tjcarst Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 After the first snowfall in NE, I've discovered the summer RE050A tires suck on snow. Dangerous even. I had RE92's on my WRX and loved them in all conditions, even snow, though most thought they were crap. I am researching all season tires for my '08 SpecB and am limited due to their size 215/45-18. Does anyone have experience with the following two (or just an opinion) of which is better for snow and still good at wet/dry (yes I've been to tirerack.com, just hoping for a real world comparison). Goodyear Eagle GT Kumho Ecsta ASX Thanks for your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f1anatic Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 You should search and also contact user fishbone from Lincoln nebraska as well. A good tire is Continental Conti Extreme Contact. Before this, I had the Kumhos and while they were marginally decent, the Conti Extremes lived up to the hype and the car is very stable and rarely breaks traction unless you are driving like an idiot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbrjason Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 +1 on the conti extreme. I went with those for my 08 spec b for winter/all season use. I chose 225/40/18 in size. 225/45/18 is also okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcarst Posted December 19, 2008 Author Share Posted December 19, 2008 Thanks. I've chatted with fishbone on various topics, both being from Lincoln. Need to make a quick decision as there's an ice storm happening as I type. Riding the city bus to work is not my ideal method of transportation. I did not find the Continental Conti as an option for my tire size 215/45-18. I'll do further research and see what I find. The 225/40 and 225/45 work on the spec rims? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbrjason Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Thanks. I've chatted with fishbone on various topics, both being from Lincoln. Need to make a quick decision as there's an ice storm happening as I type. Riding the city bus to work is not my ideal method of transportation. I did not find the Continental Conti as an option for my tire size 215/45-18. I'll do further research and see what I find. The 225/40 and 225/45 work on the spec rims? Either will work fine. The 40 series will slightly under gear the car, the 45 will slightly over gear it. Neither has a very dramatic effect though. A lot more tire choices are available in a 225 than a 215, though that may start to change as 18" wheels become more common on passenger cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spect2k Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 I'm sure you know by now that the stock RE050As are summer tires and not meant for the snow - so I completely agree. Downright dangerous. I am running all-seasons during the winter time (unfortunately). I would buy some winter tires if I weren't afraid of losing my job right now (layoffs). As for all-seasons, the pirelli pzero-nero are probably the worst tire that you can buy for snow. They are basically an all-season. After lots of research, I would go with the eagle GT and will go with them when I can afford a new set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 I have the Eagle GTs in the stock size (large reason why I chose them). We got a fair amount of snow here in Chicago the other day and although they handled the snow ok, they weren't exactly confidence inspiring doing ~30 on a slight turn with maybe 6-8 inches of slushy snow. I thought I was going to lose it at one point but regained control after I backed off the throttle a bit. To sum things up: Dry handling: Not as good as the RE050, but good enough for me. Wet handling: Handles puddles with no problems. Snow handling: It'll get you through the winter if you drive carefully. If I had to do it all over again, I'd either get Nokian WR all-seasons in 225/40/18 or a dedicated winter set. A dedicated winter set would be a bit of an overkill since the roads here aren't always covered in snow, but one fender bender (or worse) avoided and the wheels and tires would pay for themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spect2k Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 the other goodyears - the eagle f1 are supposed to be very good in the snow for an all-season for what I hear. they don't make them in a 215/45-18 though. I had a set of toyo proxes 4 on my last car before I sold it but never really got to test it out too well in the snow. That's a tire i'd look at and maybe do some research on. Anyone tried them in the snow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 the other goodyears - the eagle f1 are supposed to be very good in the snow for an all-season for what I hear. they don't make them in a 215/45-18 though. They do: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Eagle+F1+A%2FS-C&partnum=145WR8F1ASC&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes&place=10 I went with the GTs because of the higher treadwear rating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcarst Posted December 19, 2008 Author Share Posted December 19, 2008 Tirerack said the GT is a MUCH better tire than the F1 A/S-C (not the same as the Goodyear F1 All Season). