[JazzleSAURUS]

The best winter tire is one appropriate for your climate. If you only get cold weather, down to 32 degrees and some rain, I think a 'regular' all season is a good tire to switch to, (Maybe a Conti DWS, or a General RT43 if you need to be cheap). If you get the occasional snowfall of an inch, maybe once or twice, and still rarely dip down into freezing, something like a WR3 is an awesome choice. It's an all season tire made by Nokian meant to be a snow tire that's dialed back to an all season, as opposed to an all season that just has deeper tread to accommodate occasional snowfall.

If your winter spends a decent amount of time below freezing, (more than just a few days here and there,) it's time to consider a proper winter tire. If you get minimal snow, and you're primarily concerned about temperatures and ice, a tire like the Michelin XIce 3 is an amazing choice. It will also do really well in some decent snowfall.

If you have slushy-freezy roads that you have to drive on, the XIce 3, and Blizzak type tires are still great choices, but in some of these slushy conditions I've found their tighter voids can sometimes have difficulty clearing, which is when the more Finnish style winter tire comes into it's element.

If you get lots of snow, heavy downfall, unplowed and packed roads, AND have to contend with ice and slushy nonsense, the Finnish style winter tires REALLY shine. On a budget, stuff like the Altimax Arctic, (and now Arctic 12,) are based on tires that were revolutionary when they launched, and tires like the Hakkapaliitta R2 are both funny to say, and are absolute monsters in just about any condition.

If you can describe your worst-case, and average winter driving conditions I think I can best help you select an appropriate tire.

The stock tires on 86's are a low rolling resistance summer tire. It's a high quality tire though many around these parts poo-poo it because it doesn't offer a ton of grip, which is very decidedly NOT the point of the tire. Engineers chose a tire that offered a lot of communication and feedback, good fuel economy and wear, and specifically offered a low grip threshold so people could learn the joys of a fairly low-grip tire on a very well tuned, lower power vehicle.

Swapping the tires over twice a year is $50-60 each time, it adds up quick, and you already have your OEM wheels. Having dedicated wheels and tires saves money, especially if you already have them, and allows you to have a spare set of wheels if you curb a wheel or bust a tire and need to make it to a payday before buying a replacement.

The drastic performance difference is based largely on rubber tech and tread design. Different formulations of the rubber can perform well within a certain temperature and condition range. Some forumlations really only do well when it's above 50 degrees and dry, these rubber formulations will be found on extreme performance tires and track day tires. Some do well above 40 and aren't bothered much by the wet, these are the typical good summer tire like a PSS and an S-04 I've talked about a bunch here. All seasons generally do well between 65 degrees and 35 degrees. When they get above that point they get a bit greasy and unpredictable, when they get below that they start to get hard and give up grip. Their tread pattern is often a compromise too, it's meant for around 50 degrees usually, but they make the tread taller to have deeper voids to accommodate the snow. This is why I refer to them as 'no-seasons'. They really don't do well anywhere. Winter tires are of an even softer compound, so above 45 they start to get greasy, but tend to perform well all the way down to 0f, sometimes lower. They often have larger voids, tons of siping, silica carbide 'teeth' molded into the tread to grip icey spots, provisions for studs, etc.

Knowing what you're up against will help you pick the proper tire.