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What tires do you have for winter weather?

  • Kept Stock Summer Tires

    Votes: 4 10.8%
  • Added All Season Tires with stock rims

    Votes: 5 13.5%
  • Added All Season Tires with steel rims

    Votes: 1 2.7%
  • Added Winter Tires with stock rims

    Votes: 10 27.0%
  • Added Winter Tires with steel rims

    Votes: 17 45.9%
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Are winter tires necessary??

18K views 201 replies 40 participants last post by  zax 
#1 ·
I live in Hagerstown MD and travel to Montgomery County about once a week where the snow is suppose to be more severe this year. As we all know, Subaru made the very wise decision...:shakehead: of going with summer tires for an AWD car. While they grip the road well during the warmer months, it doesnt make much sense for what most people use these cars for. That being said..

Are winter tires necessary? I have experience driving in the snow but had All Weathers on my old 05 WRX. I don't want to invest in new tires unless it is truly necessary.

Opinions appreciated
 
#125 ·
Please take a moment to read the FAQ. It is ClubWRX policy that there be a "Bewbs" option in all polls related and pertaining to this forum.
 
#127 ·
Should be noted that you guys picking up non-stock wheels should invest in a set of centering rings.

The stock wheels use the lugnuts to center on the axle, but most after market wheels will require a hard plastic ring to force the wheel to center on the axle as the lugs are tightened.

It was long enough ago when I picked mine up that I don't remember the size or details. You'll have to read around for it. Otherwise, you may run into issues similar to an improperly balanced tire.
 
#128 ·
Is that something that a tires + would have on hand? I was told this Scotts speed shop will have them but have a guy who will be putting the tires on for me for free so hope to get it taken care of all in one shot.

I got the altimax tires and steelies mounted and balanced for only $680 shipped!!
 
#129 ·
Good call. Apparently if you bought them for tirerack, they will include centering rings. Otherwise, I'd just give the shop a call to confirm. They aren't expensive - just one of those things you don't want to forget.

If you got steelies with them mounted & balanced, I'd consider doing it yourself in the future. It's good to have the ability to throw them on and off as you need without moving the tires to the shop and back.
 
#132 ·
Sadly I have never changed a tire :-X... I've never had a flat and never had to get into that area. It would be good for me to put them on myself. Is it simple putting the centering ring in for a newbie?
 
#134 ·
FYI.. Just found out that the TPMS is required by law in CT. It was not required when I
bought mine from tire rack last year. Thats an additional 200.00 or so to the bottom line.. :/
 
#137 ·
Required by law?! How would a cop know if i got it installed? Sorry officer my tire pressure is love and that's thag
That's news to me at least. I wouldn't be surprised, however.
 
#140 · (Edited)
I know that the federal government started mandating vehicle manufacturers to implement some sort of tire pressure monitoring on vehicles after a certain year. Though I'm not sure that they're enforcing it on an individual basis(post manufacturing). So your car is equipped with TPMS system, but is INOP without the sensors which is the operators decision.
 
#141 ·
It is fed law that all new vehicles after 2005 have TPMS standard....it is also fed law that no shop mount tires on a car that has TPMS without sensors in the wheels.

I am not too sure about the legality of an individual owner electing to mount winter wheels on thier car that don't have tpms sensors.

I all boils down to safety regulations to make sure you are not driving on low pressure.
 
#142 ·
I guess it's a grey area type of thing again. Obviously cops don't have xray vision and pull you over just because you didn't have sensors. Unless I guess you get in an accident and they forensically tore down the scene and tracked down the cause to low tire pressure and the tires not having sensors to warn the driver. :eek:

I don't really need sensors as I check my tire pressure every two weeks or so, but I have them anyway because I hate having any warning lights on my gauge panel.
 
#143 ·
I don't need them either, but they have come in handy a few times. The ones on my old tC would trip the light if there was a nail in the tire....which is nice to know information even when they are jolding pressure just fine.

On my rex, they let me know last winter when there was a sudden temp drop outside that made the pressure in the tire drop enough that I was a bit low (29psi) (went from 50's in the day to mid teens by the time I got out of work).

'course, in both cases above I had to investigate to find why the light came on, but the heads-up is a nice convenience.
 
#144 ·
Just a side note Bruce, but if it gets to be an issue you can consider filling the tires with nitrogen. I'm not sure how effective it is when dealing with lower temps, but I know a few serious guys at the track with larger cars do to avoid the (massive) change in pressure with temperature.

I'm not sure if it works on the lower end of the temp spectrum though. To my understanding, it is the water vapor in the tire that turns to steam and causes issues when hot. By heating your tires up to turn the moisture into steam, purging all of the air (and now steam), and filling with nitrogen, you can eliminate most of the hot pressure changes.

It's way too much work for me... plus I left my nitrogen compressor next to my cable stretcher in a past life time. The option is there though in the future.
 
#145 · (Edited)
Right....my understanding is that nitrogen takes much higher pressure to compress than normal air does, and does not expand the same as it heats. Additionally, nitrogen molecules are larger making pressure loss through reverse osmosis far less than normal air....

These two properties together keep pressure more consistent as the tires heat and cool in addition to keeping proper pressure for longer periods of time (biweekly pressure checks are not as needed)


edit..... Oh, and btw, Costco does nitrogen tire fills in their tire center, so if you have a membership they can fill you up with nitrogen incase anyone is interested
 
#146 ·
Right....my understanding is that nitrogen takes much higher pressure to compress than normal air does, and does not expand the same as it heats. Additionally, nitrogen molecules are larger making pressure loss through reverse osmosis far less than normal air....

