08 WRX Wheels

logan214 · 09-29-2009, 09:52 PM

Been thinking of getting new wheels and tires for my 08 WRX for a while now. Looking at buying Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D tires for my stock wheels, and then buying 18" Enkei Performance EKM3 (225/40-18) wheels with either summer or all-season tires for the summer. The only reason I say all-season is because in Wisconsin I may think the winter is gone and switch my tires, only to have it snowing a week later. All-season tires seem to last longer compared the the summer performance tires from what I've read on TireRack.com.

Just want people's thoughts on the winter tires on my stock wheels. Also could I go any wider than 225/40-18 for my summer wheels? Anyone have an 08/09 with new wide tires they have pics of?

All-Season tires I was looking at are Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position. Anyone have a better recommendation of all-season or summer tires that would last quite a few miles? I just got a job and I'll be putting about 22,000 miles a year on my car just driving to work.

I tried putting links to the tires and wheels but apparently that's not working...

man show · 09-29-2009, 10:54 PM

I was looking at All Season tires for my 07 WRX a little while ago (to use year round) and I was really torn between Bridgestone's Potenza RE960AS Pole Position and Michelin's Pilot Sport A/S Plus. I ended up going with the Michelins because they were ranked #1 at the time on TireRack.com and the Pole Positions were #2 (in terms of Ultra High Performance All Seasons), and I got a rebate from DiscountTireDirect.com that made the total price for them the cheapest I could find anywhere. I haven't put them on yet, so I can't give you any performance feedback, but they might be another tire you might want to consider.

Also, if you're seriously considering running dedicated tires for hot/warm and cold/cool weather, you really might want to get a set of Summer tires for the hotter part of the year as opposed to All Seasons. If you're concerned about having to drive in snow, you could always leave the winter tires on for a few extra weeks until you're sure it's safe to switch to the Summer setup. That's your best bet, I think. I would do that if I could, but my situation won't allow for that right now.

DiscountTire · 09-30-2009, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by logan214

Been thinking of getting new wheels and tires for my 08 WRX for a while now. Looking at buying Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D tires for my stock wheels, and then buying 18" Enkei Performance EKM3 (225/40-18) wheels with either summer or all-season tires for the summer. The only reason I say all-season is because in Wisconsin I may think the winter is gone and switch my tires, only to have it snowing a week later. All-season tires seem to last longer compared the the summer performance tires from what I've read on TireRack.com.

Just want people's thoughts on the winter tires on my stock wheels. Also could I go any wider than 225/40-18 for my summer wheels? Anyone have an 08/09 with new wide tires they have pics of?

All-Season tires I was looking at are Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position. Anyone have a better recommendation of all-season or summer tires that would last quite a few miles? I just got a job and I'll be putting about 22,000 miles a year on my car just driving to work.

I tried putting links to the tires and wheels but apparently that's not working...

The 225x40R18 would be a good fit but you may be able to run a 235/40R18 as well. It looks like I can order in the Goodyear Eagle GT. I would highly recommend this tire or the Goodyear Eagle F1 All season. Both of these tires are excellent All season tires that make most summer performance tires beg to be redesigned.

Goodyear Tires

Let us know if we can help. If you are interested in the GT's, looks like they are running $144.00 each with free shipping right now. (ETA 7-10 days if Goodyear has them.)

-Travis

mosc · 10-01-2009, 08:56 AM

I don't understand why you would not get summers and winters if you're buying two sets. All seasons are bad at everything. Just change to the winters when it starts to get a little chilly, they're perfectly good above freezing temperatures. Performance winters like the 3D are very comparable to all seasons until it gets hot outside for which you have summers. If you're worried about getting caught in the snow, just switch to the winters sooner.

The winters you picked are great. They're more a performance tire than an all out snow tire fyi but that should work well for you. The WRX doesn't have much ground clearance for deep snow anyway. As for summers, there are lots of good recommendations:

Quote:

Originally Posted by mosc

Summer (what most people here are looking for)
Cheap: General Exclaim UHP
Medium: BF Goodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2
Nice: Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3

Max Performance
Cheap: Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec
Nice: Yokohama Advan Neova AD08

Wheel / Tire FAQ

I think discount tire sells most if not all of these

logan214 · 10-01-2009, 01:11 PM

Thanks for the replies. The only reason I was looking at all-season tires over summer tires is because the reviews people give on the better summer tires say they only get like 20,000 miles before they have to be replaced. I'll be driving about 30,000 a year and need my tires to last a while. The reviews of the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position say they get like 40,000 or at least a lot more miles before they need to be replaced.

mosc · 10-01-2009, 01:46 PM

Well, most of treadwear is how you drive a tire. People buying extreme performance summer tires drive them hard (or else why would they get them?) and they'll wear through faster. Also, there are less agressive compound summer tires that will last longer but still handle far better than equivalent all seasons.

40,000 miles from an all season is easy driving. Pushing it, you won't get that out of a UHP A/S.

logan214 · 10-01-2009, 02:59 PM

Thanks mosc. Your FAQ was good. Out of the tires you recommended, which would be best for normal roads and great in rain? I don't ever race on a track, but occasionally I enjoy driving fast on country roads. The main route I take to work every morning has lots of curves and is fun to drive fast on. So I need something that will allow me to do that, even in wet conditions. And like I said, I'd prefer a tire that will last a while.

Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D the best overall winter tires? Or is there something better? Not looking to drive fast, cause of course you need to be careful when driving on snow. I just don't want to have to crawl my way to work.

mosc · 10-01-2009, 03:07 PM

S) This comes down to specifics. Mattering on sizes, certain tires are more expensive than others. You should identify the type of tire you want and know the good ones from the bad ones and then be able to make an educated decision based on the prices and availability you have at hand. The KDW2's are a great UHP summer tire that's superb wet so they jump to mind. They vary greatly from very cheap to expensive mattering on size though.

W) The Dunlop 3D's are a class leading value in the winter performance tire category. What does that mean? It means you can get better if you spend a whole lot more. It means they're performance oriented which means they work well not just in snow but on dry-ish roads as well. Winter tires to me are more about temperature range. If you're looking for something that will handle snow better and are willing to sacrifice performance on plowed roads to get it, then you should look at a pure Ice and Snow tire instead of a performance winter. Personally, I think performance winters combined with Subaru AWD is already plenty for winter (and that's coming from someone who lived in Minnesota for 3 winters). I wouldn't drive in deep unploughed snow no matter what tire I had. Course, I've always lived near civilization.

logan214 · 10-01-2009, 07:03 PM

Thanks again. I'll keep everything you said in mind while I'm finalizing my decision.