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Old 08-07-2020, 02:00 AM   #1
abandon
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Default Wheel noob question: 17 in winter, 18 in summer?

Hi all,
Total wheel noob here so please don't skewer me too much. I've been researching and starting to learn about the different variables when it comes to wheels/tires, but haven't run into my specific situation yet so thought I'd ask...

I recently bought a 2020 base wrx and originally thought I was fine with the 17s and didn't care about the 18s. Like many of you, I've now been bitten by the "change things just because you can" bug and recently started thinking about wheels.

My plan was always to buy a spare set of cheap wheels & decent snow tires for the winter, but now I have this irrational want for 18" wheels for the summer.

Soooo...here's my question: is it totally dumb to keep my OEM 17" wheels and mount snow tires (prolly Altimax Arctics) on those, buy new 18" wheels of my liking and new 18" summer tires? Meaning, is it dumb to keep switching back and forth between wheel sizes in summer and winter? Normally I wouldn't consider it, but I was wondering if the higher-profile winter tire on a smaller wheel, and the lower profile summer tire on a larger wheel might end up having a similar enough total diameter to eachother that I could avoid handling issues etc.

Another issue is then I'm stuck with 17" summer dunlops with only 1500 miles on 'em but maybe I could sell them for a few pennies somewhere.

So I guess that's it. I'd appreciate any feedback anyone may have about this idea, even if it's negative. If this is a dumb idea I'd love to hear why so I can learn. For what it's worth, for summer I was thinking of going with 18x8.5 with offset somewhere north of +30 which I believe should be reasonably safe. OEM standard brakes etc. so not expecting clearance issues. But again, I'm a noob so happy to be schooled.

Thanks all...
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Old 08-07-2020, 08:16 AM   #2
Kickinbeatz
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That is standard, overall. Most of us do the same thing. Idk how you havent found your "specific situation" yet online.

I bought 17" winter wheels with larger profile winter tires to match sizing of 18" stock wheel with low profiles. You are going in opposite direction but most people want summer wheels of their choice. Let the OEM wheels take winter beating and get something nice for summer.

And yeah, sell the Dunlops. They aren't that good anyway.
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Old 08-07-2020, 07:15 PM   #3
Foxtrot214
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I don't think it's dumb. I'm thinking of doing the same thing for my '18 STi. Plus it's super hard to find a/t tires with the stock 19" wheel
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Old 08-10-2020, 07:00 AM   #4
krzyss
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You can always wear 17" summer tires fast, before late autumn.
Buy 17" winter tires and mount them on OE wheels.

In the mean time save money for very nice set of wheels for summer setup.

Krzy***347;

PS I think winter performance tires are better match for WRX/STI than studable tires but it depends on where you want/expect to drive in winter.
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Old 08-10-2020, 09:27 AM   #5
Norm Peterson
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It's fairly common to run a summer performance set of tires on one set of wheels for up to "3 seasons" while maintaining a winter set for the colder part of the year.

Your OE wheels are almost certainly +55 offset (as are the OE 18" and 19" WRX/STi wheels). Personally, I wouldn't go with offset below about +45, especially if you're considering 245/40-18's on 18x8.5's (my second set runs 245/40-18 on 18x8.5" with +50 offset).


Norm
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Old 08-10-2020, 10:37 AM   #6
REX_WGN
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Yep, very common for folks to have a summer and winter setups. Nothing wrong with selling your stock summers but I would check the market and see how much they go for so you can see if the amount you make from selling them is worth the switch. I say this only if money is tight in your situation.

You just have to be diligent of switching out your sets when appropriate. Don't get caught in snow with your summers still on. While drivable, it's certainly not the optimal situation to be in.
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Old 08-10-2020, 11:45 AM   #7
Samurai Jack
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kenliu84 View Post
You just have to be diligent of switching out your sets when appropriate. Don't get caught in snow with your summers still on. While drivable, it's certainly not the optimal situation to be in.
The same goes for snows in the summer. They are not designed for summer heat and they will wear out much faster.
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Old 08-10-2020, 11:59 AM   #8
subaru_gc8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by abandon View Post
Hi all,
Total wheel noob here so please don't skewer me too much. I've been researching and starting to learn about the different variables when it comes to wheels/tires, but haven't run into my specific situation yet so thought I'd ask...

I recently bought a 2020 base wrx and originally thought I was fine with the 17s and didn't care about the 18s. Like many of you, I've now been bitten by the "change things just because you can" bug and recently started thinking about wheels.

My plan was always to buy a spare set of cheap wheels & decent snow tires for the winter, but now I have this irrational want for 18" wheels for the summer.

Soooo...here's my question: is it totally dumb to keep my OEM 17" wheels and mount snow tires (prolly Altimax Arctics) on those, buy new 18" wheels of my liking and new 18" summer tires? Meaning, is it dumb to keep switching back and forth between wheel sizes in summer and winter? Normally I wouldn't consider it, but I was wondering if the higher-profile winter tire on a smaller wheel, and the lower profile summer tire on a larger wheel might end up having a similar enough total diameter to eachother that I could avoid handling issues etc.

