Originally Posted by cbamf8 (Post 3012642)

I am looking to get a set of winter tires and wheels for my BRZ. I would prefer to stay with 17in rims. Also my car has the Perf Pack so I am unsure what wheels I can run without clearance issues. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by Jordanwolf (Post 3013200)

195/60/16 Xice3

16/6.5 steels.

Ended up being pretty cost effective in my case.

Originally Posted by humfrz (Post 3013114)

Welcome, cbamf8, to the forum and congratulations on your new car ......:clap:

So, how much driving will you be doing on snow/ice covered roads ..??

That will indicate what kind of winter tires you might consider.

Here is a good helpful reference and a good place to buy tires

tirerack.com


humfrz

Originally Posted by venturaII (Post 3013171)

We see you're in New York, so we know you get snow there. I think what's missing is whether you daily drive the car, or only take it out in good weather.. If you DD, what's your typical mileage and driving conditions like?

Originally Posted by JazzleSAURUS (Post 3013252)

Decent option.

I like running a taller winter to gain a bit of extra clearance. We get pretty bad driveway ice dams, and chunks of snow all over the road that can bust a bumper pretty bad, so I run a 215/60-16, with stock suspension and a 3/8" lift spacer.

Ends up being a 1.175" lift from a stock height car, with +1.3" of sidewall to absorb potholes and chunks of ice. I figure it's not going to handle as well in the winter due to the tire, so I may as well have some fun with it. Pretty big difference when you consider a 1" lowering spring is about all these cars like.

Originally Posted by Jordanwolf (Post 3013369)

My whole idea was extra clearance will always be welcome in the winter months and I won't be driving spiritedly at all, so the taller wall, and narrow tire is perfect for my needs. I also swap the tires myself because it takes about 15-20 minutes without a gun, so the steels were a definite easy route.

In winter my 86 becomes a point A to B, in summer she becomes the hot girl in highschool that's good at sports and BJ's.

Originally Posted by JazzleSAURUS (Post 3013375)

My setup is similar, basically a dash wider, and the 3/8" spacer. We had pretty similar intentions, I just went a bit more 'ham'. :thumbsup:

One thing I found when I tried a set of 195/65's is that the braking suffered really bad with the more narrow contact patch, so I was happy to go 215/60.

Originally Posted by churchx (Post 3013457)

Jordanwolf: it's not just higher sidewall (of more flex). It's also about winter tires having softer rubber compound and those many extra small thread grooves, which while providing that extra grip on ice/snow, also move around much more, resulting in that non-sharp steering with lag. Grip is there, but car's direction change reactions are dulled. Given importance of grip in winter, while it may be less pleasant to feel, but in my eyes reasonable compromise/trade.

Originally Posted by churchx (Post 3013457)

Jordanwolf: it's not just higher sidewall (of more flex). It's also about winter tires having softer rubber compound and those many extra small thread grooves, which while providing that extra grip on ice/snow, also move around much more, resulting in that non-sharp steering with lag. Grip is there, but car's direction change reactions are dulled. Given importance of grip in winter, while it may be less pleasant to feel, but in my eyes reasonable compromise/trade.

Originally Posted by Jordanwolf (Post 3013641)

I hate it :(. The difference in driving is so apparent to me I have reverted to grandma driving, but it is a worth compromise so I don't kill myself when I have to head to cottage country.

Originally Posted by ZDan (Post 3013636)

FWIW, Tire Rack gives 16" steelies as a Winter wheel/tire option only for non-PP '17 BRZ. For Performance Package it only gives 17" and 18" options.

https://www.tirerack.com/snow/Winter...odClar=Limited

I'm 90% about to buy a '17 PP BRZ, if I do probably get 17x7 wheels and 205/50-17 Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3s for it.

Originally Posted by venturaII (Post 3013675)

I think it can be somewhat entertaining, depending on how you look at it. The car behaves much the same as with higher grip tires, just at a far lower threshold. Can make driving closer to the speed limit a little more fun...lol. It's kind of like hopping into an older sportscar from the 60's/70's with tall, skinny tires.

