Winter tires

[DaMeatMan]

Anyone have experience or advice when it comes to winter tires with a EV SUV?

Since I've been in Michigan I always get a second set of wheels and tires for winter.

Since I'm bored and think of stuff like this I've been looking at options and prices. I've been able to find 225/60 R18 Blizzak as one option.

Just curious if anyone has input on the general idea of winter tires on a EV SUV.

I got myself a set of 235/55R19 105H Michelin CrossClimate2 to replace the stock tires. I have not run them in the snow yet, still waiting on our first snowfall, but reports indicate that it's an excellent all weather tire, and is actually rated with the 3 peak mountain snow flake like a dedicated winter tire.

With that said it won't outperform a top rated snow tire in the snow, but it will outperform many mid tier snow tires, and in terms of overall performance will definitely outperform any dedicated winter tire in all around performance such as dry and wet weather etc..

I live in Toronto, Canada and although we see quite a bit of snowfall here, the plows are out quick and 95% of my winter driving takes place on plowed roads. Which means realistically the Michelin CrossClimate2 should perform better than something like a Blizzak most of the time based on the actual winter conditions we find here in the city, whereas a dedicated Winter tire will usually perform rather horribly in dry weather (even when cold). The bonus is that I also no longer need to swap tires or wheels for the winter as well.

For context (if it matters) I have always run the latest and greatest Blizzak available on my vehicles in the winter, and I can tell you that in wet and dry traction the Michelin is hands down orders of magnitude better performing in those conditions based on my experience with 3 sets of Blizzaks over the years.

If you want a more objective idea of how it stacks up, watch below:

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[tuminatr]

I have a lot of experience with winter tires and for the past few years I owned a Fusion PHEV. My thought is this range is going to be an issue in the winter so I want to make sure to buy a wheel / tire combo to maximize that. I have run the Vredestein tires for the last few years and either their Quatrac Pro or Wintrac pro would be excellent. Although they don't advertise here in the states that these are low rolling resistance they are. I chose to go with a 18" wheel/ tire combo. The thing I like about this brand is they are very quiet and smooth. IMHO quieter and smoother than the factory tires. The Quatrac Pro is an all weather and you can run it all year around. Tire Rack just finished a test where it took first place. The other advantage comes in the fact that it's was called asymmetrical The advantage there is you can four tire rotate. Considering how heavy the Mach e is it's very important to be able to rotate your tires to get the longest life out of them. If you wanted a dedicated winter I would do the Vredestein wintrac Pro That's consumer reports number one pick for winter tire and the performance category. From what I understand to talking to other people it's considerably smoother quieter than other winter products on the market which is something you want in an EV.

 

[THXDIAL]

By the numbers, 99 would be just barely sufficient for the load of the car. However, most of us think that Ford chose a 103 XL (Extra Load) rating for a good reason, and have chosen to stick with that or better. So I'd say that it should work, but that personally I'd keep shopping.

GTPE. SE Michigan. Went with Pirelli Scorpion Winter. No size change 245/45 20 on the OEM wheels. 107 load rating. Not a big factor to me, but too early to determine the range hit. The ride is very smooth!

 

[Freddymache]

FE, went with Nokian hakkapeliitta 225/55 r19 103r xl on Grid azz958ggb wheels, very silent.

 

[karioka]

I was thinking about the same thing has you here, I will probably put 225/60 R18 on my Premium but will probably get Aluminium wheels instead of regular steel , lighter is better for the range. For the tire brand they are many good ones out there and it's a quetion of choice. Maybe I'l go with Michelin X-ice Xi3 , their suppose to improve them next year. Yokohama Ice Guard are good ones too. One important factor is the rolling resistance factor that should be low of course for the same range reason. Here in Quebec it is mandatory to have winter tires has all seasons tires loose their grips when it goes under 7 C or 45 F.

Claude,
How do you know which wheel rim size to buy? Or are you going to buy the ones from Ford?

 

[tuminatr]

The Mach E takes 5x108 and typically a high positive offset. How wide usually depends on the tires you are going to install. If it's a 225 width tire i would not go any wider that 18x8

 

[tuminatr]

The Mach E takes 5x108 and typically a high positive offset. How wide usually depends on the tires you are going to install. If it's a 225 width tire i would go any wider that 18x8

 

[ClaudeMach-E]

Claude,
How do you know which wheel rim size to buy? Or are you going to buy the ones from Ford?

