I have an '06 WRX wagon and I want to get some snow tires. I want to be able to mount tire chains, because I've actually seen the checkpoints refuse to let anyone past without chains, no matter what tires you have. I was thinking I would get a new set of wheels for dry weather and put the snow tires on the stock wheels, but the manual says don't mount chains on the stock 17s because of insufficient clearance. Does anyone know if this is a big deal? Do I actually need to buy 16s just so I can mount chains? And as a separate question, what snow tires are the best? I would probably change back to dry tires when I'm not on the mountain, so snow traction is the main priority. I realize this has been discussed before, but it seems like there's not much consensus. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Nokian is best for snow in my opinion. As far as the 16" wheel problem goes i have an 04' so im not positive but i'd go with 16's to be safe. Ask your stealership about that before you take my advice. But go with ANY Nokians and you wont be dissapointed.

 

From my understanding..... 16's will not fit over your 4pots. and i dont see how you would get stopped at a checkpoint, AWD with M+S rated tires= you gettin waived through without a problem

 

Yeah...what chekc point have you seen AWD w/ M+S get stopped but others let though? I've always seen that chains required means suby's w/M+S are ok...and then if it gets worse, they close the road...I'm curious about where, not trying to say you're wrong.

 

Blizzaks were great for me in Alaska for the winter. Its more Ice than snow, err really its a layer of packed snow with ice on that and more packed snow on top of that. But they made it feel like summer as far as breaking goes.

 

The older RS 16" wheels will fit over the new '06+ wrx brakes. I've never been stopped in my car, I've always been waived through.

 

+1 nokians
I ran some nokians during the winter while i was driving delivery, only got stuck twice even during the ice storm; both were because I got high centered on a big block of ice.
I could accelerate, brake, and turn pretty much like normal on a slick sheet of ice with a light coating of water on it.
I bought some cables from a NAPA store that I researched online; they work great with my stock 16s. Between the nokians, cables, and AWD nobody did better on the ice that winter.

 

Thanks for the tips. I wasn't actually in my WRX when I got stopped at the checkpoint, I was in a friend's 4wd Suburban with snow tires - much more hard core than the Suby. This was on the way to Big Bear in SoCal, and they weren't even looking at people's tires, they were just sending everyone back unless they had chains on. They probably should have closed the road, because after we finally got chains and got up the mountain we saw at least 5 cars stuck by the side of the road. It hadn't been plowed at all after a heavy overnight snowfall. I wasn't prepared for this, as people had told me if you have 4wd and chains in the car, they let you go. Not true at Big Bear. At that point I was a nooby snowboarder and didn't know anything, but after that I went to Mammoth and decided never to go back to Big Bear. Hopefully it won't ever be a problem again, but it really sucks if you get hosed from the mountain.

 

Actually our subies drive much better in the snow than suv's.

 

I just talked to the service dept at Irvine Subaru where I bought my car, and they said that cables (not chains) are fine with the 17s. So now my plan is to get snow tires (Nokians, perhaps) and put them on the stock wheels, and get better wheels/tires for dry weather. Any suggestions? Thanks a lot!

 

It depends but for your money the Toyo RA-1 are a great buy. If your willing to spend some more money the Potenza RE01's are amazing summer tires as well. My advice is to use the stock wheels for the snow and either put the summer tires on the stockers or buy a nice set of light wheels for the summer.

 

RA1s are a horrible idea for the street. They are expensive and wear out quickly, and they don't grip that well because they don't get hot enough just driving around. The RE0s are a good choice though- I'm probably going to run a set of those next year for autocross.

 

My car will spend most of its time on the street, so I agree that RA1s are not for me. What about Toyo T1-R? I've heard some good things about them and they seem to be a little cheaper than some of the other high performance tires.