alcarames

Michelin alpin PA3's are in my opinion best high performance winter tires. They may not be as good as dedicated snow tires in the snow but are very well rounded in the dry, rain, snow, ice, as well as being H rated. If they makes sizes for the mustang that will be my choice.

David Young

Looks good Doug. I don't have to worry about snow too much where i live. An inch here an inch there, never enough to worry about. We have had freak snow storms in the past, i'll just stay home until the roads are clear if that happens LOL!!!

orange3.9stang

I would do the same as you if I lived further south.

Since 1989, I've chosen RWD Mustangs as my 400 mile a week year-round daily commuter car. Ok 1st was the Fairmont until 1994 but it was a FOX and got me hooked on late Model Mustangs.

Many people say ... "just get a $1000 beater for the winter and park the Stang", but I need something reliable and I don't want to spend the required time and money to keep a beater reliable.

With both the Fairmont & '94 Mustang, I white knucked it in the winter with all-seasons. Automatic helped in the Fairmont, but the T-Lok differential on Ice was pretty scary so I decided the '94 would NOT get T-Lok diff. up-grade (nor did it really need it).

After I bought the '98, I vowed that I was going to find a 2nd set of wheels and get a set of snows. I ended up finding a set of take-off 15" '97 V6 Mustang wheels and talked the new owner of my '94 into a deal where we split the cost ... he got the new wheels & I got the '94 wheels that had already seen 4 winters.

I did a few mods to the '98 and the one-wheel-peel got to the point where it was embarassing ... so the 2nd summer I put in a T-Lok, slightly lower 3.08 gears, and Quad-Shocks. I was a little worried about the T-Lok in the snow, but hoped that the snow tires would help enough to make it not scarry like it was in the Fairmont. Big surprise was that the combo works surpisingly well together ... no white knuckle driving even on glare ice, and I'd even go one step further and say that LSD is manadtory for me in a RWD vehicle provided it is combined with dedicated snows.

It will be interesting this winter as the ABS, Traction Control, and Stability Control on this '11 are ALL new features for me. Plus this car is 300# heavier, has a 5.8" longer wheelbase, and over 2" wider track than an SN-95 ... all of which help improve winter driving stability.

Could have ordered ABS on the '94 & '98 and ABS & TC on the '04 ... but had never felt that these "nanny features" were worth spending money on. Would have been a different story if they were std. features or came with a package of other features I desired, but when it is a $570-$1000 stand alone option ... forget it.

Only concern I have is the lower ground clearance, and we'll just have to wait and see if this is ever an issue.

Doug

newpony

When I did a search on Limited Slip Differential awhile ago I heard is a good feature to have especially for snow driving. Then when I researched T-Lok to find out what it was I read the opposite. That it is not good for snow/ice because it can't keep the back end centered.

I guest you just confirmed to me what Tire Rack has been preaching for years. ABS, Traction Control, Stability Control, LSD, AWD, 4x4, etc... won't do squat if you don't have traction thus the reason for winter tires.

kierankelly

Here's my current setup (pre-striping) and my winter setup, all in one pic.

Dreamtheory

grats on the arrival of your wheels and tires =), just in time too =P

tom_vilsack

they look ok...but for $1040 i think i would just buy a winter beater and save the mustang from road salt ect....

David Young

I read in the owners manual something about snow driving. It said if you get 'stuck' in the snow, turn 'off' the 'traction control' and give it a try. Turn 'on' the 'traction control' after you get un-stuck. This is to be done under extreme situations.

Kevindust

I went with General Altimax Artic 215/60/17 snows on the factory 8" Bullitt wheels for my '05 and they work great. The TC is amazing when you are at speed but it helps to turn it off when taking off in deep snow. Now that you are prepared, you will have fun this winter!

I am also curious about winter wheel combinations for those that order the Brembo brakes...what is the smallest diameter wheel that will fit on the front end?

28.

Ditto.. But it also depends on how far you drive to and from work each day.. I've never had to drive any of my Mustangs in the winter.. This year it's no different.

orange3.9stang

When I got my car, I was curious as to how much heavier the 18" wheel/tire was compared to the 16's that were on my '04 so I weighed both on the UPS scale at work. Just checked one of the snow tire/wheels to see how it compares and here are the results ...

