It's a tad exciting as this is my first set of winter tires. Something new is always interesting. I ended up picking up a set of LS400 wheels with Blizzacks off eBay for $320 shipped back in October I believe. Great deal considering. A bit of snow is expected in the next week or so and as I had the day off I found a shop that would check the balance and mount them for $40

Anyway, they actually ride pretty nice. The 16" wheel adds that extra cushion. Road noise is obviously more pronounced. They remind me of truck tires. The rims themselves are definitely not lookers but I guess they atleast came off a Lexus...lol. I wish it would hurry up and snow already. I have to admit I never thought the day would come that I would put LS400 16" wheels on my baby.

 

Looking good! I've never seen 16s on our cars before.

There is probably a massive price gap between 18in and 16in snow tires. I think ill go do the same when mine wear out. And nice color combo!

 

I would rather have 16's than 18's, even in all weather tires. Looks good.

 

What is funny is the comfort is notably better over stock 17's. I can go over some really poor roads around here and you don't feel it. Even with nubby snow tires. Imagine a nice set of all seasons on the 16" wheels. Just wish the rims were better looking. Makes we ponder finding a nice set of 16's for when spring rolls around.

 

All you can say about that is that you got a killer deal over buying new 17" tires and having them swapped with your summer tires. They don't look great but they don't look bad either.

I used to swap back and forth between 16" 2002 LS430 wheels/tires and my stock 17" rims (both were all-seasons) due to me thinking the 16's would be a better ride. I could never tell a difference so I sold the 16'rs and stuck to the stock 17" wheel size..

 

Could also be that my 17" MXV4's only have about 15 - 20 percent tread left and maybe the comfort is down. Or it could be the nature of snow tires.

 

That was a great "find" on eBay, Lav.

 

You guys are tire axis lol. I have 18 inch x ice they are super quiet. Definitely not 300 bucks. But ya rave about these quiet 3 season tires then sabotage yur ride for a few bucks, again lol having a brew.

 

Uh oh. Warm is drinking and trying to start trouble... I'm actually really happy with how they ride warm. They are louder then the mxv4's but this was expected. And thanks to Tom, who inspired me to search for a used set. Very happy with this decision. I will pocket that $600 any day over buying a new set to use for a few months. Being quiet is trade off for snow / ice performance. These Blizzacks are on until March or April and then probably a new set of all seasons.

They are nice snow tires:

 

The 16s don't actually look half bad...

 

and wait when it really snows, say 8" or so, then they are soooo quiet and you will grin from one ear to the other when you pass all these procrastinators with their all season tires.
In your corner of the woods you probably will not get that much snow. In the northern parts of the continent snow tires are a must. Hankook makes good tires. Swedish. They should know. Volvo and Hankook = unbeatable winter combi
Just out of curiosity: how long does it take for your car to reach normal temp? Mine takes about 5 miles with 25F outside

 

I took a trip up to Niagra Falls and there was slush and ice on the highway. I did not like the way my tires with 15 to 20 percent tread handled. It was not terrible but not great either. Even with minimal snow / ice I figured the Blizzacks will be great.

As far as the car warming up it takes about 5 min when it's in the 20's. I usually idle to 30 seconds to a min before driving. I am hearing little bit of power steering groan on cold starts when it's really cold but as Lexus told me don't worry about it until it starts happening more then a min or two during warm up. Eventually a new pump will be in order.

 

Those wheels look great, actually, especially for winter wheels. My winter rims don't have the center caps but they were a score for $20 a piece and they are only used for a very short time usually.

I have two rims with blizzaks that I put on the rear when we get some harsh weather like ice or snow. The rear is all that needs blizzaks for me to be able to confidently drive. Fronts would be nice but not necessary. I swap mine off as soon as the road is cleared enough for me to get up the big slope on my street using my all-weathers. I've had my two blizzacks for 3 seasons and they still look and drive like new because I I don't drive them on paved road.. (well maybe one day of driving after I've determined the roads are good enough).

I wouldn't ever want to drive on pavement for long with blizzacks since they're super soft ice tires meant only for snow or really ice.... no control on cement.. but plush.

 

This is probably why I notice a difference with how soft the ride is over poor pavement. Soft tires.

 

I would not only put winter tires on the rear. That creates a significant traction differential between the front and the rear which could be dangerous on the road.