Kizashi Club

I have never had winter tires before. I have just continued using the same four tires year round. However, it has been suggested that I look into getting winter tires for my 2010 Kizashi S push button AWD. I come from a small minnesota town where you do your own mechanical work on your vehicle and in many cases the person holds onto the part for possible future use in some way. I have a friend who continues to try to give me a set of four tires, already on rims, to put onto my car for the winter. The tires have quite a large amount of tread on them, they hold air and they look pretty rough (like they can handle an icy/snowy road). The only issue that I am unsure of is that they are a different size. The tires are a size 16 like the ones I currently have but the other size numbers are slightly different than my current/recomended stock tires. Would it be plausible to use these tires? I do not want to pass up a good thing if this would be one. I have used different size tires on my previous cars but not on either of my last two vehicles due to me buying these from a dealership and not being a $500 deal with a guy down the road.

I will post both sizes, my current and the gift tires, when I look at the other set again.

Yes, it's possible, but we're going to need the precise size for a closer guess. There are issues with the way the wheels bolt on too, which much match up.

Exactly - the wheel bolt pattern is the big issue.

Sorry about the wait on getting the tire size. The size of the tires that were given to me are 205/50/R16 Gislaved Nord Frost 2. The tires that my car came with are 215/60R16. The size is fairly close but im not sure if winter tires are sized to a vehicle the same way as other seasoned tires.

Way too small IMO. They're about 7% smaller and the recommendation is to stay within 3% of the stock tire

The tires may be small but the more important question is. Do the rims fit? An extra set of rims cost $160+. Another set of tires can be mounted on the rims, in fact selling or swapping the tires for the correct size is a worthy endeavor. Giving you safer winter driving and extending the life of your current tires.

The tires are way too small as bootymac said. They would work if you are in a bind but not the recommended spec. I would assume that there would be some changes to the handling, braking and odometer if you chose to run them. Never tried it myself.

Don't forget to also check the rim offset on your search if you are still looking for a set of mounted tires. Too much negative or positive offset may cause clearance issues when the suspension is fully compressed and the steering turned all the way. I don't think you would find a 16 inch 5/114 bolt pattern OE wheel fitted with those tires with an offset that wouldn't work. But best to check in case.

Those are some good tires for sure, especially with wheels. Like others have said, check the bolt pattern, center bore, and offset to make sure suspension and brake clearance is sufficient.

I can't remember the exact size right now, but they're in my TPMS thread, but we went with a smaller 16" tire from the factory 18s with a much smaller tread width. They also ended up lowering the car at least an inch due to the flex in the sidewalls.

One of the biggest issues you'll run across though is the TPMS system. You will need sensors for each of these winter wheels if you want to still have the ESP system working correctly.

For winter tires do you need to have the TPMS sensors, or will you car run fine without them?

razz wrote:For winter tires do you need to have the TPMS sensors, or will you car run fine without them?

You will either need to move them from your summer tires to your winter set each time (NOT recommended since the sensors are easy to break) or you will need to purchase a set for your winter set of wheels.

Now, all of the above isn't necessary if you're using the same wheels for your winter set and are literally changing from summer to winter tires. Then the tpms sensors stay as part of the wheel, but they will need to be carefully rebuilt (and they can easily be damaged, so make sure someone reputable is working on them).

Without the tpms sensors, the esp system is disabled--not what you really want. And since spare genuine suzuki sensors are fairly cheap these days, I don't see a reason to not get them.