Winter tires
 

I know it is practically the start of Summer in 2 days and I am already thinking of winter :bonk:

I am just curious, who else will be driving their FR-S in the winter and which tires you planning on using?

Blizzaks

Yup, the FR-S will be my winter beater. :D

Planning on using the OEM wheels for winter and getting some aftermarket wheels for next summer.

I usually prefer Nokian Hakkapeliitta winter tires, but if you're in an area of Canada that gets less snow (e.g. GTA) then they're probably overkill. http://www.nokiantires.com/product-group?group=1.01 Of course, in Montreal you're probably more worried about if the city will ever get around to plowing your street. :)

I'll probably be looking at Blizzak WS-70s.

Tirerack has some packages available already (if you can believe that), including a -1 configuration (205/50 R16). I may go this route as it can save some cash at the expense of a taller profile to get the same overall circumference.

Do the Canadian vehicles have TPMS? Buying a 2nd set of rims for winter use will add another $450 or so onto the total price for the TPMS sensors.

Didnt check yet but i'm a big fan of nokian hakkapelitta winter tires!

ya im going to get hakkapelitta 7's with studs from Kal tire.

was quoted 220 a tire for 16/205/55.

I think this light car is going to need all the help it can get

http://www.nokiantyres.com/tyre?id=1...akkapeliitta+7

I had the Hakki R's on my 2011 STi and they were phenomenal while still being quite responsive in comparison to normal winters.

I've heard of the Nokian tires too... might go for that. Think i'll take my frs for a little roadtrip in the states... i heard we can get high end tires for way cheaper over there.

If you do that check were they are manufactured. A friend of mine did buy tires in the states but had to pay a truckload of Duty/taxes cuz the tire he bought came from japan and there is no free trade... It might have change but i would check before....

I personnally will go the same way I went on my AE86 and my girlfriend's civic, studdded Continental contiicecontact http://www.conti-online.com/generato...cecontact.html

[QUOTE=alexmotrix;267324]I personnally will go the same way I went on my AE86 and my girlfriend's civic, studdded Continental contiicecontact

Never used studded tire before... Any drawback/disadvantage ? With front wheel drive always had the feel that with good tire there was no need of studs but maybe with FRS it would be useful...

Nway i will think more about it somewhere in october! For now its just fun to enjoy the summer in that car! :)

Studded tires damage roads and are actually banned in some places.

It will be Blizzaks for me, no question. Probably WS70s. Handling will suffer a bit, but the grip in snow/ice/slush conditions is phenomenal. I've tried many winter tires over the years, and keep coming back to the Blizzaks. Michelin X-ice are also good. They trade off some bad weather (snow) traction for a little better handling in the dry. We tried a set of Nokian winter tires on my wife's Acura this past winter, and I would say that they are very similar in performance to the Michelins...at a better price.
I will also be picking up a set of cheap winter steelies to go with the snows. I will go with a maximum 16" size. If a 15" wheel will clear the brakes, that's what I will use. The reason for this is twofold... More sidewall will help with grip in the nasty stuff, and as the wheel size gets smaller, tires get a LOT less expensive. This car is low and light...it will need all the help it can get.

food for thought, Federal WS2 are actually really good winter tires and they go for a really good price. the last 2 years i was a mechanic they were newer tires to the market, but after install and testing them on numerous different cars there the real deal. again they sell at very very good prices and search them up. I go up to the mountains all winter for snowboarding and winter here in calgary has been pretty shitty over last 2 years not once did i ever get stuck but more importantly very very good traction even on minus 30 days.

again just food for thought, im no longer a mechanic but still in contact with my old tire distributors and they still sell high volumes every winter for the WS2's search it up!

cheers

really depend what kind of car is it, since we have a FR car, a good snow tires is a must even with traction control. I had Hankook ipike W409 and Dunlop on my S2000 before, but still sliding around no matter what(but had lots of fun doing drifting and donut on snow), even light snow on the highway can feel the car starting to loose grip once go over 50km/h. Even my friend had Michelin pilot alpine on his 135i, tires gone in two years and still stuck in snow. I am also a tech and I am using hankook on my family members car, since they are front wheel drive, they have no problem.

This car I would down size the tires to 16" and get maybe Dunlop, dunlop is very expensive but I know people driving IS350 and 535i and they had good comment on it.

IF I decide to get aftermarket/race wheels, then the stock 17s will be the winter wheels. I checked some tire prices and the cost isn't much more for 205s over the 16s.

I wish we could have gotten the factory 16s then buy new summers.

but the thicker the sidewall of the tire, the better traction you will gain on the snow. Thats why we are considering downsize it to 16".

Never heard that one before. Generally skinnier (width) tires work better as they bite in instead of turning into skis/snowboards. And you generally can get skinnier tires on smaller rims. But a 205 on a 16 and a 205 on a 17 will have the same grip regardless of the sidewall depth (unless you let a bunch of air out or something which you might do on a sand dune).

I've owned Blizzak, icebears, Yoko W drives, Dunlop winter sport and Pirelli Sottozeros.

Blizzaks are overrated, and wear WAY too fast.

Dunlop Winter sport 3D's are awesome. The W.drives and Pirelli's are almost as good but you can save a little $$ with those choices.

Falken also has a NEW Eurowinter tire out..Crazy agressive pricing, my brother liked em alot. I'd rather spend less on a japanese tire then get price gouged by a korean mfg.

