Are skinnier snow tires OK?

[Mosey]

I have been looking for some used wheels for my 2021 PB SCREW that I ou,d use with winter tires.. I came across a set of wheels off of a 2019 F-150 with Hankook I-Pike winters on them. The wheels have a few blemishes but they do come with TPMS sensors. The tires are 255/70R18 compared to the stock size of 275/65R18. Specs show that these tires are the same diameter.

My question is simple - are there any downsides of using a skinnier tire? Thanks.

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[Eskram]

Take this with a grain of salt, but from what little I know about snow driving - skinnier tires (actual snow tires) are better.

Now, sit back and let the experts chime in and prove me right or wrong.

 

[Kanuck]

You should be fine... Your only talking about 3/4 of an inch difference in width. If the price is right.... I would go for it. I run 265 winters and 275 summers

 

[air2mag]

Skinner is better in snow. At least they were back in the day in Montana.

 

[Old Hat]

Agreed, skinnier is better on snow. Wider floats on top, skinny gets to pavement. I learned this driving two otherwise similar Pontiac Trans Ams through winters. Keeping the same diameter as stock is wise also... doesn't mess up gear ratio, speedo, and everything else.

 

[slow3v]

Narrower tires perform better in the snow - factual. More weight on a smaller contact patch.

 

[RickBullotta]

Yup. You want bite, not float.

 

[Gutshot]

All of the above 100%

 

[Polo08816]

You should be fine... Your only talking about 3/4 of an inch difference in width. If the price is right.... I would go for it. I run 265 winters and 275 summers

+1

Tire compound and tread design trumps tire width. All else equal, tire width will matter.

 

[Mosey]

Thanks everyone for your advise. I plan on picking the wheels up.

 

[Mtnman1]

I have been looking for some used wheels for my 2021 PB SCREW that I ou,d use with winter tires.. I came across a set of wheels off of a 2019 F-150 with Hankook I-Pike winters on them. The wheels have a few blemishes but they do come with TPMS sensors. The tires are 255/70R18 compared to the stock size of 275/65R18. Specs show that these tires are the same diameter.

My question is simple - are there any downsides of using a skinnier tire? Thanks.

Ok? You want skinnier tires for snow.

Wide tires are the worst possible snow tire

 

[UncleWillie]

There is some very cool stuff out there that shows good comparisons. I love this video:


Its shows the difference between fat tires vs. pizza cutters. Tese days, giant wide tires are all the rage, but pizza cutters have been used across the globe in a ton of different non-pavement scenarios. There's a reason...

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