I run 16's on the Passat. No way I'm paying the premium for 17's or 18's...
Just bought (4) 16" Steelies, mounted with Michelin x-Ice3's and hub caps from Tire Rack. They are not installed yet even though Chicago area had early moring flurry's yesterday I Minus sized from O.E. 17". JSW's dash settings allow you to change to Minus sizing in order to calibrate gauges. 1st winter with "Snow Tires" in a long time since the last 4 vehicles have been AWD SUV's, running All-Season tires. I'll report back after this, hopefully mild, winter.
Depends. I usually get my winter tires put on as part of annual maintenance. They are always on by Halloween because by then we've had a few frosts and sometimes even snow that sticks to the roads -- and because I run summer tires, not all-seasons, so I've got no grip on ice.. Some folks have the ability to swap tires right in their own garages, so they may wait until late November or so to swap all-seasons for winter tires.
You could, I guess. But, really, snow tires aren't any softer than pure performance summer tires. Would you rotate those more often? Besides, weather does not change the car's dynamics. On front-drive cars, the front tires still will get the bulk of the wear from starting, steering, and stopping the car.
Yes, I got mine at Discount Tire and did the same thing. General Altimax Arctic's with Momo Winter II wheels. Rather keep my 18" OEM rims clean and not going through the slush, snow, ice, salt, etc.
To be honest, I rotate the winters only every time they get swapped over. This means that at the start of the season, the most worn are mounted on the rear, but they (more than) even out as the season goes on. You have to keep in mind that these cars will plow like a Case-IH all things being equal, so a bit of rotation isn't a bad thing while cornering. Maybe braking in a corner it would be less stable, but you have to anticipate when transferring weight forward the nose will rotate, and change your steering angle accordingly. When the time comes to buy a new set (will be Winter 2015-16 for me), even though two tires might have another season left, I'll get a new set of four. That's too dramatic of a wear difference, not to mention you may not be able to find the same generation of tires (and may not want to, since technology will have evolved).
They are not the best winter tires, but they are a good tire for the money.
That's the whole USP behind the Altimaxes. They're an older design (originally Gislaved's) but they still work pretty well. And they come at a great price compared to the top-tier tires from Nokian, Michelin, etc. If they were priced the same as Hakkas, General wouldn't be selling many of them. JMHO.
