14" Winter Wheel / tire question?

[bimmerman1982]

I was looking to buy a set of winter wheels and tires for my 1989 BMW 325is.

I am thinking about getting a set of these BMW 14" steel wheels from Ecs.
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...h/36111178826/

My question is what size snow tires should I buy to go with these?

Anyone have any other recommendations for snow wheel/tire setup?
Thanks.

[grantmiller1]

Depending on where you're buying your snow tires from (private seller or tire shop), a tire shop should be able to tell you if these rims will fit your tires.

For reference, I'm using Michelin X-ICE 185/70R14's on a set of stock bottlecap rims.

Hope this helps.

[estoguy]

My current set of winter tires are Michelin X-ice xi2. They have been great. I've been running 185 65 r14s. Can't go wrong with Michelin.

I'm on stock bottlecaps as well.

[Das Delfin]

I have nokian hakkapeliitta R2 on my subaru legacy and the car is a beast. I've had General artimax on my bmw and the car did fine, though we had a light winter that year and I drove carefully.

From the research I did, Michelin X-ice xi3 and Nokian hakkapallitta R2 tied, with the michelin being listed first by consumer reports mostly because (my opinion here) nokian isn't an as an established brand in the US as michelin and we all know how important branding is to americans...

on the bmw I had 185/70/14. Tirerack will recommend a winter size if you plug your car in. They say narrower tires are better in the snow but the difference between 185 and 195 (stock size) across the tread section is arguably a quarter inch depending on tire design

rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp is a nice comparer of tire sizes if you can't find exactly what you want - it gives you an idea of what will be close enough to work. I had to make that decision with my subaru and decided to go with a slightly taller tire to give the car just a smidge more ground clearance. I don't think it'll ever matter in the real world but it makes more sense than going with a smaller diameter tire!

[spec-al]

185/70R-14 General Altimax Arctics worked great on my car and were cheap on Tire Rack. Did a local rally with it (studded) in over a foot of snow so, prob will do fine for getting around town.

[ELVA164]

The altimax is a great tire. I've used them for years on 185/70-14, my sister's old iX wore them all year with much less wear than I would have expected, and the price/performance combo is good.