Tire Question

[NickCats]

I was looking into buying winter tires for my Box now and I was hoping for some suggestions.

Front : 225/40ZR18
Rear : 265/35ZR18

I looked on Tire Rack and found a set of Continentals for $814 and a set of Pirellis for $800.

Any suggestions as to what would be a better tire ?

Also, if I purchase tires without rims how much would I be looking at to get them switched when the weather gets cold ? Do most of you in the North purchase rims also ? Cheapest rims I could find so far were $300 each ! ( but I cannot get to Ebay here at work ). Not sure I want to spend $2000 on wheels / tires.

Thanks in advance...