Kansas

I absolutely agree that a narrower tire is superior for some vehicles and when a high percentage of driving is in deep snow. My experience, however, supports the view expressed in the following article from Tire Rack that the dry braking penalty on heavier vehicles like the RX make narrower winter tires dicey: https://blog.tirerack.com/blog/roll-...ter-snow-tires

Regardless of which tire width is chosen, "real" winter tires (mountain/snowflake symbol) with 50%+ of the original tread left make driving on snow and even ice fun. People who struggle by with all-season tires are missing out.

Htony

No the matter is the total diameter to keep the odometer reading equal or as close as possible. My Lexus, MB, Audi dealer all suggest down sized rims.which makes sense. MB is even giving slightly more negative offset from summer rims on winter rims.

Cocal

We're on the same page Jim! As you said Proper winter tires make one heck of a difference. For where I am and for the use of the vehicle when the original tires need to be changed (5 yrs) I'll be switching to "All Weather" ones, I'll lose some performance at both ends, but won't have to bother with changing tires & wheels, I've done that on my wife Subaru with Nokian WG3 AllWeathers and they've performed quite well, though when the time comes I'll be also looking at Toyo.

Htony

When we say narrow, tall tires the width difference from regular tire to namely winter tire on a one down sized rim is `20mm max. You can quickly see this using tire/rim size calculation. Else where someone said old Ford model T could do well in snow because of skinny tires.(it was mentioned on AWD, 4WD discussion. Back then I don't believe there was winter tires.

Suns75

I recently bought a 2017 RX350. As part of the deal, I got the dealer to swap the factory tires for Toyo Celsius CUV all-weather tires. They have the mountain and snowflake symbol for winter driving, and have received great reviews.

I’ve driven in some snow and they’ve been good. They don’t grip quite as well as dedicated winter tires. However, with my previous vehicle, I got tired of swapping Blizzak winter tires with the all-seasons. I consider it an acceptable sacrifice to be able to leave the all-weather tires on all year long. I rarely drive in treacherous winter conditions.

kss

thanks everyone for their feedback. I actually like the Michelin's better - i have them on my 2010 Lexus (17"), which i'm selling with the car - have one lined up.

How much narrower will the 20" be vs. the 18"? The choices I had (at no cost, since I negotiated the Winter tire/rims on top of the current $6k off the price of the F-Sport 3 and also got another $500 in Lexus rewards) are as follows:

1. 18" rims with 235/65 R18 B.S Blizzak DM-V2
2. 18" rims with 235/65 R18 Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2
3. 20" rims with 235/55 R20 B.S. Blizzak DM-V2

JSracer

the sizes are as close as you can get, same width, rolling diameter, the 18 and the 20 are both 9.25 inches the tire sidewall is about 1" bigger on the 17 (only measured on 1 not both for the 2") if the wheels look the same to you, and it makes no difference cosmetically, the 18 would or could give a plusher ride, due to the extra inch of sidewall height. on the other hand, the 20 still has a good amount of tire on the ground.
here is a link with the size comparison,
https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc...5r20-235-65r18 or
http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-...R18/235-55R20/
all the info is there, hope this makes sense. the 1010tires link has explanations what all the numbers and measurements are. (strange the 2 comparisons differ on revs per mile, and speed, the diameter is the same on both sites) the speedo would be the same, both are stock sizes on the rx i believe.

hope this helps.

Htony

My choice would be No. 2. X-Ice 2 will last longer than Blizzak.
20" wheel is more expensive price wise but in the snow 18 "
wheel having taller tire is an advantage.

kss

kss

Cocal

That's exactly my situation! Also a 2017 RX350 when my current tires will need changing I'll replace them with all weathers, they could be Too Celsius or Nokian WRG by then they may be more choice, but I never skimp on tires. The Nokian org on my wife's subaru have performed flawlessly in our circumstances.

Htony

One thing to remember is all weather tires wear rate is faster than regular all season tires.

Cocal

Yes indeed, but I put on less than 10,000Km per year and I never keep my tires longer than 5-6 yrs from the manufacturing date regardless of thread depth, so not a factor for me.

I laugh when they tell you that by using winter tires you double the life of the tires, With the average driver putting 12,000km a year both sets get about 6,000km a year each so at the end of their rubber life the'd have about at most 36,000Km on each set and time to
change both sets So in my circumstances it's more economical to go with all weathers. Now if you are in really snowy country it's a different story same if you have often very icy conditions. One must get the tires suitable for the area one drives in.

Htony

We have 3 cars in the family, all German origin. All have 2 sets of rims/tires. I do seasonal tire change myself. I have tools to do that. Air tools, industrial IR compressor, big floor jack. Been doing this as long as I reemembe, LOL! In a long this year was pretty cold like in olden days with snow piled up. My tires usually last close to 100,000Km. We use Michelin always. 1 extra BMW is exception. It needs performance tires
which last barely 2 years. It has 2 sets of rims/tires. Being my son's extra car he is responsible.

Cocal

Wow you seem to be quite well equipped!! You must cover about 20,000Km yearly, I'm far from that. On my MB E350 I used Continental all weathers though they weren't so classified, I think for liability purposes and changed them after 5 yrs with the same tires and brand, they performed well, but my weather here in the GTA is far different from yours, I think that if were in your neck of the woods I'd be taking a really hard look at the Hakkapellitta r2, though very expensive it's like having tracks instead of wheels