2013 WRX-Just replaced the Stock Summer Tires Today with UHP All Season From Mavis

[pmacey]

Me and me new WR Blue WRX Premium with 300 miles, were 5th online this morning at 7:45, waiting for my local Mavis to open

Swapped out the stock Dunlops for the Conti Extreme DWS tires at $164 each, including mounting and balance...Mavis did a awesome job, no scratches or dings on the wheels, my 'OLD" tires were doubled bagged and waiting to take home for sale (stay tuned for another post on this)

Now to the disclaimer (OK, its a rant) about Subaru putting those stock summer tires on WRXs:

I can understand STIs coming with Summer Performance Tires...but really...does the WRX need to come with them (especially in the North East)...just to increase the skid pad and slalom times in the trade mags?

Why spend the extra $$$ for winter tires (and maybe steel wheels) in order to keep the summer tires during the warmer months...who road races or rally's their car daily against the likes of Citroen, or comes across Ken Block in his Ford, on your commute to work, where you wanna keep up with them?

Just my 5 cents (inflation)

FWIW,, my decision to go with UHP All Season Tires -vs- buying snows and keeping the stock summer tires, was based off of my personal experience with my 2005 WRX with the factory Bridgestone UHP All Season tires: They kept me glued to the road in the summer months, and allowed me to hit dirt roads with virgin snow in the Winter, for some FUN OF GO IN THE SNOW, for 2 years!

Results may vary...pending where your drive...consult your right foot and the go pedal (and at times...your left foot and the need to use the stop pedal)

-Mace-

[rage-wrx]

I'm quite satisfied with my stock summer tires. Grip is great. Not so much in the rain.

The only other option for Subaru would have been to use All Weathers as stockers. All weathers are equally bad in summer & winter. There simply cannot be a rubber compound that can cover the wide temperature range without compromising on grip.

[EJ257]

Why spend the extra $$$ for winter tires (and maybe steel wheels) in order to keep the summer tires during the warmer months...who road races or rally's their car daily against the likes of Citroen, or comes across Ken Block in his Ford, on your commute to work, where you wanna keep up with them?

Just my 5 cents (inflation)

I don't want "jack of all trades, master of none" tires; I'd prefer to have the right tool for the job. Considering that tires are the #1 factor in handling, I have no problem investing in a good set of summers. For winter, A/S tires don't cut it with my driveway. I'd rather drive up my icy driveway than have to walk.

FWIW,, my decision to go with UHP All Season Tires -vs- buying snows and keeping the stock summer tires, was based off of my personal experience with my 2005 WRX with the factory Bridgestone UHP All Season tires: They kept me glued to the road in the summer months, and allowed me to hit dirt roads with virgin snow in the Winter, for some FUN OF GO IN THE SNOW, for 2 years!

RE92s were a horrible attempt at "performance" A/S tires (how they were able to market them as such is beyond me). Switching to a decent summer tire could net you 5MPH in a turn. A good summer tire could net you 7-10.

[pmacey]

OK...who has actually owned UHP All Season Tires on your WRX, and really felt they sucked so bad, that when driving in any type of wet road..non-dry conditions, you felt the handling of your WRX was compromised, and most important, that your life was in danger? (hopefully you're keeping the WRX under 100MPH)

Curious...who has real life experience driving a WRX with UHP All Season Tires, all season long?

Really would like some feedback here -vs- all the hype someone read on the Internet (BTW...I'm a French Model, I just posted this here on the Internet, so it must be true), that UHP All Season tires just suck all year round on a WRX!

No disrespect: but I'm posting from previous experience...and I standby driving a WRX...ALL YEAR LONG WITH UHP ALL SEASON TIRES!!!

-MACE-

[Sasquatch]

No disrespect: but I'm posting from previous experience...and I standby driving a WRX...ALL YEAR LONG WITH UHP ALL SEASON TIRES!!!

No disrespect? Your post sure does not read like that. You did not mention the region you live in - important in deciding which type of tyres.

For the entire time I have had my WRX I have gotten by with UHP all seasons in the winter. A little mishap last year in some light snow has made me rethink that and finally am running on performance winter tires. I have always run summer performance tires when it is warm.

