Tires for factory wheels
 

I run a bone stock BRZ as a daily (truck for when it snows). I will need new tires. What do you guys recommend?

I did try searching this forum, but didn't get any results. If this has been discussed, please feel free to point me in that direction.

I'd like something meatier; can you upsize to a 225? I'm fine with summer tires.

Thanks in advance!

You can easily fit a 225 on the OEM wheel, so the only issue there is if you want a 225 or not.

Regarding summer tires, how often do you drive your BRZ when it's below 40 degrees out?

Summer tires are very much about temperature, not just road condition. If you can drive the truck all winter long, summer tires are a great option. Otherwise a great way to go would be a basic used winter tire and steelie package for winter, and a nice tire like an
S-04/PSS (Great summers), or Conti DW/Hankook V12 (Good summers) in the summer.

Yes you can upsize to 225. What are you looking for in a tire? Comfort? Performance? Noise? Durability?

There's tons of info on these forums, in fact two stickies in this very forum offer a ton of material to read through.

Do you know why you want 225 tires? They will slightly number the steering as well as increase tire noise.

The only benefit would be if you are a track guy. I see no reason for a street car to increase tire size.

I'd stick with 215. If your searching for more grip, just buy better performance tires. Any summer tires will be better than our stock tires.

You could even get cheap summer tires like Yokohama S Drives which would improve traction and increase grip.

If you would one of the best summer tires. Michelin PSS & Bridgetsone Potenza S-04 are good choices.

You need bigger wheels.

Thanks for the info so far...

I drive the truck when it's cold/inclement so summer tires are fine. The factory tires have been fine but I'm looking for better performance/grip (to answer one of the questions). I do need decent rain performance because I will drive it in the rain in the summer.

Well, I've thought about it... I've perused the classifieds. I'm just exploring this route, too.

You don't need bigger wheels for 225's. If you want to run 245's, then yes. You'd want 8.5" to 9" wheels. 225's will fit just fine on the OEM wheels.

Many summer tires are excellent in rain; they just don't do well in cool weather. If you have a Costco membership, then every month they have $70 off either Michelin or Bridgestone. There's your MPSS and S04, which are both great options.

One other thing... my daily driving is NOT on your typical highway. I have a lot of winding, hilly roads. I don't set the cruise and drive... I drive hard, thus why I got this for daily driving and not an econobox. But, I leave it (basically) stock because I need the economy.

Then definitely get a good summer tire. There will be a slight hit to your fuel economy, because the OEM tires are low rolling resistance and decent summer tires are not. The added traction is worth it though.

A stickier 215 (or 205) tire is another option. The 225 tire will flex a bit in the OEM wheels. It depends also the tire. Some are wider than others.

Get a good summer, the stiffer sidewalls of a PSS or S-04 won't hurt your steering feedback much at all. I chose to run a 225/45-17 on a 7" wide BBS wheel. The wheel is much lighter than stock, tire is a little bit heavier so it's about the same weight as an assembly, with more contact patch. Bumping it up an extra 2psi minimized the hit in MPG and loss in steering feel, while drastically improving traction.

A performance tire, 215 or 225, is a very noticeable upgrade over the stock touring tires. Theoretically, 225 gives more grip and more cushion at bumpy roads but more flex at curves. 225 also might help with avoiding curb rash having slightly wider and higher sidewalls. I haven't noticed slower acceleration and less mpg with 225. I think i like 225 aesthetically since it fills the wheel well a little better. The differences are very subtle, just buy the cheaper. 225 was cheaper for me and I bought 225.

Lots of good advice here, and definitely helps me out!

I know you never know who you are talking to on the internet... I'm 43 and have bought more tires in my life than I like to think of ($$$!). I've changed sizes, gone from summer to all season and back again, gotten all terrain and "low rolling resistance". I know about the compromises between contact patch and bigger sidewall, larger diameter etc. I asked here because I know you guys have had experience with these cars specifically and would know what works... you didn't disappoint.

I was leaning toward getting different wheels, but based on what you guys have said I can get a nice 225 summer tire and get what I need with the factory wheels. Yes, I don't track the car but that is not what is going through your mind when you attack a curve on a mountain road... you just want confidence. You can't drive it to the edge and slide through it.

225 tires won't help you drive the car at the limit any greater than 215's would on a curvy road. Your contact patch will still be roughly the same with 215 or 225 tires on a 7" wheel.