The Hankooks were a letdown.

Also, for winter tires, consider stepping down to a 205/45/17 or something. something narrower than stock would be ideal.

Blizzaks for extremes and Ice Racing.

Continentals for the rest:)

which one are made in the usa?

blizzaks are not overrated

they are improperly used

for heavy snow and ice conditions they are a really good tire

not if you're in the city where you only ever really drive on "snow" 1 day out of the year. Asphalt and mild temperatures destroy them rather quickly, yes.

It's a purpose built tire and most don't use it accordingly.

Best I've ever had are X-Ice 2s. Terrific durability, performance, noise and handling balance. Great in deep snow. The new X-Ice 3 is out this winter and I'll probably get them.

I also had General Altimax and they were a let down. very very noisy

Best one i've had were General Altimax...

i'm going to try and burn up the stockers and then get winters for them. i'll check the tirerack tests for value/performance and probably go from there. alternatively i may find some nokians, which unfortunately TR doesn't include nor test - but have popularly been the choice of ice racers so i speculate may be the best. i did have nokian rsi tires on my sti and they were great - paid a pretty penny too though!

might troll around craig's list too, depending on the condition of the oem tires by then. expecting to by a summer set of lighter wheels and stickier tires by spring.

Rims for 205 55R 16s
 

I have a set of nearly new P205 55R 16 snows that I used on my IS300 that also had 215 45 R17s as summer tires.

They are pretty well identical in diameter so they will fit well.

I will need new 5x100 rims and my question is what will fit on my FRS.

I think the base JDM Subaru uses 205 55R 16s.

Does any one know the rim specs (offset, etc) for 205 55R 16s?

I would like to get something that looks good instead of plain steel rims.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

I think these are the best value out there but I'm not sure I want to get them with the BRZ. They are SOFT, if you like to corner enthusiastically these tires are definitely not for you.

So noisy too...

I believe you should be looking for about the same offset as stock (48) but could go for a narrower rim (cheaper). Certainly 6.5" will work and given the 55 aspect ratio, 6" wide rims should be fine too. The tire manufacturer's web site may list the recommended rim width range.

If you find some interesting rims while browsing, you can plug their specs into this site -- http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp -- to compare the results to the FR-S stock wheel & tire package.

Alternatively, see if you can sell the old snows and use the money to get 17" ones for your stock wheels, then put the money you were planning to spend on "something that looks good" towards a spiffy set of summer wheels. We car buffs can rationalize anything. :D

necro post bumpt but since winter is coming.

Klinn's comments' on the 16" sizing was exactly what I was looking for.

In case others are looking for winter tire sizing.

Thank you for necro bumping and not making a new thread

Hmm..

Just wanted to add my experience. I have a stock BRZ 2014.

I got used alloys off kijiji from an old chevy cavalier with the following specs


16x6"
offset 47
5x100
Central bore 57.1 mm

I ran the fitment calculator and everything looked great. Lots of clearance, etc.

However, when I went to my tire store to have 205/55r16 winters mounted on it (with a test fit); they added 3 mm wheel spacers for me.

Seems a bit strange but I trust the tire store. It's simply tire in Toronto and they're probably the top tire store in our city in terms of customer service and user satisfaction.

Any comments?

I'll try to take pictures tomorrow.

Might have been rubbing on the calipers.

Three millimetres isn't much.
Off the top of my head I can think of a couple reasons why they may have done it:


Center bore different size and the spacers fix that (have done that myself in the distant past)


Rubbing on something (as already said)


Easy way to put extended lugs on if they were not long enough (ever tried to pull those things?)

Thanks for the reply.

Make sense.

the stock /oem Central bore is 56 mm

These replacement alloys were 57 mm.

The calipers do look like they were close. I would have thought the fitment calculator would have taken that into consideration since it showed I had 12 mm extra clearance with the new rims.

I guess that's to the strut/wheel assembly and not the calipers though.

Thanks again for the great and fast replies.

Any of you guys running winter tires yet?

I ran Firestone Winterforce last year and I think they're great! Got them off another member on here.

I've had a variety of different snow tires over the years; Blizzaks are good, but pricey, and very soft so they don't last as long. I had Sailun IceBlazers which were surprisingly good for a "budget" winter tire. My Dad and girlfriend both have Michelin X-Ice, which they swear by.

I would have never considered Firestone, but there they were right when I needed them, for a good price, and I've had no regrets! They also have a very aggressive cut on the shoulders, so they look beefy from afar. With the steelies, it makes it look like a bad-ass little rally car. I just need some mud flaps to complete the look.

Anyways, made it through all of last winter without getting stuck once, and I live north of Bolton where we get dumped on with snow every year.

I'll be putting them on within the next few days.

The rule of thumb is: the WORST snow tire you can get, will still be better than the best all-season.

Bolded part is what matters, any generic fitment calculator won't take spoke design or caliper clearance into account.

I've had mine on for a couple weeks now, I was expecting it to be much colder by now and didn't have time between when I put them on (Nov 7th) and this coming weekend. Crazy warm fall!

Hankook I-cepts, never had any issues with them so far over 2 Cleveland Winters

Yep, have had mine on since 1 November. Thought I was going to be heading out west for a few weeks, so I put my tires on early so I wouldn't have to screw around with them later this month. Now I'm really wish I had waited.

My winter tires are so soft and it doesn't make for fun driving.

I put mine on over a month ago just to be safe haha