The WRX is a great car in stock form. However, from the factory, the WRX is a capable handler...but not exceptional...on dry pavement.

To turn your WRX into the serious sport car that is, the single most dramatic thing you can and should do is change the OEM Bridgestone RE92 mud and snow tires to a tire that actually grips the road.

With the RE92, the WRX can be slid around with relative ease. However, once you put some decent, sticky tires the WRX transforms into a whole new beast.

With the high performance tires, turn-in, steering feedback, and lateral grip is phenomenal! By switching to "ultra-performance" BF Goodrich KDW's (see tirerack's category descriptions?one step below "max-performance" and a few steps below "R" rated tires) lateral grip increased by .04-.08 g's depending on the corner. This translates into 5-10 mph faster through the corners (low to medium speed corners).

Get the best/stickiest tires you could afford. If you want to stay with true "street" tires, Bridgestone S-03's, Michelin Pilot, Pirelli P-Zeros, BF Goodrich KD, and a few others will provide maximum performance. My personal preference is the Bridgestone S-03's...Great tread life (relatively speaking), quiet (relatively speaking), and pehaps the stickiest out there in standard street attire. The most economical choice is the Kumho Ecsta MX...great tire for the money.

If you live in a dry climate you may be able to get away with "R" compound tires (Racing compound?most R compound tires do NOT have the ability to dispense very much rain/water and therefore hydroplane with relative ease). Also, R compound tires typically only last at most 10,000 miles.

There are a few drawbacks that should be noted with high performance street tires. Though the WRX is not known for its quietness?the tire/road noise is much more audible. Also, stiffer sidewalls make the ride harsher?and the some tires will have a tendency to "tramline" (follow seams/cracks in the road).

Traveling at 75 mph on the freeway reminds me of my 1991 Porsche 911?fun, but loud.

With high performance tires, my WRX is now a great street-handling car?not just a car that has good "sliding/drifting" capabilities. By just changing out the tires (no other suspension work has been done...yet :^) the WRX now corners better than my previous 2000 Audi A4 1.8t and 1991 Porsche 911 C4 (more work still needs to be done to surpass my modified 1998 BMW M3?but I am confident, it won't take much...it is that close!)