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spect2k Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 ^^ correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polo08816 Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 You should search and also contact user fishbone from Lincoln nebraska as well. A good tire is Continental Conti Extreme Contact. Before this, I had the Kumhos and while they were marginally decent, the Conti Extremes lived up to the hype and the car is very stable and rarely breaks traction unless you are driving like an idiot. If you want the best dry performance and hydroplaning resistance the Bridgestone Potenza 960 Assymetrical Pole Position is the best all season out there. If you want the best A/S tire that can handle snow, the Continental ContiExtremeContact is the way to go. Anyways, I was out in the snow today. I on the OEM RE92 and I've only had 2300 miles on the tires (brand new car). Those tires suck. My mom's 02 Accord with the Potenza 960AS PP handle MUCH better. I can't imagine it if I had those or the Conti's on. Snow performance would be ridiculously better. I'm scared that I might actually get suck in snow with the RE92. I would bet that the 960AS or the CEC could plow through at least 3-4" more than what the RE92 can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcarst Posted December 19, 2008 Author Share Posted December 19, 2008 The 225/40-18 is a wider tire than my 215/45-18's. Does that make much of a difference in handling in snow? I really want to make the 225/40-18 work as they are $72 compared to same tire in 215/45-18 at $135. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 The 225/40-18 is a wider tire than my 215/45-18's. Does that make much of a difference in handling in snow? I really want to make the 225/40-18 work as they are $72 compared to same tire in 215/45-18 at $135. The difference between 215 and 225 is tiny. I doubt it would make a difference. I stuck with the stock size because I wanted my speedo to be as accurate as possible, and only because I'm anal that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcarst Posted December 19, 2008 Author Share Posted December 19, 2008 Did you make a typo above or is the Nokian WR only available in the 225? "If I had to do it all over again, I'd either get Nokian WR all-seasons in 225/40/18 or a dedicated winter set. A dedicated winter set would be a bit of an overkill since the roads here aren't always covered in snow, but one fender bender (or worse) avoided and the wheels and tires would pay for themselves." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcarst Posted December 19, 2008 Author Share Posted December 19, 2008 Will the 225/40-18 fit my 08 SpecB stock rims? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Did you make a typo above or is the Nokian WR only available in the 225? No typo. Last I looked, the Nokian didn't come in our stock size. Will the 225/40-18 fit my 08 SpecB stock rims? Yes, it will. See the sticky at the top of this forum: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4426 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
korpsepatrol Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 I am currently running kumho asx's 225 45 17 on bbs's. They worked great in light snow about to go test them out in heavy snow. 2008 6mt Legacy Gt Spec B DGM - Not so Stock/Work in progress 2006 5mt Legacy Gt OBP - Sold 2005 5eat Legacy Gt OBP - RIP R.I.P Coxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcarst Posted December 19, 2008 Author Share Posted December 19, 2008 Kumho Ecsta ASX (listed wrong price above for 215/45-18): 225/40-18 = $ 72 = 288 225/45-18 = $ 93 = 372 $84 more 215/45-18 = $115 = 460 (stock size) $172 more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Mistake in price: 225/40-18 = $ 72 = 288 225/45-18 = $ 93 = 372 $84 more 215/45-18 = $115 = 460 (stock size) $172 more Which tire are these prices for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spect2k Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 For the stock spec B rims, you can of course use the stock size of 215/45-18 and you can use 225/40-18 (according to tirerack). According to tire rack, you should not go to 225/45-18, but we know that they are ultra conservative and we also know that there are plenty of people on here that use that size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcarst Posted December 19, 2008 Author Share Posted December 19, 2008 Thanks for sharing the link, missed the sticky entirely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcarst Posted December 19, 2008 Author Share Posted December 19, 2008 Which tire are these prices for? Oops. Sorry. They are the Kumho Ecsta ASX at Tirerack.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakabakablah Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I realize this is an extremely old thread but korpsepatrol, how did the Ecsta ASXs end up performing in heavier snow? Living in Southern California, I can't really justify buying a second set of rims and dedicated snow tires since I only head up to the mountains (Big Bear, mostly) once or twice a year. Obviously since A/S tires aren't the best in snow (as opposed to dedicated snow tires) driving slowly is a must, but I want to know how these will do on say... a road with 3-4" of snow. I had done some light research on tires and called up a shop that quoted me $123/tire installed and balanced for the Ecstas (215/45 R18), but reading up on various threads has given me an idea that the Ecsta's aren't too hot for driving in snow. Any insight would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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