New tires needed! 05 STi

[SirMyztiq]

So, after heavy reading and some slipping yesterday, I decided to get new tires. Why? B/c the previous owner slapped on a pair of cheap Sunew tires that suck. I mean, they are about 80 bucks a pop for one thing, and they got horrible reviews online. Plus, they slipped one a lightly wet road yesterday. AND, I have two Sunews on the front and I believe two Michelins on the back.

I need new tires. I'm just having a hard time deciding what is what. I live in Texas and the weather is unreasonably hot...but during the winter we have a nice mix of random cold and random summer temperatures. We can easily go from rain(like today) to snow to ice within a matter of days.

What tires would you guys recommend and what size? I've read that getting tires a little bigger on the STi's actually translates to better tire-to-speed readings on the cars. I haven't found a reasonable answer to that.

I'm leaning towards getting a good pair of summer tires since it is so damn how most of the time here in Texas. Or wet. And when it does snow/ice over, the state shuts down. :shock:

 

[PlanB]

I'm on Hankook Snowbear W300, No complaints yet. Stopping on snow is a breeze.

 

[Paul.c]

I also live in TX (Dallas). Last winter we had an uncharacteristic long ice. I had Dunlop star specs that were worn out and the awd and careful driving allowed me to be carefree and safe. I wouldn't buy a dedicated winter tire. I did curb one of my wheels last year but that's because I was being dumb. My ideal setup would be an A/S tire for DD use and a separate track/auto x tire/wheel combo.

 

[PlanB]

^ what he said.

TX winters aren't too bad.

Did some looking into my tires lol. They get mixed reviews some people swear on them and others said it was crap in deep snow. I can't confirm since there like a thin layer of snow landed. I heard bridgestone blizzak are amazing but on dry roads it isn't the best.

 

[Paul.c]

The issue with Texas winter is that we don't get snow, we get ice. The little snow we do get usually melts quick and all we are left with is wet/icy roads. I say stay away from winter tires and go with an all season/summer tire.

 

[SirMyztiq]

The issue with Texas winter is that we don't get snow, we get ice. The little snow we do get usually melts quick and all we are left with is wet/icy roads. I say stay away from winter tires and go with an all season/summer tire.

You're telling me. I think you're right. Crazy Texas and its crazy ass weather.

What set of tires would you recommend? The Star Spec seem to have a good rep around here.

 

[Paul.c]

Well, like I said I ran the star specs because of their price and high performance rep because for me auto-x was top priority. If I had to choose one tire to drive all year on in TX it would be the star spec. If you want a high performance A/S then I would go with the conti DWS but you will sacrifice a little performance.

 

[SirMyztiq]

Well, like I said I ran the star specs because of their price and high performance rep because for me auto-x was top priority. If I had to choose one tire to drive all year on in TX it would be the star spec. If you want a high performance A/S then I would go with the conti DWS but you will sacrifice a little performance.

Cool, what size do you use? I've read conflicting comments about how we can use a different size and how one size is better than the other.

 

[IGOTASTi]

245 40 17.

 

[SirMyztiq]

245 40 17.

I see!

I know NOTHING about how tire size affects anything. The stocks are 225/40/17. I'm guessing the 17 is the wheel size...

 

[IGOTASTi]

I thought your stock tires are 245 45 17.

 

[IGOTASTi]

Yes they are 17 inch wheels.

 

[SirMyztiq]

I thought your stock tires are 245 45 17.

Nope it is 225/45/17

I've read around that 235/45 is a better match to the speedometer than any other size tire. So, I'm slightly confused as to what all this means.

 

[IGOTASTi]

I knew that, lol. I meant to erase that post, lol.

 

[SirMyztiq]

I knew that, lol. I meant to erase that post, lol.

No problemo! I had to double check myself!