One of my biggest concerns about shopping for a 2006 STI is what to do when the snow hits New England. I know the factory tires won't be much help, even the salesmen have told me that. Do the WRX 17"x7" wheels fit the STI and if so what tires would be adequate with the all wheel drive system on this car?

 

If you want to keep your stock tires as your summer tires, your best off getting a cheap set of rotas or buying someone's take off wheels off their STI(The 05 STI wheels are the same, so you can buy those also). Because of your brakes, most wheels will not fit. No way w/ the 17x7. As far as tires go, I'm running wintersport m2's on my wrx. They are up to wintersport m3's which I hear are better than my m2's.

 

I've heard Bridgestone Blizzaks are great if you and spending a great deal of time in the snow. I'm about to get toyo proxes 4s on my STi, but I don't know if they are hardcore enough for the ice and snow you'll probably be dealing with.

 

That's why I went w/ M2/M3's. Higher speed rating and better dry road manners.

 

Those Blizzaks are awesome, my friend has them on his STi. I used a set of Pirelli M+S Neros while I was home and they did very well in the snow. Not to mention they're great in the rain and do pretty well in dry conditions. A very well rounded (hahaha) tire to cover all your bases. I'd def. recommend them to anyone. No idea on tread life though, I'd assume much better than what I got on my 070s but I was inclined to push them to the limits.

 

I love my Blizzak LM-25s

 

I picked up mine mid-December and what I did was put a set of cheap Hankook ice bears on the stock BBS wheels right away. After that of course, the weather warmed up and we've had 27 days of straight rain(!).

Anyway, I'm going to use the BBS's for my winter setup and am now shopping for some nice summer rims.

 

What's the cheapest thing I can get that will fit the STI and take back off in the summer? Some of the ones I've seen so far are far from what I'd call "cheap".

 

Rotas are going to be your cheapest wheels. Go any cheaper than that and I think you'll start running in to quality issues. I've never heard any complaints about Rota wheels, you can't beat the price.

 

That's interesting because my experience on the Internet has shown that someone always complains about something.... Anyway, yes, Rota has a good reputation, but I have seen a couple of posts from people not happy with them (but by far the minority).

 

Ask the Pinoy boys to hook you up w/ some Rotas.

www.subydude.com

 

I'm with him.

 

Rotas aren't the cheapest options- check tire rack and discount tire for that. I doubt you'll have quality issues either, but Rotas do have the advantage of being both Subaru-specific and probably in a style and color you will like a lot. Personally, I say go cheap on winter wheels and pick the winter tire you think is best. I had Dunlop M2s last year on my RS and M3s this year on my Miata and won't be trying anything new next year. I'm quite pleased with them.