Winter Tires for 2006 Ford 500 AWD

I've got a Ford 500 LTD 2006 with 18 inch rims. I want to buy winter tires but the only one I am finding is the Pirelli Sottozero and they are $200 plus each. NTB is recommending a 17" Blizzak package. 17" rims and tires. A grand for the package and I save on mounting costs moving forward.

Has anyone here dropped down an inch? How was the performance?

I bought a 100k miles warranty. Will Ford give me any warranty problems if I make this change?

Any feedback regarding tires on your 500 Ltd would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Cleveland Kenny.

I would probably reccomend staying with the factory tires. I have the same vehicle that you do and the car seems to do very well with the tires that came from the factory in the winter.

A reply to my own post. DON'T put on a smaller rim. Brakes might not fit and ABS needs to be recalibrated. I'm looking at the Cooper CS4. Any feedback?

What mountain trail do you live on where all seasons on a 4000 lb AWD car don't get traction?

drdisque has good advice. You've already got a stump puller with factory tires. If you need the extra traction get all seasons. I don't like "Snow tires" they are hard to balance and the tread seems to separate and fly apart at high speeds.