# Winter Tire Debacle



## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

Well maybe yer Beard isn't so weird . Keeps your chin warm . Nice find and you do like the chrome look obviously .


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## UpstateNYBill (Jan 14, 2012)

Nice score. What was the price for your rims?


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

UpstateNYBill said:


> Nice score. What was the price for your rims?


$125 plus tax/ea, including center caps, TPMS, and some lug nuts.


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## trevor_geiger (Nov 29, 2012)

Nice man! Glad to have you back, thought you might have been captured by a mob of women! Lol.


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

500.00 $$ out the door with TPMS that is stealing .. and to think there is a newb with an ECO without the wheels ..I guess it has been long enough to go out hunting for those rare parts now that we are older .


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

trevor_geiger said:


> Nice man! Glad to have you back, thought you might have been captured by a mob of women! Lol.


Haha I wish!

Well maybe I don't wish. It depends. Throwing up in my mouth at the thought of a mob of female yard gnomes charging.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

brian v said:


> 500.00 $$ out the door with TPMS that is stealing .. and to think there is a newb with an ECO without the wheels ..I guess it has been long enough to go out hunting for those rare parts now that we are older .


I know! The price they had online was $Call. I figured that meant overpriced, but when I called and they quoted that, I couldn't get down there soon enough!


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## Garandman (Dec 31, 2013)

Go on YouTube and watch all the videos on how easy it is to defeat wheel locks with a socket over the outside. I ditched mine.

X-ice is a good tire. Every season most tire dealers run out of winter tires after the second storm, and we've had three. 

My commute in one inch of snow yesterday took 3x the normal time because of people with A/S driving 20mph. Had to drive an Accord with Michelin A/S on it back: what were they thinking?


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## VictoryRedLTRS (Mar 26, 2012)

I still have the shitty firestones on my RS and driving 80 miles to Green Bay in a blizzard really sucked ass! Think the fastest I got up to was maybe 40-45mph on the highway. I really need to get some steelies and blizzacks! Nice deal on the rims, was thinking of putting Eco rims on my RS, glad to see what it looks like now.


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## 30 Ounce (Nov 18, 2012)

That's a great deal! Congrats. The pictures really accentuate how much lower the ECO is.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

Garandman said:


> Go on YouTube and watch all the videos on how easy it is to defeat wheel locks with a socket over the outside. I ditched mine.


My next step was going to go to Sears, I saw Craftsman has a three piece set for $50, specifically lug nut removal sockets. They are two sided. One side has larger teeth to grab rounded nuts, the other has shorter for going around smooth lockers. Put it in, hammer it on, put an extension and breaker bar in there and go to town. For the cost and availability, they're easy. Even though the locks are not foolproof, they are a deterrent, but it isn't worth it with so much risk.

My grandpa offered to help yesterday and he got them off without that kit. I had tried clamping a board to the wheel to hold the key in. The torque still popped the system off. He basically tried my idea but with angle iron and metal C-clamps instead of heavy duty 300# squeeze clamps. Wrapped the angle iron in tape to protect it from the wheel, then c-clamped it to the spokes. That was strong enough to keep the key in there.










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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

VictoryRedLTRS said:


> Nice deal on the rims, was thinking of putting Eco rims on my RS, glad to see what it looks like now.


IMO it made it look a little more Jetta-like. Can't say that's a bad thing though.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

Good stuff, and nice steal on the wheels! You could buy some aftermarket cheapies for cheaper, but they'd be WAY heavier and wouldn't look as good IMO.

I've had my Xi3 215/55-17 on for a while now and loving them. When I first drove it I couldn't believe how quiet they were, and they seem to do very well in all the ridiculous cold and snow we've had so far.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

Blue Angel said:


> Good stuff, and nice steal on the wheels! You could buy some aftermarket cheapies for cheaper, but they'd be WAY heavier and wouldn't look as good IMO.
> 
> I've had my Xi3 215/55-17 on for a while now and loving them. When I first drove it I couldn't believe how quiet they were, and they seem to do very well in all the ridiculous cold and snow we've had so far.


