Alright, so I know it's a royal pain in the butt when newbies who know NOTHING such as myself clutter up the board so I believe it's only fair to offer some sort of "finders fee" to the person who helps the most. So if I go with someone's suggestion for rims/tires, I will gladly paypal $25 to that person. I'm totally serious, and my word is as good as gold.

I need to replace all four rims/tires on my '04 MCS. I currently have 4 mangled 17" S-Lites (Ohio potholes ) and Goodyear Runflats, ALSO toast. I KNOW that I will not be able to find rims/tires that will suit all of my needs, but I'd like to find something that will fulfill as much as possible.

Here are the criteria, in no particular order, but most important are bolded:

1. Only wanting to buy one set of rims/tires.
2. Performance is key. Cornering is most important to me.
3. Interested in getting into autocross, but stock, no mods
4. Tires must be either Goodyear or Dunlop. I work for Goodyear, and not having Goodyear tires is REALLY frowned upon, and I get an employee discount on either Goodyear or Dunlop. I need rims I can have delivered to the Goodyear store here in Akron. - thrown out. Opened up.
5. I live in a snowy climate, but roads are usually clear, and I am an excellent harsh weather driver
6. There's a LOT of salt on the roads during the winter. See #1.
7. Although I currently have 17"s, I think 16"s would be good, too.
8. Would like to keep the tire/rim combo at $400 or less. $300 would be even better. (My employee discount is only $25 per tire) That's PER shoe. So $1200 max total.
9. Not sure what "look" I like the best. Although looks are important, performace is more important. I tend to like the lighter silver look best, but would consider like a gun-metal color.
10. Keep in mind that Ohio roads are TERRIBLE. Potholes are unavoidable at times.
11. Don't want to buy used.
12. Want to avoid brands that are stereotyped as being "cheap"

What I'm looking for is rim manufacturer, rim, size, recommended tire, size, and the reasons behind your recommendations. Is there anything you think I should DEFINITELY avoid? I am thinking about possibly getting runflats again (stiffer sidewall would add to tight cornering?), but not the S-lites.

I'd love the help and would appreciate all responses. I've already started researching, but my head is spinning...feel free to ask any questions...

 

I added that of course, the price was $300 PER SHOE. Not total. I can spend up to $1200 total...

 

You mean 300 per corner right? that x4 would =1200

 

any rota wheels, 16s are a good bet, typically 4 costs about 500 or so depending on which style

if u have to stick to all seasons good year and dunlops then your options are REALLY limited... i'd try dunlop SP Sport 5000 Asymmetrical A/S, i didnt like the stockers off our cars, but the non runflats should provide decent grip in the wet, and good mileage.... 205/50 for the above is 95 bucks.... so under the 400 for tires.. total would bring you to about 1000 dollars

 

Aack, obviously I can't add either. Yeah, I would like to stay at $1200 or less, so that would be $300 per corner. Duh. Sorry for being stupid.

What would a performance tire do in the snow? Besides spin I mean.

 

Alright, I see what you mean. I was briefly looking at tires. So what's Goodyear gonna do? Put fliers on my windshield?

I will toss out the "gotta be Goodyear or Dunlop" piece...

 

The new Car and Driver did a test on 3 goodyears, I'm pretty sure they were goodyears. The performance summer tire did nothing but spin in the snow. I wish i had the magazine here for you.

 

goodyear eagle F1 GS-DS3 is probably gonna be the way to go for tires if you have to stick with dunlop or goodyear. . .

wheels are a matter of taste, for me, I like the Motegi Trak-lites, in your price range (barely), and they are only 14.3 lbs in 17" size. Bad news is they don't come in 16's, so if thats your bag, then no go. . .

 

I am fan of Team Dynamics Pro Race 1's 17x7 is 17lbs per corner if you get them stay on 205/45 you'll need the extra cushion from the pot holes. they are about 180 a corner depending on color/finish and that'll leave you about 500 for tires. I know that's not much. I've got the falken Ziex 512's on them and been pretty happy. I think I paid somewhere around 300 for tires and installation. I know that doesn't help w/ the goodyear issue though. If goodyear really wanted you to buy from them they'd give you a bigger discount.

also, I havent heard too much about them but edge racing has some 16x7" Enkei Wheel Or52 16lbs each for $80 per corner

 

Stay with the name brands, BBS, OZ, Ronal, Team Dynamic's are all quality wheels.

Heavy wheels are not always bad they are also very strong !

 

The spinning isn't the problem. It's the lack of ability to stop and steer that you need to understand.

Under no circumstances should you plan to rely on a summer (performance) tire for year round use in a region that gets ice and snow.

My reference example is my previous car - I had a 2001 Audi A4 which came with Dunlop SP8000 tires. With Quattro, the A4 would drive like a Sherman Tank in ice, snow, etc. IT JUST WOULDN'T STOP.

I just got rid of my Pirelli eufori@ run-flats and put on Toyo Proxes 4 all-season performance tires. I'm hoping that they'll be adequate in the minor amount of snow we usually get here in St. Louis.

 

I know it's sort of off topic but I work at Roadway on Gorge...we must be passing each other on Route8!

I opted for dedicated snow tires & rims (Dunlop Winter Sport's and 16" Sport Edition F7's) and will be buying alternate summer rims to mount the summer Dunlops that came on the stock s-lites for next summer...

Good luck with your search for the best all-season solution. Alex at the TireRack is a great source too...you can call him or email him, he's really good about returning emails quick!

 

I would seriously consider 15" rims that are very light to give you the compliance you need for the bad roads but the lightness you want for autocrossing. Motegi Track Light 2 wheels in silver are expensive but very light. Try the 6UL wheels that are featured in the promo section( 949 Racing ) on the homepage for NAM. They are very light, very inexpensive and can hold any tire width from 195 to 245...and they come in silver or a beautiful nickel paint finish. With a good all season performance tire mounted on a 15" wheel you can fill all your needs. If you lower your car those 15s will fill the wheelwells just fine...if you're thinking the 15's look too dinky.

 

WannaMini_, your budget of $300/corner includes tires?

 

Yep, sure does. I'd like a budget of $2K, but my husband would kill me. He's insanely jealous of the car now as it is!

 

AHA! So you know EXACTLY what I mean about potholes!!! I have to take the %&*@ Kenmore leg everyday, and it is just shaking my poor car apart!

 

WannaMini, I'm in a similar predicament. I have the s-lites with runflats that are just about worn out and the rims are pretty messed up (from previous owner). I'm also not happy with the really rough ride with the 17" s-lites and runflats. However, I now have winter tires on the car, so I have until next spring to decide. I also live near you (Uniontown) and am retired from Goodyear, so I know the push to buy Goodyear or Dunlop. The article the other poster mentioned rated the Goodyear GS D3 as an excellent tire but it did say to take them off in the winter. I bought some MINI wheels on E-bay for my snow tires and still have the steelies that they were came on. If you want to buy winter tires you can have them...they're 15". I'll keep a watch on this thread to see what people suggest and maybe I'll also come up with a good sugestion for next spring.

 

AAACK. I really don't want to have to get snows. Especially since we are looking to move to Seattle, where it rarely snows.

Maybe I should just stick with bent rims and bad tires and see if they make it through the winter...