Winter tires
 

I was wondering if there were any others that were planning on daily driving their frs/brz this winter and if there were any suggestions for a good set of winter tires.

-Michelin Xice (I think its called the XI2 or something now)
-Bridgestone Blizzaks (the snow/ice variant, not the performance winter one)
-Continental Contiwintercontact
-Nokian hakkapellita (These were the standards for studless winter tires for awhile...but expensive)

I think those are the best ones out there right now.

Hankook iPike w409, used them since 2007 with no problems. I've lost count of the number of people I know that run these tires as well and have had zero issues. I'll be getting a set for my BRZ from my buddy that's selling his WRX, steelies and all.

Another vote for the Hankook ipike had them on my corolla last year plan on using them on my frs this winter and my father runs the same on his Camry hybrid no problems with them so far

Lots of good winter tires out there, but hard to go wrong with Blizzaks!

If you're looking for a deal I suggest craigslist. Lots of people get new cars and have snow tires with little to no wear on them. That's what I did.

I am going to be trying michelin Xice (i am pretty sure that is what my corolla has now) so i will just be switching over my winter rims from that car to the FRS and trying it for this winter. if I can drive the FRS all year round, Corolla goes for sale next year! :D

I've been running General Altimax Arctic on my FWD cars for about 4 seasons now. They are GREAT tires at a great price. They are about 30-40 cheaper per tire than the Blizzaks WS70's (which I've also had on two cars) and I think the performance is identical if not better.

I plan on running these on my OEM wheels for the winter season. I'll also note that I find winter performance tires to wear -extremely- fast, and tend to stay away from them for that reason.

Must admit i loved my nokian veeeery much and will try to find them for my frs... If not would probably go for michelin...

I know I'm a little off topic but the oem tires are all seasons right, not summer tires? I thought they were all seasons but I read an article saying they were summer tires...?

Anyway, to keep it relevant, I live in Vancouver so I think I will stick with the oem's this winter cause we get no snow and see how it goes.

The OEM tires are summer tires. They belong in the grand touring summer tire category though.

It's not about the snow but temperature. All season and performance rubber start to harden below 7*C and you lose flexibility ergo lose traction much easier. Winter tire stay flexable to roughly minus 20*C before they start to stiffen up and reduce traction. It's flexibility that gives the extra traction on snow and ice but also on bare cold asphalt.

I know Vancouver doesn't get much snow but you guys do stay below 7*c for a good chunk of the winter. Plus if you start to head north you're gonna be safer on anything other than the OEM rubber in winter.

Thanks for the info, but now i have to buy more tires.

So hard to decide whether to winter drive this car. On the one hand, I'd much prefer it never sees snow (and all that nasty sand/grit in it) and salt. On the other hand, I can't bear the thought of not driving it for months. What to do?

Gotta pay to play! ;)

But seriuosly, just think of it as part of the ownership cost of a car. I have winter tires for both cars in our family and will never rely on all seasons to get me through the winter safely. Once you've driven with proper winter tires, you won't want you or most importantly, your family riding on anything else in the winter. The difference is that noticeable in the cold weather. And it's not about how carefully you drive(I hear that all the time from people when running all seasons in the winter), it's about the other guy, where difference may be a few feet between contact or completely avoiding someone who spins out, or gets in you way, while you were driving properly, giving enough space, etc. Instead of paying the insurance deductible(at best!) and dealing with that hassle, I'd rather take that money and get winter tires, and try to avoid the insurance hassles all together!

I totally agree with you. It is just a little bit harder to justify spending the extra money in Vancouver vs Ontario. I don't think we had a single day of snow last year.

Tire Rack suggests this package: http://www.tirerack.com/snow/WinterP...odClar=Limited

What do you think?

I'm going to echo this statement as well. Only I found them comparable to the Toyo Observe G02's.

My 2009 Corolla XRS (my trade in for the FR-S) had 215/45-17's on it as well. I had Micheline X-Ice XI2's on it. Hoping that they clear the brakes because I went with 205/55-16's. They were awesome on the Corolla and I only got them last year. It is also the first year that I had winter tires. You don't know what you are missing (in terms of handling) until you have had some.

I've tried many different brands of winter tires, and I keep coming back to the Bridgestone Blizzaks. Nothing beats 'em. You will sacrifice some handling in the dry, but the grip in the sh!tty stuff is sooo worth it. I will be driving mine through the winter on Blizzak WS70s on a set of cheap 16" steel wheels with either a 205/55/16 or 195/60/16 size...I haven't decided yet.

I second the XIce and Blizzaks also I do plan on daily driving even in winter for my car....

one option is you could get high performance all seasons and use that year round. They offer far better dry performance than your typical all seasons without sacrificing the cold weather capability of an all season. Still wont measure up to high performance summers though.

I wouldn't trust straight up summer tires in anything but dry, warm weather. you always have that feeling in the back of your head that if you go just a LITTLE BIT too fast you can lose traction and things can go bad real fast.

Thank you all for the responses and suggestions, its very much appreciated! Honestly, In 26 yrs of driving, I have never had winter tires (living in MB and AB), but with this small car having just the summer tires, there's no choice now.

Next question: stock rims with winter tires or buy a set of steelies?

Unless you are swapping out the OE rims for aftermarket ones, then I would say go with steelies. Swapping rubber on and off a rim is never a good idea.

Check out www.tiretrends.com ,this is where I bought my winter wheels and tires for my corolla I think they are in Vancouver 4 snows with aluminum rims and hardware shipped to my door was I believe under $800.00

I'd go with steelies, and a -1 size (16"). They can usually be found for around $50 each. This will give you a little more sidewall on the tire. The added flex from more sidewall will help with grip in the snow/ice.

Tons of Impreza/Forester rims out there in 16"/5X100 that should fit.

Is there any possibility of you buying new summer wheels? Like 18s or something? If so, put winters on your stocks then buy new wheels in the summer. If you like the current stock wheels/tires then for sure buy 16 steel or even cheap alloys and winters. I found some Konig alloys for my SUV that were only 100 more total than steel so went with them.

And absolutely buy winters - so much better even if you see no actual snow. And really it's not more expensive - you get two sets but they last twice as long so your net "extra" cost is 0.

I am ready for winter, with some Impreza WRX 16" rims wrapped in Nitto SN2 snows:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...2D6972EA74.jpg

I drove Miatas on dedicated snow tires for years, and that was a lot of fun to drive in the snow. Our cars should be too.

Thanks again everyone for all your suggestions! I would love to get a new set of rims for the summer! That's going to be a tough to justify to the wife.... I guess I have a couple months before snow flies to convince her...if not used rims or steelies it is.

whats the size of the tire if i may ask

205/55/16