Steel wheels for Winter

M

mogulman

Member
:
CX-7 GT
I was thinking about getting some steel wheels for some snow tires for winter and maybe some tires at some end-of-season deals...

16" seems to be the cheapest and probably the best traction in deeper snow.

Anyone know any specs I need for these wheels?

Tirerack has them as 16"x6.5

Is there some kind of offset or anything else that I need to get the right rims?

I've seen someone selling some Honda steel Rims from a honda Odyssy 16x6.5 for $95.
 
mogulman said:
I was thinking about getting some steel wheels for some snow tires for winter and maybe some tires at some end-of-season deals...

16" seems to be the cheapest and probably the best traction in deeper snow.

Anyone know any specs I need for these wheels?

Tirerack has them as 16"x6.5

Is there some kind of offset or anything else that I need to get the right rims?

I've seen someone selling some Honda steel Rims from a honda Odyssy 16x6.5 for $95.
Click to expand...

Admittedly, I'm not an expert in tires and wheels, but can you explain the rational for dropping the stock 18" tires in favor of smaller, 16" tires? Wouldn't that reduce the ground clearance? One of the advantages in winter for SUV's is that they have a higher ground clearance, so it's easier to get through snow.

Vince.
 
You get smaller wheels but bigger tires so that the diameter is the same.

the reasoning for it is that at least for normal cars, snow tires for a 16" wheel are much, much cheaper than for an 18. On the CX-7, I doubt the profile on a 16 is hugely different than a 18 so the prices might not be too different.

16x6.5" seems like a small rim for such a big heavy car, is that what they recommend for a CX-7 specifically? You have to make sure it'll clear your brakes too, I know the MS6 can't do anything smaller than a 17" wheel because of the brakes.
 
Kansei said:
You get smaller wheels but bigger tires so that the diameter is the same.

the reasoning for it is that at least for normal cars, snow tires for a 16" wheel are much, much cheaper than for an 18. On the CX-7, I doubt the profile on a 16 is hugely different than a 18 so the prices might not be too different.

16x6.5" seems like a small rim for such a big heavy car, is that what they recommend for a CX-7 specifically? You have to make sure it'll clear your brakes too, I know the MS6 can't do anything smaller than a 17" wheel because of the brakes.
Click to expand...

I'm puzzled, as I just went to tirerack.com, plugged in make, model, year, and AWD. Tirerack doesn't even offer 16" wheels or tires for the CX-7. So, I'm questioning the wisdom. The stock tires/wheels worked admirably this winter and thus, don't understand why someone would go to the expense of swapping out stock tires/rims. In particular, why would steel wheels be chosen?

Vince.
 
vbbuilt01 said:
I'm puzzled, as I just went to tirerack.com, plugged in make, model, year, and AWD. Tirerack doesn't even offer 16" wheels or tires for the CX-7. So, I'm questioning the wisdom. The stock tires/wheels worked admirably this winter and thus, don't understand why someone would go to the expense of swapping out stock tires/rims. In particular, why would steel wheels be chosen?

Vince.
Click to expand...

You have to click on Products/Winter/Shop by vehicle.

They have 3 different recommended winter tires for the CX-7:
235/70/16
235/65/17
235/60/18

Actually.. I didn't notice it earlier, but the width of these tires is all the same... A lot of times, when you go to a smaller size the width is smaller too.

So really the only difference is cost in tires/wheels. I guess I should just look for some 18" rims.

Anyway... so for 18" rims/wheels.. anything I need as far as specs?
 
I actually ended up finding someone on Craigslist who was selling 17" alloy wheels from a Mazda6. Same bolt pattern and offset. Got all 4 for $200.

Got some Blizzak dm-z3 from a local dealer for 119/tire 235/65/17.

I'm figuring I won't put in the tpms in there for the winter. Is there a way to turn off the tpms temporarily?
 
Hahah... I guess I scored, got 4 OEM rims for my wife's CX-7 with shipping to my door for $405.00 from eBay! No pressure sensors though. So now I check the tire pressure every time she fill the gas tank and she ignores the light on the dash.
The TPM sensors are $85.00 each from the dealer.
We put Pirelli Scorpion Ice and Snow's on because they don't wear as fast as the Blizzaks. They are awesome here in Colorado, much better than the stock Bridgestones.
 
