I was just thinking about the tire thing..I have an old set of edr9's that I had powercoated white a few years back and I think I may throw snows on them...but im undecided for now. I had Sound Effects throw on a remote starter last week and that mixed with the heated seats should lead to a nice toasty car this winter.
Welcome aboard man. Check out our Member Map and locate yourself. The oem tires on your car were designed for mileage & low rolling resistance. My XV is my 6th Subaru and I ran dedicated Ice & Snow tires on all of them.
I'd take the $500 and invest in snow tires as well. Even though these things are AWD already, with snows it's sooooo much better. You totally feel in control.