Winter Tires for 08 Forester 2.5X Premium

mattyr

I'm looking for some input on a set of snows for my 08 Forester. I commute 90 miles each day to and from work, so I need a winter tire that will last and perform fairly well on dry/wet roads. I've narrowed it down to the Michelin X-Ice Xi-2, the General Altimax Artic, and Blizzaks WS-60. Any input on these tires would be greatly appreciated.

Also, does anyone know where I could find some cheap OEM alloys (besides eBay or craigslist)?

aatherton

I think the cheapest winter tire set is from Tirerack.com. Enter the info for your car and it will lead to Blizzaks on either alloy or black steel.

w8ifi

Do search on Subaru discussions for "tires" and you'll find this topic has really been covered in various Subaru threads. Going on my memory I think some time ago Mike used to think pretty highly of a Sumitomo tire that was pretty reasonable in price and wore well with good traction. Tire Rack is a good source as mentioned above.

Jim

Panos

My vote goes to the General Altimax Artic tires! I run them on my 09' Forester. I didn't even bother with the factory all season tires during the winter months. I put over 3500 miles on the generals last winter and they were great! They still look like new. I also got lucky and ordered a set of 16x7 Sport Edition F10 wheels for $69 each when i ordered the Generals. They had them on a closeout sale. Total with the tires it cost me just over $650 for the set from tirerack (mounted and balanced).

They performed great during the winter months. I really put them to the test and went through all kinds of weather conditions and the Forester was unstoppable. They're just as good on dry/wet roads. They're a little louder then the all seasons and the sidewalls are softer so there's more lean going around corners, but that's to be expected from a winter tire. Overall, for the price they can't be beat!