06 STI Tires and Wheels - bad for snow?

[Adam Frankel]

I was very close to purchasing my 06 STI today. The salesman is now saying
that I will need to purchase new (smaller) wheels AND larger all season or
snow tires as the current wheels and tires will not be appropriate for
driving in upstate New York. Is this really a problem or should I be able
to manage with the stock tires using the AWD?

Thanks.

 

[Dmitriy]

All-Wheel-Drive doesn't help much if none of your wheels has grip .
But coming from a guy who drove a FWD Corolla with nearly bald way wide
compared to stock Nitto NeoGen's through Michigan winters... you can
probably manage.

However, I wouldn't recommend it. The stock Bridgestones are definitely
a summer oriented tire, and would you really want to risk bending one
of those oh-so-expensive BBS wheels in a winter pothole? Or smashing up
your brand new $30+ thousand dollar car?

IMO... spending $800 on some crappy wheels and good winter tires is
cheap insurance and will make your winter driving a lot more enjoyable.

 

[Adam Frankel]

Thanks for the response. So do I need to replace the wheels and the tires
now or just the tires?

Right now the cars have "low profile" tires (I don't know the specific
make/model), could I go straight from those to these:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...ed_rating=WR&speed_rating=YR&minSpeedRating=V

or would I need a smaller wheel to accomodate the larger tire?

Thanks for helping me.

 

[Cam Penner]

Thanks for the response. So do I need to replace the wheels and the tires
now or just the tires?

Low profile is bad on winter roads. You want a higher
profile tire than the STi comes with stock.

Besides, the salt will KILL the stock rims. You'll be
really sad if you don't pony up the $$$ for some winter
rims. Plus, with rims and tires you don't have to go and
get the tires re-mounted every spring and fall. You can
just do it at home. Nothing sucks more than waiting too
long for the tire changeover, and having to drive to the
tire shop on your summer tires in the snow. Murphy's law
says you'll rearend someone at a stop sign while the tires
that would have gripped are in the trunk.

Get snows on rims. You'll never regret it.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Low profile is bad on winter roads. You want a higher
profile tire than the STi comes with stock.

Besides, the salt will KILL the stock rims. You'll be
really sad if you don't pony up the $$$ for some winter
rims. Plus, with rims and tires you don't have to go and
get the tires re-mounted every spring and fall. You can
just do it at home. Nothing sucks more than waiting too
long for the tire changeover, and having to drive to the
tire shop on your summer tires in the snow. Murphy's law
says you'll rearend someone at a stop sign while the tires
that would have gripped are in the trunk.

Get snows on rims. You'll never regret it.

He nneds to make sure that if he 'minus 1' sizes the wheels, they will
clear the brakes.

I'm just a flatlander - but from everything I've read (and believe) the
worst dedicated snow tires are better than the best all seasons even
with AWD.

Carl

 

[JD]

Thanks for the response. So do I need to replace the wheels and the tires
now or just the tires?

Right now the cars have "low profile" tires (I don't know the specific
make/model), could I go straight from those to these:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...ed_rating=WR&speed_rating=YR&minSpeedRating=V

or would I need a smaller wheel to accomodate the larger tire?

Thanks for helping me.

OK. Befiore you go nuts on wheels and tires, you can't use smaller wheels;
they won't clear the brake calipers in the front. If you can, I would buy a
set of 7"X17" with the correct offset for the winter. I use a narrower tire
for the winter since it will give you better grip in snow. I use a
205/50R17 winter. I bought Enkei wheels for the winter; good and cheap.

If you have to use the stock rims (which you can do, but will take a beating
from salt and sand) you have to use 225/45R17.

 

[mulder]

I was very close to purchasing my 06 STI today. The salesman is now saying
that I will need to purchase new (smaller) wheels AND larger all season or
snow tires as the current wheels and tires will not be appropriate for
driving in upstate New York. Is this really a problem or should I be able
to manage with the stock tires using the AWD?

Thanks.

The stock tires are summer tires only. Not only are they useless in
snow, but they are not supposed to be used in lower temperatures
(below about 40 degrees F). The tread compound is not designed to
operate at low temps and will get hard causing severe loss of grip.
People have crashed their brand new STi's because they got them in the
winter and drove them on the OEM tires. I at least give your salesman
credit for warning you not to use them in the winter, even if his info
wasn't totally correct.
As others have posted you can't use smaller wheels due to brake
clearance but there are some aftermarket wheels that will fit.
If you are in upstate NY you should get dedicated winter tires and not
all seasons.

 

[Body Roll]

I was very close to purchasing my 06 STI today. The salesman is now saying
that I will need to purchase new (smaller) wheels AND larger all season or
snow tires as the current wheels and tires will not be appropriate for
driving in upstate New York. Is this really a problem or should I be able
to manage with the stock tires using the AWD?

Besides the summer rubber you'd have the problem with 90W grease
in the rear diff. It flows above 32F. Not sure what you could do aside
from
replacing it with 75W90 when temperature drops below 40F or something?
I wonder if the diff would overheat if you forget to switch back to 90W
when the temps
get back up.
The manual is mum regarding what to do in STI below 32F.

