Nothing like taking a rear wheel drive car and going to a wide open school parking lot after a snow and doing your own "Driving sideways Auto Commercial".

 

Got to turn off the DSC first though!

 

I park the STR just to keep the salt off of it. And if you buy a winter car, chances are it is used, and the prior owner probably didn't really keep on top of undercarriage maintenance. We know once the rust comes, it doesn't go away without a fight.

So if you buy a new truck/suv or whatever for winter purposes, well then keeping it clean can help deter corrosion (or Waxoyl or similar preps), but if it is a used car, good luck. Chances are the rust monsters are already going to work. I have about 40% of another Grand Cherokee in my barn to replace rusted out parts of my winter beater ZJ.

 

Fun eh!

 

Can you recommend good snow tyres?

 

Try Blizzak

 

PM answered, and another vote for Blizzack.

 

03SRT

Getting 18" snow tires doesn't seem to be the best route for me. Are there any problems going from them to 17" or 16" wheels and tires?

 

No, at least on a non-R. I bought a set of 16" wheels and tires. Just make sure they are the factory recommended sizes.

 

With an STR check if smaller or non-OE will clear brakes etc. Most won't.

 

Could you recommend any that will?
I've called around to a few places and noone seems to be able to help me find 17s that will fit.

 

I think none will.

 

I guess I have the same question. I had a '05 NA V6 S-type that got t-boned by a 19 yr. old girl who texted her way through a red light. I bought an '05 STR (with 18" wheels) and am thrilled with the difference. I have a set of 17" Blizzak tires (I highly recommend them) that were on the earlier Jag and would pick up another set of 17" stock wheels which are typically 8" wide front and rear....... if they would fit the big brakes in the front. Will they?

 

Jack up car, try it. Let us all know!

 

I've forgotten the details- but believe that at some point the -R models ended up with the same brakes as the non-Rs. Am I confused again?

 

JagV8 and Mikey: Thanks for your replies. I have the 17" Blizzak tires but not the wheels or I would have tried that. Didn't the earliest STRs have 17" wheels and then went to the 18 inchers in the later years? Page 208 of the owner's manual suggests (in 2005) Pirelli Winter 240 "tyres" 235/40R18 and 265/35R18 respectively, but I would have to suspect that there has to be somebody who has tried to run 17" winter tires on an STR. Hello, class, Bueller, Bueller, anybody?

 

I think they never had 17". From 18 some were then 19.

I'm almost sure 17 won't fit, especially over Brembos.

 

.

 

+1

 

Thread heist...

You know, the thing I miss most about my '05 X-Type was the "winter package" that it came with, which included the heated windshield... :-(

My S-Type was ordered in LA, but now lives in New England, and lacked that option. It's not the scraping ice/frost off the windshield that bothers me so much, it's knocking/damaging the windshield spray hose off the wiper when I "over" scrape the glass.

Ya, it's beginning to become "brisk" around here and the frost is on the way.
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