The Subaru WRX needs no introduction for those familiar with rally racing. This sporty sedan might be a bit rough around the edges. But with its brisk acceleration, stable and engaging handling, and passenger-friendly interior, it can give any of its competitors a run for their money.
To take advantage of the above qualities, you’d need to pair your WRX with the right set of tires. Those that won’t only enhance the features that have made this car the first-choice of rally drivers and those seeking a little fun on the road. But which can also downplay its cons.
Speaking of cons, nothing infuriates the WRX drivers more than its below-average fuel economy. This car has the tendency to hit you in the pocket if you regularly push it to its limits. Another possible issue you might face is road and wind noise, which can get loud at high speeds.
In this article, we’ll recommend the top 10 tires that will enhance the above qualities as well as mitigate the lows. Plus, all the models you see below are backed with respectable warranties. Barring an unforeseen incident, they won’t require replacement for years to come.
#1. Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 – Best Overall
The list starts with one of the best UHP options for your WRX, and it’s from Michelin. The Pilot Sport All Season 4 is one of the best options in this category, which is why it’s part of this list.
Since it’s an all-season model, the main feature is the rubber compound. Michelin used its Extreme Silica+ compound derived from its racing division, enabling the Pilot Sport All Season 4 to offer performance even in colder temperatures.
On the design side of things, there are several things to talk about. The Pilot Sport All Season 4 has an asymmetric tread pattern featuring wider shoulder blocks. This helps the tire perform better in dry conditions, offering higher levels of grip and traction, while the blocks help with handling.
In rainy conditions, the Pilot Sport All Season 4 features 360-degree variable sipes. Their goal is to help the tire with traction on damp surfaces. As part of the design, the tire has wide circumferential grooves aimed at channeling water more efficiently, thus providing excellent aquaplaning resistance.
All-season tires are made to deliver some performance in snowy conditions, and the Pilot Sport All Season 4 also delivers on that front. The grooves are designed with biting edges with the goal of providing better traction on snow-covered roads.
Pros
- Responsive with a solid amount of feedback
- Dry and wet performance is excellent
- Deals well with snow
Cons
- Not as competitively priced as some of its rivals
#2. Michelin Pilot Sport 4S – Best for Summer Grip
The Michelin Pilot Sport 4S is a stylish-looking, low-profile tire that will provide unbelievable levels of grip on dry roads. This tire also offers extreme amounts of steering response and feedback. Plus, it’s one of the few UHP tires to come with a treadwear warranty.
An asymmetric, V-shaped tread pattern enables this tire to deliver excellent dry handling. It also makes this tire controllable at the limit and provides it with extreme amounts of cornering traction. As a result, you can attack corners without a hint of oversteer.
For high-speed stability, this tire’s contact patch expands as the needle on the speedometer veers toward the extreme right. Multiple grooves with the tread area help with water evacuation, with a tread compound made of silica and elastomers enhancing wet grip.
Comfort levels are surprisingly decent for a summer performance tire. While things won’t be as quiet or as vibration-free inside the cabin as if you’re driving a touring all-season tire. Still, you won’t hear your fellow passengers complaining about the firmness of the ride.
As if to justify this tire’s UHP credentials, Michelin has equipped it with a built-in rim protector. The rim guard shields the sidewall and the wheels from curb damage. You also get a respectable (for an ultra-high-performance tire) 30,000-mile warranty on the Pilot Sport 4S.
Pros
- Exceptional grip on dry roads
- Brilliant traction in wet and slippery conditions
- Treadlife is excellent for a summer performance tire
Cons
- Useless on snow
#3. Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 – Best Value for Money
The Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 are a must-have for Subaru WRX drivers to whom every other option on the market seems too expensive. These autocross-friendly tires will give you a thrilling ride experience, but they won’t blow a hole in your bank account.
As far as responsiveness and steering feedback are concerned, you won’t have any complaints with the Firehawk Indy 500. These tires are as responsive and deliver as much feedback to the steering as their premium counterparts, let there be no doubts about it.
The level of grip and traction they offer inevitably enhances their cornering performance, giving you the confidence to attack and leave turns at eye-watering speeds. Plus, the added grip also makes the Indy 500 controllable at the limit, a non-negotiable for UHP tires.
