I pre-ordered a set of Michelin winter tires a month ago, last week they told me that it was still on back order and there was no ETA when will it arrive. Okay… the other option is to use Yokohama instead. What’s good about Yokohama? I don’t know, well it’s made in Japan! Also, after watching 古天樂 TV commercial 神者撚 撚太撚 on YouTube, I will give it a try.
Since this is October in 2009, I don’t need to install them so early but I wanna give it a try on one of the wheels to make sure they fit (you will never know). Also, I want to test out my new toy I bought from Internet – floor jack adapter. Because all Toyota/Lexus have a stupid design called “pinch rail” on the lifting points along the side of the car, without the adapter you will ruin the rail so badly (I had that experience with my Dad’s old car). Well, the other option is to lift the car from the center on the front/back axle.
Update (1) – Installed (Nov, 2009)
I installed the snow tires in mid of November. As usual, I put anti-seize on the surface of the hub, however never put it on the thread of the bolts – this is a good practise to prevent the wheel from getting stuck in Spring when you take them off. The cheap nuts that Toyota dealer gave me sucked badly, I threw them in the garbage and I replaced them with McGard. They are so damn expensive, according to my research the following fits Venza steel rims:
- McGard 64002 13/16″ hex, M12 x 1.5, cone seat
- McGard 64012 3/4″ hex, M12 x 1.5, bulge cone seat
To protect the center from rusting, you can buy a plastic cap. Toyota dealer carries the center cap for $50 each, so it comes out to be around $200. Holy crap, I didn’t bother. If you really want them, search in “Cheap Toyota Parts” or “Trade Motion” for “2009 Rav 4″ > “Wheels” > “Center cap” > “Steel Rims”, $28.83 US each.
Update (2) – Lifting using Center Lifting Point (Nov, 2010)
The following year, I found the center lifting point from the service manual (see photo). So I didn’t have to use the pitch rail adapter anymore (you don’t have to buy it), just simply put the 3-ton floor jack properly underneath the axles as shown and you can lift 2 wheels at the same time, this makes the tire changing a lot faster. Make sure you put a piece of 2×4 on top of the saddle (hockey puck works well too), otherwise it will damage the protective coating.
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Where did I buy the snow tires?
If you go to Chinese place or Costco, they will give you some ugly black color steel rims for winter tires (like my old Honda prelude). After doing some research on the forums, some people said that aftermarket steel rims don’t fit properly on the center hub for this specific car model, and worse it is too close to the brake caliper. So, I decided to go back to the dealer. With the genuine parts, the steel rim is in silver color, nice! Whole package is $1245 + tax and there is a $50 rebate on top of that! It will cost over 3K for winter tires if I go with original size (20″). Like everyone else on Internet, the dealer suggested downsizing to 17″. The winter tires package does not come with the stupid tire pressure monitoring sensors (I don’t want them), so I expect the TPMS warning light on dash board will come on, but who gives a shit about TPMS? Here is the spec:
- 245/65 R17 Yokohama Geolandar I/T G072
- 42611-0R020-SW (steel rim in silver color)
Reference: Torque on wheel nuts 76 ft/lbs (103 Nm), 32 psi on tires
Why do you need snow tires even for All-Wheel-Drive?
A lot of people ask the same question and they always use the argument “I have been driving with all-season tires for 15 years, I have no problem in winter”. It’s just like saying “I have been smoking for 15 years, I am still alive”. Does it make sense? There are 3 points I want to make and it may change your view:
(1) The rubber for All Season tires becomes hard when temperature is below -7 degree, while snow tires remain flexible for better grip throughout the cold winter, so it has way shorter braking distance to prevent an accident.
(2) Salt will damage the summer alloy wheel so badly (I had that bad experience), so it is wise to have a set of winter steel rims. Unless you are rich and plan to buy a set of new rims.
(3) Quebec has passed the mandatory winter tire law in 2008, all cars need to have snow tires from Dec. 15 to March 15 every year or you will get a $300 ticket. Why is all-wheel-drive not an exception?
When I was young
I remembered when I was young, I used to do a lot of crazy things with my old car. I intentionally put summer tires in winter, so that I could practice fish tail parking and donuts easily in the snow. Since it was a FWD car, I had to abuse the hand brake and it costed A LOT to repair that. Now that I am getting older (really old), safety is more important.