[Hellkat]

While I've only had my WRX for a few months, I was pretty pissed that summer tires are standard. I'm looking to beat the rush and get all seasons a bit early. I'm considering BF Goodrich G-Force Comp-2's, but is there anything better? Not really wanting to push more than $125/tire. Thanks

 

[XJman]

I was pissed my car had all seasons. I would personally slip the all seasons and buy an appropriate set of winter tires.

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[Hellkat]

I was pissed my car had all seasons. I would personally slip the all seasons and buy an appropriate set of winter tires.

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I would buy winter tires, but it may not make much sense to when my work and pretty much everything I do is away from the snow, except for home anyways.

 

[XJman]

Performance winter tires are still the better choice. You do you, if I were to buy any all seasons it would be conti DWS. They are about the best I've used, but only for a season or two just like normal all season tires.

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[EJ257]

I would buy winter tires, but it may not make much sense to when my work and pretty much everything I do is away from the snow, except for home anyways.

You really need to evaluate the driving conditions you're going to see. An all-season tire is adequate for all seasons, but it's not really good at any of them. While we tote things like handling at the limit, since we're dealing with a "sporty" car, there's also other factors like braking that come into play for people who don't need the "at the limit" handling traction. The tire is the only part of the vehicle that is in contact with the pavement, so you want the best traction possible at all times. A 2' difference in stopping from 60MPH can be the difference between automotive buttsex and a buttpuckering close call.

If you're dealing with sub-40° temperatures regularly, that's where the winter tire compounds shine; they're designed to give ultimate traction in colder temperatures. If you're not dealing with a lot of snow, you can look at a set of Performance Winter tires, which are designed mainly for dry traction, but will also offer superior traction on snow/ice superior to an all-season tire. Then you have your summer tires which also provide superior traction to an all-season tire. If you really don't see that much sub-40° temperatures (above 50°, the winter tire compound gets a bit greasy and doesn't grip as well), a set of A/S tires to offset your summer tires during the "winter" months is probably ideal.

While having two sets of wheels/tires is a bit of an initial financial offset, it's evened out by doubling the life of the tire (since it's only being used half the year). There's also the issue of storage; not everyone has the space to store an extra set of wheels/tires.

 

[Hellkat]

You really need to evaluate the driving conditions you're going to see. An all-season tire is adequate for all seasons, but it's not really good at any of them. While we tote things like handling at the limit, since we're dealing with a "sporty" car, there's also other factors like braking that come into play for people who don't need the "at the limit" handling traction. The tire is the only part of the vehicle that is in contact with the pavement, so you want the best traction possible at all times. A 2' difference in stopping from 60MPH can be the difference between automotive buttsex and a buttpuckering close call.

If you're dealing with sub-40° temperatures regularly, that's where the winter tire compounds shine; they're designed to give ultimate traction in colder temperatures. If you're not dealing with a lot of snow, you can look at a set of Performance Winter tires, which are designed mainly for dry traction, but will also offer superior traction on snow/ice superior to an all-season tire. Then you have your summer tires which also provide superior traction to an all-season tire. If you really don't see that much sub-40° temperatures (above 50°, the winter tire compound gets a bit greasy and doesn't grip as well), a set of A/S tires to offset your summer tires during the "winter" months is ideal.

While having two sets of wheels/tires is a bit of an initial financial offset, it's evened out by doubling the life of the tire (since it's only being used half the year). There's also the issue of storage; not everyone has the space to store an extra set of wheels/tires.

Yeah, we don't see anything lower than the teens around here, let alone more than maybe 2-3 inches of snow before the plows come through. That's why I was kind of leaning more towards A/S than winter.

 

[EJ257]

Yeah, we don't see anything lower than the teens around here, let alone more than maybe 2-3 inches of snow before the plows come through. That's why I was kind of leaning more towards A/S than winter.

Teens are well below the 40° threshold I mentioned, which is where winter tires shine. How much time during the "winter" are you >50° vs <50°?

Snowfall is more what category of winter tire you should buy, not whether you should have them. Temperature is what should be the main driving force of whether you should buy winter tires.

Regardless of whether you go with a winter set of tires or not, I still recommend summer tires during the warmer months.

 

[Hellkat]

I'm really not sure yet. I moved from the desert at the end of fall last year, so I only have winter to base my impressions off of.

 

[XJman]

Where are you in North California? If you are somewhere along the coast as far as I know being cold is not super common.

