The affect tires have on handling is more driven by the make and model of tire, rather than size. Even a jump from 20" to 18" is smallish by comparison.
Switching to smaller wheels with higher profile and narrower tires for winter tires is a good idea, as long as you understand the handling limitations. I have 19 inch, low profile tires on my Mazda 6 but my car can accommodate a wheel as small as 16 inches. I chose 17 inch wheels for my winter tires and, because 17 inch wheels and tires are MUCH cheaper than 19 inch tires for my car, I have a full set of tires and wheels that I can change over myself and it cost me less than buying brand new 19 inch snow tires.
Smart move. Winter tires and rims end up costing you basically nothing and you will find they make a huge difference.
Dealer is right and they will also have valuable knowledge about the rim (wheel) fitment on that specific model. Most cars have a base rim and tire that is able to still not contact the brake calipers (and rotors). This is called minus sizing and it is a smart move. Audis are particularly good cars to keep two sets of wheels and tires for. Hereās why (TPMS). Check with your dealer that the car has ABS-based TPMS. If so, you are in luck. Please weigh my input knowing I have a tire fetish. Iām not ashamed.
I say why limit this to winter tires.
My Matrix came with 16" steel rims.
When it came time for new tires (second time since new) I went to 15" alloys to go with the new tires.
195/65/15 vs 205/55/16.
A little more sidewall reduces road noise (my main dislike about the car) a bit.
Each wheel weighs 9lb less than before; reducing unsprung weight always helps.
Steering is less stiff when parking, another issue I had after having owned Hondas with light low speed steering.
Handling seems unaffected, at least with my non-maniacal driving style.
And the current tires actually have a higher load rating than the originals (91H vs 89H).
1 Like
I just noticed that the OP has been swapping tires for 20 years. You would think that during that time he would have had friends or co-workers that managed with all season tires on front wheel or all wheel drive vehicles. This new purchase is all wheel drive so why not wait and see how it does and extra wheels and winter tires might not be necessary.
my cars always came with sport tires. I tried them on the snow once and found there was zero traction. I do like the way they handle other times of the year. The SQ5 is meant to handle more like a sports vehicle than an SUV. Although I am still on the fence on whether to settle for all-seasons.
can you point me to a site that explains the numbers on a tire
thanks
If I was getting the Q5 I would probably get the all seasons, but Iād get the summers for the SQ5, and a set of winter tires.
Hereās Tirerackās tire info area, should have everything you need:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tiretech.jsp
1 Like
I came across the following online
For example, the owner of a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta SEL would store the original 225/45HR17-sized tires in favor of a Minus One 205/55R16-size on 16" wheels (where the wheel diameter is 1" smaller and the tireās sidewalls are Ā½" taller) or Minus Two 195/65R15-size on 15" wheels (where the wheel diameter is 2" smaller and ā¦
besides going from 17" to 16" do the other numbers matter when buying rims? My knowledge of tires is I know they are round with a hole in the middle 
thanks
Get the rims plus winter tires as a set from a knowledgeable dealer (either near you or on the internet). You have to get a different size tire to go with different size rims. Easier to do this all at once than get rims one place, tires another place.
Personally Iāve never used winter tires. I think its fine if you want to do it, but I sure wouldnāt order the car with summer tires as opposed to all season tires. Iād go with the all season and try it out. I was really excited to try out my AWD in Minnesota winter this year. I had essentially one trip on snowy roads where AWD never hardly kicked in. The rest was on bare pavement except for a trip around town a couple times. Iām not going to get into the argument about skinny tires in snow. Not my experience going way back to when I had the old wide ovals and switched to narrower snow tires. So I guess if I had to have winter tires, Iād stick with the same size.
Yup!
Many years ago, a friend of mine had a Maxima which was shod with summer/sport tires. When he asked me to drive him to the ER in his car on an icy day, the car absolutely would not move, and it just spun its tires.
We got into my Taurusāwith all-season tiresāand although the traction was dicey, we did get to the ER within a few minutes.
Thank you, Volvo.
Been dealing with some personal issues.
If you go with winter tires that are narrower, they could have a lower load index, so make sure thatās still sufficient for your car.
1 Like