Winter Tires

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Originally Posted by WolfWings

And less clearance on your car's wheel wells than the stock tires have, due to the height.

Your car doesn't need to clear the snowdrift, your tires need to stick enough for you to push through. Less than a half-inch won't help, I'd worry more about clearance on your wheel wells for your snow tires, especially with lowered suspension.

will the extra .1" in radius make a difference on lowered vehicles? i only ask because i think i found the snow tire i want - 175/65/15 michelin x-ice x2 - and the tire calculator puts it at .2" diameter more than stock(185/60/15), but i'm lowered on df's. i don't have any rubbing issues right now because i'm just on stock rims, but you've got me worried now about snow piling-up in the wheelwells! i'm mostly concerned about ice/slush traction because where i live we rarely get snow more than a few inches at a time - although we did get almost a foot in a 24hr period once last season(i wasn't lowered then)! i've read great things about the michelins online and yes - they're pricey, but there's a $70 rebate right now on them.