wintersport M3s in 225/45/18 mounted on stock RX-8 rims) are currently on their 4th winter. I would estimate that on my worst corner, I have 75% tread left. I just put over 2000 miles on them in the past 2 weeks driving around for the holidays and have no noticable reduction in tread afterwards. I usually run the snows from December through mid April.

 

[WagonMan]

Finally got some snow in Toronto. Well actually snow mixed with freezing rain. Only about 5 cm on the ground but enough to get some initial impressions.

As a reminder these are Dunlop Wintersport M3, size 225x45x18 on the stock MS3 rims.

Tires work fine in slushy and icy conditions, for the first 10 minutes of my commute I never saw the traction control light come on, I was driving cautiously to get a feel for the conditions. I got into the ABS intentially once when stopping and the car stopped fine and seemed to grip pretty well. You still need to drive carefully, and don't have the same level of confidence you would with skinny Q rate snow tires.

Overall I think these tires, and this size, are a good choice for someone who deos 90% of their driving in cold but fairly dry conditions, but still needs a tire to get them through a few snowy/icy days.

On another note, got my first MS3 speeding ticket on the weekend, damn!

 

[slammie]

So just so that I understand....225x45x18's will fit on the MS3 OEM rims and will just be slightly wider than the stock tires, which are 215x45x18? Why not just go the the OEM size?

 

[WagonMan]

So just so that I understand....225x45x18's will fit on the MS3 OEM rims and will just be slightly wider than the stock tires, which are 215x45x18? Why not just go the the OEM size?

There is a very limited selection of snow tires in the OEM size, only two types are available. There are about 5 performance snow tires available in the 225x45x18 size. Plus I figure the slightly wider tires help to offset some of the handling lost due to using snow tires.

 

[Rainman]

What was the ticket damage? I've been fortunate so far...LOL.

R

 

[WagonMan]

What was the ticket damage? I've been fortunate so far...LOL.

R

Only $52 and no points. He was tracking me from the express lanes of the highway, I was in the collector lanes. He never got his radar on me, but told me he was doing 140kph, and I was pulling away from him.

He gave me a ticket for 115 in a 100.