Charlie, you might consider a truly all-weather tire such as the Nokian WR. It has a tread that looks like a split-personality . . . one half has an all-season pattern, the other has a snow-tire pattern. They can be left on a car year-round. I think they were originally designed for use in Europe, where someone might begin their day in a warm part of France, for example, but end their journey in the snowy Alps.
I've used them on a couple of cars and have been very pleased. Currently have a set on my wife's Subie Legacy. They get her around just fine whenever she ventures out in snowy weather, unlike the Bridgestone "all-season" tires that came on that car from the factory. Those Bridgestones had less traction than a hockey puck, and were actually terrifying to drive in snow.
The Nokians would not be appropriate if you track the car during the summer, but I've found them to have very good stability & turn-in with a V speed rating. And it sure is convenient to leave 'em on year-round.
I haven't seen your window-closing issue with my wife's Subie, but on other vehicles there is usually a way to "recalibrate" the windows so as to fully close the window once again. You may find a way to do that recalibration by searching a Subaru or WRX forum.
Hey thanks for the thoughts, Mark.
It would surely be convenient to have one set, but I'll never go back. I've tried dozens (literally) of all weather tires, though not Nokians. I have always been disappointed in the lousy weather. All-weather tires work great in the rain, granted, and they're OK when driven hard, which I do plenty of in the warmer weather. But, there's really been no comparison, though in the snow/slush/crap. And since I have performance cars I go for summer tires for the second set. I used to track my S2000, and I can attest to the fact that all-weathers didn't cut it -- probably no surprise.
Frankly, I have nothing but love and respect for the Firestone Winterforce winter tires that I've been using for the last 10 years. I've used them on several of my cars over these years, and have continued to deploy them on the 2020 WRX (they're on there right now). I had a set for the 2016 Impreza which I gave to my son a few years ago when I bought the WRX: Great peace of mind for me and a reason to get together each season change at my house to swap wheels.
The Winterforce are studdable too -- which is completely unnecessary for me -- but the key thing is that they're relatively cheap, and they are totally unstoppable in winter. Of course, they're most decidedly not all-weather and have to come off once the weather starts getting nice.
I'll while I think I'm preaching to the choir, Mark, I will also never go back to winter without AWD. AWD was transformative for me, just like the winter tires. Even though I don't have to drive 80 miles a day in my retired dotage.