Well I did check on a few on-line Tires and Wheels sales site, and of course with some info from here. I had decided that I was going to go with a smaller size wheel for winter has I always did. It cost less . For the Mach E the Premium comes on 19 inch and some sites where rightfully indicating that the Mach E could have 18-19 or 20 inches, so I went with 18 inch. What I've also learned is that there's a weight factor that comes into cosideration for wheels. For the MME it is 3020 lbs(indicated in the driver's door B pillar) the heaviest on the rear axle, what they call the GAWR so you have to divide that weight ratio in 2 so the wheels weigth ratio have to be at least 1510 lbs so I made sure wheels WR was ok. For the tires I finally went for Continental Viking Contact 7 and I like very much the quietness of these tires. When indicating which brand and make of car you are looking for your tire it will propose you whhels and tires that fits your car obviously.

 

[Nemy]

Hoping to get some guidance here. Usually I rely on forums to see what wheels will fit but the MME is so new that I haven't found enough to be comfortable buying anything and I'm not smart enough to understand wheel specs.

So I found a set of Ford Focus ST wheels with 235/40R18 tires on it (note I don't plan on keeping the tires. I just added it for reference as to what was on the wheel already). So they're 5x108 and 18" but with a 55 offset. Does anyone know if they'll fit and if they can take a 225 tire? Otherwise I may just try to find some steelies.

 

[phidauex]

Hoping to get some guidance here. Usually I rely on forums to see what wheels will fit but the MME is so new that I haven't found enough to be comfortable buying anything and I'm not smart enough to understand wheel specs.

So I found a set of Ford Focus ST wheels with 235/40R18 tires on it. So they're 5x108 and 18" but with a 55 offset. Does anyone know if they'll fit and if they can take a 225 tire? Otherwise I may just try to find some steelies.

Those stock ST wheels are 18x8, meaning I wouldn't put a 225 on them. A 235 would be OK. They would almost certainly clear the brakes on a non-GTPE, but would sit 21mm closer to the suspension components. I think that would be OK, but I can't promise.

Here is a calculator showing the size comparison: https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/?wh...60-18X8ET55&fcl=50mm&scl=50mm&wcl=30mm&sr=0mm

The tires on those wheels now are no good to you - way too small. A 235/55 or a 235/60 would be a better fit. I went with 235/60, it is 1% higher circumference, but that means that as it wears it will come down to the stock size. 235/55 starts 2% small out of the gate.

If you definitely want 225 width tires, take a look at Jaguar F-Pace and E-Pace wheels, Range Rover Evoque wheels, and many recent Volvo wheels like from the XC60, XC90, S60, etc. All of which have similar sizes, same bolt pattern, etc., I have 18x7.5 ET45 wheels from a Jaguar F-Pace that fit perfectly. I mounted 235/60, but 225/60 would be a good fit too. (Mine are like this, but in gloss black: https://www.autorimshop.com/catalog...aXYcxd2bZSoa6_ZJKp92FTumoB4HRYzUaAjsHEALw_wcB)

 

[Nemy]

Those stock ST wheels are 18x8, meaning I wouldn't put a 225 on them. A 235 would be OK. They would almost certainly clear the brakes on a non-GTPE, but would sit 21mm closer to the suspension components. I think that would be OK, but I can't promise.

Good info. Thanks! I definitely wasn't going to use the tires that came with it but I'll keep looking.

 

[ClaudeMach-E]

Hoping to get some guidance here. Usually I rely on forums to see what wheels will fit but the MME is so new that I haven't found enough to be comfortable buying anything and I'm not smart enough to understand wheel specs.

So I found a set of Ford Focus ST wheels with 235/40R18 tires on it. So they're 5x108 and 18" but with a 55 offset. Does anyone know if they'll fit and if they can take a 225 tire? Otherwise I may just try to find some steelies.

The right size tiresm for the MME in 18 inch size is 225 60R 18 so I don't think your 235 40R 18 will fit. Most importantly 40R will trow your mileage off.

 

[HOFMACHFE]

I have purchased and installed Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 tires on 18" new black alloy wheels. I am in an area of Ontario Canada that gets very high amounts of snow due to the lake effect. I will give an update after this winter on what I think about how they perform. These Pirelli's were recommended to me as many luxury heavy cars and SUV's use them.

They are getting installed on my MME First edition on Nov 19th.

We already had 2 inches that stayed on the ground and roads earlier this week. The all seasons were ok for this little snow. It is now back up to warmer above freezing temperatures.

 

[rodhx]

The 235/40 will fit but the speedometer will read significantly higher with the short tire. On the plus side the better grip and gearing should give a noticeable acceleration gain. I autocrossed my Bolt with a set of short 16” grippy tires. It was almost a full second faster to 60 over the stock 17” Michelins. ?

A 225 will work on an 8” wheel. I have used autocross setups with 225s on 9s. But I would want to take advantage of the wheel width to go wider with the tires.

now you have me searching for a set of those ST wheels and thinking of throwing my fat electric station wagon around our next autocross course ?

 

[tuminatr]

Here ya go 225/60/18 TSW 18x8 wheels. These are all weather Vredestein Quatrac 5.