Tires Hankook or YOKOHAMA

I have Hankook Ice Bear W300's on the Mazdaspeed 3 and I like them a lot. I actually first used them on the Miata. Not the most extreme winter tire but NJ has very mild winters and they behave a lot like an all season in the dry which is perfect for me.

I still have my summer wheels and tires left from when I traded my B5 A4 in on my GTI. I bought these wheels new from a dealership a couple of years back, and they have two summers on them, as do the tires. The wheels are in perfect shape, with no curbage, scratches, or defects of any kind at all.

I've run a couple of sets of Hankook Ice Bears: 225/40/18's on the stock MS3 wheels - My primary winter setup. The car performed wonderfully. Aside from being a plow at some points (my car is lowered), the traction control + LSD + snow tires made for a flawless snow driver.

Yes Street - 245/40/17 Yoko S-Drive (`3mm clearance on inside to clips on suspension, no rubbing at all) Track - 235/40/17 Toyo RA1 (best size I could get RA1s a the time)

I put some Yokohama A008's and new shocks on it and I was off. Like the 914 it had nearly 50-50 weight distribution, and relatively stable RWD handling.

There's a really interesting all-season Yokohama tire available (called the Advan S4) in 235/50R17 that is "AA" rated for traction, has a 400 treadwear ratiing, and is one of the least expensive tires in its category and size at $186. Its also rated #1 in the ultra high performance all season category. I'd go with this in a second.

I may try these next season. I'm currently on my second season with a set of Hankook W404's, and I've been very happy with them. The dry handling/performance most likely falls short of the iPike's, but I believe the W404's provide a bit more snow and ice traction, which was my main concern.

Coming back from Whistler on Thursday, a 5 hour stand still... The tires worked great on ice / snow.

My all-season tires however, and worn for the path. They are still drivable, but I will definitely be replacing tires before winter.

I would suggest staying away from the Yokohama Advan ST. I have the 285-14-19s on my egg and while a great handling and traction tire, after 7K miles they are cupping and I get a low speed noise and vibration to the point that at 8K I am replacing them