Will snow tires fit on the standard rims or do you need to buy another set of wheels that are narrower?

I was planning on putting the Potenza summer slicks that come with the car on a brand new set of Gram-lights and then put the winter snowson the standars rims but I think they might be too wide for snows. Any comments?

 

I've been looking at this from the begining. I haven't done too much digging, but from what I've found we are fairly hosed. It seemed that there were very few 17" snow tires, and most of them were designed for trucks and had faily large sidewalls. I was only able to find one tire that was a direct size replacement and it was one of the Blizzaks. I started to look for thinner tires and rims, but without going custom I couldn't find 17" rims narrower than 7". I always keep a winter beater car, so I wasn't that worried about it, but it would be nice. Anybody else that knows aything let us know.

Keith

 

While yes, narrower wheels/tires do much better in snow, if you look at Tire Rack you will see that 225/45/17 snow tires do exist. Mind you most of them are "Performance" snow tires. I'm running Michelin Pilot Alpin's in 215/45/17 on my SVT Focus and have been really impressed with their ability in a rural Maine winter, they do pretty damn well in mud too. In my opinion, unless you're planning on plowing through back country logging roads, a set of wide snow tires with AWD should get you through most snowy situations that the STI will see.

 

Theoretically it's better to mount snow tires on narrower wheels since all the weight is then distributed over a narrower contact patch.......

However, in practice, manufacturers like Porsche recommend certain 18" wheel/tire combos (e.g. the 996).

Currently I'm running a set of 18x8.5" BBS CH wheels fitted with 225/40/18 Dunlop SP Winter Sports on my S4 without any problem.....and here in Rochester NY we've had record snowfalls this winter.

 

Maybe that was my problem, I was looking at just snow tires. All though I did look directly at Hakkapalita's web site and don't remmeber finding anything.

 

Well, when I test drove the 2004 WRX this week in ice and snow it performed brilliantly. So good in fact, I couldn't believe it. And the car only had generic all season tires. So, I'm going to look for a set of snows that will fit the existing rims that come with the car. If anyone knows ANY snow tire that will fit the standard rims, please tell me and everyone else, because I see lots of snow and I'm fed up with getting stuck.

 

There is absolutely no problem in getting high-performance winter tires ("snow" tires) and all-season tires to fit the 17x7.5" BBS wheels.

Your best option depends on where you live and how much snowfall you're likely to encounter. In terms of best all-round performance, a separate set of high-performance summer tires and high-performance winter tires (on a dedicated set of rims) is the best approach............all season tires are OK but they are a compromise i.e. they're not as good as high-performance summer or winter tires, so, in some respects, you lose out in twice over.....BUT, it depends on your style of driving too and whether you intend to track/auto-X etc.

The term (high-performance) "snow" tire can be misleading i.e. you don't necessarily need snow to benefit from these tires....once the temp.drops below ~40F you shouldn't be using "summer" tires anyway.

In terms of dedicated (snow) high-performance winter tires the Dunlop Winter SP Winter Sport M2s are fantastic, as are Pirelli 240 Snowsports.........i.e. if the snow disappears and you're running on dry or wet surfaces these are the ones to have.

If you want a single set of all-season tires you can leave on all year round then take a look at Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, Continental "ContiExtreme Contact" and Dunlop SP Sport 5000s......

 

Nokian makes H-rated and V-rated NRWs in 225/45/17 that are outstanding all-season tires with a strong snow/ice emphasis. Their Hakkas are probably the finest winter tires made but, unfortunately, do not come in 225/45/17. I'd take them over Blizzaks or Dunlop M2s. Michelins I wouldn't even consider ... they're French!

 

I am definitely planning on getting two sets of wheels: One with summer performance tires ( I plan on keeping the ones that come with the car) on new rims and a set of winter tires for the stock BBS rims. Thanks for all the info on tire suggestions, it has really helped and I visit tire track.com to read the reviews. However I was unable to find the Pirelli snowsport 240s.

 

Personally my preference is to go with high-performance winter tires recommended by Porsche.....and the only ones they recommend for '02-'03 are:

Continental ContiWinterContact (all conditions / heavy snow)
Dunlop SP Winter Sport M2 (all conditions)
Pirelli Winter 240 Snowsport (frequent fast freeway driving)

These are more tham just "nobbly" snow tires......these are the winter performance equivalent of the best summer tires you can buy.

Obviously these are intended for "street" use......maybe the Blizzaks etc. are better for other conditions, but these are the best compromise for handling/grip/comfort at (potentially) "high" speeds on slick roads.

 

Only two? It will depend on how fast the stock potenzas wear, but I haven't put it out of the realms of possabillity to have three sets of rims and tires. One for summer, one for winter, and one for auto-crossing. A lot of money to tie up, but I know I'll be able to use the auto-cross tires on our rally car for some stuff. I guess I would only really need two sets of wheels and swap between the winter and the autocross tires. But what if I want to use the winter tires for a rallycross? ARGGGH!

 

Nope. Two sets of tires and rims will do me plenty. Up here in Ontario we have a solid 4 to 5 months of snow covered roads so I'll be getting my money's worth. What I do wonder however, is how those stock potenzas will handle gravel? I also do a fair bit of driving in cottage country throuout the year where there is plenty of gravel roads. I have performance slicks for my mustang and I slide like I'm on a road of marbels! It's horrible. Then again, I don't want to go too fast and incur stone chips anyway.

 

I dunno, that's wierd. I had some really good things to say, I think.