Winter wheels and new snow tires!

[Jibles]

Just got my winter wheels and snow tires mounted up yesterday at discount tire. I've always wanted a dedicated set of wheels and snow tires since we get some nasty winters.

The wheels are the cheapest aluminum wheels discount tire had. He made a deal with me and split the cost difference between aluminum and steel wheels. I'm over steel wheels so I went for it. They don't look as good as the stock black wheels but I think they look fine. And that really isn't the point anyway.

Tires are Continental Vikingcontact 7's in the stock size for my LE. From my research these are the best non studded snow tires available for the mirage. And really top 3 of any snow tires out currently. I've only had them a day so I don't have too much to say yet. They don't seem any louder than the Yokohama all seasons on the stock tires. No squishy feel yet. We are getting a few inches of snow tomorrow so I will report back on their performance.

[Mark]

Just got my winter wheels and snow tires mounted up yesterday at discount tire. I've always wanted a dedicated set of wheels and snow tires since we get some nasty winters.

The wheels are the cheapest aluminum wheels discount tire had. He made a deal with me and split the cost difference between aluminum and steel wheels. I'm over steel wheels so I went for it. They don't look as good as the stock black wheels but I think they look fine. And that really isn't the point anyway.

Tires are Continental Vikingcontact 7's in the stock size for my LE. From my research these are the best non studded snow tires available for the mirage. And really top 3 of any snow tires out currently. I've only had them a day so I don't have too much to say yet. They don't seem any louder than the Yokohama all seasons on the stock tires. No squishy feel yet. We are getting a few inches of snow tomorrow so I will report back on their performance.

Sounds like the perfect winter tire package for your Mirage. 175/55r15 doesn't offer many tire options either. Continental tires sound like a great choice.

Did you add sensors to your new winter set of wheels or was Discount Tire willing to set these up without sensors?

[Jibles]

I added the sensors. They declined doing it without the sensors on a previous car so I didn't try this time. Once they know what you're driving I think you're kind of sunk.

[Mark]

I added the sensors. They declined doing it without the sensors on a previous car so I didn't try this time. Once they know what you're driving I think you're kind of sunk.

Are they cloned to your factory sensors or will you have to reprogram your TPMS every time you change wheels?

[Jibles]

I'll let you know this spring . I forgot to ask them about that. I'm assuming they'll need to be reprogrammed. Hopefully they offer that for a reasonable price.

[Mark]

I'll let you know this spring . I forgot to ask them about that. I'm assuming they'll need to be reprogrammed. Hopefully they offer that for a reasonable price.

Just sharing this for anyone reading this thread -

If your new sensors are not cloned to the factory sensors, that means Discount Tire changed the 4 TPMS codes stored in your Mirage. Your factory tire sensors are no longer stored in the TPMS of your Mirage. Every time you change wheels you will have to reprogram your TPMS. According to some, this requires the use of two TPMS tools to accomplish this job on a Mirage.

If your winter wheel sensors are cloned to your factory wheel sensors, nothing else every needs to be done. I changed 16 wheels on two vehicles recently. Pull off the 8 factory wheels on my Forester & Mirage, & put on my 8 winter wheels. The TPMS of the two vehicles never knew the wheels were changed.

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TPMS complicates having two sets of wheels for a vehicle. This has been my experience for anyone interested -

My first TPMS vehicle was my 2011 Forester. The factory Bridgestone tires were horrible in snow. Even with AWD, they were the worst tires I have ever seen in snow. As soon as I realized this, I had new Cooper all-season tires mounted to my factory rims, & I kept my Bridgestone tires. The following spring I had a Subaru dealership mount the factory tires on aftermarket rims. I had the aftermarket rims shipped directly to them, & they added the new sensors & original factory tires to my new rims. My goal was to use up the factory Bridgestone tires during the summer months, and use my new Cooper tires for the winter. Since these new rims/used tires weren't mounted on my Forester, they never touched my TPMS. I wasted $160 in sensors that day. I was assure the new sensors would work on my Forester. Being totally new to TPMS at the time, I didn't understand what that meant? In all honesty, they didn't understand what I was asking for either. The term cloning wasn't being used in 2013 that I was aware of.

My Cooper CS4 tires were awesome in snow. It was a totally different vehicle in snow. I purchase my Forester in 2013 @ 15,000 miles. My Forester is currently at 95,000 miles, & I am still using that first pair of Cooper tires that I bought during the summer months now. Cooper CS4 are now sold as CS5 tires. My factory Bridgestone tires were eventually replaced with Cooper Weather-Master S/T2 snow tires that are currently on my Forester this winter. These tires are even better in snow. I have to climb a winter ridge road that doesn't received my sunlight to get home. It's a good test of winter tires.

The sensors installed on my aftermarket Forester rims never worked. I wasn't going to visit a tire shop ever time I swap tires to make them work, nor was I investing in an expensive tool to do this job. My nearest Subaru dealership is 65+ miles away. A place like Discount Tire would be just as far or farther.

My 2011 Forester still has the original TPMS codes. My factory wheels/sensors are still working after 9+ years now. I tossed the $160 sensors that never got programmed to my Forester even once, & I added cloned sensors ($30/sensor) in all 8 of my aftermarket winter wheels (Forester & Mirage). When I changed wheels a few weeks ago, the TPMS in both my vehicle never knew it happened. I can switch all 16 tires next spring with the same results. I will never have to mess with my TPMS on either vehicle to keep it working.

TPMS is a pain with two set of wheels, but cloning sensors reduces that some in my mind. Our Canadian friends should be thankful for not having to deal with TPMS.