The Winter Tire thread- all winter tire questions go here !!!

[randyb87]

Originally Posted by JonnyD91

That is an epic **** ton of money

Get a dedicated set of 18” rims and winter tires.

I got a complete set for 1150 only difference I chose to go with a/s instead of snows since the snow season is pretty mild here and I don’t use my car to commute.

For sure, that is what I am leaning towards. These 6 piston brakes are freaking massive. Thinking about 18x8.5 and putting some 235x40x18 blizzaks on it....its like a damn algebra problem with 5 variables to figure out haha.

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[JonnyD91]

Originally Posted by randyb87

For sure, that is what I am leaning towards. These 6 piston brakes are freaking massive. Thinking about 18x8.5 and putting some 235x40x18 blizzaks on it....its like a damn algebra problem with 5 variables to figure out haha.

I got a decent set of rims for 412 bucks from discount tire. Velox apex. I mean they are for the winter so who cares and they actually look pretty damn good.

[randyb87]

Originally Posted by JonnyD91

I got a decent set of rims for 412 bucks from discount tire. Velox apex. I mean they are for the winter so who cares and they actually look pretty damn good.

Thanks! Just went to discount tire and got some cheap rims in an 18" with some blizzak ws90s.

[soloz2]

Since some have asked, I thought I'd share that 225/45 18 fit on the stock 18" WRX wheel. Here are a couple pics I took this morning.
Continental Vikingcontact 7 225/45 18

[left footed whooten]

Theres no reason a 225 wouldnt fit an 8" wheel, great choice actually. Heaps of debate about that when the 15 came out.

[Big-E]

Originally Posted by krzyss

As good as XIce are in winter conditions they are not performance tires. If you want to maintain some sportiness look for performance winters tires, unless your main concern is ice.

Krzy***347;

PS The new best studless tire is Continental Viking 7. Are they available in your size?

I appreciate your feedback. The car is going to sit during the winter months with an occasional outing here and there if the roads are effectively dry and clean.

The only reason for my purchase of a winter package is that I replaced the 'regular' tires with Michelin Pilot Sport 4s and of course they cannot sit on the car or outside when the temperature is near, at, or below freezing.

I bought Rial Arktis 17x7.5 ET45 wheels and General Winterforce 2 studded 215/50-17 tires.

The wheels are a new offer and the tires were on a close-out - I did not realize that the tires were studded until after I received them. I went for the least expensive package that I could put together.

[2017wrxnoob]

I just purchased a set of General Altimax Artic 12's for my 17 sti in 235/45/18 Looking forward to some snow!

[Scorpius]

Michelin Alpine PA4 is all you'll ever need unless you see massive amounts of deep snow.

[wgb113]

Just threw my Michelin X-Ice on for their 3rd winter this weekend. Temps are starting to dip below freezing overnight and I don't want to get caught in a surprise early snow storm on my summer tires like I did last year when a chance of flurries turned into 3" while sat at work.

The X-Ice have been fine but, as mentioned, are not what I'd call a performance winter tire. I chose them because the winter weather I'm likely to drive in with the WRX is 3" or less of snow and/or potential sleet/freezing rain. Anything else and I'm likely working from home or we use the Forester.

[Kickinbeatz]

This is my first winter with my WRX, and my winter tire package just came in last week. Just in time, as there is a chance that the Northeast is going to see its first snow on Friday 11/8 and possibly the following Tuesday.

For anyone in that area, are you putting your winter tires on now? I don't want to jump the gun but I also don't want to experience summer tires with snow and colder temps. I still have the stock Dunlops on my '18 WRX.

[krzyss]

I just put winter tires on my wife's Volvo because of the same "scare" ;-)

Krzy***347;

[soloz2]

WNY here. I put winter tires on both cars. This year, I didn’t have snows mounted on dedicated wheels for either vehicle so I had them installed last week. Last Friday, several places near me got snow, and we got flurries on Saturday. Supposed to get 1-3 inches this week.
In the past when I’ve had separate wheels with snows I’ve waited until a day or two before snow depending on temperatures. Usually when the highs are below 45-50 for a few days it’s time to put snows on.

[wgb113]

Originally Posted by Kickinbeatz

This is my first winter with my WRX, and my winter tire package just came in last week. Just in time, as there is a chance that the Northeast is going to see its first snow on Friday 11/8 and possibly the following Tuesday.

For anyone in that area, are you putting your winter tires on now? I don't want to jump the gun but I also don't want to experience summer tires with snow and colder temps. I still have the stock Dunlops on my '18 WRX.