After learning all the durability and appearance tests that OEM parts must go through, I would never consider an aftermarket wheel. I hate black wheels and don't like steel wheels, so my options were limited.

Agreed on the X-ice even though I don't have many miles on them. A slight rumble at first, but they were brand new, and it seemed to smooth out after 5-10 miles.


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## Garandman (Dec 31, 2013)

Sunline Fan said:


> My next step was going to go to Sears, I saw Craftsman has a three piece set for $50, specifically lug nut removal sockets. They are two sided. One side has larger teeth to grab rounded nuts, the other has shorter for going around smooth lockers. Put it in, hammer it on, put an extension and breaker bar in there and go to town. For the cost and availability, they're easy. Even though the locks are not foolproof, they are a deterrent, but it isn't worth it with so much risk.
> 
> My grandpa offered to help yesterday and he got them off without that kit. I had tried clamping a board to the wheel to hold the key in. The torque still popped the system off. He basically tried my idea but with angle iron and metal C-clamps instead of heavy duty 300# squeeze clamps. Wrapped the angle iron in tape to protect it from the wheel, then c-clamped it to the spokes. That was strong enough to keep the key in there.
> p


Most people just buy a cheap socket at someplace like Harbor Freight, hammer it on, remove it and throw it away. 

I live in Boston, have a WRX with BBS forged wheels, and don't even have locks on those.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

Garandman said:


> I live in Boston, have a WRX with BBS forged wheels, and don't even have locks on those.


Wherabouts in Boston?


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

Nuts all torqued to 100 ft-lbs tonight, the book spec!


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## Garandman (Dec 31, 2013)

Blue Angel said:


> Wherabouts in Boston?


I used to live in South Boston, now I live in Dorchester.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

After my trip to work today, I have a total of about 31 miles on my new tires and about 80 on this tank.

Over the course of these 31 miles, the my DIC mpg increased from low 30.x (0-5) to 33.1. I know it was about 40 degrees this morning though. Ride was definitely tolerable and not bad at 50 psi. I may end up liking these even more now.

The X-ice specs:


Currently Selected Tire Size(s)​ *Size*
Service Description
Load RangeUTQGMax
LoadMax.
Inflation
Press.Tread
DepthTire
WeightRim
Width
RangeMeas.
Rim
WidthSect.
WidthTread
WidthOverall
Diam.Revs
Per
MileCountry
of Origin**225/55R17*
101H XL 
*LRR:* Green XNone1819 lbs. 
50 psi 
10.5/32" 
25 lbs.6-8" 
7" 
9.2" 
7.6" 
26.8" 
777 
TH 



Original equipment 18" LTZ tire specs:


Currently Selected Tire Size(s)​ *Size*
Service Description
Load RangeUTQGMax
LoadMax.
Inflation
Press.Tread
DepthTire
WeightRim
Width
RangeMeas.
Rim
WidthSect.
WidthTread
WidthOverall
Diam.Revs
Per
MileCountry
of Origin**P225/45R18*
91W SL300 A A1356 lbs. 
44 psi 
10/32" 
26 lbs.7-8.5" 
7.5" 
8.9" 
8" 
25.9" 
802 
US 
So this particular X-ice, even though it doesn't look it, is a slightly larger tire. It's a pound lighter, mounted on lighter wheels, and is LRR certified by Michelin.

I should note that I have my lower front grill cover installed now too, so that is helping.

I'll report back as I have some tank averages to compare against.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

Got out of work and hurried to Discount before they closed. Had them reset the TPMS. They had me pull it in to the bay. I put the car in service mode, went to the TPMS menu, held down the reset button, and the horn beeped twice.

He walked around the car with his reader tool and did whatever he needed to in order to reset each one. When each sensor learned, the car beeped once. When they were all done, it went out of learn mode and it was done. Simple as that, but they need a phone app to do that job.

Guy: did you want your tire pressures so high? I noticed they're all reading around 50.

Me: Yes, I set them all to 50 exactly. Ladies like guys with hard things.


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