Make Sure You Include This Important Upgrade on Your WRX STI this Winter

There’s a huge disadvantage if you own a Subaru WRX STI in the winter. Without the right winter tires, the STI is pretty much useless in the snow. With all that power, even the excellent all-wheel-drive system will leave you stranded if you leave on those summer tires. Make sure you upgrade to winter performance tires.

Driving a WRX STI performance car is the ultimate on the fun-to-drive meter in the snow. You won’t find many Subaru WRX STIs sitting in the garage waiting for warmer weather or dry roads. Put a set of winter Blizzak tires on your STI and you have a vehicle that will go anywhere this winter. While most STI owners bump up the power, the 305hp on a stock STI is more than enough to get you in some serious deep stuff on the snow and ice.

Living in Colorado’s high-country, permits us to see every kind of winter driving conditions. Snow, ice, and frozen roads present dangerous driving conditions, and if you venture out without the right tires, even a Subaru all-wheel-drive vehicle will get stuck. We’ve seen Subarus on the side of I-70 heading into the high country in deep snow sliding off the road. There is one Subaru Impreza owner where I live, who is stuck all the time because he drives on all-season tires all winter.

Winter tires arm your STI for the worst conditions

Snow tires are specially engineered with unique tread patterns, deeper tread depth, and snow and ice technologies that will arm your WRX STI for the worst conditions. Tire companies use a special compound in their winter tires that removes a thin layer of surface water to improve grip on snow and ice. This compound also allows the tire to remain flexible in freezing temperatures, improving traction and available grip. High sipe density of snow tires improves traction in the wet, snow, and ice by increasing the number of biting edges.

The 2017 Subaru WRX STI comes standard with 245/40 R18 97W summer-performance tires which are ideal in dry conditions. Take those summer tires out in the snow and ice, and you’ll be stuck in a heartbeat. Wrap a set of winter Blizzaks around those WRX STI BBS alloy wheels, and with the STIs special all-wheel-drive system, you'll be pulling others out of the snow bank.