Do I really need Blizzaks?
 

First winter with the 86 and with the little snow we get here, do I really need Blizzaks if I don't plan on leaving the city? I have Pirelli p7s on them now and those were pretty good on my tc in the snow last year.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...odClar=Limited

Based on the winter?snow review on tire rack I'd want a dedicated snow tire.

I use a dedicated snow tire on all my cars now. They're that much better for winter driving.

It's not just about the snow for winter tire, also need to consider temperature. If you're in an area that is below 35 a lot, winter tires can provide better traction on cold days and great on cold rainy days.

To answer your question. No you don't need Blizzaks. You do need some form of snow tire or at least a high quality all season. I would not recommend an all season though

blizzaks suck now for some reason. I'd recommend General altimax artics. They are inexpensive, they do the job great, and they are rumored to be old versions of Nokians, so they are really good.

I'm personally picking up a set of Continental Extremecontact DWS for mine. I'm pretty sure these will be more than sufficient for winter driving in the Portland area. On the occasions where it does get really bad, which is rare, that's what the Forester and the snow tires are for. But if the FRS is your only vehicle, yeah, I'd say something like snow tires OR the highest quality all seasons (don't skimp, so like the BFG gforce comp 2 a/s or the Conti DWS) would be your best bet.

EDIT: managed to get a decent deal on the DWS when I called Discount Tire here in town to order the BFGs... getting DWS instead.

I would agree depending upon average temperatures. I would say that looking at the local averages any decent all season (even what OP has already) would be fine for city and light highway use. Not the very best choice but they will function.

No you don't. If you want to daily nice summer tires then yes, it makes sense to just get winter tires for the other set.

But a decent all season will last you all year around here. It's one thing if you live somewhere where you have a foot of snow all winter, but with the couple inches here and there and the occasional morning frost you're going to see locally an all season will get you by just fine.

Heck, you can probably drive on summers all year as long as it's a design with ample tread and you're aware of the reduced traction in colder temps.

Disclaimer: this is not a serious response... lol I live in the desert with no snow.
Just wanted to share an awesome 86 reference that tries to demonstrate that you don't need snow tires for winter haha!

https://youtu.be/dcel-Jwl960

In all conditions down to freezing, even below if dry, stock tires beat my winters.

Stocks become immediately unusable on hard pack or ice. Avoid at all cost. There were a couple treacherous storms last year where I couldn't cross a level parking lot.

I switched to winter rubber only for a week last year but, because rubber has a limited shelf life, I said "screw it" this year and mounted my winters already.

suffering with the squishies >> getting stuck overnight on Swan Island

Yeah, the snow here is to minimal except for last year when we had that big surge in January. For the most part our winters are pretty snow-less.

It's supposed to be worse this year, but I think the Pirellis will hold ok.

I run Blizzaks and have them on right now! Sure, they might be a little overkill for what we do get, but I have to say after running them last year and having what snow we did get, they work extremely well. I was the guy in the sports car having everyone look at me odd when I could tackle the snowy hill no problem while SUVs and their all-seasons had to pull to the side and contemplate their life's decisions. Even was able to make it over Highway 2 a few times!

Don't have to get Blizzaks, but like others have said, a good snow tire is highly recommended. It's a form of cheap insurance; better to have a nice snow tire for when we do get our random snowfall than to be trapped at work because you are running an all-season and can't make it out of the parking lot..

I wouldn't drive in a decent snow without them on this car. I would also have a 50 lb bag of sand in the trunk just in case.

No, you might not want blizzaks, but a good snow tire for sure. General altimax seem to be the cheapest on tirerack. Run dedicated summer tires until you switch to snows and then swap back, easiest setup with the best results.

I ended up purchasing a set of dedicated winter tires + wheels last winter because it actually snowed quite a bit last year in seattle.

However, I don't think I will be switching them out this year - it seems like temps are rarely going below 45 degrees (at least so far). If it ever breaks around 35 degrees, I plan on getting them swapped out at DiscountTire back to my winter set the moment I see it on the forecast!

(FWIW, my default set are default wheels and tires. They do fine in the cold rain here in seattle for me)