Insight on winter wheel/tires?
 

I'm looking at getting a second pair of wheels for winter. I don't mind paying a bit extra for nicer wheels since I'll have them on for about 6 months out of the year. (I sold my OEM wheels already)

I live in the Seattle area, I don't plan on driving in snow or ice, but it will be a very cold winter so I don't want to use my Hankook V12 summer tires and jeopardize my/others safety.

My questions are:

Is the fitment below proper, based on my research it is, but I've also learned to ask questions before dropping $.

Is there a better setup? (I refuse to do steelies)

Is there a better deal? Through Tirerack, $1672

The planned setup:

OZ Ultraleggera 17x8et48 (black)
Dunlop SP Wintersport 3D 235/45R17
No TPMS (they're in my summer wheels)

For the winter you actually want to go narrower. It cuts through snow better. I'm using 205/50/17 on stock wheels. I run 225 Dunlop Star Specs for summer/spring/fall.

Are you using the OZ year round?

I'm using TSW 18" for warmer months.

I would just stick with the stock size on 17x7's. That's what I ended up doing with my OEM rims, putting my OEM tires on some 17x8's in the spring until I wear them out, then switching to 235's.

Best bet for snowy areas is probably to do a 16 inch winter set up with 205's, but I'm not a fan of the look. Also, historically my area hasn't gotten a whole lot of snow in the winter, so I'm mostly going for winter tires for continued performance grip. Went with the Blizzak LM-60's. It was between that or the Alpin PA3's. If I had to deal with a lot of snow, I'd probably have gone with the Blizzak WS-70's.

If it snows heavy, I will definitely not be driving the BRZ since I have other vehicles for those rare occurrences.

By the way, if you do go with 235's on those 17's, you'll want to go with 235/40 not 235/45 as you listed above. 40 would keep you closer to the stock circumference so your speedo/gearing stays close to spec.

Thanks guys.

What do you think about this instead:
17x8 wheels
225x45r17 Blizzaks LM-60 (this the closest size to OEM in winter tires)

The wheel recommends a 235x40 however, but those tires are primarily summer tires. In worried the 225x45 will be too narrow for the rims.

You can fit 225's on a 8 inch width. You could even go 215/45-17 on that 8 inch width if you want to keep a completely stock footprint. That's what I have on the LM60's, but I have them mounted on the stock 17x7's.

I think I will go with the 225x45 then. I don't think I'm going to install TPMS on these though as I don't want to pay for the extra TPMS or swap and reprogramming every tme I switch wheels. I guess I'll have to put up with the tpms light during winters, though I guess I should put TPMS in the winters vs summers.

I plan on using winter 17" for about 6-7mo and the summer 18" for the 50 degrees and above.

Hmm... Slightly off topic, the OZ ultraleggera also come in 35 offset, which I would like for appearance. Otherwise Tirerack automatically selects 48 offset when selecting the vehicle.

Other model Subaru stock 16" wheels fit. Get a tall and narrow 16" winter tire; this will be cheaper and better performing than a low profile 17" tire that's wider than your stock summers. If I didn't already have 17" winter tires left over from my WRX I'd have bought a semi-cheap 16" alloy and 16" tires.

I'll definitely consider that, I'll start looking online for some 16"

I guess since I'll have the winters on half the year, I'm inclined to get nice looking wheels that are also functional.

Winter in Seattle isn't too harsh, this year is supposed to be very cold and dry. If it was a more snowy region, I'd easily get 16" steelies with snow tires. Luckily we have a Forester which killed in the snow:)

TireRack already has a 16" winter wheel/tire package with a recommended tire size (stock size for 16" equipped vehicles; 205/55/16) and your choice of wheels.

The 215/45/17 is tough to find in a winter tire. Especially a modern "Performance Winter". Nokian makes the WR G2 in 215/45/17 and the actual specs match the stock Michelins almost exactly. I just bought a set of stock wheels and am going to go with those. Total cost should be around $1,500, and thats with TPMS sensors (paid $600 for a set of take-off wheels/tires/sensors).