Winter Tires

[sarasdoughman]

Hello,

I have a 2020 BRZ Limited w/ Performance Package that I picked up in January. I went through last season without winter tires, but will be picking some up this time around.

I've decided on BRIDGESTONE BLIZZAK WS90 215/45R17. Undecided on if I should get a Tire + Wheels package from Tirerack or just the tires put on my existing stock wheels. What should I be looking for in winter wheels? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

So far, my options seem to be tires and put them on the stock wheels, and get a new performance tire+wheel package come spring time, or to get a dedicated winter tires + wheels set and decide on summer/allseason tires when the time comes.

How do TPMS sensors work? I was planning on just getting the tires/wheels delivered to my house and swapping them out myself. What extra steps would I need to take to install them with working TPMS sensors?

Car is currently bone stock, and honestly, I'm completely new to cars (This is my first car), so I'm learning as I go.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

I mounted the winter tires on the OEM wheels, and got lightweight wheels for the summer tires. I also left the TPMS on the OEM wheels and no TPMS on the summer wheels. This leads to the TPMS light being on during the summer, but that doesn't bother me anymore.

If you want TPMS on both wheels, you'd need to add the sensors and a reader to hook them up to the car. I believe TireRack offers a reader as well, but there might be cheaper options elsewhere. Do note that you'll need the reader at each tire swap to reprogram the TPMS sensors in the car.
Finally, there are TPMS sensors that can clone your existing ones, so that when you swap wheels you don't need to reprogram the car.

Since I didn't add TPMS to my summer wheels I can't recommend on any TPMS related products.

[DarkPira7e]

Use your stock wheels for your winter tires unless you like the stock wheels.
One of the most common changes people make to their cars is the wheel/tire combination. Start looking through Google images by searching something like "YOURCOLOR BRZ wheels" and see if you find some wheel styles you really like.

In the mean time, outfit your stock wheels with the winter tires and enjoy winter with good tread

[ZDan]

I use my factory wheels with winter tires and have aftermarket for summer. I just live with the warning light and check pressures, doesn't really bother me.

FWIW I went with 225/45-17 Sottozero 3 winter tires on the factory 17x7.5" wheels. They're a "performance" winter tire and honestly they feel great in non-snowy conditions, much more grip and better feel vs. most winter tires. But not as great in actual winter conditions (still infinitely better than summer tires though!). Blizzak W90s are probably a lot better in the snow/slush.

[HaXx]

if you want to get some winter wheels that dont look like trash, enkei ekm3 17x7 5x100 are 150/wheel on tire rack. also, stocks as winters are great too

[sarasdoughman]

Originally Posted by ZDan

I use my factory wheels with winter tires and have aftermarket for summer. I just live with the warning light and check pressures, doesn't really bother me.

FWIW I went with 225/45-17 Sottozero 3 winter tires on the factory 17x7.5" wheels. They're a "performance" winter tire and honestly they feel great in non-snowy conditions, much more grip and better feel vs. most winter tires. But not as great in actual winter conditions (still infinitely better than summer tires though!). Blizzak W90s are probably a lot better in the snow/slush.

Hm, I might look into those instead. This is my daily, but I do most of my driving on city/highways within NYC, so there's usually little to no actual snow accumulation. City actually does a pretty decent job of plowing the roads.

[Gallowlight]

If you're a bit creative you can easily get a set of steel wheels and dress them up to match. I've seen that done before. Winter steel tires work well if your area sees a lot of nasty road salt. But really up to you and your budget. There are a lot of nice cheap wheels out there. I ran out of time to do just that to my 86, so I mounted my Blizzak WS90's to the stock OE wheels and will eventually, get them remounted to some snazzy steelies.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by sarasdoughman

Hm, I might look into those instead. This is my daily, but I do most of my driving on city/highways within NYC, so there's usually little to no actual snow accumulation. City actually does a pretty decent job of plowing the roads.

Just realize it is likely a compromise either way. I have once or twice wished I'd gotten more serious winter tires like the Blizzaks! But in 'normal' wet or dry conditions I love the SottoZeros Snowstorm comin tomorrow, we'll see how it goes

[Racecomp Engineering]

Before:
16x7 Enkei RPF1 with 205/55/16 Bridgestone Blizzak WS80.
Wheels are cool, tires were exceptional in the snow/slush and not very good in the dry.


Now:
15x6.5 Enkei RC-G5 with 195/65/15 General Altimax Arctic.
Just put them on (less than 50 miles)...they feel slightly more responsive in the dry but they are still not going to be great. Which is fine! Also they seem relatively quiet? Seem to remember the Blizzaks being louder.


Winter tires completely change the handling of the car but it can still be entertaining in a way. All the talk when this car came out about the "prius tires" being an intentional choice to lower the limits and make it easier to slide around....turn that up to 11. It's not going to precisely carve up on/off ramps and there is very little grip. As long as you know what to expect, it's fine and sometimes even fun.

- Andrew