Wander On Snow Tires
 

This is my first year I've ever run true snow tires - used Blizzak WS80s that still look great. From day 1 I've noticed they have a lot of wandering when accelerating moderately hard on dry pavement compared to the stock Potenza all-seasons. Is this normal just because of how soft the compound is? It gets slightly better the colder it is, and in the wet/snow its not noticeable. Thanks.

Much softer compound, coupled with taller tread blocks, coupled with those taller tread blocks being more sliced apart with sipes and whatnot. All of that leads to a lot of tread squirm which in turn results in very vague steering, and a flobbery, wandering, imprecise feel. This will be further exacerbated if you went to a smaller wheel with a taller sidewall, and/or a skinnier tire.

I basically treat the car as being in "luxury mode" in the winter months, since the tires suck at being sporty, lol. Just appreciate the quieter, softer ride :)

On my winter tires, I can trigger the stability control while driving in a straight line due to the delayed turn-in response. This video is back when I ran 16" steelies with 205/55 tires. I'm on stock wheels and stock size tires now, so it isn't QUITE this bad, but it's still similar. (And to clarify, when I say "how little grip," in the video, I misspoke. The tires weren't losing grip, they were just flexing a lot. That's why the video is so funny because the car is activating stability control because the tires are flexing so much that the car THINKS it is sliding.)

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1vDOxXH9Pw[/ame]

That was an appreciated difference I noticed too, a lot quieter and less harsh over potholes and cracks. Can't corner anywhere near as well as I used to either, which is totally understandable

Honestly this is normal, they are squishier and travel more. Try increasing the tire pressure a bit and see if it goes away. I've been driving for 4 winters now with this car and without fail when I switch them over, I get surprised by this.

^^^100% this. Softer compound makes a huge difference.

When the temps are sub 30F, you'll find it gets a little better, but when above 30F, the tires are very soft and supple giving you that "wandering" feel.

The funnier part is when you switch back to summer tires, and the first time you go to change lanes on the highway you almost swerve across 3 lanes of traffic because of how much more responsive the steering is, lol.

No joke, and it feels like your wheels are loose because you can feel things on the pavement surface again

Yes! I call the effect "gummy"

I have to say though, once I installed the Perrin steering lockdown kit, it's much improved.

Going from the factory Primacy's to the Michelin XI3 in the same tire size and 17x7.5" model rim, the biggest noticeable difference is that the car oversteers in the dry very easily under normal city driving. If I'm even just a little bit eager with the throttle mid-turn, the back will step out.

Front-end steering response feels like any other passenger car on winter tires, however the steering still maintains its nice weighted feel at least.

When these 215/45/17 winter tires wear out I'll probably go 225/45/17 for more rim protection and hopefully better stability in the dry.

I disliked how winter tires drove so much, I removed them the same day I got them installed.

After getting a second set of wheels/tires, I bought studded tires for the stock wheels. Paid $175 for a set of 90% tread Ipike 225/45/17s. I drove from the tire shop to my house and took them off. Later , I sold my stock wheels and studded tires for $600 to a guy with an old impreza wagon.

(possibly the highest selling price for a set of stocks?:party0030: )

That's the specific tire causing that issue. Some tires do it more than others.

My pirellis handle tight, probably due to the stiffer overall construction compared to most winters. The overall grip level is lower, but the car still feels responsive even on 205/55R16s.

I swapped on a set of toyos at the end of last season that came with a set of wheels I just bought. The car handled like crap, very floaty and disconnected as you described. Even made me feel nervous in the dry on the highway around some curves.

Do you want it to perform in snow or dry? Everything has compromises. I just drive a bit more like grandma from November to about April in NY. This way the summers feel so much better in spring.

It's the WS80's, honestly some of the shittiest tires in dry/wet that I've ever had the displeasure of driving on. They're incredibly soft and the tire carcass itself is way too compliant for a chassis of this nature. I can literally hop into the next lane if I give the car more than 70% throttle in the dry.
Upside is they were amazing in the snow, but now on its almost 3rd season, the microcell/swiss cheese compound is all but gone and they're just horribly average.
Next year i'm going to try the Conti Wintercontact SI's.

The Conti's are great the first 2 years also, the third they're slidey good fun especially on cold pavement :)


I think the trick is to get a set of all weather, not all season there's a difference, tires like the Nokian WRG4. https://www.nokiantires.com/all-weat.../nokian-wr-g4/ That's my next move for cold season tires, they're good at most things, according to some WRX drivers I've talked to they handle great, and shouldn't wear badly when the pavement is 70* but I'll probably still switch to a performance summer tire as opposed to the performance all season I'm running now.