Linus27

My 2003 WRX has 18" Inovite Redline wheels with 225/40 Avon ZZ3 tyres. I've noticed that its not been that brilliant in the snow and even got stuck once. On the other hand, my wife's old Scooby Impreza non turbo sportwagon has standard 16" wheels and has never once got stuck in the snow.

Is the problem I am having with my WRX because I have 18" wheel and lower profile tyres? If I changed back to the standard 17" wheels with 215/45 tyres would that improve my grip in the snow??

MaDaSS

Errrr, NO! Get some winter tyres and see how well it goes then
Summer tyres and low profile are not ideal for our current winter climate. lol
My Nokian winter tyres have 9mm of tread on them at 225/45/17. My new wheels that came off had Sessantas on 225/40/18 and only 4mm of tread. Which would you think is going to handle snow, slush, water better?

The Rig

iTrader: (13)

Although the size is a factor, the smaller/thinner the wheel the better traction in the snow, so its 70-30 but as said above,winter tyres do help

harvey

iTrader: (48)

As said above by MaDaSS, it is not your wheels that are the issue but the tyres.
First you need wheels that will fit over your brakes then you need to decide on appropriate tyre and size. You will be astonished by how much more grip you have with genuine winter tyres and this applies not just on snow.
Generally, the profile of snow tyres will make the car a lot higher and this is useful for clearing deep snow and the mound that builds up in the centre of the road if you stay in the tracks made by lorries and other cars. Using your front lip as a snow plough can end up very expensive.
Typical snow profiles are 205 or 215 55 16 or 225 45 17.
Lastly, a word of caution. Do not be lulled into a sense of false security. Just because you have that much more grip, try your brakes out on the snow or ice at an early stage. Subaru ABS in these conditions is not the best.

MaDaSS

As in red above, I really can vouch for this! our ABS does not work below 6mph, something I never knew (he says as he went sliding out the bottom of the road last year). I was not going to suffer like that again. People ask me if the winter tyres are that good. My reply always goes like, well, I have not yet had any scary moments so that is proof enough for me. I have no intention whatsoever of finding the limit with winter tyres on! LOL.
I have gotten up and down my steep hill in safety BUT I have not had snow like you folks up North or even down South. Nottingham has missed the really deep stuff so far.

Linus27

Thanks for the help everyone. I am still tempted to change my wheels back for a standard 17" with 215/45 tyres as this at least will be better than what I have already. I have been out and about in the snow today with my 18" and 225/40 tyres and not had any problems yet despite a little sliding about so hopefully the change will just make it better than what I have. I have also never liked the 18" as the gap between the wheel and the arch always looked a bit odd to me so this is a good excuse to change back to the standard size

harvey

iTrader: (48)

I was in Scotland yesterday seeing my Brother and Sister and she lives at an elevation over 800 feet. Parts of the journey would not have been possible without snow tyres and the journey speed was certainly far greater and more safe with the snow tyres. The ones I have are Coopers.

daz1968

iTrader: (13)

I am running around on re070's, not had much problem, but would like a set of winter tyres, just waiting to pick up my spare wheels, but the weather is preventing me getting them at the moment. Anyone tried maxxis winter tyres as they seem to be good value at the moment

Dark

iTrader: (1)

I believe the Maxxis tyres are all remounds manufactured in eastern Europe.

Best avoided, there is no way of telling what type of tyre forms the original construction, every tyre could be a different manufacturer.

Mark

Dark

iTrader: (1)

Sorry, I might be confusing Maxxis with the Wintermaxx tyres on eBay which are definitely remoulds.

daz1968

iTrader: (13)

I got confused it was the wintermaxx on ebay I was looking at just you can get a set of them for less than a 4mm part worn set at the moment, and as they are only for the winter and not any form of performance driving was hoping they would be ok well at least a lot better than the RE070 tyres on at the moment, I can get 225/45 17 for £60 a tyre, I know the landrover specialists push a lot of off road tyres in remoulds and the rally guys in the past used a lot of colway remoulds, never heard any bad reports,even if they only last a couple of winters they are cheaper than repairs if I slide into the gutter.

sedge69

iTrader: (11)

ive got 225/40/18's tyres and had no probs at all in the snow, you need a light right foot thats all

sedge

Steve.