As difficult as it is to believe, given these tires’ UHP credentials, Firestone didn’t forget about wet roads when designing the Indy 500s. Had that been the case, these tires wouldn’t have come with multiple grooves, which aid them in keeping hydroplaning at bay.
The only issue some people might have with these tires is that you cannot rotate them. Their asymmetrical tread design is designed to work in a certain way. If these tires’ placement is changed, their famed high-speed stability will take a noticeable hit.
Pros
- 65,000-mile limited treadlife warranty
- Outstanding dry and wet traction
- Offers excellent value for the money
Cons
- Not for wintry conditions
#4. Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus – Best High-Performance All-Season
The Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus is one of the best high-performance tires for Subaru WRX, regardless of which trim of this sporty sedan you’re driving. These tires are a must-have if you want superior year-round performance and are willing to pay for it.
Continental has molded these tires’ all-season tread compound into an asymmetric design. It has also equipped the tread area with variable traction grooves and chamfered edges. The result? Enhanced levels of dry and grip as well as an exceptional steering feedback.
Traction grooves work side by side with the X-Sipe Technology to help these tires perform dependably in wet and mild wintry conditions. The duo is helped in this by the chamfered edges, which increase the DWS06’s road contact for better grip on dry and wet roads.
The DWS06 Plus also features various improvements over its predecessor. While the DWS06 is available in 87 sizes (16- to 20-inches) and is warranted for 30,000-miles. This model comes in 100 sizes (16- to 20-inches) and is backed for an unbelievable 50,000 miles.
Unfortunately, it isn’t just the good stuff that this model borrows from its ancestor. Both the DWS06 and DWS06 Plus are very noise at high speeds. The DWS06 Plus also wears pretty quickly, a common issue regardless of which UHP tire you install on your WRX.
Pros
- 50,000-mile treadlife warranty
- Exceptional dry, wet, and light snow performance
- Available in 100 sizes from 16- to 20-inches
Cons
- Very noisy
#5. BFGoodrich g-Force COMP-2 A/S Plus
Among the multiple all-season UHP options available on the market, we have one from BFGoodrich. The g-Force COMP-2 A/S Plus is an excellent choice, offering plenty of performance without too many downsides.
The g-Force COMP-2 A/S Plus is an all-season model, and as such, it’s designed using an all-season rubber compound. Its main goal is to provide the tire with more performance in non-ideal conditions like rain or snow.
To help the tire with dry performance and handling, the g-Force COMP-2 A/S Plus features g-Control Sidewall Inserts and Performance Tread Profile. They work in combination, providing the tire with improved cornering grip and giving it dynamic handling properties.
The g-Force COMP-2 A/S Plus has a directional tread pattern, with the main goal of helping the tire with aquaplaning resistance. This is achieved thanks to the tire’s ability to channel water away from the blocks. The pattern also helps with keeping the tire stable at highway speeds.
In terms of control, the g-Force COMP-2 A/S Plus is designed with the Dynamic Suspension System, but that’s not the only advantage this feature offers. It also works to help the tire keep the tire a bit more comfortable.
Pros
- Plenty of performance for the money
- Pretty good performance on snow
- Excellent aquaplaning resistance
Cons
- Not the quietest tire in this category
#6. Continental PureContact LS – Best Touring All-Season
A grand touring model is a good option if you’re looking for a balance between refinement and performance. From this category, you have the Continental PureContact LS, a tire that seems to deliver on that front.
To deliver year-round performance, Continental utilized its all-season compound for the PureContact LS, meaning that it won’t struggle on wet or snowy roads. In addition to that, the compound is modeled into a design featuring Traction Grooves aimed at improving traction in these conditions.
As tires wear, they start to lose their properties, and monitoring them is crucial, which is where Continental’s visual indicators come into play. They act as treadwear indicators, but there are 3 different ones for each weather condition: dry, wet, or snow. Once you reach them, the PureContact LS won’t perform well in said condition.
With the performance aside, Continental paid attention to refinement as well. The PureContact LS has a tread pattern designed to minimize roar and keep the noise levels as low as possible.
The Tg-F polymers used in the rubber compound are there to help keep the tire’s rolling resistance lower. As a result, the PureContact LS should offer improved fuel economy, which is why Continental says that it’s a good option for EVs as well.
