Snow Tires (not again!)

“One is actual pressure sensors located generally inside the tire on the rim. They don’t care if you have run-flats or regular tires. If you have a spare rim with a tire and have to mount it, you’ll get a TPS light until you put the regular rim back on. No biggie.”

I have one Toyota with and one without these sensors (second type). If Jennifer has regular tires with a new spare rim, it’s a matter of buying one sensor, not cheap. If she puts the winter tires on separate rims as we all recommend and expects the system to work, it is a biggy…$300 worth. That’s where the leave the light on comment comes from. To which we agree…get out of the “support the run flat business” if you can spare the room.

Again, thank you all for your comments. I think you all have persuaded me to swap out my tires right now. I believe the sensors on the 06 models are not in the rims but somewhere else, but I’m not sure it makes a difference because I’m resigned to having the light on for the next few months. My dealer said they would install my new tires. So my question is–I definitely want to get high performance all seasons and not winter tires because I can’t sacrifice braking and handling given where I live. And probably anything will grip the ice better than what I have.

I want to get the Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires simply because they received the best marks by Consumer Reports. But on tirerack they don’t seem to have the size I need-225/60R17. The Michelins don’t come in R17. They have 16s and 18s but not 17s. Is this a problem?

Yes…17 is the rim size. On a van, and I wouldn’t deviate from the recommended width/ratio size either. Time to shop a little more.
My original equipment Toyota tires were all poor in winter traction too.
But, high performance all seasons may not have the winter traction of regular all seasons…which was your biggest concern. I’d look for a regular all season with a good winter performance…CR isn’t the only one that tests or can help you.
Best of luck.

If you want all-season tires with good winter traction, then you should look at the Goodyear Triple Treads. They are pricey, but are highly rated in all respects.

Also, other tires, good for winter where you have a good chance of finding your size compared to high performance category you were looking at.