Need some tire guidance for 18x8 winter wheels

[JoeFromPA]

Hi all,

I just blew out one of my winter tires (damn nails/screws around here). I was running 245/45/18 for the last 4 winters in Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4.

I would replace with the same but it looks like Michelin stopped carrying this year. ALL of the options I'm seeing for this size stink - tons of RFT tires or studless snow tires. I'm looking for a solid performance winter tire.

My question is this:

1. Does anyone know about solid performance, non-RFT tire choices in this size? Nokian WRG4 is available, which may be attractive, albeit it doesn't bill itself as a performance tire.

2. Can the M3 fit - stock - 255/45/18 (27.1" tall) in a square setup? I can't quite tell. This is the largest I'd go on an 8" wide tire and opens up some possibilities for me. It's meaningfully taller than stock, which is my concern.

[JoeFromPA]

Pulled the trigger on some WRG4's - so nevermind