Word of advice from someone who does lots of winter driving.

Get a set of good studless winter tire in stock size. Go bigger and beefier for summer. Heavy lugs and wider float and skate on snow and ice. Not safe.

 

x2.

Wider tires will distribute the vehicle's weight over a larger contact area, BUT the pressure at a given point on that contact patch is lessened... in other words, you're more likely to float over the slush.

Narrow tires gve you less grippy area, but more pressure on the area that DOES grip. It'll look lame, but you'll cut thru the snow and slush better.

 

X3, for me on the narrower tires for snow.

And the other lift is a spring lift from STU. I think both are around 2 inches.

There are more tires available in the 16" size too.

 

You will be limited by your rim size,
If you have 16" rims will have more options,
Try looking at gereal grabbers AT2's for 16
And for 17's I went with bf goodrich dueller revos.
As for wider/narrower debate,
Goes both ways,
True narrower cuts through the muck to make contact with the pavement below,
But sometimes getting as much traction above is best.
And going 1/2 to 1" in width won't make that much of a difference in cutting through the muck, yet makes a big difference in appearance

 

Wider is better for mud, but the op was talking about snow

 

My cable chains will fit without touching the strut with 215/65/17 tires. I don't have a lift and there isn't much clearance to spare. Has any one ever tried chains on 225/65/17 tires ??

 

Thanks for the info guys! I didn't know wider tires were bad for snow.

I suppose I can find a mean looking set of tires that work in the snow.


I just want to make my Patriot look more aggressive. Getting a little tired of the stock look. Plus, it hurts to see some girl coming from the mall in an identical Patriot.