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[Hellkat]

The Sonora area. Pretty much the lower sierras

 

[XJman]

I would check out historic weather data by month and see what it says. If you are seeing 40-50 degree winter's then I would opt for a high performance all season, if there are months regularly below 40s and absolutely into the teens a performance winter is the way to go.

The difference is braking is unbelievable. If it does snow and maintain snow on the ground it may be worth looking into something more snow related. It will be instantly recognized that your abs triggers less frequently

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[Hellkat]

I would check out historic weather data by month and see what it says. If you are seeing 40-50 degree winter's then I would opt for a high performance all season, if there are months regularly below 40s and absolutely into the teens a performance winter is the way to go.

The difference is braking is unbelievable. If it does snow and maintain snow on the ground it may be worth looking into something more snow related. It will be instantly recognized that your abs triggers less frequently

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Oh ok. I guess that would also help going to Reno in winter months for smokes too.


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[Hellkat]

Winter performance tires

I am looking for the first set of winter tires I've ever needed. What are the best performance tires you've found, and what is the estimated price per full set?
Thanks!

 

[XJman]

What type of winter's do you have

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[Hellkat]

What type of winter's do you have

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Not entirely sure yet. This will be my second winter. Neighbors say this past winter was the worst they've had in 6 years. But I do intend on spending a lot of time outside of snow areas for work and seeing my son. But I will also be on I-80 to Reno about once a month or two. I will definitely see snow, but the car won't exactly be living in it, so to speak.

 

[XJman]

Look up an average winter snow fall if you are in an area that sees multiple inches or even feet of snow listed often you will want to avoid a performance winter tire. If you don't see high averages of snow there are multiple options available that are good. Nokians have been popular lately. I like my general altamax arctic because they can be studded.

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[Hellkat]

Look up an average winter snow fall if you are in an area that sees multiple inches or even feet of snow listed often you will want to avoid a performance winter tire. If you don't see high averages of snow there are multiple options available that are good. Nokians have been popular lately. I like my general altamax arctic because they can be studded.

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From what I see, the average season snow fall is 31 inches.

 

[racer70]

... What are the best (winter) performance tires you've found ...

I've been putting snowies on performance cars for years. The areas I travel average between four and five feet of snow annually.

IMO "performance" and "winter" really don't go together. Any good snow tire I've ever run has had soft enough rubber and flexible enough tread blocks (sometimes due to sipiing) that throwing the car around was a recipe for tires that only lasted a couple of seasons. The snowies always have a less-sharp response to them, too, when turning the steering wheel. My suggestion would be to optimize the winter tires for snow and ice, then save the "performance" urges for times of year when the performance tires are on the car.

Further complicating things is the fact that narrower winter tires are better, especially pushing through deep snow. So the ideal would be a narrower winter tire with the same diameter as your summer tires.

 

[Hellkat]

I've been putting snowies on performance cars for years. The areas I travel average between four and five feet of snow annually.

IMO "performance" and "winter" really don't go together. Any good snow tire I've ever run has had soft enough rubber and flexible enough tread blocks (sometimes due to sipiing) that throwing the car around was a recipe for tires that only lasted a couple of seasons. The snowies always have a less-sharp response to them, too, when turning the steering wheel. My suggestion would be to optimize the winter tires for snow and ice, then save the "performance" urges for times of year when the performance tires are on the car.

Further complicating things is the fact that narrower winter tires are better, especially pushing through deep snow. So the ideal would be a narrower winter tire with the same diameter as your summer tires.

Well that kills my out of snow/wet weather fun hahah. I'd get a second set of rims, but the car is only a lease. I wanted to see if I could live without a sunroof first, before leasing a premium or limited and getting a bunch of add ons/modifying.


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[racer70]

Well that kills my out of snow/wet weather fun hahah. I'd get a second set of rims, but the car is only a lease. ...

Well, you can have your fun. Just don't also expect to have much in the way of tires after having a lot of fun.

Re rims, I just bought a 2017 and have been watching CraigsList. There are the dreamers of course at $1000+ but I think I can pick up a set of good mounted snows on mags in the $400-600 range without problems. That's in the ballpark of a set of new tires.. The later Soobs use a 4 1/2" aka 114.3mm BC while the earlier ones are 110mm. So watch that, but CraigsList might be your friend on this deal.

Swapping two sets of tires on one set of wheels can be time-consuming and expensive.