Moddiction Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 I am looking to buy a set of snow tires today since one of my current all season tires is destroyed. I will buy another matching tire for that set to put back on in the spring since I need it shaved to match from tire rack. For the winter tires should I go with the standard 215/45/17 or go with a narrower 205/50/17 tire? I know usually narrower tire is better in snow but most of the time there isn't snow on the ground so is it worth it to sacrifice normal driving with the narrower tire for the improvement when there is snow? WWW.MODDICTION.COM Moddiction Stainless steel and Titanium shift knobs. Drivetrain, suspension, brakes, exhaust, cooling, fuel, gauges+MUCH more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moddiction Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 Also do I actually need a 91 load rating on them? Or are the 87 rating enough? I know weight wise it looks like 87 is enough but tire place said they couldn't sell me the 91 rating for my Legacy. 87 is rated for like 1200 lbs a tire. WWW.MODDICTION.COM Moddiction Stainless steel and Titanium shift knobs. Drivetrain, suspension, brakes, exhaust, cooling, fuel, gauges+MUCH more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCwagon Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Winter tires always work better in the snow if they are "less" wide. This is especially true in deep snow. I would even consider a 215/50/17. I have had snow tires on every Subaru I have owned and it is a wonderful thing. My proudest moment was pulling a Jeep out of a ditch with my WRX. My .02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moddiction Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 How do the narrower tires work the rest of the time though on dry or wet pavement? I'm leaning towards getting the 205/50/17 that will keep speedo correct no? Thinking of getting these. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Winter+Maxx&partnum=05TR7WMAXX&i1_Qty=4&autoMake=Subaru&autoModel=Legacy%20Sedan%202.5%20GT%20Limited&autoYear=2008&autoModClar=With%20OE%20Metal%20Valve%20Stems&vehicleSearch=true WWW.MODDICTION.COM Moddiction Stainless steel and Titanium shift knobs. Drivetrain, suspension, brakes, exhaust, cooling, fuel, gauges+MUCH more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNVAR Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Check the survey results. That tire's not even listed there. Also, I don't see a single review for your tire. Do you want to be the first? Guinea pig? Strange that you're concerned about dry performance, but you're not looking at the winter performance category... http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/index.jsp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08 LGT Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Winter tires always work better in the snow if they are "less" wide. This is especially true in deep snow. I would even consider a 215/50/17. Yep, I just put on the new Pirelli Sottozero 3's on in this size and they fit fine. Having a bit more sidewall to deal with inevitable potholes around here is worth the slight increase in ride height to me. I had them out on slushy roads this weekend and they handled great on mountain switchbacks heading up to a ski resort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCwagon Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 How do the narrower tires work the rest of the time though on dry or wet pavement? I'm leaning towards getting the 205/50/17 that will keep speedo correct no? Thinking of getting these. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Winter+Maxx&partnum=05TR7WMAXX&i1_Qty=4&autoMake=Subaru&autoModel=Legacy%20Sedan%202.5%20GT%20Limited&autoYear=2008&autoModClar=With%20OE%20Metal%20Valve%20Stems&vehicleSearch=true Winter tires will all be a little less responsive on dry pavement than all season tires. They are actually quite good in the rain. 205/50/17 should be really close to factory calibration. 205 width seems a bit narrow to me but that is just a personal preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I would stick to the standard width... most of the time, you'll be driving on pavement and ice where you need good grip. For the snow, you already have the AWD working for you. People used to go with narrower tires because garages would bot carry all sizes for winter tire. Nowadays, all sizes are available (at least, here in Quebec). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moddiction Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Yeah using my gf's legacy until I get new tires since I don't want to drive my s2000 in this weather with summer tires lol. Might just wait and get 1 all season tire shaved to match my current tires instead. All winter tires I want are not in stock at any tire places and even tire rack is out of most or only in stock in far away warehouses it seems. Only ones they had nearby that aren't $180+ a tire are the blizzak lm32 but no reviews or tests on those yet that I saw. WWW.MODDICTION.COM Moddiction Stainless steel and Titanium shift knobs. Drivetrain, suspension, brakes, exhaust, cooling, fuel, gauges+MUCH more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNVAR Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Use TireRack to read suveys and reviews. Check other places for stock. I've purchased from TireRack, DiscountTireDirect, and Tirebuyer before and have gotten some good discounts too. TireBuyer, for example, is eligible for 5% FatCash if you click through FatWallet. Then they have some Google-able coupons on top of that, etc. etc. TireRack is a great site and I've never had a problem with them shipping out stuff before and it getting to me, and neither have my friends. I haven't had a problem with the other sites before either, but a few of my friends had some minor hiccups/delays.... So there you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Giovo Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I have had good luck with Discount Tire - freight is free Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krzyss Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 LM32 are good performance winter tires. They are new in the USA for this year. I would expect no reviews. You can use 205/50, 215/45 and 225/45 R17 tires on stock wheels. Load Index - OE was quite low 87. The new tires must have at least the same value. No clue why somebody would refuse to install 91. Krzys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moddiction Posted December 18, 2013 Author Share Posted December 18, 2013 For now I just ordered one matching all season tire from tire rack and had them shave it to match. I still might get a new set of snow tires though. WWW.MODDICTION.COM Moddiction Stainless steel and Titanium shift knobs. Drivetrain, suspension, brakes, exhaust, cooling, fuel, gauges+MUCH more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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