harvey

iTrader: (48)

The WRX Wagon runs on 16" Goodyear NCT5 Rubber (205 50 16) and the OE wheels are quite adequate for Winter use. I also have 17" wheels (215 40 17) for posing in but the 205 50 16 perform well with a slightly bigger rolling radius giving the car longer legs.
I saw a set of 16" wheels for sale for very little money complete with Falken Rubber. I was led to believe these were 205 50 16 but when I got them I found they were 205 55 16 shod with snow tyres. In my simplistic way I thought this was good as it would lift my top speed at Elvington and I now had a proper set of Winter tyres. (They are marked "Not to be used with studs") I put them on the next day and went about my business with a view to trying them. The car felt a little strange and on the first wide interchange while travelling at only reasonable speed with a degree of caution I was surprised by the lack of adhesion. Without caution it would have been a major slide into the kerb. It is possible to drive along a straight road in 3rd gear with the tail end out (electronic after market diff) with either right hand or left hand opposite lock, whatever takes your fancy.
These tyres are dangerous in wet or dry so do not be caught out. I am now waiting for a heavy snow fall to try them on snow covered roads in the conditions for which they are intended.
BTW they are probably not suitable for the intended 170 mph runs as they are "Q" rated and I expect this is a very low speed threshhold.
Now when will we get some heavy snow ?

johnfelstead

sounds like a good laugh to me Harvey.

What make are they?

Snow tyres are designed in such a way that the tread blocks move around a lot, this is to generate heat in the rubber which aids traction in snow. If you take a look at the tread blocks you will probably see lots of small cuts slicing the block up into very small sections.

If they are not suitable for studing they will be a very soft compound with a lot of tread block movement, really only any use on deap snow.

JohnS

iTrader: (1)

These tyres should also be very good on ice as well, as the small cuts (sipes I think they are called), allow the small amount of melting ice to disperse from the tyre surface easily, giving you much more grip.

You can get VR rated snow tyres which permit safe speeds up to 150mph, though I wouldn't want to drive that quickly on snow and ice!

There are also tyres like the Nokian WR, which perform much better in snow and ice than normal road tyres (OK not to the same levels as dedicated snow tyres), but also perform better on cold wet roads (under 7 degrees C) than normal road tyres and won't destroy themselves on dry roads. They will feel more spongy to drive on, but are worth the investment for general winter use.

johnfelstead

I have had lots of fun on studded Hakka's, the best compromise for road/ice/snow are the winter tyres with small studs, driving on ice with no studs is a bit scary.

Unfortunately studded winter tyres are illegal in the UK, so we are stuck with not much in the way of options for Ice.

Brit_in_Japan

I have winter tyres (not snow tyres) on my WRX Wagon too, 205/55 on 16" rims. I find the Michelin DRICE tyres are fine on tarmac, not as good as my usual summer tyres obviously, partly because they are higher profile and partly because and the there's less of a shoulder to the tyre, but certainly not tail end out everywhere. As mentioned the blocks are designed to move around more but I'm a little surprised they seem to offer so little grip in normal driving. How old are the tyres? I find my tyres aren't as good this winter as last when they were new, I'd wager it's something to do with UV degrading the tyre material over the summer (note to self, buy tyre covers). Maybe the tyres were from old stock ??? I still have to try hard to get the tail end out in the snow so maybe somethings not as it should be

I've just checked and they are Q rated too, so not more than 160kmh, but with a speed limit here not more than 100kmh it's not really a problem.

Erik

I dont like Michelin sorry. I had Pilot Aplin, nohting above average and helples on ice. New set is Bridgestone LM-22 cca 300% over Michelin. Running with LEDA 320/225lbs with no probs on ice and wet roads.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I test drove an old WRX on M+S (Bridgstone I think) tyres. Interesting handling

Gave quite a comfy ride too

richiewong

I use Toyo Snowprox, only H rated but reasonable grip in the dry and superb in the snow, also available for 17" wheels

harvey

iTrader: (48)

Falken tyres as indicated and exactly as John/John describe. Soft tread block pattern with lots of sipes and a good laugh when you are aware of their limitations. I could feel the car moving about on the tyres. A brief sprint to 120 on the M-Way tram lines was interesting so all thoughts of going for 170 mph at Elvington on these tyres has totally receeded.
Now I am waiting for a good snowfall to try them out on virgin snow.