Snow Tire advice

jaberoo

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
Location
Alford, MA
TDI
2015 Passat SEL silver
I'm intending getting 16" wheels and tires for the winter. My question is, which size—215x60x16 or 205x65x16?

Compared with the standard 235x45x18s, the 215x60x16s have 4mm lower axle height, whereas the 205x65s are 4mm higher. Higher is better than lower in snow.

The 205s have 10mm less width than the 215s (and 30mm less than the 235 standards). But, I'm thinking narrow has advantages in snow, even at the expense of some handling.

I'm old, and I don't drive fast anymore. I'm leaning towards the 205x65s.

Any advice?
 

j2112morris

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 3, 2013
Location
Chicago Suburbs
TDI
2014 Audi Q5 Premium Plus TDI (sold)
I run 215/60R16 Bridgestone Blizzak WS80. They were great last year and I am sure they will be fine this year, too.

Drive safe.
 

jrm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
TDI
2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
215x60x16 on 2009 jetta rims with general altimax Artic tires, they are quiet as a mouse, half the price and can climb our 12% driveway pushing snow with the headlights. They are so quiet that the wife made me put them back on this spring after switching to her 18" stock tires- we ran the entire summer on them as they are so quiet

https://www.walmart.com/ip/General-Altimax-Arctic-Tire-215-60R15/15085015
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
We run 215-60-16 because it was stock. If I dug more into it I'd have gone your route of 205-65-16 as you pointed out taller, and narrower.

My deciding factor would be tire availability and price, which ever was cheaper, I'd go that way.

Passat at stock height is already pretty tall, and we run out of TCS before the tires do, it just wouldn't spin and dig enough to climb our driveway.

I may be looking to install a TCS switch on the '15, but I know the wife would never use it as shes a gas and go type and just leaves the car waysided on the driveway for me to take care of.
 

jaberoo

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
Location
Alford, MA
TDI
2015 Passat SEL silver
215x60x16 on 2009 jetta rims with general altimax Artic tires, they are quiet as a mouse, half the price and can climb our 12% driveway pushing snow with the headlights. They are so quiet that the wife made me put them back on this spring after switching to her 18" stock tires- we ran the entire summer on them as they are so quiet
I've also have used Altimax for years on several vehicles and, like you, I've enjoyed the ride. This may have had more to do with 60% (vs 45%) sidewalls which simply provide more road comfort. I sometimes think we've all been "taken for a ride" by this modern practice of larger wheels, thinner sidewalls, harsher ride and, of course, higher prices.
 

rustycat

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Joined
Dec 27, 2012
Location
seattle
TDI
2015 passat sel
205/60-16

I had a set of Michelin winter tires x-ice--205/60-16-- that I had on a Toyota Avalon. When we purchased the 13 Passat I pulled the Michelin's off the Avalon and kept them for the Passat. I then purchased some used Jetta Wheels and had Discount tire, who I had originally purchased them from, mount and balance. Now, I simply haul the mounted tires on wheels into Discount and have them remounted each Nov. There is no fee for the service and I love the tires. Plus they drive great on bare wet roads. Since it's pretty much impossible to mount chains on the Passat, this seems to be the best alternative.
 

jrm

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Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
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2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
I've also have used Altimax for years on several vehicles and, like you, I've enjoyed the ride. This may have had more to do with 60% (vs 45%) sidewalls which simply provide more road comfort. I sometimes think we've all been "taken for a ride" by this modern practice of larger wheels, thinner sidewalls, harsher ride and, of course, higher prices.
yes, tall sidewall and soft compound makes them awesome, a little spongy in high speed corners but well worth the comfort. I agree about this silly larger wheel fad, while they do great when driving hard it makes the daily drive sound like I'm sitting in the rear of a 737 and potholes= instant sidewall cut
 

BKmetz

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Staff member
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Sep 25, 1997
Location
Illinois
TDI
2015 Passat, titanium beige, 6MT
I bought Passat S steel wheels for winter driving. I use the stock Passat S 215/60R16 tire size. As for which brand? Nokians are the gold standard to a lot of guys. It's hard to find Nokians on sale so I buy either Michelin or Bridgestone as Costco always has a sale going on one or the other.