It was the worst drive of my life when I got stuck having to drive in a few inches of snow on the stock Dunlops last year. I seriously didn't think I was going to make it home without incident but I had to grab my son from daycare because they were closing early due to the storm.

My commute is mostly highway but once off of the main roads it gets hilly with curves pretty quickly. The offramps from the highway were an adventure and the secondary roads were treacherous with all of the other cars on the road.

I know it feels early for you, it's really early down here in the Philly area, but if there's any chance of you having to drive in it I wouldn't hesitate to put them on now.

Now...to petition Subaru to give us an option to turn off the TPMS...

[krzyss]

You need to petition Congress and change the law. TMPS is the law.

Krzy***347;

[kenliu84]

Originally Posted by Scorpius

Michelin Alpine PA4 is all you'll ever need unless you see massive amounts of deep snow.

I'm still running my PA3s. Found a guy parting ways with an almost new set and took them to replace my old PA3s. Probably have 2 more winters left, maybe even 3.

[drx27]

Originally Posted by Kickinbeatz

This is my first winter with my WRX, and my winter tire package just came in last week. Just in time, as there is a chance that the Northeast is going to see its first snow on Friday 11/8 and possibly the following Tuesday.

For anyone in that area, are you putting your winter tires on now? I don't want to jump the gun but I also don't want to experience summer tires with snow and colder temps. I still have the stock Dunlops on my '18 WRX.

This is why I went with Michelin AS3+ for my summer set once the stock Dunlops needed replacing. I live in NH and don't track my WRX, so it made more sense to have high performance all seasons for peace of mind in the fringe months. I usually swap to my winter set (General Altimax Arctics, would recommend) the week of Thanksgiving.

[Taint it Sweet]

I've been running the Xi3 for a couple years on the Impreza. I do like them, but I was wondering if anyone who has used the Nokian Hakka r3 can give a comparison. I'm in norther Illinois, so I deal with a decent amount of snow, slush and ice. However, they're decent about plowing, etc, so I'm not usually in more than a few inches of snow at a time.

[left footed whooten]

The xi is a regular winter tire, the r3 is a perf winter, which slots it between an AS tire and a regular winter tire.

[krzyss]

AFAIK both Hakkapeliitta R3 and Xi3 are studless.
I would go with cheaper between the two.

Or try Continental Vikingcontact 7, they are the newest in the class available in the USA.

Krzys

[SubLGT]

The Blizzak WS90 is also new this year, but it has yet to show up in any overseas tests that I have seen. Maybe its in this years tire testing from Consumer Reports?

The VikingContact 7 has been dominant in the 2018 and 2019 winter tire tests. Nokian is playing second fiddle to Continental in both studded and studless tires.

[Taint it Sweet]

Originally Posted by SubLGT

The Blizzak WS90 is also new this year, but it has yet to show up in any overseas tests that I have seen. Maybe its in this years tire testing from Consumer Reports?

The VikingContact 7 has been dominant in the 2018 and 2019 winter tire tests. Nokian is playing second fiddle to Continental in both studded and studless tires.

Ok. I hadn’t considered the VikingContact 7. I’ll look into it.

[Taint it Sweet]

Originally Posted by left footed whooten

The xi is a regular winter tire, the r3 is a perf winter, which slots it between an AS tire and a regular winter tire.

Ok. Thanks. I’ll probably pass on the R3 then.

[SubLGT]

Originally Posted by Taint it Sweet

Ok. Thanks. I'll probably pass on the R3 then.

The Nokian R3 is definitely NOT a performance winter. It is a studless winter tire, just like the Michelin Xi3, Conti VikingContact 7, Blizzak WS90, etc.

Next year Michelin will be introducing a replacement for the aging XIce Xi3.

[left footed whooten]

I must have had my r's crossed

[tedybearofdoom]

Hello all, just looking for some advice for a winter set up on my 2004 WRX since I just moved to the PA area.

Currently running 245/40/17 Pilot Super Sports on Rota G Force wheels (17x8) and need to set up a dedicated winter tire now that I've moved. Suspension wise I'm lowered about 1"-1.5" on Prodrive springs adding some confusing for my simpleton brain.

Would running Altimax Arctic 12 225/45/17 on EDR9 17x8 w/ 45mm offset pretty much be the exact same fitment?

This particular note on tirerack also confuses me "225/45-17 is better on the WRX sedan than the 215/45-17 Use with ET48 or higher 7.5" to avoid rubbing on rear fender lip liner."

Does that statement still apply if I run 8" tires?