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Snow tires and wheels


ideaman7
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Does anyone have any idea on the correct size wheels and tires for snow tires/wheels? TireRack and Discount Tire Direct do not have the C-Max in their system so they cannot advise as to what will fit. I am thinking 16" x 7" wheels with 215/60 R16 tires but I need to find out if they will fit without rubbing.

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Does anyone have any idea on the correct size wheels and tires for snow tires/wheels? TireRack and Discount Tire Direct do not have the C-Max in their system so they cannot advise as to what will fit. I am thinking 16" x 7" wheels with 215/60 R16 tires but I need to find out if they will fit without rubbing.

 

The manual says use the same size as what they put on at the factory - page 331 in the manual. It also says they don't recommend chains, so I wonder what they expect people to use, aside from a tow truck?

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Thanks for the help. TireRack and other tire sellers recommend dropping down an inch of wheel size and upping the aspect ratio to 60 to maintain tire diameter and not affect the speedometer. 60 series aspect ratio is better for snow and ice performance but I may just get 17" snow tires with 50 aspect ratio (same as the OEM tires) so as not to possibly have a tire rubbing problem.

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Hi and thanks for starting this thread. I too am looking for a wheel/snow tire combination as we get a fair amount of snow up here in Maine but I haven't found much online since the C-Max is so new (to the US). The idea of dropping to 16" tires is interesting; I'm sure it would yield more traction but would it be at the expense of fuel economy? I realize that any snow tire will have greater rolling resistance than the stock tires but there is hopefully a good balance out there of cold weather traction and fuel economy. I guess I could just go with the stock tires and see what happens. At least the heated seats will keep me warm while I'm stuck in a ditch!

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I was curious about this as well, but after glancing at the Focus ST forums they are able to clear 16" wheels on their cars. I assume that the C-Max and ST probably have similar sized front calipers so I bought a used set of 16" 5x108 wheels that I'm going to use for winter.

 

You can use any of the widely available tire size calculators to make sure your new set of tires match the size of the OEM spec:

http://www.kouki.co.uk/utilities/visual-tyre-size-calculator

 

I'm going with 215/60R16 which are pretty close at 1.2% faster than stock.

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Hi RaPieR, I bought my C-Max Hybrid SE after my 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 was totaled by a driver who ran a stop sign and broad-sided my car. I liked the Speed 3 but had bad customer service from Mazda and the service department at the dealer. I also own a 1988 RX-7 convertible which I bought new in January, 1988. I will probably end up with 215/60R16 snow tires or similar for the C-Max, just waiting for TireRack or Discount Tires Direct to have the info on C-Max wheels. By the way, I have 4 16" x 7" wheels with 4 Dunlop sport snow tires left over from my Speed 3. Time for Craigslist to sell them.

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Yeah the dealer where I bought my Speed3 wasn't very good. Luckily I haven't had to visit the dealer once and the Speed is at 85,000 miles or so right now.

 

Hi RaPieR, I bought my C-Max Hybrid SE after my 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 was totaled by a driver who ran a stop sign and broad-sided my car. I liked the Speed 3 but had bad customer service from Mazda and the service department at the dealer. I also own a 1988 RX-7 convertible which I bought new in January, 1988. I will probably end up with 215/60R16 snow tires or similar for the C-Max, just waiting for TireRack or Discount Tires Direct to have the info on C-Max wheels. By the way, I have 4 16" x 7" wheels with 4 Dunlop sport snow tires left over from my Speed 3. Time for Craigslist to sell them.
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I just ordered 215 55 16 Michelin X Ice x-i3 and Borbet BS5 from Tire Rack. I did not call them, I just ordered the Focus sized wheels and chose between 205 60 or 215 55 tires. I checked out the Ford.de (Germany) winter tire page. They sell both sizes, I chose the larger tires for both looks and load capacity, and figured that 215 width was better with 7" wide wheels.

 

Next week I will mount the wheels and report on the results.

 

 

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I just ordered 215 55 16 Michelin X Ice x-i3 and Borbet BS5 from Tire Rack. I did not call them, I just ordered the Focus sized wheels and chose between 205 60 or 215 55 tires. I checked out the Ford.de (Germany) winter tire page. They sell both sizes, I chose the larger tires for both looks and load capacity, and figured that 215 width was better with 7" wide wheels.

 

Next week I will mount the wheels and report on the results.

 

Thanks. Looking forward to hearing about the results!

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This evening I installed the 16" wheels and everything seems fine. It is up to you to decide for yourself, but I researched the Ford Germany site and selected the 16" tire size based on that. Then I chose wheels suitable for a Focus which is the same platform as the C Max.

