Winter tires...?

[baadshah]

I never cared about tires for my old sedan before as it had all weather. But since, my brz has summer on them, I am willing to go for a dedicated winter performance tires for better safety & handling. But some questions.

1)If I use my existing rims for the winter tires, do I need to do an alignment again? I am planning to buy the same specs tire 215/45/17 87W or 91V.

2) Place I live is dry for the most of the winters. So which grade is suggestible for longer treadlife.

I am ok for slighly less comfort but dont want to give up on handling/performance .

Please suggest. Product references are also welcome

[cnk]

You don't need an alignment as you're only swapping tires. As for which tires to go with, ceck out tirerack.com for some. Reviews. Most people I know go with Blizzacks and are happy with them. Another option is to pick up some cheap rims like rotas and mount the winter tires on those and just swap rims/tires. That's what I do now on my WRX.

[roddy]

You are going to give up some handling/performance when switching to a winter tire...no two ways about it. Blizzaks are one of the best (if not the best) snow/ice tire out there. However, they sacrifice dry grip/feel more than some others. In your case, something with a harder compound ( like a Michelin X-ice or something from Nokian) may be more suitable. Take it from a Canadian...I have a lot of experience with winter tires.

[ashtray]

If you don't get snow, you might opt for some high performance all seasons. Your handling would likely be on par to the stock Primacy's.

If you're lucky, you can find a set of used rims with tires that cost less than a brand new set of tires.

Stuff like this comes up pretty often:
http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/pts/3205435325.html

You can probably snag those for 5 bills. Either way, you'll either need to store the stock summer tires or the stock summer tires with stock rims.

[ranisron]

1. No alignment - even if you go one size down, meaning 205/55/16.
2. No need to get aftermarket wheels while there are plenty WRX owners who are selling their OEM wheels for cheap - you can't beat OEM fitment and quality (for the most part).... I will be using the set of 16s with snow tires from my Saabaru. 205/55/16. I have the dunlop snow tires.

Cheers from another hoosier!

Originally Posted by baadshah

I never cared about tires for my old sedan before as it had all weather. But since, my brz has summer on them, I am willing to go for a dedicated winter performance tires for better safety & handling. But some questions.

1)If I use my existing rims for the winter tires, do I need to do an alignment again? I am planning to buy the same specs tire 215/45/17 87W or 91V.

2) Place I live is dry for the most of the winters. So which grade is suggestible for longer treadlife.

I am ok for slighly less comfort but dont want to give up on handling/performance .

Please suggest. Product references are also welcome

[ngabdala]

I don't think the WRX wheels match the BRZ. Aren't the WRX 5x114 whereas the BRZ is 5x100?

Originally Posted by ranisron

1. No alignment - even if you go one size down, meaning 205/55/16.
2. No need to get aftermarket wheels while there are plenty WRX owners who are selling their OEM wheels for cheap - you can't beat OEM fitment and quality (for the most part).... I will be using the set of 16s with snow tires from my Saabaru. 205/55/16. I have the dunlop snow tires.

Cheers from another hoosier!

[cnk]

WRX is 5x100

[the_3d_man]

I highly recommend Dunlop Wintersport 3D. They are great for dry driving and are good in anything but deep snow. Seem to have decent tread life too.

[ranisron]

That's what I have - gone through three seasons - this will probably be the last season.

Originally Posted by the_3d_man

I highly recommend Dunlop Wintersport 3D. They are great for dry driving and are good in anything but deep snow. Seem to have decent tread life too.