[Honeybadger]

I have Michelin X-Ice tires for 3 different vehicles and highly recommend them. Shop around though, because I was able to get them a lot cheaper than Canadian Tire.

I hear you on the steelies. One thing to watch with aluminum is in really cold weather, because aluminum shrinks more than steel, aluminum is more susceptible to air loss at the tire bead.

As for TPMS, if you don't want sensors you don't need them. It figures out there are no sensors and you don't even get a light on the dash (that's how my Journey works, I assume the DGC is the same).

 

[Honeybadger]

If I do decide to go with the steel wheels is there a way to stop them from rusting and looking so awful?

I just spray paint them every second Spring with a light coat of Rustoleum or similar paint. One can does 8 rims.

Aluminum wheels used in winter will look really awful as the corrode under the clear coat and there is nothing cheap you can do about it.

 

[Honeybadger]

I don't know if the 2011+ 5th gen vans are different in this regard, but my 2009 Grand Caravan will have the TPMS warning light on in the instrument cluster unless TPMS-equipped tires and wheels are present, along a "low tire" message and chime at every start-up.

Maybe the DGC is different from the Journey. On the Journey, I get the light and chime only on the very first drive after putting on the winters. Then nothing for the rest of the winter.

 

[Honeybadger]

I don't buy that, tires are not solid and also shrink on cold weather.

I don't buy that either. You just use them for a couple of months, then remove them, clean them and store them.

As an engineer, you would know that the thermal coefficient of expansion for aluminum is double that of steel. A cold tire is very stiff and you can lose air through the bead. It doesn't happen often, but it happens, usually at the worst time. You wouldn't have that problem in Texas though.

Aluminum wheels do last as long as steel, unless you bend one on a pothole. But aluminum does look terrible if used in winter.

 

[Honeybadger]

So if I purchase some new steel rims I would simply spray them with Fluid Film in the fall before I put them on and maybe again in the Spring before I put them away? When you say wheel covers do you mean hubcaps?

I tried Fluid Film on one rim as an experiment, and it seemed to be mostly gone within a week. That rim didn't look any different than the others in the Spring. But it doesn't hurt to try.

Wheel covers won't prevent rust, they just hide it. They all have openings so the salt still gets in, unlike old school steel covers. The new ones are all plastic and don't stay on very well. Lot's of people use zip ties to keep them on.

Hub caps are technically the smaller caps (aka dog dishes) that only cover the center part where the lugs are. Alas, winter wheels don't have the formed nubs to hold a hub cap on.

 

[Honeybadger]

Does anyone know of a slightly narrower , than standard winter tire, for 5th generation vans? I have used Michelin X ice, on all of my previous vans, but I feel they are not as good, on my 2014. perhaps due to their size.

It is very common to go narrower. Stock is 225-65 and 215-70 would be about the same circumference, but you would have to sure the load range is at least the same.

 

[Honeybadger]

I think they are referring to those extra-wide tires, not to the standard ones designed by the manufacturer... I see them on BMW or AUDI SUVs and they are huge indeed... they should go back to the standard tires for the winter!

Nope. The same physics apply to narrower tires. As Tire Rack says, a slightly narrower but longer contact patch will enable better acceleration, braking and steering when the roads are slippery.

The other thing is with some vehicles, you can go down a wheel diameter (i.e. 17" to 16" if there is still brake clearance). RSW Wheels had a good online fitment guide which gives alternate sizes for winter tires. For example, Civics come with 215-55-16 tires, but the go-to winter setup is 205 or 195 on 15' rims.