Like it or not there is no such thing as a truly good all season tire. As stated above they are a compromise and not a very good one.

[rage-wrx]

No one is questioning your experience . Sadly tires are the most overlooked part of the car.

A side by side comparison from tire rack should make my point a little bit clearer. These tests were done at low speeds. Most cars on the road are travelling at a greater speed,so the effects would be multiplied. Of course this only applies if you live somewhere where it snows.

[pmacey]

@Sasquatch: Damn, sorry for your mishap. What tires did you have?

I Live in NY. With my 2005 WRX and those All Season Factory Tires they came with, have driven in some really bad snow storms!

UHP All Season Tires have never let me down...never driven on a ICE rink though...but have on snow covered roads, such as the Taconic, Sprain Brook Parkway, Hutch, Bronx River Parkway, Saw Mill, 287, etc.

Have also driven in 6 inch plus snow on dirt roads in Northern Westchester County and Putnam, passing all those high fancy 4x4s that ran off the parkways, in my stock factory All Season Tires

I actually passed a stuck Carmel, NY Snow plow, that went off the road, with my 2005 WRX with the stock Bridgestone All Season tires, in a blizzard, driving up Mt Ninham.

I'm just trying to share my real world experience in a WRX with UHP All Season tires, driving them all year, in all seasons.

What works for you guys...awesome and cool

would like to see some posts of real life stories on how a UHP All Season Tire has let you down, hopefully no hyper BS you read on the Internet!

I know what works for me, and that is I still swear by UHP All Seasons Tires...all year long!

BTW, don't you all think its a oxymoron that a AWD car needs snow tires in the Winter and Summer tires in the summer -vs- All Season Performance tires all year round? Just asking.

-Mace-

[EJ257]

OK...who has actually owned UHP All Season Tires on your WRX, and really felt they sucked so bad, that when driving in any type of wet road..non-dry conditions, you felt the handling of your WRX was compromised, and most important, that your life was in danger? (hopefully you're keeping the WRX under 100MPH)

Curious...who has real life experience driving a WRX with UHP All Season Tires, all season long?

Really would like some feedback here -vs- all the hype someone read on the Internet (BTW...I'm a French Model, I just posted this here on the Internet, so it must be true), that UHP All Season tires just suck all year round on a WRX!

No disrespect: but I'm posting from previous experience...and I standby driving a WRX...ALL YEAR LONG WITH UHP ALL SEASON TIRES!!!

-MACE-

I have driven WRXs/STIs with A/S tires, in the same conditions you have. You can "make them work"; I choose not to. I can cut through a tree branch with the saw on my pocketknife, but I'd prefer to use a chainsaw. As for dry conditions, I take corners noticeably faster with my summer tires than I would be able to with a set of A/S tires. I also stop quicker.

Also, as I stated, A/S are insufficient for use on my driveway in the winter. There would be too many instances where I would be unable to get up, meaning I'd be walking up the icy incline. I do not have this issue with a proper set of snow tires.

BTW, don't you all think its a oxymoron that a AWD car needs snow tires in the Winter and Summer tires in the summer -vs- All Season Performance tires all year round? Just asking.

It's not needed, but ideal for someone who sees four seasons. Some people are willing to make the sacrifices that come from having A/S tires. I'm not one of them.

[UEDan]

@Sasquatch: Damn, sorry for your mishap. What tires did you have?

I Live in NY. With my 2005 WRX and those All Season Factory Tires they came with, have driven in some really bad snow storms!

UHP All Season Tires have never let me down...never driven on a ICE rink though...but have on snow covered roads, such as the Taconic, Sprain Brook Parkway, Hutch, Bronx River Parkway, Saw Mill, 287, etc.

Have also driven in 6 inch plus snow on dirt roads in Northern Westchester County and Putnam, passing all those high fancy 4x4s that ran off the parkways, in my stock factory All Season Tires

I actually passed a stuck Carmel, NY Snow plow, that went off the road, with my 2005 WRX with the stock Bridgestone All Season tires, in a blizzard, driving up Mt Ninham.

I'm just trying to share my real world experience in a WRX with UHP All Season tires, driving them all year, in all seasons.