Michelin X-ICE X12 P215/65-17 on M-B Five-X 17x7" wheel ... 47.76 lbs each
vs. stock:
Pirelli P Zero Nero P235/50-18 on Ford MCA 18x8" wheel ... 58.03 lbs each
vs. stock '04:
Yokahama AVID V4S 225/55-16 on Ford 16x7.5" wheel ... 42.04 lbs each

Weights include the lug nuts as the tiny ones that came with the aftermarket wheels weight half of what the stock ones do (5 oz vs. 10 oz a set).

The 215's are 0.8" taller and tread width is approx. 1.75" narrower than the 235's, now add this 41 lb. weight savings ... it's quite possible that this makes more of a difference in MPG's than the 1.5~2% MPG loss that I've typically seen in winter with my '98 & '04.

I was also putting a 70# bag of sand in the trunk of the '04 too, but since this '11 already weighs almost 350# more, has a longer wheel base & wider track as well as ABS, TC, & Stability control I think I can skip the bag of sand.

Yeh I know I'm nuts, but every little bit helps.

I've gotten spoiled not having to stop for gas Monday morning 50 miles south so I could make it home Wednesday night as I always had to do with my '98 & '04 ... in winter, I sometimes had to stop on my way home Wednesday night too.

Not having to get out of the car & pump gas in the dark sure is nice in summer, but will be priceless when it is freakin' cold out !!

Doug

newpony

Doug,

I google it but couldn't exactly find an answer. Why would a longer wheel base & wider track affect snow performance? Why is it better? I'm just curious because I like reading about all this stuff.

montreal ponies

So Doug, any early signs of snow !

orange3.9stang

Don't know how I know it but the longer the wheel base and wider the track the more control you have in slippery conditions.

Doug

orange3.9stang

You'll know before me !!

orange3.9stang

Well, a #4 Rubber Stopper with about an 1/8" trimmed off the back fits snug and flush in the extra set of lug nut holes. Bought a bag of 30 of them from McMaster Carr for $10.07.

Still got hopefully 7 weeks or so before I need to swap over to these winter shoes.

Doug

Bert

thanks for bringing this thread back to the top Doug, I was just looking for it . . .

If I understand it correctly, the 2011 V6 has the same brakes as the 2010 GT, so the 17" wheels should clear my brakes no problem . . . and a 7" wide wheel is about right for ~215 tires . . . right?

orange3.9stang

YEP to all.

If you can find 215/60-17" snows, the dia. will be almost exactly the same as your stock 235/50-18's.

I went with the 215/65-17 size (std. on 2011 V6 A/T) to gain 0.4" of theroetical ground clearance but will reduce revs per mile by 3%.

Trip OD is off now by 1% in my favor, so it should be off 4% with the snows (more miles traveled than OD displays which is nice).

Right now, my Speedo @ 70 displays 2-3 MPH faster than actual speed ... so with these snows, it actually may display closer to real speed.

Doug

raidernixon

Im glad I live in a place where work is cancelled if the white stuff falls...lol

orange3.9stang

Well, cold weather is finally here so I mounted my snow tire & wheel package yesterday.

Followed the TPMS Training Instructions in the Ford Shop Manual using the Ford Tool (8C2Z-1A203-A) that I bought from American Muscle and it worked just as stated.

No snow yet, but took it out for a 8-10 mile drive this morning and these tires do well on dry pavement.

Measured tread depth on my Pirrelli's before putting them away up in the attic and after 11500 miles I've got 0.25" tread depth left on the fronts and 0.21" left on the rears. New depth per Pirrelli is 11/32" (.343), if you subtract 1/16" for the wear bars I've used up 33% on fronts & 47% on the rears. Based on this, looks like I'll only get about 25-30k miles out of these tires !! Wear was nice and even on all 4 though, so a F-R rotation should even them out next year.

If I want these 1" narrower snows to last, I'm really going to have to grannie drive this winter when running on dry pavement ... oh well.

Doug