Pros
- Marvelous wet performance
- High refinement levels
- Handles dynamically considering its category
Cons
- Not the longest warranty in this category
#7. Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season – Best Fuel-Efficient
According to the EPA, the Subaru WRX is estimated to deliver 22 mpg (city and highway) with the manual transmission and 21 mpg with the optional CVT automatic. No matter how you slice these numbers, they unmask the WRX for what it truly is: a fuel guzzler.
If you want to improve these numbers, consider pairing your WRX with the Cinturato P7 All Season Plus. This tire is its manufacturer most fuel-efficient tire, with tests conducted by Pirelli reporting that the P7 has 20% less rolling resistance than other A/S tires.
The reduction in rolling resistance signifies better fuel economy, as your WRX’s engine will have to output less power to keep this tire rolling. An additional benefit is an improvement in CO2 emissions, as the reduced effort by engine will cut down on CO2 exhausts.
Not everything that is good about this tire revolves around its fuel mileage. For instance, a computer-optimized tread pattern helps keep things quiet and comfortable inside the cabin, with a quartet of circumferential grooves improving this model’s wet traction.
A 70,000-mile treadwear warranty is another exciting feature of this tire. As is this model’s pocket-friendly asking price, which ensures that this tire weighs low on your budget in the short- and long-term.
Pros
- Available in a budget-price point
- Has 20% less rolling resistance than rivals
- Backed with a 70,000-mile treadlife warranty
Cons
- Wears pretty quickly if pushed to limits
#8. Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate – Best All-Season
On the all-season UHP options, you have plenty of options, one of which is from Goodyear. The Eagle Exhilarate is an excellent performance tire without a massive compromise in terms of refinement.
The Eagle Exhilarate is an all-season tire, and as such, Goodyear utilized a rubber compound capable of delivering performance in these conditions. It also features a design with plenty of sipes, designed to help with traction on snow.
Goodyear used several of its technologies, including the ActiveGrip. This one aims to help the tire offer improved traction in multiple conditions and offer excellent handling characteristics.
Safe tires are those that have short braking distances, and the Eagle Exhilarate falls in that category. The tire is made with Goodyear’s ActiveBraking technology, which, like the previous one, brings improvements in multiple conditions.
There are many things that help a tire handle well, and weight is one of them. To keep the weight as low as possible without compromising durability, the Eagle Exhilarate is designed with ActiveStrength technology, which helps with handling while keeping the internal construction lighter.
Pros
- Handles very well
- Plenty of performance in multiple conditions
- Comfort and noise levels are pretty good
Cons
- There are models with slightly longer treadwear warranty
#9. Nexen Winguard Winspike WH62 – Best Studded Winter tire
Although its limited size availability has prevented it from making our list of the best studded snow tires, the Winguard Winspike WH62 can take your WRX’s winter performance to the next level, especially if studded tires are allowed on roads where you regularly drive.
A detailed directional tread pattern works side by side with the winter-specific tread compound to boost this model’s snow and ice traction. If you feel that the traction is lower than what you need, feel free to insert Nexen’s recommended studs into the tread area.
Doing so will enable this tire to plow through snow and ice, regardless of how much of either is there on the roads. Still, for the most part, you won’t feel the need to use studs. This tire’s winter compound will help it keep going in the majority of cases.
An optimal placement of circumferential grooves has enhanced this model’s resistance to hydroplaning. The V-shaped grooves are so placed as to allow quick and effective water evacuation for a safer and surefooted wet and slippery surface performance.
Pros
- Offers excellent traction for harsh wintry conditions
- Poses superb hydroplaning resistance
- Ensures shorter braking distances on snow and ice
Cons
Available in a limited number of sizes
#10. Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 – Best Studless Winter tire
The Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 demonstrates that you don’t necessarily need studded tires to get superior grip and traction in harsh wintry conditions. This tire’s winter-specific tread compound, multiple interlocking 3D sipes and MultiCell Technology make it a capable performer on snow and ice.
Start with the tread compound whose flexibility remains regardless of how low the temperature nosedives, helping this tire safely carry you from point A to point B on ice- and snow-laden roads. Next come the 3D sipes, which help this model provided added grip.
MultiCell Technology also deserves a mention, given how it traps snow and ice within the treads to enable this model to keep going on snow and ice. That said, it’s a shame that the technology only covers the first 55 percent of this model’s tread area.
