We have a 2017 Forester XT and a 2018 WRX. I change the wheels/tires out seasonally
on the WRX. I'm considering putting Nokian WR G4 SUV on the Forester and WR G4 on the
WRX. We're in Colorado, so an all-season/all weather tire makes sense. In Denver metro,
we don't really need dedicated winter studded tires.

Has anyone used these tires, and what did you think? I'm also very open to other brands.

I've been very happy with the Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ on our Flex.
Not sure how they are in snow but they've handled Houston monsoons just fine & had no issue in the 24* temps in Flagstaff when we were en route from Vegas > Houston.

Nokian is new to me, Michelin, Bridgestone, Yokohama & Kumho have been my go to on my last few cars.

What size tires?

The Nokian has great reviews and is (was) the brand of the PA state police....if you have ever driven I79 during a storm you know this means something.

When I was considering staying in the snow belt in my tuned GTI the G4 was the top of my list

The Forester uses 225 /55 R18 102H XL BSW.
The WRX uses 245 /40 R18 97V XL BSW

That's a good recommendation dewhorse.

I have a 2013 Subaru WRX, I run right now Prelli CINTURATO P7 in the summer, on refinished factory wheels. I plan on getting a set of Methods Racing MR 503 and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S.

The Prelli cinturato P7 have been fairly good, but I would like to have better performance.


Blizzak WS90 Bridgestone on Sparco Terra wheels, I have never had a problem in the snow. Light snow at 1" and under is almost like driving on dry roads.


ARman

On both a 2002 and 2013 WRX I used Continental Extreme Contact DWS, which were well regarded by other WRX owners. I went through a few sets between the two cars.

I tried Pirelli P-Zero Nero, Yokohama V4's after the factory Bridgestones (which sucked at everything) on the 2003. The 2013 came with summer only Dunlops and I went straight to the Continentals after losing a Dunlop at around 35K.

I have the summer Dunlops. They only have 6k on them, I'll keep those noisy things a bit longer.

Great suggestions , I will be doing homework.

I've had Cooper CS4/5 series on all my Subies for years in Eastern PA. Just put on a set of the new Discoverer Enduramax (new this year) on the 2018 Forester:

https://us.coopertire.com/tires/discoverer-enduramax

Been great so far on highway, wet and gravel----see how the winter goes

I'm having Michelin CrossClimate2 put on my '19 Outback Thursday. Lately St Louis winters haven't been that bad, but I'm retiring and that'll free up time to travel to NE Ohio to see family. Winter between here and there can get iffy quickly.

I lived in Colorado Springs for 11 years prior to moving to NH. I also owned several Subarus there. I would highly recommend a dedicated set of good studLESS snow tires for winter there.

The difference for my Subarus was night and day. We use Nokian Hakkapelita R3 SUV studless winter tires on my wife’s Toyota Highlander and they perform very very well.

We just purchased a 2020 Subaru Forester for my 16 year old daughter and I was almost ready to pull the trigger on a set for her until I saw that the Continental VikingContact 7 edges them out in most every test. I ordered the Continentals and they will be installed in a week or so. YMMV.

Up there I'd want dedicated winter tires for the winter and snow. Blizzaks. But if going all season, the DWS06 is the best on the market and excellently priced. I've used them on my last 2 AWD Cars. There is a section of the tread for snow and they are monsters in the rain. So good I've used them for track tires in the rain.

Great info. Thanks!

After a lot of back and forth, hemming and hawing, the winners are:

2018 WRX: Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06
2017 Forester: Nokian Tire WR G4 SUV

We'll see how they hold up.

I think you will be very happy with your choices.
I have heard nothing but good things about Nokian though never used them myself.

I ran those Continentals on my Audi A4 and that car was an absolute beast in the snow!!!

I've been running Nokian tires on multiple vehicles for the past 15+ years with no complaints. I'm not familiar with the WR G4 except from the reviews I've read. I will be replacing the WR G3 that are on my moms RAV4 with the G4's when the time comes.

You guys never steer me wrong!

let us know how the Nokians are for noise. Just picked up another accord for the kids and am going between the WR G4 and the eNTYRE for it.

So far, the Nokians are very quiet. I have only put about 20 miles on though, at 50 mph.