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Tire Sizing for impreza; narrow in winter??


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Thanks for everybody's great chat on winter tire choices. I have an 03 impreza TS with 15" alloys and I want to do some adjustments...

 

-get larger tires to "gear up" the car (I think the 2.5litre and 5-speed can pull 60mph at less than 3000rpm)

-install WRX brakes all-round... TS disks/drums wimpy:(

-get a second set of narrower winter studded tires for cummuting in Flin Flon, manitoba. (yes, it is a real place)

 

I need to know if a higher profile tire is going to have clearance and if 15" rims will clear the wrx brakes. Can anybody help me out???

 

I'm also in the market for 16" WRX rims, brakes, etc...

 

thanks!

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'03 TS... good choice!

 

I might be able to answer some of your questions. You have 15" *steelies* right now, right? Or are they alloys? Here in the U.S. they came with 15" with plastic wheel covers. Within the first few months of having ours, we upgraded to a set of WRX wheels / tires. Big improvement in looks, slight improvement in handling. The stock WRX tires are bigger in circumference than the stock TS ones, so just by going to the WRX setup you'll have different gearing (by around 2.5%). You could get higher profile tires for the stock 15" wheels, but at the expense of handling with the higher sidewalls.

 

I don't think that WRX brakes will fit with the stock 15 wheels... but I could be wrong about that. Someone on NASIOC might know, they have a forum just for brakes. I think some other people there have upgraded the brakes, with mixed reviews, meaning that some feel it's not worth the amount of work.

 

I would get a set of WRX wheels for summer use, and put snow tires on the 15" for winter, but that's just IMO.

 

Steve

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Narrower winter tires will hslp in deep snow as is common in Manitoba, been to Flin Flon myself years ago. I have a 98 GT wagon and switch out my 205/55-16's for a narrower 15" 60 series winter tire on OBW rims, that works well here in Vermont.

 

Biggest concern would be staying close to the same diameter to not affect speedo readings and of course clearance issues. Not sure if they are available in Canada but I use Semperit Sport Grip snows also offer an Ice Grip model that has worked real well and didn't cost an arm and a leg like Hakki's.

 

For your summer wheel options any of the 16' wheels off Outback's or Legacy's will fit your car.

 

Glenn

 

 

Thanks for everybody's great chat on winter tire choices. I have an 03 impreza TS with 15" alloys and I want to do some adjustments...

 

-get larger tires to "gear up" the car (I think the 2.5litre and 5-speed can pull 60mph at less than 3000rpm)

-install WRX brakes all-round... TS disks/drums wimpy:(

-get a second set of narrower winter studded tires for cummuting in Flin Flon, manitoba. (yes, it is a real place)

 

I need to know if a higher profile tire is going to have clearance and if 15" rims will clear the wrx brakes. Can anybody help me out???

 

I'm also in the market for 16" WRX rims, brakes, etc...

 

thanks!

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Thanks for your advice guys. I got some Goodyear snowmark studded tires. They have something like 115 studs per tire and nearly an inch of tread. They are the loudest tires ever, but grip like a warm tongue on frozen steel!

 

I changed the size from 195 60 15's to 195 65 15's for a slightly larger diameter. My speedo reads low by about 3%, but that's no biggie. Now it's time to do some shopping for 17" summer tires!!

 

Darryl

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