 

Here is what I ordered:

 

4 16x7 Borbet BS5 Bright Sil In Stock $137.00 $548.00

4 Required centering ring In Stock N/C N/C

20 Required lugnut for vehicle (Nickel Plated) In Stock N/C N/C

1 Lug adapter In Stock N/C N/C

4 315MHz Tire Pressure Sensor In Stock $32.00 $128.00

4 Optional Silver Metal Valve In Stock $3.99 $15.96

4 215/55R-16 Michelin X-Ice Xi3 XL

Download Warranty Brochure PDF In Stock $136.00 $544.00

4 Mount and Balance (No Charge) In

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  • 1 month later...
For those looking for wheel and tire options, I bought some Costco Velox Spyder wheels 16x7, with Bridgestone Blizzak WS70, 215/60/16 when the wheels were on sale $125 off for four, and the tires were in stock and $100 off for four with mounting..  They went on with no problems and are only 1.15% larger than the stock 17's.

 

P1000508 1

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My snow tires tend to be on from early October to mid April although snow in September is not unheard of or a late April or early May surprise.  I drove studded tires for a long  time, but after driving studless Blizzak's, I will not go back.  Michelin Ice X's are also a good choice.  I went with the Blizzaks because Costco had them in stock and on sale here, so no shipping.  You just do not to run them when it is too warm or they will wear fast.  The Focus options for 16 inch wheels work great and there were zero problems installing.

 

I will get myself in a photo at some point and a review as I get more experience with the car.

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My snow tires tend to be on from early October to mid April although snow in September is not unheard of or a late April or early May surprise.  I drove studded tires for a long  time, but after driving studless Blizzak's, I will not go back.  Michelin Ice X's are also a good choice.  I went with the Blizzaks because Costco had them in stock and on sale here, so no shipping.  You just do not to run them when it is too warm or they will wear fast.  The Focus options for 16 inch wheels work great and there were zero problems installing.

 

I will get myself in a photo at some point and a review as I get more experience with the car.

 

 

I agree!  I went off the Focus sizings when I bought my Michelin X-ice in 16 inch size for the C-max.  I hope to get the stock wheels and tires (with the TPMS sensors) installed back on our car in late March or early April.  I don't know for sure, but I actually think that a 15" wheel will fit...

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  • 7 months later...

Does anyone have any idea on the correct size wheels and tires for snow tires/wheels? TireRack and Discount Tire Direct do not have the C-Max in their system so they cannot advise as to what will fit. I am thinking 16" x 7" wheels with 215/60 R16 tires but I need to find out if they will fit without rubbing.

 

Well it's getting to be that time of year again. The C-Max is in everyone's systems now, and I believe 215/60-16 is still the best recommendation for snow tires on dedicated wheels. Here's why.

 

There are two main snow performance advantages to a -1 wheel with a narrower, taller tire for equal rolling diameter

- narrower section width (215 vs 225)mm) means you push less snow aside in the deep stuff

- the narrower section also means a longer contact patch, which biases tire grip to straight-line acceleration - starting and stopping

and one non-performance "advantage"...

- 215/60-16s are a lot cheaper than 17" options on steel wheels.

 

Based on Tire Rack's tests and reviews, the Michelin Xi3 looks like the best combination of low rolling resistance and good snow/ice performance. (I've also had X-ice "1's" before.) There will be a small rolling resistance hit with 16's due to a longer contact patch, but I expect it's small compared with moving to a snow tire in the first place, the Xi3's LRR status not withstanding. 4 215/60-16 tires, 16" steel wheels, tpms sensors mounted and delivered are ~$1K, but with $170 in mastercard rebates at Tire Rack. Mine are ordered, even if they wait a month or two to get dirty.  

 

Have fun,

Frank

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It's the outer diameter of the tire, and not the size of the wheel, that affects speedo and odo readings. You have to calculate using the section width and the aspect ratio of the tire in addition to the diameter of the wheel. The C-Max's standard 225/50-17 tire diameter is virtually the same as a 205/60-16 or a 225/55-16 (-1 sizing) tire. It's also virtually the same as a 225/45-18 tire going the other way (+1 sizing).

 

I bought Michelin Xi3's for my C-Max last winter in the 205/60-16 size. They worked fine for me.

Edited by StoBro2
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 Surprised if this works... It didn't, but I have a backup! Backup's not good either... data without headers is worthless, so I include minimal data! Sorry...

 

P225/50R17  803  

 

Here is the Revs Per Mile specs for the stock tires *Michelin Energy Saver A/S". That's the tire spec you want to match when considering +/- size wheels or alternate sizes on the same wheel. It's based on loaded radius, a smaller number than you get using section width and aspect ratio and considers tire pressures as well.

 

Here's the data for the 16" Xi3.

215/60R16  796

 

803 vs. 796 is >1%... did I read that someone found the C-Max odo read 1% low? This should correct it.

 

205/60-16's are 810 vs. 803 rev/mile, so another good choice that will read 1% lower on the odo.

 

Note that the one really important tire spec is load rating, and it's a non-issue when talking snow tires for a C-Max. The Michelin Energy Saver A/S is rated fairly low for a tire it's size, and all the snows I've looked at have exceeded sotck load ratings.

 

Have fun,

Frank

Edited by fbov
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