Was just about to post a similar thread.

Has a serious "moment" today...and I was doing less than 5mph but was polished snow on a steep hill and was going sideways! I've never found myself wanting to NOT go sideways so much as at that moment sliding downhill towards a tight left hand bend!

So I'm buying tyres now!

Any suggestions? They vary from 35 quid to 100 quid on mytyres...

Celicakid

Like Said Avoid Maxxis as they are completely Rubbish in the snow.

Steve, ..... If your after Snow Tyres from Mytyres, then you'll have around a 2 week deliver time depending on where you live. It all depends on the Thickness of the tread and the Tread Pattern as for example, Michelin Winter Tyres are Very Very Great in the snow however they're normal Brands are hopeless in the winter due to their tread pattern.

Uniroyal Rainsport Tyres are good tyres, Nexen's aren't bad in the snow however in wet at junctions tend to wheelspin when wanting to move off quick

MaDaSS

Some of the best are:- Dunlop Wintersport 3D; Nokian WR G2; Continental Wintercontact TS 830.

Steve.

Thanks for reply - 2 weeks! bit slow, think can get tyres locally bit faster than mytyres tho prices are a bit higher but guess it cheaper than panel damage or worse pride damage lol



Yep think its the Nokians am going for. Expensive but seem to have best writeup and reviews.

Just been out now and spent the whole time crawling down a hill with abs clicking away like a woodpecker with tourettes.

Wish BF Goodrich made an all terrain tyre in scooby size as i had good experiences last winter with those on a shogun sport.

DT-SPD

iTrader: (7)

I can recommend Pirelli SottoZero seriesII winter tyres. I bought them after reading THIS

I am currently on holiday in mid Wales, there is a lot of snow and the grip the Pirelli's give is amazing, give a lot of confidence.

Markfey

iTrader: (7)

I personally think it could be your Avon tyres. When the were first realesed I bought a set and they turned my uk 2000 into a nippy mondeo at best. They were awful on a hot dry road.
In saying that I'm really not a fan of my current tyre which are on a v4 Sti. Toyo proxy t1r but they've done an amazing job and I've had lots of fun in the snow. Despite this they've totally let go on several cold foggy mornings.

I agree with everyone about breaking. You still can't stop any quicker.

Dark

iTrader: (1)

I've just bought & fitted a set of Nankang Snow SV-2 from Mytyres for my wife's Impreza RX. They were £108 each for 205/50/17 93V.

Delivery should have taken 7-10 days but because of the weather in Scotland it took 3 weeks.

The difference is impressive compared to the existing Avon ZZ3's. On compacted snow you can actually steer & brake without worrying that your going to slide or lock up!

At the end of the day any winter tyre is going to be better than a summer tyre It just depends if you have deep enough pockets to justify almost £200 each for the Nokians???

Cheers, Mark

PS: I've also ordered a set of Cooper Weather Master Snow from Clickontyres for my STI. They were £110 each for 225/45/17 91H. Only two have arrived, so haven't fitted them yet.

Celicakid

Hey Bud, Where in Scotland are you based? I'm up in scotland too and mytyres were bad getting here due to the M8 being closed and snow build up

2 weeks - 3 weeks later and finally have all my customers fitted lol

Dark

iTrader: (1)

West Lothian - the M8 was a disaster!

MaDaSS

Yes you do with winter tyres on! Go get some! lol.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Having said all that the classic Imprezas original 6x15" wheels are ideal for mud+snow tyres - taller profile and cheaper in the correct size (205/55/15).

No use on a new-age, but certainly something I thought about when I still had my old scoob with its original wheels in the garage sitting around doing nothing.

As for Avon tyres. don't mix up ZZ1 tyres with ZZ3. The ZZ1 were leathal in anything but the dry. ZZ3 are much improved, but its still a budget tyre.

Steve.

I'm ordering these: http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Motors...Tyre/1790/2236