i have an '05 sti and i was wondering how dangerous it would be if i went to tahoe during the winter without chains or snow tires. obviously chains or snow tires would be better and safer but how would the stock tires hold up?

 

i thought that even with awd, you would need snow tires or else they make u put on chains

 

no they dont make you put on chains. I wouldnt run the stock sti tires in the snow if i were you though, but you can get away with a performance "all season" with no problems.

 

no you don't need snow tires nor chains

what you do have to have though are all season tires (all season meaning they have a m+s rating on the sidewall) which the sti's do not come stock with. you would need to change out your tires if you want to drive your sti up to tahoe in the winter time and they have chain restrictions

and its not all that good for the car to put chains on it. and as long as you have all season tires, you will never be required to put chains on as they will close the road before that happens. but i think you are required to carry them anyways

 

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What I was telling Jeff was.. The STi comes with a more performance oriented tire that doesn't work well in snow and such. While it is an AWD super duper car, the AWD in this case is more street oriented while the standard WRX would probably be a better choice for someone who plans on hitting the slopes like mad, but doesn't want to modify, alter, buy or store extra parts for their car.

The STi is gonna be awesome, but at the least you will need a set of all-season tires mounted on those purdy new wheels. The sensible choice would be a summer set and a winter set, but due to the size of the brake calipers - you will need at least a 17" wheel that clears the calipers. I am not even sure what wheels are out for the '05 STi's new bolt pattern. I wouldn't ever think of putting chains on an STi...

Just keep in mind while AWD helps you go, grip helps you stop. High performance street tires have zero grip on snow and ice.

-Jacob

 

go for a set of 17" rotas!!

 

I would NOT take the stock STI tires in the snow! Thats one thing the stock wrx has over the sti. The RE92s are actually really good in the snow. Listen to the some of the posts above and get some all season tires. Also remember, when you get home to wash the car completely, under carriage and all. You dont want all that salt to stay on the car. Have fun and drive safe!

 

i wouldn't go as far as saying that. they do ok in the snow and work going back and forth to tahoe, but i would never say they are really good in the snow

 

The only reason I said that was because, I have read a few posts that said they performed well in the snow. I will try them out this winter, and find out myself.

 

the re92's are def not great but okay in the snow. i took the car up to reno last christmas and i'm still alive at the very least.

 

i wouldnt go that far...

worse case scenario, if you got stuck in the middle of snow storm with the RE070s, i wouldnt be doing 4 wheel drifts around a corner...

 

Also, if you keep the r-compund tires they will not perform well at all in the cold becuase they will have difficulty warming up.

 

If the snow conditions get bad enough (just short of closing down the roads) they will make you put on chains, even if you are 4WD/AWD and have snow tires (I think with the exception of studded tires) I found this out in Yosimite. They made my friend with a 4WD Jeep and snow tires put on chains. Go figure