Topic: 18 inch alloy wheels on the new 2019 Honda Touring Coupe

[CarFly]

My fear would be that the larger wheels would collect snow and ice and make winter driving even more difficult.

Quite true, I always wear 4 winter tires in the winter.

I'm confused. Are you wanting to buy 18 inch wheels/tires for a winter setup? If so, why bother and just get a 17 inch setup. If you want 18's for summer sure why not if you are willing to accept everything that goes with it.

BTW, my GTI with 17's in the winter. Good luck.

If the car is set up for 18 inch wheels in the summer my instinct would be to also get 18 inch winter tires for the winter. Is there some benefit to getting 17 inch snow tires for the winter? Do they handle better in winter driving or something that I'm not aware of?

[rrocket]

If the car is set up for 18 inch wheels in the summer my instinct would be to also get 18 inch winter tires for the winter. Is there some benefit to getting 17 inch snow tires for the winter? Do they handle better in winter driving or something that I'm not aware of?

Cheaper...wheels are typically cheaper, tires are typically cheaper...and you can run a slightly narrower tire which might be better for winter traction...you'll also have more sidewall.

[EV Dan]

If the car is set up for 18 inch wheels in the summer my instinct would be to also get 18 inch winter tires for the winter. Is there some benefit to getting 17 inch snow tires for the winter? Do they handle better in winter driving or something that I'm not aware of?

I have 2 sets of wheels and both have standard size 18" tires, Michelin all seasons the car came with and X-ice 3s I got for winter driving.
In your case I'd probably keep the standard width ( I think that is better for fresh snow) but since running 18" wheels on a Civic results in very skinny tires, to allow for winter ruts I'd probably go down to 17" to have a bit more cushion to protect the rims and not get stranded in winter due to a possible tire blow-out. Like Ron also mentioned rims+tires combo will probably save you a few hundred bucks in case of downsizing.
P.S. Make sure to keep more or less the same offset with new rims, since I see way too many yo-yos on the road with winter rims pushed in by a good inch or more, just ruins the look of your ride and makes it handle worse.

[CarFly]

Thanks' for the excellent advice, I will definitely take it. You mentioned "Ice tires" and I must admit that I don't know what the difference between regular Winter tires and "Ice Tires is"?  I would be very grateful if someone would explain this to me.

I live in Ottawa and only have to drive from Center-town to the West End, about a 7 mile commute, its usually just slushy roads to deal with, but on snow days the snow can pile up, I can get through that but sometimes we get ice with snow on top of it, that can be a very nerve wracking drive. I would welcome any advice on which kind of winter tires I should put on the 2019 Civic Touring (turbo) Coupe, which I am strongly considering buying.

[rrocket]

Thanks' for the excellent advice, I will definitely take it. You mentioned "Ice tires" and I must admit that I don't know what the difference between regular Winter tires and "Ice Tires is"?  I would be very grateful if someone would explain this to me.

I live in Ottawa and only have to drive from Center-town to the West End, about a 7 mile commute, its usually just slushy roads to deal with, but on snow days the snow can pile up, I can get through that but sometimes we get ice with snow on top of it, that can be a very nerve wracking drive. I would welcome any advice on which kind of winter tires I should put on the 2019 Civic Touring (turbo) Coupe, which I am strongly considering buying.

Michelin XIce 3
Bridgestone  Blizzak

Can't go wrong with either.  I prefer the Michelin.

[EV Dan]

Thanks' for the excellent advice, I will definitely take it. You mentioned "Ice tires" and I must admit that I don't know what the difference between regular Winter tires and "Ice Tires is"?  I would be very grateful if someone would explain this to me.

I live in Ottawa and only have to drive from Center-town to the West End, about a 7 mile commute, its usually just slushy roads to deal with, but on snow days the snow can pile up, I can get through that but sometimes we get ice with snow on top of it, that can be a very nerve wracking drive. I would welcome any advice on which kind of winter tires I should put on the 2019 Civic Touring (turbo) Coupe, which I am strongly considering buying.

Michelin XIce 3
Bridgestone  Blizzak

Can't go wrong with either.  I prefer the Michelin.

