Hi - somewhat perplexed by the many choices for wheels out there. I want to
keep 16" size on the wagon. I'm in annoying situation of needing both new tires
and also snows. Tires are easy, but not sure with the wheels. I'd like to keep it
under 250 per, and hopefully less. So what would you recommend if I:

a) Keep stock wheels for snows or

b) Keep stock wheels for new regular tires and get new wheels for snow season.

I'm primarily in NY and VT and would say I drive agressively, but the days of real craziness are past

Thanks

 

Keep the stock wheels for snow tires, then buy a summer wheel/tire combo. Subaru 99-2001 RS 6 spoke wheels are a good choice. 16X7 with an oem offset, very light, look better than the wrx wheels and you can get them for less than $500. Actually that is exactly my winter/summer combo!

Also, the Rota slipstreams look cool, they are 16X8 and IIRC pretty light as well. I just dont know if they fit on a wagon...and they can be tough to find.

 

Hmm... I've been leaning more to keeping the stock for regular season and
getting something lower end for the snows. (Also means I can get some new
tires on tomorrow locally) You have any thoughts on the ASA or Kazera's? They
run around 120 per new, 16.5-19.5lbs. I drive on a lot of crap roads up in VT
and I'm concerned about rims that aren't strong enough to take a pounding.
Cheers

 

Not familiar with those wheels. I wouldnt worry about 16's bending or breaking...unless you are hitting uneven pavement at high speeds. I hit a slab of 4" uneven pavement on the freeway at about 100-110mph. I had some cheap 17" konig wheels with low profile tires. My left front tire blew out, and both drivers side wheels bent a little bit. That sucked! I think if I had 16's with a bigger tire, the wheels might have survived.....

Back on topic, if you dont mind the look, you could pick up some used oem wheels for cheap too. $200-$300 for a set. There are tons of options, just depends on what you want: looks, budget, winter beater, spinners, haha j/k