Another issue is then I'm stuck with 17" summer dunlops with only 1500 miles on 'em but maybe I could sell them for a few pennies somewhere.

So I guess that's it. I'd appreciate any feedback anyone may have about this idea, even if it's negative. If this is a dumb idea I'd love to hear why so I can learn. For what it's worth, for summer I was thinking of going with 18x8.5 with offset somewhere north of +30 which I believe should be reasonably safe. OEM standard brakes etc. so not expecting clearance issues. But again, I'm a noob so happy to be schooled.

Thanks all...
its not dumb to have 2 sets of wheels. I have like 4 so yeah, some where down the like youre going to not really care what other people are thinking. but until then, personally I like having at least 2.There was a time that i was on Ice with summer tires.. that sucked really bad. so how I useually keep 3 sets handy and when I go to an area that there might be snow and ice, I change ofer to my all season.. I know not the best but a good go between.
So my advise do whats handy not whats cool.. cool has to take a back seat to whats handy and makes your life easier
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Old 08-22-2020, 05:34 PM   #9
gagokasteve
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Quote:
Originally Posted by subaru_gc8 View Post
its not dumb to have 2 sets of wheels. I have like 4 so yeah, some where down the like youre going to not really care what other people are thinking. but until then, personally I like having at least 2.There was a time that i was on Ice with summer tires.. that sucked really bad. so how I useually keep 3 sets handy and when I go to an area that there might be snow and ice, I change ofer to my all season.. I know not the best but a good go between.
So my advise do whats handy not whats cool.. cool has to take a back seat to whats handy and makes your life easier
When do you mount your winter tires? Two years ago I kept procrastinating instead of mounting my blizzaks; got caught in a random October blizzard with my summers on and almost totaled my old wrx. Now I always do it by the end of September just to be safe.
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Old 08-22-2020, 06:17 PM   #10
Norm Peterson
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gagokasteve View Post
When do you mount your winter tires? Two years ago I kept procrastinating instead of mounting my blizzaks; got caught in a random October blizzard with my summers on and almost totaled my old wrx. Now I always do it by the end of September just to be safe.
I live a bit closer to you than subaru_gc8 does (South Jersey), and I generally don't swap to my "cold season" tires until somewhere between mid-October and into November.

Sure, over the years I've been caught out on the wrong tires . . . though more than a few of those times it was a case of summer tires being my only tires at the time. Mostly, you have to consciously drive with more care and a different mindset than you do in the summer. Different even from driving in the rain. Takes a little discipline.


Norm
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Old 08-23-2020, 10:24 AM   #11
Samurai Jack
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When to change from summer to winter, or vice versa, depends on how the weather is running for any given year.

Like Norm said, sometimes you might get caught with the wrong tires, but for me that rarely happens.

Sometimes I haven't changed to winter tires until we are into December because the weather hasn't turned cold enough.
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Old 09-15-2020, 06:55 PM   #12
abandon
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Thanks for the feedback guys. I had another question: I had wanted to go with a narrower tire but the guys at Tirerack tell me 215 tires won't fit the OEM 17x8 wheel. Anyone have any thoughts on how worth it it'd be to get a new wheel to fit narrower snow tires vs. just getting the same tire width I have now? I've never driven on snow tires so not sure if the difference in performance/control would be noticeable and obviously don't want to throw away money needlessly. Thanks in advance if anyone has input.
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Old 09-15-2020, 10:09 PM   #13
krzyss
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Theoretically narrower is better but only if you have a chance to get to the tarmac under snow/slush. If you float on top of stuff or on ice wider (or rather normal width) is better or ok.

I would put OE sized winter tires on OE wheels.

Krzys
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Old 09-16-2020, 10:48 PM   #14
dpetro1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by krzyss View Post

I would put OE sized winter tires on OE wheels.

Krzys
Agreed. That's what I am doing currently. Takes all the guess work out of it...
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Old 09-17-2020, 01:17 PM   #15
abandon
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Cool. Thanks again guys. I was sort of hoping to hear that because I didn't want to make all of this more complicated than it has to be.

Out of curiosity, anyone have any tips on selling used summer tires? Do people mainly just use craigslist, or are there retail/wholesale options anyone has had success with? My OE 17" dunlop sport maxx RT's will have abour 2k miles or fewer on them by the time i take them off.
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Old 09-18-2020, 12:56 PM   #16
Samurai Jack
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You can just post them in the For Sale forum here on NASIOC.
You can also post in other Subaru For Sale forums.

There are a lot of different ones. Don't forget Legacy / Forester forms.

I'm not aware of any wholesale / retail options.
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Old 10-18-2020, 07:14 PM   #17
Conster102
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I think you should sell the dunlops and go for the 18 in summer tires. The only thing I would find annoying about having two different sizes and changing between them is adjusting your speedometer but that is not too difficult.
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Old 10-18-2020, 07:57 PM   #18
Norm Peterson
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Conster102 View Post
I think you should sell the dunlops and go for the 18 in summer tires. The only thing I would find annoying about having two different sizes and changing between them is adjusting your speedometer but that is not too difficult.
For small changes in tire diameter - say, half an inch - the effect on speedometer accuracy isn't worth worrying about.


Norm
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