Thanks. "Michelin X-Ice Xi3" just rolls of your tongue, doesn't it  It's still at #4 spot in latest CR tests. The first 3: 1. Cooper discoverer true north 2. Hankook winter iZ2 3. Continental winter contact Si.
Lowest rolling resistance: Hankook iZ2, Michelin Xice3, Toyo Observe G3 Ice (all 3 get the same top score)

[rrocket]

Thanks. "Michelin X-Ice Xi3" just rolls of your tongue, doesn't it  ;

If it works, it works.

[ArticSteve]

https://drivemag.com/how-to/top-best-us-winter-tires-for-2018

[quadzilla]

https://drivemag.com/how-to/top-best-us-winter-tires-for-2018

Can you even buy the Bridgestone Blizzak WS70 or WS60? Aren't they very old designs now? If so, seems like a very lazy list.

[ArticSteve]

The list was germane to the Michelin/Bridgestone debate which always dominate winter tire discussions.   Good pics of the treads.

Those Yokohama iceGUARD iG51v appear to have a real beefie tread and the price point is excellent.  Angry Chicken bought those.  I was going to but it was not possible so I ended up with Xi2 latitudes.  Any snow is good when new, but how they perform when worn down a bit is where it counts to me.  I need 30K km of effective tread.  My last Xice 3 set tanked at 25k km. 

Got a feeling that the Latitudes might be similar.  Michelins winters are always more shallow on the tread depth.   I have yet to receive my rebate. 

[CarFly]

I heard that on the 10th generation Honda Civics (the ones redesigned in 2016) that they lowered the new Civics by one inch to make it look more dynamic and perhaps handle better. I don't like to lose an inch of ground clearance because it seems to me that it might make it easier to ground out or get stuck.

I was wondering if they make snow tiers with a somewhat higher sidewall to give you a little more ground clearance, or is that something that is just not done.

The salesman at the dealership said would that they would throw in four rims and four snow tires as an incentive. They rhymed off about four kinds of snows that you could chose from, but I didn't know anything about snow tires at the time.

I suppose its probably a little easier to get a bit of a deal from them at this time of year because of the crappy weather, It must be difficult to sell cars in the dead if winter.   

[quadzilla]

I heard that on the 10th generation Honda Civics (the ones redesigned in 2016) that they lowered the new Civics by one inch to make it look more dynamic and perhaps handle better. I don't like to lose an inch of ground clearance because it seems to me that it might make it easier to ground out or get stuck.

Did you check if this was true?

Sent from my SM-T230NU using Tapatalk

[CarFly]

Yes, I buy every Consumer Reports magazine to see how the latest ratings are and they never fail to criticize the new Civics for having to do the limbo to get in and out of it. This gets mentioned in every report and review that I have read about it, although today was the first time I heard they had lowered it by exactly 1 inch, although today I heard it said in a reviewers test on U-Tube?

A car salesman told me that in the SI your ground clearance is a further 1/2 inch less because of the cladding package that goes all around the SI, it looks great but it would be a bummer if all that cladding got munched up on a snow day, the Touring car does not have the cladding.  I test drove their 2018 Touring car last Summer and didn't find it difficult to get in and out of, perhaps it was because I am used to small cars. Currently I'm driving my mint condition Pontiac SunFire GT, maybe my SunFire GT is lower and has less ground clearance than the 2019 Honda Civic :-) although it is definitely time for a new car.

I see lots of 10th generation Civics out there now and have not seen one of them stuck or high sided... so far. 

I suppose that the best one can do is put on the best snows you can afford and drive appropriately for the road conditions.   

[quadzilla]

Yes, I buy every Consumer Reports magazine to see how the latest ratings are and they never fail to criticize the new Civics for having to do the limbo to get in and out of it. This gets mentioned in every report and review that I have read about it, although today was the first time I heard they had lowered it by exactly 1 inch, although today I heard it said in a reviewers test on U-Tube?

What does getting in/out of a car have to do with ground clearance?

Lets try using real number instead of just guessing. Makes things much easier to understand. According to auto123.com

2018 Civic Sedan
Touring 124 mm
SI 120 mm

These are not Lambo or Ferrari low, just don't drive through snow higher than the bottom of your car. Seems pretty simple to me.