Si Winter Tire setup - Opinion Wanted

I just bought some new wheels that will be used with some winter tires. I am very excited to get them on the car.
They are Enkei Draco (of their Performance line), and are 17x7.5, and 19.x lbs/wheel.
Wheels for reference:
https://shopaccessories365.com/6773/product-detail.php?prodId=1067&ymmtId=236
https://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Whe...aco&wheelFinish=Anthracite+Painted&tab=wheels

I do not have tires yet though, so I wanted to get the opinion/feedback of fellow Si owners.
I am looking at Continental as my work has a discount program with them, so the following are the prices I would be paying.
The sizes of tires I am looking at (based on equal diameter to OEM) are:
205/50R17 ($118 - Continental WinterContact Si)
215/50R17 ($150 - Continental ContiWinterContact TS 850 P)
225/45R17 ($131 - Continental WinterContact Si)
225/50R17 ($128 - Continental WinterContact Si)

For reference our OEM are:
235/40R18

What do you guys think I should go with. I won't be thrashing on the winter tires too hard.
I understand thinner tires will be getter in the snow.
A taller tire wall will be more comfortable and more forgiving regarding damaging my wheels in pot holes.
I think the 225's will look nicer as they are wider.

That said, and with the prices taken into account, should I get the 225/50R17 ($128 - Continental WinterContact Si)? Are there any other arguments for anything else?

Biggest consideration is between the 2 tire models. The TS830 P's are the performance winter tire, so they will handle better in dry conditions, but they'll likely give up a bit of snow/ice traction. Seeing as you live in Ontario, I'm guessing you might want to go the WinterContact Si route, assuming you see lots of snow. I'm in central PA, so our winters are mostly just cold w/ the occasional snow/ice that doesn't normally stick around too long. So, on my WRX, I've run performance winter tires. They are still bounds better than any A/S tire.

I run General Altimax Arcitc 12 and have no complaints with them. I bought 215/50R17 because they were the closest to the OEM size, so almost no impact to speedometer, odometer, etc.

I’m running 225/50/17’s Blizzak WS80. Amazing in the snow and ice. Conti’s should be fine in that size as well.

I ran with Blizzaks on my OEM '07 Si wheels. Summer tires were on the HFP wheels. I liked the Blizzaks. Nice winter traction.

On my RWD Lexus, I've been running General Altimax Arctic's for the last 7 years (on my third set now). I swear by this tire- priced fair, lasts me about 2 years before it gets down to 6/32 and then I sell and get another set. With the limited slip differential and these snow tires, the car is a complete champ in the snow. I run 205/50r17 (factory size is 215/45r17, so that is the closest - I wanted a slightly narrower tire to help the car grip to pavement better).

17" General Arctic altimax here, great tires. This is my second set, had a 16" for my old 2012 civic and they were awesome on that car as well.

fenix-silver said:

The TS830 P's are the performance winter tire, so they will handle better in dry conditions, but they'll likely give up a bit of snow/ice traction. Seeing as you live in Ontario, I'm guessing you might want to go the WinterContact Si route, assuming you see lots of snow.

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Thanks for the feedback, I researched the differences between these tires some more and I agree. I think the model I will get is the WinterContact Si. I just need to choose a size now.

Does anyone know, if I go with the wider 225 instead of the 205's, will my rubber protrude out further from the edge of my wheel? My thinking here is if the 225 sticks out further from the wheel, it may save me from curb rash on my wheels if I brush them up against a curb in the snow. Is there any logic in this?

Gotch said:

I’m running 225/50/17’s Blizzak WS80. Amazing in the snow and ice. Conti’s should be fine in that size as well.

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Since you are running 225's, maybe you can share your experience here. Does your rubber protrude past your wheel, such that if you brush up against a curb, your tires will take the contact instead of scratching your wheels?

NHCivicGuy said:

On my RWD Lexus, I've been running General Altimax Arctic's for the last 7 years (on my third set now). I swear by this tire- priced fair, lasts me about 2 years before it gets down to 6/32 and then I sell and get another set. With the limited slip differential and these snow tires, the car is a complete champ in the snow. I run 205/50r17 (factory size is 215/45r17, so that is the closest - I wanted a slightly narrower tire to help the car grip to pavement better).

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This is an interesting system. Would you say it is significantly more cost effective to sell and rebuy your tires when they get halfway through their life? Mind if I ask the approx. new purchase price vs what you would normally get for them when they have 6/32's left?

Gotch said:

I’m running 225/50/17’s Blizzak WS80. Amazing in the snow and ice. Conti’s should be fine in that size as well.

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These are great..have had them on multiple cars

demoPEng said:

This is an interesting system. Would you say it is significantly more cost effective to sell and rebuy your tires when they get halfway through their life? Mind if I ask the approx. new purchase price vs what you would normally get for them when they have 6/32's left?

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With snow tires, you aren't supposed to run them down as far as you can with a summer/all season tire (2/32 i believe is where the wear bars are). Around 5/32-6/32 is technically when you are supposed to replace snow tires anyway.

Rousie13 said:

With snow tires, you aren't supposed to run them down as far as you can with a summer/all season tire (2/32 i believe is where the wear bars are). Around 5/32-6/32 is technically when you are supposed to replace snow tires anyway.

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Oh, okay. Well that raised a few questions from myself then.
1) Only 2 seasons out of snow tires? Shouldn't the life expectancy be way longer than that, unless you are doing a lot of doughnuts or driving an insane amount each year?
2) Who would buy spent snow tires (6/32's left), and what do they pay for them?

demoPEng said:

Oh, okay. Well that raised a few questions from myself then.
1) Only 2 seasons out of snow tires? Shouldn't the life expectancy be way longer than that, unless you are doing a lot of doughnuts or driving an insane amount each year?
2) Who would buy spent snow tires (6/32's left), and what do they pay for them?

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I've had my Dunlop SP Wintersports on my WRX for probably 6 or 7 seasons and they are still adequate. Usually run them from Dec-March for 3K miles or so.

demoPEng said:

Since you are running 225's, maybe you can share your experience here. Does your rubber protrude past your wheel, such that if you brush up against a curb, your tires will take the contact instead of scratching your wheels?

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I'm on steelies, but yes, they protrude past the rim edges.