 

[Adam Frankel]

Thanks for all the responses. I used tirerack.com (recommended to me by the
Subaru mechanic) and I am going to get a set of 4:

17x7.5 ASA JH3 Silver Painted

and

225/45WR17 Kumho ECSTA ASX Blackwall

This will come to $720 for 4 of each.

 

[sndive]

Thanks for all the responses. I used tirerack.com (recommended to me by the
Subaru mechanic) and I am going to get a set of 4:

17x7.5 ASA JH3 Silver Painted

and

225/45WR17 Kumho ECSTA ASX Blackwall

This will come to $720 for 4 of each.

ASX grip poorly on snow. If you absolutely have to get all seasons
people claim ContiExtremeContacts work very well in most conditions.
There is a RE-960 (successor?) to RE-950s that's been a very good
all around tire. But for a high perf car like yours all seasons will be
the weak link in a chain. If you can't afford two sets of rubber
(dedicated max perf summers and perf/deep snow winters)
I'd save $$$ and get a plain WRX instead.

 

[Cam Penner]

ASX grip poorly on snow. If you absolutely have to get all seasons
people claim ContiExtremeContacts work very well in most conditions.
There is a RE-960 (successor?) to RE-950s that's been a very good
all around tire. But for a high perf car like yours all seasons will be
the weak link in a chain. If you can't afford two sets of rubber
(dedicated max perf summers and perf/deep snow winters)
I'd save $$$ and get a plain WRX instead.

I'd concur. The car is coming with summer tires. You're
set for the non-winter months. If you're getting separate
rims and tires, but winter tires on, not all season tires.

 

[Jim Stewart]

ASX grip poorly on snow. If you absolutely have to get all seasons
people claim ContiExtremeContacts work very well in most conditions.
There is a RE-960 (successor?) to RE-950s that's been a very good
all around tire. But for a high perf car like yours all seasons will be
the weak link in a chain. If you can't afford two sets of rubber
(dedicated max perf summers and perf/deep snow winters)
I'd save $$$ and get a plain WRX instead.

Very good advice. The STI is an incredible
car, but the plain WRX is still lots of fun
and more practical for your application.

My wife has used hers as a snow car in the
Sierras for 2 seasons with zero problems
and stock tires.

 

[JD]

Besides the summer rubber you'd have the problem with 90W grease
in the rear diff. It flows above 32F. Not sure what you could do aside
from
replacing it with 75W90 when temperature drops below 40F or something?
I wonder if the diff would overheat if you forget to switch back to 90W
when the temps
get back up.
The manual is mum regarding what to do in STI below 32F.

I don't do anything to the oil in the diff with no probs. We get down down
to below -30 C here in winter and the car works fine.

 

[k. ote]

I was very close to purchasing my 06 STI today. The salesman is now
saying that I will need to purchase new (smaller) wheels AND larger all
season or snow tires as the current wheels and tires will not be
appropriate for
driving in upstate New York. Is this really a problem or should I be able
to manage with the stock tires using the AWD?

Thanks.

Whoah! Do *NOT* drive the stock tires in winter conditions! Not only is
there practically no snow-worthy grip, but the stock tires are rated only
down to 4C!

You *will* slide through every turn, miss every stop, skid down hills, spin
in place up hills, and generally look like a tool driving a car like the
STi without winter or at least M+S tires.

The reason the salesman is suggesting a new set of wheels to go with new
tires is twofold: 1. The BBS wheels are ridiculously expensive. Why risk
them? 2. It hurts tires to be moved too many times around on wheels.

You don't necessarily have to get smaller wheels and bigger tires. Be
mindful, though, of the fact that snow and ice that can accumulate in
BBS-like ventilated wheels and STi wheel-wells. (My old 2002 WRX, driving
through snowy conditions, needed frequent cleaning in the wheel wells with
a long-handled scraper, without which the tire would rub horribly against
polished ice/snow chunks tossed up there and compressed by normal driving.)

 

[k. ote]

Besides, the salt will KILL the stock rims. You'll be

I spoke with some people at BBS. They seemed to think winter salt wouldn't
hurt the wheels at all.

 

[CompUser]

@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
(e-mail address removed) says...

Besides the summer rubber you'd have the problem with 90W grease
in the rear diff. It flows above 32F. Not sure what you could do aside
from
replacing it with 75W90 when temperature drops below 40F or something?

Note the poster ID---the info is totally bogus.
;-)

 

[Body Roll]

I don't do anything to the oil in the diff with no probs. We get down down
to below -30 C here in winter and the car works fine.

Nice to know. Do you have any autocross events in winter?

 

[Body Roll]

@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
(e-mail address removed) says...


Note the poster ID---the info is totally bogus.
;-)

Looks like you are right. From what I googled 90W synthetic may flow
okay even at 0F.
Does anyone know if STI comes with synthetic or dino gear oil
in the rear diff?
Thanks!

 

[JD]

Nice to know. Do you have any autocross events in winter?

We do indeed. I don't autocross myself, but several of my buddies with STIs
do and no issues with the oil in the diff. When the car is cold, it is a
bit stiff (but so is the tranny), but everything warms up in a few minutes
of driving.

 

[JD]

Looks like you are right. From what I googled 90W synthetic may flow
okay even at 0F.
Does anyone know if STI comes with synthetic or dino gear oil
in the rear diff?
Thanks!

Mine (an 04) came with MOTUL synthetic