Update Nov 3: updated my tire selection.
Update Dec 3: finally got my tires installed, had to buy OEM GM TPMS sensors because Discount Tire wouldn't mount without them for safety reasons
I gotta say, winter tire shopping hasn't been easy for my CT4-V Blackwing. Not compared to my 2017 WRX where I had a big selection of wheels that fit and tires packages to select.
I guess that's what happens when you buy a limited run performance car.
I wanted to share with you my thought process and decisions for what I picked, it might help some folks out.
My dream setup is a set of tech bronze wheels and Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4's. With the auto strikes going on right now, obtaining OEM wheels is extremely difficult to impossible. Plus the cost is about $700 per rim. Best price I can find for this setup is approx $3000 after taxes for the wheels and another $1400 after taxes for the Pilot Alpin PA4's so $4400 all up. Unfortunately I don't see myself doing any hardcore driving in the winter and this would be way overkill for my needs but heck it's still what I'd love if cost was no object.
Research
Based on this article from Car & Driver here:
Our 2022 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Brought Smiles for 40,000 Miles they mentioned they reached out to GM directly for winter tire recommendations:
"We asked Cadillac's engineering team what they run, and they pointed us to a 265/35R-18 rear size. There are two such tires available, a Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 and a Pirelli Sottozero Serie II, and both were hopelessly backordered. After much searching, handwringing, and considering sending our CT4 to the West Coast to ride out the winter months, we happened upon a set of discontinued Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 winter tires on eBay in the correct sizes."
@Mirza Grebovic's also gives some suggestions in this thread and I treat his word as gospel - for those of you who don't know he was the Group Engineer Manager for both Blackwings at GM.
You cant run a 255 on the rear wheel, it will stretch tire too much and decrease your OD. Just buy as close to stock no need to overthink this, your talking almost no difference in cost.
Tire Selection
So based on
@Mirza Grebovic's widsom I decided to go with a staggered setup and go close to OEM:
- Front: 255/35R18 (same as stock) on a 18x9 wheel
- Rear: 265/35R18 (a little narrower than stock but as mentioned in the article above from Car and Driver) on a 18x9.5 wheel
This leaves the following options:
- Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4
- Pirelli Sottozero Serie II
- Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3
Finding a staggered 255/35R18 and 265/35R18 winter tire is a nightmare!
Finding a 255/35R18 and 265/35R18 setup was a nightmare.
Costco, they had stock of the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4's but refused to sell them with a warranty to me because the rear tire is outside their accepted variance from the stock summer tires. It's a liability issue for them swapping a 275mm summer tire to a 265mm winter tire. The tires ain't cheap and not getting a warranty was hard for me to accept.
I went down the eBay rabbit hole trying to get Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3, I managed to get the 265/35R18 tires but the 255/35R18 tires I got the run around from different retailers. eBay retailers were listing Nokian tires they didn't have in stock. Given the tires are discontinued I don't recommend doing this unless you can source these tires.
I ended up going to my local Discount Tire, they had to call Michelin directly to special order me a 265/35R18 rear tires, the 255/35R18 they have in stock.
Finding aftermarket 18 inch wheels that fit is tricky
I just don't have the time to figure out what wheels fit and what don't. I do know that the brakes are huge and finding a 18 inch rim that fits is not something I want to waste time and leave to trial and error.
Hence based on
@cnofar's efforts to go all the way to Tire Rack and have his car scanned, I trust the fact that whatever tirerack have listed - fits.
Hey guys, thought I'd share some info, especially as I'm sure there are a few others looking for wheel/tire setup for winter for the CT4.
I ended up driving to Tire Rack in South Bend, Indiana a couple months ago to the "guinea pig" and allow Tire Rack to scan my car so they can see what wheels/tires fit the CT4 BW.
To summarize, there aren't any staggered dedicated performance snow tires available, only staggered all season tires, and only in 19 inch sizes. And there are very few 18 inch wheels available/in stock (one in stock at the time of my purchasing), otherwise I'd have to upsize to 19 inch wheels and all season tires, which is not what I want for various reasons.
I prefer dedicated snow tires for Michigan as this is what I've always done on various sports cars, so I "built" my own setup, approved by Tire Rack. If you need any assistance you can call and ask for Taggart at Tire Rick, awesome guy, super helpful and patient!
Here's what I purchased from Tire Rack and I must say, it's entirely a bolt on kit, complete to the last detail.
Forged One Competition FF05, 18x9.5 +20mm front, 18x9.5 +33mm rear. Staggered sizes are needed instead of a "square" 4x rear setup as there would be rubbing in the front.
Tires are Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 255/35/18 front and rear.
TPMS installed
Came with 4 center caps, 4 hub centric rings, and even 20 lug nuts with deep wall socket!
Here are some pictures, attached. These wheels are much nicer looking in person than pictures on the website (even my 5 year old son likes them!). I dare say I like them more than the stock wheels and have even thought about swapping summer tires onto these FF05 wheels, and putting the snow tires on the OEM Cadillac wheels, but that's a lot of effort just for looks.
Problem is that Tirerack doesn't have great stock or selection at the moment. I decided however to call them directly and see if I could order some of the out of stock wheels. I was able to order a set of TSW Imatra's on their way in about 5 weeks time. Thanks to Bruno at Tirerack for helping me out with this.
Tire Pressure Monitoring System
The tire shops will try to sell you their third party ones. When Discount Tire checked their database they couldn't confirm if they would work with the CT4. They suggested I get OEM ones. Discount Tire happily took a wheel off to check the official part number for me which was 13538760. I grabbed a set of x4 used ones off eBay for cheap.
Conclusion
My setup is as follows:
Front: TSW Imatra 18x9 wrapped in Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 255/35R18 Winter Tires
Rear: TSW Imatra 18x9.5 wrapped in Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 R3 265/35R18 Winter Tires
TPMS: OEM GM P/N 13538760
Got my first choice of tires, rims ah well I'm using what works.