Well, I need a decent set of all-seasons that will do well in snow. I don't want to spend a lot and have found a couple of tires in the OEM tire size(215/45). Now, I have seen people run other sizes, such as 205/40. This size is much cheaper. Is this tire size ok for the tC? What other sizes would be fine? Sorry for the n00bness, I was a Subaru guy for years and knew pretty much everything regarding those cars. I haven't taken the time to read up on the tC. Thanks for the help.

 

Moved to T&B.

 

If you go down to a 205, you need to increase sidewall height, not decrease it, or you'll be decreasing tire circumference, which will alter your gearing and make your speedometer inaccurate.

That said, the difference between a 205 and a 215 is small enough that you could go with either a 205/45R17 or a 205/50R17.

But since you live in upstate NY, I'd strongly recommend getting a purpose-built snow tire. All-season tires suck in the snow compared to a real snow tire. Look at Nokian Hakkapeliitta snow tires; they're pretty much the best you can get. I'd also recommend getting them in a 15" size (195/65R15 is what I got) to avoid possible rim damage when you hit a pothole on typical northern end-of-winter roads.

If you insist on getting an all-season tire, look into Nokian's all-season offerings like the WR. They're more snow-oriented than most all-seasons.

--mark

PS: No, I don't work for Nokian, I've just experienced first-hand how much better they are in the snow than other tires.

 

so why 205/45 or 205/50? why not 205/40? i'd rather run a decent all-season that performs well in the snow. too much changing of tires if i were to run a winter only tire. i'm just going to stick with my oem wheels for the winter, so going smaller is really not an option.

 

wow, 13 hours and no help....interesting.

 

Buy some steelies with dedicated snow tires for winter. You won't find much of anything that fits a 17x7 narrower than a 205, and that's still too wide for snow. You'll want a 6" wide rim, and run something around 185 wide.

 

not true. i've driven snow for 9 years now and have been fine on wide tires.