legacycentral bbs

Looking for advice on snow / ice tires for Ontario Canada car. I will
be buying winter rims to mount the second set of tires so I can
choose another size if I want. It have stock aluminum 15" rims with
195 60's for summer. What works best for snow and ice? 14" rims with
tall skinnies? I was thinking of going for a larger diameter tire for
more road clearance and larger foot print with narrow width. What is
the largest diameter tire at 195 width I can run without touching the
fenders or other parts. I don't care sbout speedometer accuracy, I
can figure out the difference. Oh ya, we can't run studs here.
Anyone else been so weenie about winter tires?

Thanks
George

First off on the tires to get:
I recommend tires from a company call Nokian tires
out of Finland. Their Haakapiilita 1s and 10s are
some of the best snow tires in the world. Their main
site is www.nokiantyres.com (world site) and
www.nokiantires.com (US site). I suggest checking
both sites out and reading as much info as you can.
The Haaka 10s are now being sold under the name Norman
but are the exact same as the old Haaka 10s. These
are the same tires used by a lot of rally teams and
the US and one of the top Canadian teams uses them.
Most of the dealers here in Denver that sell them are
actually Mercedes or Audi dealerships. You know
they're aren't going to use crap tires. These will
also last you longer than Blizzaks which basically
become all-season tires after about 10K.
I would go with 14" steel wheels with a narrower or
stock footprint with the same ride height as stock.
You aren't going to be able to get much more clearance
with tires so I would just shoot to be close to stock
size. Maybe some 195-70 R14s which will give you
close to stock size. The Haaka 10's are around $50-55
USD in that size. I've read some pretty good reviews
from Vancouver on the Haakas after a google search.
Also really good performers on dirt.
This is from the Colorado Rally Group. I am getting a
set of 185 70 R14s for my car. Gives you an idea on
sizes avab. If anyone in Colorado is interested let
me know.
Grant

I have coordinated an opportunity for all of us to
place a group DISCOUNT
order for Hakkapeliitta "Nordmans."
The Hakkapeliitta 10's have been discontinued but
after many enthusiasts
complained they were brought back in limited sizes
with a new marketing name
of "Nordman." These are the same stud-able Finnish
snow tires we have all
enjoyed success with.
The following sizes are available WITH GROUP DISCOUNT
PRICING LISTED.

SIZE HEIGHT PRICE EA.
----------------------------------------------------------------
155/ 80 R13 22.76" $37.95
----------------------------------------------------------------
165/ 80 R13 23.39" $40.50
----------------------------------------------------------------
165/ 70 R13 22.10" $39.65
----------------------------------------------------------------
175/ 70 R13 22.70" $41.65
----------------------------------------------------------------
175/ 70 R14 23.70" $43.60
----------------------------------------------------------------
185/ 70 R14 24.30" $47.65
----------------------------------------------------------------
195/ 70 R14 24.80" $49.75
----------------------------------------------------------------
175/ 65 R14 22.95" $50.85
----------------------------------------------------------------
185/ 65 R14 23.50" $52.15
----------------------------------------------------------------
185/ 65 R15 24.40" $53.45
----------------------------------------------------------------
195/ 65 R15 25.00" $55.35
----------------------------------------------------------------

I'm not positive but you may run in to some brake
clearance issues with the 14" rims on a turbo Legacy.
If I am not mistaken that is the reason the turbos
come with 15" alloys as compared to the L and LS 14"

Jay

'92 Legacy Turbo Sedan (US Spec)

That is a good point Jay. They very well may have
larger rotors and cause an issue. I had not
considered that.
Grant

Thanks for the info guys, I'm going to the tire guy tomorrow to try
some rims to make sure. His reference list for steel rims wasn't
clear about the turbo. He liked the 70 series idea for softer road
contact but read from his list a 14 185 70 series has stock OD size.

George

I also agree that the Haakapiilita’s are the way to go. I had the Haakapiilita
NRW for my 240sx. NRW are not 100% winter tires but they were awesome in the
snow / slush…. Still going strong (on its 3rd winter). If you want full blown
winter tires Haakapiilita has an awesome lineup.

You will not be able to put 14" wheels on a turbo legacy. They will not
clear the calipers.

The 14" wheels just barely clear the calipers on the non-turbo models.
There's no way they will clear the turbo's calipers.

As for tire suggestions.....looks like some good advice was given in
that direction.

Josh

Does anyone has experence on Kumho KW-11 or KW-15?

I used has a set of Pirelli Winter 210 and its not as grip as I
though, but it works fine on snow but not too grip on winter rally
race.
If there are any other good brand , please list and shear the
experence!
Thanks


Ben

My suggestion is Toyo Garit HT. 195/55/15 fit well on the stock rims. Yes.. 55 series snow and ice tire.. They feel like summer tires for handling and grip very well in everything except deep snow where they grip adaquate. I have also drivin on the Hakka's in my friends WRX. They are also good snow tires. I like the toyos due to the fact I usually drive on plowed but ice covered or dry roads. (in Calgary)
Mark

I live in Spokane, Washington, about 300 miles east of Seattle. Spokane
gets a lot more harsh winters than Seattle and the totally corrupt local
government is so dysfunctional that the giant potholes have their own
potholes. Interstate 90 through Spokane has huge ruts that fill with ice in
the winter. In Spokane, damn near anyone, with a lick of sense drives a
Subaru.

I have always run studless genuine winter tires on my 92 Turbo sedan. I
really liked my Cooper Weathermasters (studdable) in rain and mud, but they
had noteworthy limits on ice.

Blizzaks are great on ice, but they wear out quickly and they are a little
squirmy in hard cornering on dry pavement.

My favorite winter tire is the Michelin Arctic Alpin. The Arctic Alpin
isn't quite as good on glare ice as the Blizzak, both tires are comparable
on snow and rain, but the Michelin is a lot better at hard cornering on dry
pavement. I have had the Michelins up to 140mph a couple of times and they
didn't appear to grow or display any bad manners at all.

I just run my most oxidized and beat-up stock mags (I own about 15 stock
Subaru Legacy Turbo 15" 6-spoke mags) and I run 195-60/15", what the car
came with.

Bill Robinson
92 Turbo Sedan 5-speed with 160k miles and a few modest street
modifications.