I'm getting narrower 205/50/17 winter performance tires. It's a toss up between Dunlop winter sport 3D or Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3s. The 1/2" of extra height will help a little too.

I personally run that size WS3D in the winter. Great tire for mild slush, wetness, and highway performance. Not the tire I'd want for some serious snowfall or ice. Also, right now there's a new compound out from Dunlop: the WinterSport 4D. This likely supersedes the WS3D, but I would just call TireRack and talk to Luke. He chimes in on a winter tire thread on NASIOC ALL the time giving REALLY helpful advice as to what kind of tire/compound works for where. I suggest calling them up!

My suggestion for SIZING is to grab a 16" wheel (OEM Subaru wheels from other models are DIRT cheap) and get 205/55/16 tires. Lots of sidewall, not TOO narrow, but not wide.

i guess i should go with a winter performance tire since we dont really live where we get 12+ inches of snow lol, i just want the tire to be able to get me up the slight hill on my block and moving when there is a little unplowed snow or icey roads

bump

I talked to a bunch of people with RWD cars and the most common answer was Nokian tires for winter. About to order a set.
I'm up in New York to, the winters aren't THAT bad.

My wife had Nokian winters on her Mazda 3. There are just OK in the snow, but not very good in icy conditions. The Blizzak WS-50s I had at the time (325i) were much better on ice and a bit better in snow.

Hakkas are fine, if you don't mind paying the Nokian tax.
What annoys me with them, is that their dealer network is very thin. Both R's and WR G2s are pretty old by now (there's a replacement coming out for G2s for sure and replacement for Rs is also overdue), and if you damage one tire this or next winter, good luck finding a replacement tire.

I had a situation like this several years back, when I ripped a sidewall on my RSIs, and couldn't find a replacement anywhere.

That said, I'm still considering ordering a set of R's off ebay in 205/55/16.

Sounds like you're talking about some incarnation of Nokian WR, not their proper winter rubber.

No these were the full winter tires - the Hakkapeliitta 2. Mind you, I bought these in 2005, they are probably better now (the current model is the 7).

Consumer Reports ratings

i found the Michelin X-Ice 3 in a 215/55-17 will this clear and fit ? stock height

It'll fit, but it's gonna throw off your speedometer and gearing. Overall, that's 21.5mm taller than stock.

http://i.imgur.com/z4xX8.png

Too much of a difference, IMHO.

i dont really mind the speedometer difference because i wont necessarily be drifting or tracking the car with these tires lol... they will only be on from mid november to about mid march , i just care about getting out of snow lol... as long as they will fit im perfectly happy.

im going to get miro 111 18x8.5 front and 18x9.5 rear +45 matte black with a 225/40 up front yokohama s.drive and a 245/35 yoko s.drive rear .... will that fit ? they look so sexy i cant wait to put them on haha

It'll work. Just pay attention to your speed - as you may think you're following the speed limit but you're actually going over.

Also, the gearing ratio is changing, as I mentioned. You will have a taller effective gearing ratio, so expect worse acceleration. On the other hand, if you wanted lower engine speed at highway cruising, you'll get a bit of that.