Blizzak Tires (or equivalent)

[Mister]

I had the Blizzak WS70s this last winter on 16" wheels, 205 width. They were excellent in winter, you still have to drive smart but I never got stuck even in the worst of storms, and I drove through quite a few this year! Get snow tires, drive smart, and you will be one of the most competent cars on the road.

[TONY_BRZ]

I had a lot of confidence with them on driving through the snow. Any set of winter tires will help but in my opinion it's all about throttle response. I did a winter with summer tires just fine, just have to know how to drive it properly

[Purdue FR-S]

Originally Posted by ninedice

I just ordered Blizzaks for my FR-S yesterday.

Gee, I bet they're cheap right around now lol.

[SportInjected]

Dedicated winter tires are a must for any car if you live where it snows a considerable amount. I haven't driven the car on stock tires in the snow, but I've done 2 seasons with wintersport 3d's and have no complaints.

[Lytheum]

i live in north east ohio and snow tires are a must on this car. even then you have to pay attention and drive according to the conditions.

as for driving them in the summer? I wouldnt do it. They will get very soft in warm temps and wear down fast or start to chunk. I usually put them on in November and take them off in march/april depeding on the weather.

[Thunderleg]

I used blizzacks this past season in CO. and I was able to get through everything. The car is pretty predictable with good tires on, but I wouldnt use them past winter.

[Mad1723]

One thing to remember in the winter, with snow and ice, you will never, and I mean never, get the same traction as with asphalt, even with the best snow tires. I'm speaking from experience here. In Quebec, winters are a bitch.

They do make a difference as the compound on your tires doesnt transform into a large hockey puck. Summer compound freezes under certain temperatures, rendering them useless in the snow.

You also have to realize our car is very light and won't go through snow the same way a big truck would. The trick of winter tires is to dig in the snow and try to reach a point of traction. If there is ice, unless you have studs (which I do not recommend by the way), you will not get traction.

The best way to be safe is to realize that snow and ice are slippery, hence SLOW THE FUCK DOWN. Most people think that winter tires mean that you are safe from sliding. Nope, you are just less likely to do.

Good winter tires and being smart is the best thing you can do.

Oh, and I rocked Nokian Hakkappelita7 here, lots of fun in the snow with the FR-S was had

[zackcp04]

Thank you for the input guys, I think I will just get a truck for the winter... I'm not a crazy driver but I don't like surprises either. I was just merging on to the expressway (with presumably clear roads) and lost control on an icy bridge.


Any recommendations on good all seasons tires? There is a gash in one of mine so I might need to get new ones anyways, plus... I read a lot on these forums that stock tires are awful.

[Mad1723]

Originally Posted by zackcp04

Thank you for the input guys, I think I will just get a truck for the winter... I'm not a crazy driver but I don't like surprises either. I was just merging on to the expressway (with presumably clear roads) and lost control on an icy bridge.


Any recommendations on good all seasons tires? There is a gash in one of mine so I might need to get new ones anyways, plus... I read a lot on these forums that stock tires are awful.

All season are not that much better for winter. Get winter tires if you plan on getting a separate set for winter anyway

[ZionsWrath]

Originally Posted by zackcp04

Thank you for the input guys, I think I will just get a truck for the winter... I'm not a crazy driver but I don't like surprises either. I was just merging on to the expressway (with presumably clear roads) and lost control on an icy bridge.


Any recommendations on good all seasons tires? There is a gash in one of mine so I might need to get new ones anyways, plus... I read a lot on these forums that stock tires are awful.

Are you even listening?

Winter tires on a car is better than all seasons on a "4x4 truck"

4 wheel drive is not magic. Yes it may be better at getting you started. but a heavy truck with all seasons that starts sliding on snow? 4 wheel drive does nothing better than any other front or rear wheel drive vehicle. In fact once sliding you will have the added weight of a truck and the 4wd system to keep you sliding longer.

If you want a 4x4 with winter tires, great do it. But if your options are 4x4 with all seasons or RWD with snows, the obvious answer is RWD with snows.

Don't be that truck in the ditch twin owners pass and post on the forum about how their little RWD sports car passed an SUV in the ditch during a dusting.

[cnk]

Originally Posted by zackcp04

Thank you for the input guys, I think I will just get a truck for the winter... I'm not a crazy driver but I don't like surprises either. I was just merging on to the expressway (with presumably clear roads) and lost control on an icy bridge.

Bolded section for emphasis. Having a 4wd truck or winter tires won't help you on an icy bridge. Especially since you also state you were merging onto an expressway, which would lead me to believe you were accelerating at the time. If it's cold enough for ice to form, never presume/assume that the roads are clear especially when going over a bridge.

[drewbot]

Where's @Suberman when you need him? lol

[chrisl]

I agree with everyone here that I'd much, much rather have winter tires on a small, sporty, RWD car than all seasons or knobby tires on a 4x4 truck. Trucks really aren't great in snow, in part due to the really light rear end, and snow tires make an astonishing difference compared to even the best all-seasons (much less summer tires, which is probably what you're using right now). You do still have to be careful on ice or snowpacked roads, but that's true no matter what you're driving (including an AWD/4WD vehicle).

As for driving on blizzaks in the summer? Don't. They really aren't great in water (they hydroplane much more easily than most A/S or summer tires), and the compound will wear out incredibly quickly if used in temperatures above 40 or 50 degrees.

[xxBrun0xx]

I ran blizzaks (ws70s) on 16s this winter and was honestly a bit disappointed. After reading everyone say how much of a difference it makes, I was expecting the car to be damn near unstoppable with a good set of snow tires. Coming from an sti with snow tires (cheap off-brand, but lots of tread), I'm probably a little biased. Before that, I had an old wrx with all seasons and was regularly plowing snow. The BRZ would never make it through all the snow that WRX could, regardless of tires. I think a big part of that is how little ground clearance the 86 has compared to the wrx/sti. It's also a big adjustment going from AWD to RWD. Not that I ever got stuck with the BRZ, but just taking off from stop lights involved wheel spin all winter long (and I wasn't hooning!) I think the numb clutch and oversensitive traction control system makes smooth starts tricky.

All that being said, I think next winter should be easier, now that I'm more familiar with the car. It was able to plow a surprising amount of snow with the blizzaks. They are a lot noisier than stocks and gas mileage is 4-5 mpg worse, but hey, if it means you don't have to drive a beat up 90s truck/subaru for half the year, I'm all for them!