Originally Posted by Jordanwolf (Post 3013731)

I feel so much more like I am one with the car with the smaller side wall and summer rubber, that stiff feeling you know. I have even been contemplating going 35% or 40% (depending on width of course) regardless of the ride quality, because it's not like it will be exponentially worse.... I hope

Originally Posted by JazzleSAURUS (Post 3013745)

My opinion, in the winter I'll give some of that up to get my bumper and under carriage a bit higher and out of harms way. During winter I'm less concerned about feeling one with the car, and more concerned about trying to avoid becoming one with all the potholes everywhere...:thumbdown:

Originally Posted by JazzleSAURUS (Post 3013717)

Pirelli's are usually a bit pricey for what you get IMO. What are you looking for out your winters?

Originally Posted by churchx (Post 3013808)

Jordanwolf: you can get slight/some of that stiffness back with extra air pressure, lowering sidewall, slight stretching .. but don't. Imho 2/3rds of that squirming/moving around is from tire's rubber type/thread pattern. So you won't get much out of your tries, except compromising grip, pricier tires, worse bad roads compliance. Just grit the teeths and get as given that (good) winter tires will feel different :). Also imho ability to drive with ease on iced/unplown snow roads/steep driveways/uphills, overtaking crawling with spinning tires and out of control AWD SUVs (simply because they are still on summers or on some worse all seasons) is fun in itself. So is some drift fun on ice/snow. Just give up and live with that for 4-3 months till spring. Tries to get back specific feel will compromise what's more important.

Originally Posted by Lynxis (Post 3013972)

Will any 16 inch wheels fit over the PP brakes? I was of the impression they require 17 inch at least...

Originally Posted by ZDan (Post 3013763)

To be able to drive on plowed roads in RI/Mass through the Winter, while maintaining some handling precision. I was only looking at the "Performance Winter/Snow" category tires.

Originally Posted by ZDan (Post 3013763)

To be able to drive on plowed roads in RI/Mass through the Winter, while maintaining some handling precision. I was only looking at the "Performance Winter/Snow" category tires.

Originally Posted by Tcoat (Post 3014104)

Glad to see you put that term in quotation marks. You can have one or the other but I have always found that the compromises were to great to have a real "Performance winter tire" no matter what they claim. The requirements for a good winter tire, that will make sure you arrive alive, almost totally eliminate the possibility of really good performance.

Originally Posted by ZDan (Post 3017592)

There is a pretty big difference in wet/dry capabilities of "Performance Winter" tires vs. studdable/non-studdable winters.
They give up very little in terms of snow/ice performance while giving much better wet/dry grip vs. the best non-"performance" winter tires.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=181
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=193

Performance Winter tires:
50-0 mph Stopping (ft) wet, dry; cornering (g) wet, dry
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-60 136.3, 94.2; 0.58, 0.84
Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D 105.9, 91.9; 0.75, 0.88
Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 105.4, 88.8; 0.76, 0.89
Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 106.9, 85.6; 0.78, 0.90

Studless ice and snow Winter tires
50-0 mph Stopping (ft) wet, dry; cornering (g) wet, dry
Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 128.0, 88.2; 0.61, 0.87
Dunlop Winter Maxx WM01 159.4, 97.6; 0.54, 0.81
Michelin X-Ice Xi3 131.4, 93.2; 0.63, 0.84
Yokohama iceGuard iG52c 148.8, 94.7; 0.55, 0.81

Originally Posted by Tcoat (Post 3017594)

Summary

Compared with Studless Ice & Snow winter tires, Performance Winter / Snow tires deliver better handling on clear roads along with improved wet and dry traction in winter's cold temperatures. The tradeoff comes with modestly lower ice and snow traction. But when winter weather strikes, Performance Winter / Snow tires still deliver better performance than the best all-season tires.


There is still a compromise. There is always a compromise. As stated they do beat the AS tires by a mile.

Originally Posted by ZDan (Post 3017683)

I just bought a '17 PP over lunch :D
I'm going to get the Pirelli Sottozero 3s in 225/45-17 for the stock 17x7.5 wheels. 0.90-g capability at 40F plus snow/ice functionality looks like the best compromise for me.