These two properties together keep pressure more consistent as the tires heat and cool in addition to keeping proper pressure for longer periods of time (biweekly pressure checks are not as needed)
That's aside from the water vapor issue I had read about I believe, but valid nonetheless.

The last book I read actually recommended deflating you tires and covering them in garbage bags when you take them off. I will probably do that for whats left of my RE-11s for next year. Worth a go I figure.

/threadjack
 
#148 ·
I only skimmed the last couple of pages, but in case it hasn't been said - winter performance tires are a great option in many areas. I have direct experience with them vs. several sets of A/S on my WRX and they perform significantly better in snow than all seasons and also perform better in dry or wet cold conditions.

I sort of agree that A/S are adequate and not a real safety issue if you drive safely in areas with reasonable road service (plows) and not a ton of huge hills. I could see preferring them to a real serious snow winter tire for a significant portion of the winter in many areas that get the occasional snow and where you aren't often making actual tracks for yourself through anything over a couple inches. That being said, I'd only do them in a second set in rotation with real summer tires, because I don't think A/S compare to a real good set of summers in any way, shape, or form. And then, since you have two sets anyway, winter performance is the obviously better choice over A/S.
 
#149 ·
mycologist said:
I only skimmed the last couple of pages, but in case it hasn't been said - winter performance tires are a great option in many areas. I have direct experience with them vs. several sets of A/S on my WRX and they perform significantly better in snow than all seasons and also perform better in dry or wet cold conditions.
EJ257 said:
While a UHP all-season tire will likely out-handle a generic snow tire, you've opted for the performance snow. You should see a gain in cold weather cornering traction with the WS3Ds along the lines I stated earlier (3-5+MPH). Obviously, in snowy conditions, you're not really going to be pushing the limits, but it will certainly have better snow traction than whatever A/S tire you would choose to throw at it.
:wiggles:
 
#164 ·
:thumbup: I'd track it back but you somehow borked the little arrows that should be in the quotes.


So if this is turning into the official winter tire thread here is what I recommend -

Get a used set of the original 16" bugeye wheels. They are very good alloy wheels - very light and strong. They should be cheap too (at least they used to be easy to get when everyone was taking them off).

Get performance winters unless you are in real mountains or real north country. I had a great drive today on a very twisty road in the rain and low 40's. I was trying to get loose (safely - after the corner is completely in the bag give a little extra flick and mash the gas) to little effect. The only ones I have tried are the Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie II and they get two big thumbs up from me. They wear very long (I abused them for a whole summer) and they are actually great handling tires. They hold great, don't roll over too much, and give up traction in a predictable manor. I would not hesitate to drive them from here to Canada in a blizzard (I'd say California too but a couple of those passes can require real winter tires).
 
#150 ·
I don't see how a cop could ever enforce a law requiring TPMS sensors. Are they going to pull the tires off the rim to see if you have sensors? There's no other way to tell...
 
#151 ·
that is not exactly true. There are devices that will cause the sensor to broadcast their ID number and scanners to read those broadcasts. They are several hundred or thousand bucks, so not likely a LEO would have one handy in their squad car, but devices exist.
 
#156 ·
Well yeah that's kind of what I meant. ;)

I bought these tires for (and have them mounted on) the stock wheels. It snowed this morning so I was playing around in the snow in a parking lot this morning to see how the tires did. Not bad at all, it took kind of a lot to get the car to start sliding. I only discovered after getting out of the car and nearly falling on my face that I had been driving on ice and not snow. I am really impressed with the tires, at least from that little bit of driving. :) Looking forward to some sure-footed winter driving.
There are no tires that will give you good traction on ice, even studded. You definitely weren't driving on true ice or there's no way it would have taken "a lot to get the car to start sliding." But I'm glad you're happy with the tires. The fact is even the cheapest winter-specific tires will be 1 million times better than any summer tires.
 
#152 ·
I bought these tires for (and have them mounted on) the stock wheels. It snowed this morning so I was playing around in the snow in a parking lot this morning to see how the tires did. Not bad at all, it took kind of a lot to get the car to start sliding. I only discovered after getting out of the car and nearly falling on my face that I had been driving on ice and not snow. I am really impressed with the tires, at least from that little bit of driving. :) Looking forward to some sure-footed winter driving.
 
#155 · (Edited)
as far as i am aware, as long as you bring me(at the shop) wheels and tires to be mounted up it doesnt matter what YOU install them on. (montana tpms laws, although im due for a refresher course in december) if I install them, ill likely be swaping the sensors between wheels as i am required to. but if you buy a set of winters and steelies, blot them up(and torque) yourself....should be free and clear.



the owners of a mattress shop cant remove the tags, but you can once you've bought it and brought it home. i think it falls under the same type of laws. might call the local shop that does saftey/smog inspections(if appicable) and ask. never hurts to be sure.



i just installed a set of 225 50 16 firestone winterforce without studding and it drives GREAT in 3"" snow. SO MUCH FUN, now if i could just find a good tank of gas.
 
#158 ·
I agree. Winter tires with aluminum wheels are the superior choice.

I would suggest to use the stock wheels with winter tires, and get a nice set of lightweight wheels for the summers.
 
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