5280_CX-7 said:
Hahah... I guess I scored, got 4 OEM rims for my wife's CX-7 with shipping to my door for $405.00 from eBay! No pressure sensors though. So now I check the tire pressure every time she fill the gas tank and she ignores the light on the dash.
The TPM sensors are $85.00 each from the dealer.
We put Pirelli Scorpion Ice and Snow's on because they don't wear as fast as the Blizzaks. They are awesome here in Colorado, much better than the stock Bridgestones.
Click to expand...


So..how does the car handle here in Colorado in the snow?

I got in an accident with my CX-7 on the way home from the dealership (Burt Mazda) on 2/28/07. I'm supposed to get it back on Monday (hoping). It's been a long wait.

I'm in Parker, but we drive into the mountains almost every weekend.
 
5280_CX-7 said:
Hahah... I guess I scored, got 4 OEM rims for my wife's CX-7 with shipping to my door for $405.00 from eBay! No pressure sensors though. So now I check the tire pressure every time she fill the gas tank and she ignores the light on the dash.
The TPM sensors are $85.00 each from the dealer.
We put Pirelli Scorpion Ice and Snow's on because they don't wear as fast as the Blizzaks. They are awesome here in Colorado, much better than the stock Bridgestones.
Click to expand...

And what kind of deal is that? You lost an important feature. If I'm not mistaken (someone correct me if I'm wrong), the TPMS is also tied into the Stability Control and Traction control functions. You may have saved a lot of money, but now you have to deal with the aggravation of manually checking your tire pressure. TPMS is one of those no-brainers - a fabulous idea that in my opinion, should be incorporated into all cars.(hand)

Vince.
 
I don't think the TPMS is tied into anything other then the display panel. I don't view the display of tire pressure as an important feature. I view it as a nice add-on. I personally look at my tires pretty frequently, just like I've been doing since I started driving.
 
mogulman is correct the TPMS is just an idiot light on your dash for girlie-men who can't check their own tire pressure.
It doesn't really "monitor" your tire pressure anyway, it just lights up when your pressure drops below 32psi.
I run the pressure at 36psi so its pretty useless to me.

The CX-7 dose pretty well in the Colorado snow, for a crossover. As long as you drive cautiously in slippery conditions you'll do ok. On ice with the Pirelli Ice and Snow tires it has good traction, the traction control works well but for myself it took some getting use to.
I have a 4 wheel drive Ford Ranger and I like to drive it in the snow. I like going sideways, I like having control of the gears, I like having to use the clutch and throttle to control the amount of traction required to drive in deep snow and on ice, so I don't really like a vehicle taking that responsibility and control from me.
But having said that, and after all it is my wife's ride, I do like the turbo and the style blows the rest out of the water. So over all it's a great vehicle for all around conditions in Colorado.
mogulman, sorry to here about your wreck that sucks. My wife ripped the bumper cover off her's backing out of the garage and Burt Mazda sent us to their body shop, Burt Buick/Olds... what a bunch of a-hole's. They told us it would cost $1800.00 for the bumper cover alone without even looking up the price! I had already priced out the repair at Profile Autobody so I knew it was only $480.00. So needless to say we went to Profile and got a great job done for $1300.00 total.
 
mikey1981 said:
a 16 inch steel wheel holding up a 4,000 + lb vehicle would be my only concern.
Click to expand...

Go look at a truck. I had a Chevy c-10 with a big block in it with 15' wheels for about ten years. No problem. Wheel size has nothing to do with "Holding Up" a car. (hand)
 
5280_CX-7 said:
mogulman is correct the TPMS is just an idiot light on your dash for girlie-men who can't check their own tire pressure.
.
Click to expand...
Best Post so far evAr in this forum.(lol2)
 
5280_CX-7 said:
mogulman is correct the TPMS is just an idiot light on your dash for girlie-men who can't check their own tire pressure.
It doesn't really "monitor" your tire pressure anyway, it just lights up when your pressure drops below 32psi. I run the pressure at 36psi so its pretty useless to me.
Click to expand...

I understand your point - and more-power-to-ya!

But I can say that I do *NOT* walk-around my car EVERY time I drive it to see if the tires are all properly inflated. It's just not something I do. Maybe 2-3 times a week I'll give a quick glance. And once every 10-12 fill-ups at the pump will I pull-out the pressure gague and check.

For me... I'd think having it there for those slow-leak moments would be helpful. Call it "girlie"... but if it stops me from inadvertantly driving on a low or flat tire for even a few feet because I didn't notice it - it's a dummy-light well used!

:)
 
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