TeamGuam Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Because the 08 Spec-B is so new I'm having a hard time finding good all-season tires in its size. Anyone know of any that are good? If not what size would I need if I bumped down to 17s? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nm Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Good all-season tires? Does not compute. More info needed Will car see snow+ice? How often? (If more than a couple times, the answer is Nokian Wr) Dry performance needs? Wet performance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamGuam Posted December 11, 2007 Author Share Posted December 11, 2007 Living up in Wyoming so a good snow storm a couple times a year. Usually in the couple of inches range. Dry and wet performance needs are high. Not track or racing but able to enjoy the suspension and spirited driving. If I decide to go the 17s route what size tires would I need to make up the difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nm Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 I'd highly recommend the Nokian Wr if you're not doing a dedicated snow tire. Snow performance is much much better than any other all-season (good enough to be a dedicated snow tire) and dry high temp performance is better than average. i wouldn't auto-x it and it has a somewhat deeper tread than normal which means it has a bit more squirm. Wet traction is fantastic. It should be availible in the standard 18. However, if you really want to enjoy the suspension, you will be amazed at what true summers (and dedicated winters) will do. While the stocke Re050As are ok, the step up Re050A pole Positions (or Re-01R) are fantastic and may border car redefining. Really. Thats the advatage to winters no one talks about. And you can get some cheap ass winter wheels. Intial cost is high, but factoring in the fact that you're only wearing one pair at a time, it comes out even in the end minus the wheels. i think specbs can take OEM LGT 17in wheels, so you can get a decent deal on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slissner Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Nokian WR tires do well in winter for an all-season tire, but are inferior to a good winter tire. (I used Nokian WR tires on my last two Audis.) My 2007 spec.B has Pirelli Sottozero 215/45VR18 tires on the original wheels. My 2006 spec.B had separate 17-inch wheels with Nokian WR 215/50-17 tires. The Pirellis are very good on dry and on wet pavement and good in snow up to several inches. I haven't driven the Pirellis in really deep snow. Two disadvantages of all-season tires are that they are designed for no more than a few inches of snow and that after exposure to UV radiation in their first summer, they perform poorly in the following winter. I recommend that you consider a separate set of 17-inch wheels with winter tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Why not bump up to 225/45/18? You can then choose between the Bridgestone RE960 and Conti Extreme Contacts. Both great all season tires. I'm running RE960 225/45/17 on 7" rims, no reason you can't run 225/45/18's on your 7" rims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Dry and wet performance needs are high. RE960's, problem solved. Wet traction is near dry performance. I am extremely pleased. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=80 http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=72 http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=72 "The differences between the tires were more noticeable in the wet, where the Potenza RE960AS Pole Position showed a clear traction advantage" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nm Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Why not bump up to 225/45/18? You can then choose between the Bridgestone RE960 and Conti Extreme Contacts. Both great all season tires. I'm running RE960 225/45/17 on 7" rims' date=' no reason you can't run 225/45/18's on your 7" rims.[/quote'] I'd think upsizing would be very bad in winter esp with no-seasons. I guess conditions would differ by area but winter in much of Wyoming is very harsh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandman Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76257 Who Dares Wins スバル Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 I'd think upsizing would be very bad in winter esp with no-seasons. I guess conditions would differ by area but winter in much of Wyoming is very harsh. If he wants "all-season" tires then the two I suggested are good choices. Yes neither are as good as a true winter tire in snow/ice conditions. But you don't have snow on the ground all winter. In those conditions the "all seasons" are going to out perform the winter tire. The extra width...were only talking 10mm, take a look at a ruler...it's not that much...you'll never feel the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nm Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 If he wants "all-season" tires then the two I suggested are good choices. Yes neither are as good as a true winter tire in snow/ice conditions. But you don't have snow on the ground all winter. In those conditions the "all seasons" are going to out perform the winter tire. The extra width...were only talking 10mm, take a look at a ruler...it's not that much...you'll never feel the difference. I'll agree to disagree, but I've done a lot of tire upsizing (and swear by it for summers). Even very small differences in width are noticable in bad weather. Tire hydroplanes a bit more readility and grip in snow/ice is decreased. Maybe I'm hypersenstive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badfish11 Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 Why not bump up to 225/45/18? You can then choose between the Bridgestone RE960 and Conti Extreme Contacts. Both great all season tires. I'm running RE960 225/45/17 on 7" rims' date=' no reason you can't run 225/45/18's on your 7" rims.[/quote'] I can only say from personal experience that I have 225-45-18 Conti-Extreme Contacts(on a spec b). These all seasons that are super adequate in the dry and spectacular in the light snow/ice. (Granted my tire pressure at the time of driving in the bad weather was about 37f 35r. Generally a lower pressure should have yielded better results in the bad weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spect2k Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 There are only 3 all-season tires that are made in 215/45-18. They are the crappy bridgestones which are a deathtrap, the dunlops which are a bit better, and the 'best' of the bunch is the pirelli pzero nero m&s. These are great performance tires but not great in the snow. Of the 3 that I mentioned however, they are the best in the snow. I would NOT recommend going to a 225 tire as the spec B rim is 7" and 215s are meant to fit on a rim from 7-8". So we are already at the minimum with a 215 tire. 225s are meant for a 7-8.5" rim. I would rather not push the limits of the tire for safety reasons aside from the fact that the tire will wear much more due to the lack of support that it is receiving. It is subaru's fault that the rims are so narrow, but a 215 is already a wide tire for these ridiculously narrow rims. So there are your 3 options - I went with the pirelli's and am enjoying them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpoten Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 I just put a set of Pirelli Winter 240 Sottozero on 08 Spec B and drove through several storms, depth snow, No Problem. Great tires 215/45/18 check Tirerack.com and then beat up local tire store with price. On my 05 LGT I ran Pirelli P Zero Nero M&S, great tire also. Put 115,000 miles in 35 months, mostly on Pirelli. Great tires, Great cars... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamGuam Posted December 19, 2007 Author Share Posted December 19, 2007 Just ended up with Falken's they weren't exact fits only .2 inches taller. Huge difference than those summer tires. I like the Falkens I have on my STi so I figured they would be good enough. Thanks for the help though. I use to have P Zero Nero on my STi, not a big fan in the snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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