Originally Posted by motordavid

Imo, "18s" for winter will not provide any less "performance" in non-winter
conditions than 19s...I suspect it's more about cosmetics and the mental
aspect of bigger is better, for all but real snow.

I had puny style 57s, (17s), with dedicated Michey Alpins, on our X for 5
winters: they performed like a Mtn Goat here on our very steep Mtn roads,
and that was with the old non-X drive. They also ran well on our several
trips up and down the east coast. Sure I like my style 132 19s, but the
performance aspect is way overblown, imo.

And, I realize there are pages of anecdotes like mine, except posters
regale the 19s and, even 20s in snow. Pick your size, pick any decent
dedicated snow tire brand, and have at. But, the rationale for bigger
during those non-winter days is suspect, imo. For serious winter conditions,
more than a few days/weeks per season, higher profile & "smaller", will
almost always out perform "bigger", and real winter tires will kick "all season"
tars' butt.
GL, mD