Winter Set-Up

[tommy_c]

Summer is coming to an end and that means winter is just around the winter. So I wanna pick everyone's brain on winter set ups. I've never kept a car garaged and had another daily for the winter before but I am sorta thinking about it now since my new home has very small roads and they are all two way streets. That means, small road + two directions of cars + side parking + snow = disaster for new car.

Wondering if anyone on here garages the wrx for winter. I know WRXs are meant to be driven in the winter so before you flame me, just imagine a ton of snow in Philadelphia, small streets, no drive ways (only street parking), city with bad execution on snow removal, and horrible drivers that think they can still drive in those conditions driving on your street.

Incase I decide against the idea of picking up a beater for the winter, what kinda winter set ups are you guys running?

[cheeseyfella]

my wife works at temple hospital and is going to have garage her car for the winter, and use mine as her "winter beater", so I am in the process of getting snow tires, I have 2 dunlop winter sport 3Ds, no idea how they handle in the winter as they aren't even on the rims yet, but they have good reviews on tire rack etc.

I know what you mean about the Philly streets and the snow, I wouldn't like to park my car on some of those narrow streets on the best of days for fear of someone hitting it, let alone in the winter. From what I have seen you have to more worried about the damage the plows do (if they can plow your street).

[EJ257]

I've run Blizzak tires the last few years on the car; I got a phenomenal deal on them (with wheels) from my mechanic, so I couldn't pass them up. They are fantastic in icy conditions for the first part of their life, but as the tread wears down, so does their effectiveness.

A set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5s are going on this year...

[tommy_c]

Thanks for the advice guys! Appreciate it!

my wife works at temple hospital and is going to have garage her car for the winter, and use mine as her "winter beater", so I am in the process of getting snow tires, I have 2 dunlop winter sport 3Ds, no idea how they handle in the winter as they aren't even on the rims yet, but they have good reviews on tire rack etc.

I know what you mean about the Philly streets and the snow, I wouldn't like to park my car on some of those narrow streets on the best of days for fear of someone hitting it, let alone in the winter. From what I have seen you have to more worried about the damage the plows do (if they can plow your street).

Yeah north philly streets are unpleasant to say the least. I went to Temple last year and finished my undergrad there and at the time I still had my Audi TT and I was always nervous that a plow was just gonna take the car out and leave me stranded some day lol. But know I'm in Manayunk so the streets are even smaller and throw steep hills into the equation... let's just say I don't look forward to winter in the coming months lol.

Is there a pro/con for what wheel size you run? Of course I'm not looking for 18's and running snow tires on them, kinda thinking about trying to find some used 5x100s 16's somewhere and also putting

[xFalleNx]

I just run a 16" set of steelies with Blizzak WS-60s

I'm looking to get a set of 17s for that lil extra bit of clearance. Unless I find a good deal on a used set though, I'm just going to stick to my 16s

[rage-wrx]

I run 16",the narrower the tire,the easier it is to get through snow.I went cheapo & got General Altimax last year as I had just bought the car & didn't have a lot of money for tires .They have served me well through last year's blizzard.No traction problems in the snow although in the dry they aren't great for cornering.

My 2011 winter setup

[xFalleNx]

My 2011 winter setup

There are some lulz to be had @ the end of that thread.

[rage-wrx]

There are some lulz to be had @ the end of that thread.

Yeah,dumb noob.

Did I mention that my tires kept coming loose?Once going down the interstate ,I take the exit & a guy comes up next to me & tells me that my right rear is wobbling.Sure enough I find that the lug nuts are real loose.I decide to take the car home,remove all 4 tires to get to the bottom of the issue & find out that 2 of my tires,the ones that keep coming loose don't have centering rings.I got them online from tire rack & so I call them up & they were gracious enough to refund a part of the cost & send me the centering rings.

After I put the centring rings on & corrected the direction the ride became a lot quieter.

[EJ257]

the narrower the tire,the easier it is to get through snow.

^^

Another reason to avoid all-season tires, where you want contact patch in the summer months.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

[SamXp]

I just run a 16" set of steelies with Blizzak WS-60s

I'm looking to get a set of 17s for that lil extra bit of clearance. Unless I find a good deal on a used set though, I'm just going to stick to my 16s

What do you mean by clearance? To the brake calipers? I was thinking about getting slightly taller tires for more ground clearance in the winter.

[Officer Cartman]

What do you mean by clearance? To the brake calipers? I was thinking about getting slightly taller tires for more ground clearance in the winter.

I'm assuming he's talking about ride height.. I run on 16s in the winter as well, and it lowers the car down even further.. Not exactly what you want when you're driving through snow!

[djclue8713]

I bought the car in January and immediately picked up some winter tires to put on the stock rims. Didn't have a lot of spare cash after the car purchase so winter wheels will be bought this winter. At first I was kinda disappointed to have 17's for the snow, but after this past winter the last thing I want is decreased ride height. Would love to hear what people have done for a cheap set of 17 inch wheels for the white stuff.

[tommy_c]

Thats one of my biggest concerns... ride height. I was thinking about investing in 16" steelies but then realized thats gonna drop the car and the last thing I want to do is have the fragile bumper act as the neighborhood plow. If only I had a garage at this new house and a snow mobile to take me to work... lol.

[Heide264]

Excuses the wheel noobness:

I need to pick up winter wheels. Was looking at goldies from an 05-07 STi since they are 17s, but I am thinking I should just get 16s. Will 16s clear what I need them to clear on my STi (brake calipers?)

Tire rack only recommends the normal 18s and a bunch of 17s for my car.

Also, why does the smaller wheel size drop the car much? Don't you normally just get a higher profile tire to compensate for the diameter difference?

[jgardiner]

Smaller diameter rims will not lower your car if you go with a higher profile tire. For a 16" rim try and find a 70 series tire and you will gain ground clearance as well as have taller tire sidewalls for better bump absorbtion.