:)
 

scrambld

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Jun 26, 2004
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Belchertown, MA
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'06 Jetta...TDI/5spd :) >>>now a '15 Passat TDI/DSG
Just for reference, I've been running Firestone Winterforce snows for about 7 years now without issues on a 2006 Jetta. 5 of those 7 years my house at the time, had with a VERY steep driveway...in the neighborhood of an 18% grade. I too went the taller skinnier route....not that 4mm was really "taller"....
 

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
TDI
2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
Not about winter tires, but yesterday I got rid of the OEM 235x45x18 Hankook tires which were loud and only offered a comfortable ride on smooth pavement.

Replaced with 235x55x18 General Altimax RT 43 all season tires. Two things I noticed right away, the taller "55" tires are a much smoother ride and absorb bumps on the same roads the "45"s did not.

Also because the taller tire or more circumference have made my typically optimistic VW speedometer read the correct speed now as measured by GPS.
 

jaberoo

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Joined
Aug 4, 2003
Location
Alford, MA
TDI
2015 Passat SEL silver
Replaced with 235x55x18 General Altimax RT 43 all season tires. Two things I noticed right away, the taller "55" tires are a much smoother ride and absorb bumps on the same roads the "45"s did not.
With that extra inch of sidewall, I'd expect them to be noticeably smoother riding. Glad to know they don't rub.
 

jrm

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Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
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2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
55's may rub when bottomed out on harsh G outs when raging backroads, something that I wished id outgrow- but haven't so 45's are on order ;)
 

buffa98

Active member
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Feb 6, 2013
Location
SE PA
TDI
2013 SE DSG White/Cornsilk
215x60x16 on 2009 jetta rims with general altimax Artic tires, they are quiet as a mouse, half the price and can climb our 12% driveway pushing snow with the headlights. They are so quiet that the wife made me put them back on this spring after switching to her 18" stock tires- we ran the entire summer on them as they are so quiet

https://www.walmart.com/ip/General-Altimax-Arctic-Tire-215-60R15/15085015
Are the jetta rims 16x6.5? 5x112 bolt patter with 44 mm offset? I'm looking for rims and all the tire shops here (PA) are squawking about dropping from a 17 to a 16 inch rim.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
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NH
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2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
The Jetta 16" rim is most likely a bioline, it's 16x6.5 with ET of 50, they will fit and will clear the caliper as long as the wheel weights are placed correctly.

I'll be running biolines from my 2010 on our Alltrack this winter, I believe it has the same rotors as the passat.
 

weebl

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Location
Edmonton, AB
TDI
2004 Golf (BEW)
I'm intending getting 16" wheels and tires for the winter. My question is, which size—215x60x16 or 205x65x16?
I ran 215/60R16 when I had my Passat. That was an OEM fitted size on the lowest trim levels.

As a side note, I recommend AGAINST the Michelin X-Ice Xi3. Performance was mediocre at best, barely adequate in snow, and you couldn't even tell they were winter tires on ice. I don't understand how they ever scored so high in their ratings. I've used many other winter tires over the years, ranging from low end to high end, and the Michelins by far were the worst performing.
 

jrm

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Location
Oregon
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2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
since photobucket is gone, have to upload a video of my 2009 jetta rims- as you can see the weights have to be moved out of the channel designed for weights and inward in order to clear the caliper due to almost zero clearance but after the weights were moved they work perfectly. Wife loves the quiet smooth ride of the 16" so much she made me keep the snows on all this past summer. Scored those rims for $100 on craigslist a few years back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wekYL9I4l3Y
 
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turbobrick240

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maine
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2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Nice. One bonus of having so little clearance to the caliper is there is almost no room for sticky snow to accumulate and throw the balance out.
 

Busydiver

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Apr 3, 2013
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Minneapolis, MN
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Passat TDI SEL
BLIZZAK....going into the 3rd and last season as I will be turning the TDI back to VW in the summer...great tires and really improve your handling, braking on snow and icy conditions
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
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2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Lots of good options. If you want the best studless snow tire- Nokian Haakapeliitta. I used put them on my volvos. Might get some for the golf soon if the sticker shock isn't too bad. Studded snow tires really dig in on ice and packed snow.
 

