MartinT

I would say that our cars are 'challenging' in the snow on summer tyres. Had a real white knuckle ride into work yesterday with the car fishtailing down a country road doing 25mph in third gear and the inevitable white van up my backside. The slightest touch of the throttle would lose rear traction. I've decided that I'm going to put winter tyres on my stock wheels during summer when they're cheap, then swap them in each winter. Any tips for a good winter tyre in stock size?

Well, I've been 'caught out' again (I couldn't get any tyre fitting until tomorrow). Must go stand in that corner.

I'm seriously contemplating buying some tomorrow, if I can get fitting done.

The Braid looks better. Watch the ride quality with 18" wheels, depends on whether you do long commutes.

And also it's possible that the prices will go down if I buy in late spring/early summer.

There is also weight to consider. My BMW 335d M-Sport Coupe was a pig in snow, but not quite as bad as the BRZ. The big difference is weight, with about half a tonne between them. The auto in manual '2' mode helped to apply torque very gently, too. Getting rid of the runflats also helped, but that's another story. Life is a learning experience, which some people seem to forget. I will be buying suitable tyres (I'm currently looking seriously at Michelin CrossClimate + due to the large amount of motorway driving on my commute) and will use the soft map to aid low speed traction.

As a matter of interest, how does it manifest itself in terms of the feel of the car?

Thanks, Lauren. I haven't had much chance to assess that yet and I'm not one to absolutely cane the car on public roads, but I'll keep it in mind.

Well, that's me told. I'll go stand in the corner.

Have you actually read this thread? How exactly can I be gentler than trying to move off in 2nd gear with no throttle (i.e. idle)? Even rocking wouldn't move it, nor would two people helping by pushing. I'm well aware that summer tyres are no good in the snow. I got caught out, like a lot of other people in a level of snow which was unusual for the UK. What I'm trying to do is be better prepared for next winter by getting winter tyres and also using the ECU in a gentler mode (the ECUTeK map is superbly responsive but not the best for snow).

It's a 17x8 ET35 wheel with one size tyre up: 225/45 R17 XL. Not huge grip to spoil the handling but decidedly better contact patch than the stock 215/45 Michelin Primacy. The handling just feels very assured. I read somewhere that the slightly wider track is the ideal for the chassis and I had camber bolts and alignment done so that it all works as it should. There is no bump steer or anything to suggest untoward behaviour.

It was nothing to do with big inputs or flooring the accelerator. I had so little grip (i.e. zero friction) that I applied the clutch gently in 2nd gear at idle and the wheels span. I simply couldn't get any further without a tow.

Now you say that!!

It occurs to me that a special ECUTeK 'snow' map could help. Rather like the mode 4 'safe' mode but with even less torque and slow responses. Combined with winter tyres this could really help keep us on the road during testing conditions. Would that be possible, @Mike@TD.co.uk ? I'd be happy to lose mode 2 and just keep mode 3. Mode 1: full power Mode 2: auto-blip & flat foot shifting Mode 3: fuel safe Mode 4: snow

Our cars do seem incredibly susceptible. Is it related to how low the car is?

Waze on the phone is brilliant. Starlink is useless in this country as the only satnav available for it is Magellan and you can't get the right version for the UK.

Thanks. I'll bring it up with Subaru on my first service.

This is what I meant. No spacers.

No, it's working fine.

Will Subaru honour replacing the 48Ah one? Mine's less than a year old.

No, lower ET.

You want a lower ET if you want to push the wheel out more. As a guidance, I'm running ET 35 with 17 x 8 wheels and have near-on flush fitment.

I travelled a couple of hours to get my CR-Z modded at Torque Developments, Thurrock, and around three hours to get the BRZ modded at Tuning Developments, Warrington. I appreciate good work and the ability to step up down the line, should I want to.

The damping was revised for 2017 cars, I understand. I can't speak for older cars but it seems pretty well matched to my H&Rs. Certainly never wallowy, it holds the road really well at any speed.

I would say that camber bolts and alignment are a necessity for lowering and I had mine installed and aligned by TD.