In fact, 225's will make you lose tire feel in most cases if you will be running them on a 7" wheel.

Get 225 tires if you like the meaty look. But if you think that you'll be able to drive at the limit with more confidence with a 225 tire on a 7" wheel. You are mistaken.

Get proper summer tires and you will feel the confidence. The stock primacy tires are a joke. They were used for the purpose of marketing to showcase how drift friendly the car is and how good your MPG are. Those tires belong on a Economy car.

Well, @Mr.Impreza, you have already posted near identical opinions and responses on this same thread. Not sure why you have so much angst built up over this topic, but I'd dial back the hate for SLIGHTLY larger tires and oem primaries. I assure you they are not crap, as the price tag alone would suggest otherwise, plus there are others (myself included) who have hit up canyons and tracks with these tires and those options suggested above with great (albeit limiting over other more aggressive and serious options) success. One thing is absolutely certain, you will not lose feedback and steering response from a jump from 215 to 225 summer tires. Please stop ushering in misinformation like it's the gospel.

If nothing else, I respectfully agree to disagree, if for no other reasons than those based off the information the OP has provided and his given intended use of the car.

Please don't get it twisted... I was actually talking about NOT driving at the limit.

If you were local I'd have you drive all my available wheel and tire combos back to back on my car. 215 primacies, 225 RE71R's, 215 Conti DW, 215 Conti extreme contact, and finally 225 S-04s.

Out of those, what's your favorite setup?

-Josh

@JDubs, tires play a huge part of happy fun driving times, but you should also consider a performance alignment and negative camber. Camber bolts are a cheap addition and they allow you to get negative camber on the front. The rear is a little more expensive to adjust, so I wouldn't worry about that until you get around to lowering the car. But if you can get -1 to -1.5 in the front that will make your windy roads that much more fun.

http://www.ft86speedfactory.com/spc-...l#.WC02y3i9LCQ

Very generous, thank you. I think I'll just research the brands mentioned here and pick one. I don't think I can go wrong for my purposes.

All 17s?

For daily driving and enjoying myself, the S-04's. The RE71R's are genuinely amazing, but live on the Forester XT. The Autox, genuinely fast car.

The S-04's are glorious tires.

Yes, I'm a sucker for function :party0030:

Function is exactly why I went with 16s... ;)

It's why I keep my rubber fat!

My FXT has 15" RCG4's to clear the 4/2 pots for winter mode. The BRZ wears 16" in winter.

The 17 with a slightly wider tire gave me enough compliance and comfort with a more aggressive tire that I had a lot of mechanical grip. I like it.

Basically the same attitude is why I went with 16s...they still clear brakes, including the Wilwood WRX fronts, and I get the extra sidewall I want. Works very well with a 225...makes the car very enjoyable. Our roads are a fucking abomination...

Yep, I'm over on the less funded but less travelled half of the state so I know what you mean.

Plus 225/45's look super square and mean on 17x7.5" STi BBS wheels...

Good to hear about the Potenza S-04. Those are the tires I'm picking up in the spring :D

Very good tires. Watch tire rack for the Bridgestone $70 Visa prepaid rebate.

I have been through 4 sets on various cars. Very stiff sidewalls, the biggest issue I have with them is that a few tire shops were unable to mount them.

Get some Dunlap Direzza ZII Star Specs 215/45 and call it done.

ZII Star specs are good tires, but I don't think that they fit the bill of what OP is looking at. Otherwise RS3/RE71R would be on the table too.

I think they do fit the bill. Even though they are 215s, they are still wider than the stock Primacy tires. They offer great grip for hard back road driving while also offering great wet weather traction. For a stock car I think they are the perfect summer tire.

Hankook Ventus are pretty good, whether it be the Noble's or Evo's. Around $100 per corner depending on the exact tire, decent grip for stock, lets loose when you want it. My opinion for a daily tire, it's what i currently run and about to purchase again.

"Chasing speed with patience"

I had Ventus Evos on my Civic Si (same OEM tire size as twins), and recently replaced them w/ S-04's. No comparison, the S-04's are way, way better in noise, grip, and ride quality. I also had 3 blowouts w/ the Hankooks...maybe a bit of bad luck hitting sharp Botts dots, but I that's about as much as I've had the rest of my life combined.