The absence of treadwear warranty might raise eyebrows. But don’t forget that most winter tires don’t come with one and still last many seasons before needing replacement. Similarly, nothing about the WS90 tells us that this tire would have a small treadlife.
Pros
- Offers excellent performance on snow and ice
- Comes with winter wear bars and tread wear indicators
- Grip and traction levels on dry pavement are superb
Cons
- Zero treadwear warranty
Why Replace Your Subaru WRX Stock Tires
Here are a few reasons why you might want to replace your Subaru WRX’s OE tires:
- Stock tires are very noisy. If anyone ever asks me to define 2022 Subaru WRX’s OE tires in one word, ‘loud’ will be the term I’d use. In fact, as evidenced by various reviews left by WRX owners, I’m not the only one who feels that way.
- Stock tires wear unevenly. Subaru WRX’s OE tires have the nauseating ‘ability’ to wear unevenly, meaning most of the tread will be gone before you even know it. At that time, you’d have no choice but to go for aftermarket tires.
- Aftermarket tires offer better grip. Take the example of our top pick. The Pilot Sport A/S3+ offers much better grip than its stock counterparts on your WRX. As such, this tire will be much more controllable at the limit.
- Aftermarket tires come with longer treadwear warranties. Last time I checked, the Dunlop Sport Maxx GT (the OE tire on most 2022 WRX trims) didn’t come with any treadwear warranty. In contrast, all our top tire picks are warrantied for anywhere between 30,000 to 75,000 miles.
How to Choose Tires for Subaru WRX
Size
Depending on the model year, your Subaru WRX might have any tire size, including but not limited to 235/45R17, 245/40/R18, 235/35/R19, and 245/35R19. Check out your WRX’s owners’ manual or the sticker on the door jamb on the driver’s side to know your WRX’s tire size.
Weather
While all-season tires can stay useful round the year, they aren’t the best for tacking harsh wintry conditions. Similarly, summer performance tires might struggle a bit on wet roads. Make sure the tire you select is designed for the weather conditions you’ll be driving it in.
Tread
Tires come with one of two tread designs: symmetric and asymmetric. The symmetric tread design is meant to offer enhanced ride comfort by absorbing road noise and vibrations. In contrast, tires with the asymmetric tread pattern deliver better grip and are thus more useful for racing.
Best Tires for Subaru WRX
Performance Tires
Performance tires are the best option for the average Subaru WRX driver. These models enhance everything that customers like about this sporty sedan, including brisk acceleration, jubilant and agile driving experience, and stable and engaging handling.
All-Season Tires
If you’re frustrated about the WRX’s subpar fuel economy, all-season touring or grand touring tires are worth a shot. Not only will these models enhance your car’s fuel mileage, they will also last much longer than their performance and high-performance counterparts.
Winter Tires
Winter tires are a good option if the area where you live receives more than its fair share of snow. These tires come in two categories: studded and studless. Studded tires are best for tackling heavy snow, though, for most people, studless winter tires will easily make do.
Frequently Asked Questions
What tires come on the Subaru WRX?
The 2022 Subaru WRX comes with Dunlop tires. These tires are notoriously loud, especially at higher speeds, forcing WRX drivers to replace them at the first chance they get. Aside from that, the stock WRX tires wear unevenly, meaning they have short tread (and road) lives.
What size tires fit a Subaru WRX?
Starting from the model year 2015, the Subaru WRX comes with tire sizes of 235/45R17, 245/40/R18, 235/35/R19, and 245/35R19.
What PSI should my WRX tires be at?
The recommended tire pressure for 2022 Subaru WRX is 32 PSI for front and rear tires. This is equal to 2.2 bar and 220kPa.
How long do Subaru WRX tires last?
The length of time your Subaru WRX tires will last depends on three factors: the type of tires you have installed on your car, how you drive, and driving/road conditions. For instance, premium touring tires used for everyday driving in moderate weather may last 60,000 miles or higher.
Conclusion
All the tires listed above are a safe option for Subaru WRX, as long as you pick the model that is best suited to your driving style, road conditions, and weather. It’s therefore imperative to keep these three factors in mind while selecting tires for your Subaru WRX.