jrm

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Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
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2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
Lots of good options. If you want the best studless snow tire- Nokian Haakapeliitta. I used put them on my volvos. Might get some for the golf soon if the sticker shock isn't too bad. Studded snow tires really dig in on ice and packed snow.
A friend climbed a 12% hill with 1" solid water topped ice in freezing rain in a 2012 WRX with 4 studded Haakapeliitta tires aired down to 15psi. He made it look easy!
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
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NH
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2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
go studded, well worth the extra coin,

just picked up 205-65-16 haka 8 studded that I had mounted to my '10 biolines, to run on the alltrack.

now I just wish it wasn't 70 degrees out
 

jrm

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Oregon
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2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
i had to go stud less after I epoxied my garage floor :(
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
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Nov 18, 2014
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maine
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2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
A friend climbed a 12% hill with 1" solid water topped ice in freezing rain in a 2012 WRX with 4 studded Haakapeliitta tires aired down to 15psi. He made it look easy!
Nice. That's a formidable combination for northern winters. I drove my rwd volvos places you'd never think a two wheel drive vehicle without tire chains could go thanks to the Haakapeliitta grip. The chains were in the trunk if needed(rarely were).
 

rustycat

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Dec 27, 2012
Location
seattle
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2015 passat sel
Here's a deal on Craigslist, I assume no problem with the wheels. Pacific Northwest.
four 205/60 R16 studded on Audi rims - $300 (Bellingham) hide this posting

© craigslist - Map data © OpenStreetMap
(google map)

Set of 4 studded snow tires, lightly used like new condition. Studs still have nipples!
NOKIAN HAKKAPELIITTA-4 205/60 R16 92T M+S
Mounted on Audi 5 spoke alloy wheels.
Contact John for details. Call or text show contact info
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
Here's a deal on Craigslist, I assume no problem with the wheels. Pacific Northwest.
four 205/60 R16 studded on Audi rims - $300 (Bellingham) hide this posting

© craigslist - Map data © OpenStreetMap
(google map)

Set of 4 studded snow tires, lightly used like new condition. Studs still have nipples!
NOKIAN HAKKAPELIITTA-4 205/60 R16 92T M+S
Mounted on Audi 5 spoke alloy wheels.
Contact John for details. Call or text show contact info

Passat should run 215-60-16 if you want to keep your speedo on par.

If you don't care you'll be fine.
 

jrm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
TDI
2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
I ran 205's for one winter, speedo reading 10 fast sure racks up the miles quicker- my clock spring was out of warranty by just 2k miles costing me $500 bucks :( I'm no math major but a 10mph off speedo over 15k miles
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
Thats why I went a size up on the Jetta, Odo said it only had 141K but in fact it prob had 143K when VW bought it back, I laughed all the way to the bank.
 

jrm

Veteran Member
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Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
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2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
Also remember that snow tire advice differs around the country, in deep wet slop (my place) you want open tread with huge knobs to clear wet snow, but that same tire on ice is terrible (know from experience) as you want smaller soft treads to increase your contact patch. Cold and dry snow get away with tires such as the Xice while wet deeper snow need more aggressive tires like the Goodyear duratrack tires. Last winter I drove my Dodge diesel into work during a huge ice storm (Passat heatercore kept it in the garage) and let me tell ya, those huge lugged mud tires I had on where the scariest thing iv driven in a long while :eek:
 

rustycat

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2012
Location
seattle
TDI
2015 passat sel
Also remember that snow tire advice differs around the country, in deep wet slop (my place) you want open tread with huge knobs to clear wet snow, but that same tire on ice is terrible (know from experience) as you want smaller soft treads to increase your contact patch. Cold and dry snow get away with tires such as the Xice while wet deeper snow need more aggressive tires like the Goodyear duratrack tires. Last winter I drove my Dodge diesel into work during a huge ice storm (Passat heatercore kept it in the garage) and let me tell ya, those huge lugged mud tires I had on where the scariest thing iv driven in a long while :eek:

Yesterday I had the opportunity to drive the new 15 on wet snow--only around an inch--car did great on take offs, braking, and traction whilst traveling. However, I couldn't believe it I was traveling down a slight hill and started sliding like the wheels were on a bed of ball bearing off the side of the road. Fortunately, I got it to respond as it hit the soft shoulder and turned it back on the asphalt. Checked out the tracks today and I wasn't far from a power pole before I corrected. The stock tires--all season-- were crap
under those conditions. I can't recommend strongly enough that if you are going to be driving in snow get snow tires.
 
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