Not only are the stock 17" tires bad in snow, they are dangerous. A set of dedicated winter tires/wheels is the way to resolve this issue. I had a set of stock LTZ wheels that I installed some winter snow tires on. They work well, but if you were to use a 15" or 16" wheel/tire package, it would be preferable because of the slightly narrower tread.
The tires I have are General Arctic Altimax from Tire Rack dot com. The reason I got these was price and favorable reviews. There are better winter tires available, but these perform quite well. I can now start, stop, and turn in winter driving conditions; with the OEM Hankook's I could do none of these things. Winter tires do make an unbelievable improvement in winter driving conditions, especially snow and slush.
If you go the website I mentioned, you can put together a winter tire/wheel package; even view different wheels on your make, model, and color of your vehicle. There also are test reports and comparisons of all the tires they sell. Here is a link: Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels
I've run the stock RS 17's for two winters with snow tires.. after one extremely sketchy drive home from the airport in snow/slush I'll never do it again...
My tires are Hercules Avalanche R G2 and they are awesome. 30+ days each season heading up to the ski slopes in Colorado, averaging almost 11k miles per season (Nov-Mar) and the traction/handing is superb. Even dry conditions are good (not too "squirmy" like many dedicated snow tires)
Any true snow tire will be an improvement over stock. The Hankooks tracked so wildly they would cause the back end to walk around the car. No matter what the TC was set to I always felt uneasy with them. Running true snows allows me to drive safely with confidence
Ah, I can see I was not clear there. I run the stock RS wheels in winter with snow tires, I'll never run the stock tires again....
What is it you don't like about the directional? I've been happy with mine but it's been a while since I've run asymmetric so I don't recall what they were like by comparisonI went with a set of Michelin Xice3's and winter driving has been noticeably less terrifying. Although I think they will be last set directional treaded tires I get.