What works for you guys...awesome and cool

would like to see some posts of real life stories on how a UHP All Season Tire has let you down, hopefully no hyper BS you read on the Internet!

I know what works for me, and that is I still swear by UHP All Seasons Tires...all year long!

BTW, don't you all think its a oxymoron that a AWD car needs snow tires in the Winter and Summer tires in the summer -vs- All Season Performance tires all year round? Just asking.

-Mace-

I personally run UHP All Season tires all season long. And I'm constantly asking WAY too much of my tires.

Cornering is huge for me, AWD helps a buttload but will always be limited by traction that the tires provide. That said I'm constantly screeching/sliding around corners in warm SoCal weather.

So why do I use UHP a/s tires? I have my reasons, would probably bore you guys to death if I explain myself. I would prefer sticky ass summer tires honestly.

Posted from a fone.

[nepats555]

Had allseason on a preious car, Altima, driving in VT to go skiing spun out and crashed into a snowbank. Yes it wasn't allwheel drive but it was less than 2 inches of snow and I wasn't going above 30 mph, after that I always run winter / summer. And the fact that the car comes with summer means I only have to buy winter and dont have to sell a set allseon tires on ebay

[Sasquatch]

@Sasquatch: Damn, sorry for your mishap. What tires did you have?

Falken Ziex ZE912. They were a Consumer Reports best buy for all seasons at the time. The mishap was quite minor really - wounded my ego more than the WRX. The tread was a tad too low for conditions. I was trying to make it through one more season with the Falkens.

The Dunlop SP Wintersport 3Ds I just mounted will no doubt do much better in the slushy stuff and are not as bad of a dry road handling tire than I would have thought. Mushy, but still very controllable.

I have ~33 years of driving experience - the first several of those was with a 1969 Olds Cutllass GM A body. Rear wheel drive, without a limited slip diff and bias ply tires awful by today's standards. It was shod with F78-14 skinny knobby snow tires of the period in the back. Drum brakes all around. I always managed to keep that on the road through some rotten winter weather. A slight miscalculation / lapse of attention in the WRX put me off the road.

[pmacey]

I learned to drive in the snow...at the age of 16, in a 1965 Chevelle, rear wheel drive...you can imagine the tires that came with that car...bias-ply tires and not radials!

To all my fellow ClubWRX friends...I so much appreciate your feedback on this post!

Take care of your SUBIE...AND STAY SAFE MY FRIENDS!

[Calvinball]

Mace, out of curiousity, have you driven on winters before?

[pmacey]

Calvinball...never owned a set of Winter Snow Tires.

I've owned and driven RWD Chevelles, Mustangs, a Corvette, a Cuda, and California Highway Police Interceptor (Dodge Polara), and a multitude of FWD, AWD, and 4x4s with, bias ply and radial ply tires, some with or without All Season Tires, but none with Winter tires.

Including mid/late 2000 WRX (kept the factory All Seaons), STI (swapped the summer tires for All Seasons), Mitsu EVO9 (swapped the summer tires for all Seasons), PT Cruiser GT Turbo (kept the factory All Seasons), and a Dodge Caliber SRT4 Turbo (kept the factory All Seasons)

That being said: already posted a Q about how does a good set of Winter tires handle, corner, brake, and perform...on our WRX in the Winter...in warm, dry conditions, when it is not cold out and there is no snow on the roads?

-MACE-

[EJ257]

That being said: already posted a Q about how does a good set of Winter tires handle, corner, brake, and perform...on our WRX in the Winter...

It depends on what snow tires you buy; there are performance snows and regular snows. Performance snows will have better grip on dry pavement at the expense of grip in deep snow, slush, and ice. Regular winter tires will have better grip in deep snow, slush, and ice, at the expense of some dry grip. I run studded Nokians, since my driveway is a nightmare.

Whichever route you go, a snow tire will offer better grip in winter conditions than an A/S "equivalent".

in warm, dry conditions, when it is not cold out and there is no snow on the roads?

They get greasy and don't grip well; I had issues when I went to FL and had to do U-Turns everywhere, with tires squealing at slow speeds. For the same reason you shouldn't run summer tires in winter conditions, you shouldn't run winter tires in summer conditions.