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Comments
I'll post my impressions after I have a chance to break them in.
Ken
Keep us posted.....takes a hundred + miles to break them in. Mine were skittish until then.
I hit 50K miles in the Forester this afternoon...middle age. Hope it will do triple that. Seems like only yesterday that I bought it, but it's been a little over 3 years...which is how long I've been lurking, then posting , here.
Ed
I put them on both the OB and the minivan, and am quite impressed with them.
Steve
I'm lovin them on the SVX
-mike
-mike
Again, comparing SP5000s to Yokohama Geolandars I've found the Dunlops to have better wet and dry grip and a bit stiffer sidewall. They are not so stiff that they harm the ride quality, though.
Ed
But do you dislike having to go to the dealer that much? Check out the new models on the showroom and have a free cup of coffee. Personally, I like visiting the dealer, and I've gone even when I didn't need anything. Your relationship with your dealer doesn't have to be adversarial, is all.
-juice
Ever hear of the old adage, "There are three kinds of lies - lies, darned lies, and statistics!"?
CR gives you statistics on vehicle reliability. It's possible to get a Yugo that runs perfect, but far less likely than an Accord, for example.
In other words, take any statistic with a grain of salt. I've read that the slots in Atlantic City pay off approximately 90% of the money you put in. I can tell you there are a lot more times I've left AC lamenting the loss of a beloved Jackson than not. (Did I say I was cheap?)
- Lou
But ask, call 800-SUBARU3 and see if they'll reimburse you. They should, IMO.
-juice
-juice
I thought middle age was 100K?? (just like middle age increases for me as I get older)
Greg
Greg
-Frank P.
I've now had my Forester for 5 years. Haven't spent a penny outside of maintenance. Knock on wood, she's a keeper.
We had a 626 for 7 years, and while it was good for the first 5, it cost us $2500 in repairs overall. We couldn't wait to sell it.
But I also have a Miata that has been flawless, and it's a 1993 I bought used about 2.5 years ago. So one good Mazda, one bad one. It's always a toss up.
-juice
Do the brakes pulsate when you apply them? Or does the vehicle pull to one side? If not, you might be able to get away with just doing the pads for now.
You're outside the B2B warranty but under the powertrain. Call 800 SUBARU3 and see what they can do, maybe they'll at least split the cost.
My 626 was hesitating and stalling, and they did a throttle body service, with fantastic results. She ran like new, quicker than ever, so yeah, that's normal.
-juice
What happens is carbon forms and begins to effectively increase your compression ratio. Eventually you get pinging, the ECU retards spark timing and you lose power.
Once it's clean you'll notice a big difference, the timing will advance again and it'll run like it's intended to.
-juice
Luk
I’m not trying to bad-mouth Subaru. We really like our car, and as has been said already, most every consumer publication considers them reliable. Just wonder if it might be to the manufacturer’s, and everyone else’s, benefit to check into this ‘epidemic’ a little further.
Wear depends on how well the local municipality cleans the roads, well cleaned = accelerated wear.
Cheers Pat.
A plugged fuel filter would more likely show up as a lack of power, or similar, under load.
Too bad you don't trust the repair shop. Seems like they fixed your problem.
jimmys2
I know I'm comparing a worn-out tire to a brand new one, but the ride on the SP5000s actually feel more supple than the outgoing Yokos. Pressures are the same at 34/32.
Ken
-Frank P.
I like Chevron gas, too, but they are few and far between near me. Bummer. I use a bottle of Techron every once in a while.
-juice
-Frank P.
-juice
Please realize that this is a very "data limited" response, but provides some indication of where we are headed. Using a tire gauge, I took 3 measurements across the tire face (outer/center/inner) on all 4 wheels and am presenting the overall averages. At this point, there is no discernable wear pattern across the tread, so the tire pressures and alignments on both vehicles appear to be about right:
Purchased: Dunlop SP WinterSport M2 (8 identical tires)
Size: 225/60 - 16, H-speed rating for two vehicles
Initial Tread Depth = 11/32"
Vehicle #1 - 2002 OBW, approx weight = 3500lbs, running stock pressures of 30/29 psi. 16x7" rims. Usage to date = approx 2k miles. Current condition = 9.5 - 10 / 32" fronts, 10 - 10.5 / 32" rear (avg). If used from 12/1 thru 4/1 (4 months), a season = 4k miles avg.
Vehicle #2 - 2002 Honda Odyssey EX, approx weight = 4350lbs, running stock pressures of 36/36 psi. 16x6.5" rims Usage to date = 3.3k miles. Current conditions = 9 / 32" fronts, 10 / 32" rear (avg). If used from 12/1 thru 4/1 (4 months), a season = 6+k miles avg.
From the above, it appears the tires would benefit from rotation to even the front - back wear. So using an average value regular rotation would have provided:
OBW = used 1/32" for 2k miles overall average
Ody = used 1.5/32" for 3.3k miles overall average
Although 'legal' limit is 2/32", it is probably no longer providing much benefit as a snow tire when you get much below say 5/32". So for arguments sake, I am going to use 6 - 7 / 32" as the useful life span. After that I would probably run them thru the summer and finish them off.
So projected life for my use:
OBW = 13k miles, or about 3 full winters
Ody = 14-15k miles, or again pretty much 3 winters
Lots of 'leaps', but again not a lot of data to work with yet!
Steve
-Frank P.
thanks again
If you drove our 626 before and after the throttle body cleaning, you would not believe the difference. It went from Broken to Fixed just like that.
-juice
Any how, I have a 1998 and I've only had to visit the dealer once in almost 5 years, so I'm happy. In fact the only bad things is that it's holding up too well and I can't justify trading it in when the Forester turbo arrive.
Bummer, I guess. ;-)
-juice
As we all know bare pavement accelerates the wear on dedicated snow tires, so I have found that after 3 winters they are toast as a snow tire.
Cheers Pat.
Greg put out the challenge, and I thought it would be an interesting use of my copious free time (not!).
Steve
Have got Blizzak LM22s on the WRX, can't tell about wear as I have maybe 1500 miles so far on them. They are definitely better than the Nokians in the dry and I think better in ice/snow too. In ice/snow, from memory, the Nokians were not as good as the original Blizzak WS15 or Arctic Alpin but much better in the dry.
I may have mentioned it here before but I read on some website ? Nokians, once about how the different tire manufacturers produce quite different products for their home markets.
The Japanese are concerned about traction on black ice at stops etc so their products tend to be designed to provide great traction/stopping on ice/packed snow. The Europeans are into high speed runs so their winter tires excel their at a cost to other parameters. The Scandinavians are into ice/snow traction but weighted to "lateral stabililty" ie don't run off the road on a curve - rather than the Japanese's straight line slow speed braking concerns
I just replaced 2 of the 4 studded snows on my wife's Villager this winter, after 7 seasons. Put the new ones on the front, of course, and the back ones will last out this season, then we hope to have her in a different rig by next winter. Could have bought 4, but economized a bit. I credit their longevity to my "rotate every season" schedule.
Cheers!
Paul
Thought I saw a response awhile ago on this board from a Subaru rep. Do they monitor? If so, I wonder if they might comment, or perhaps make some inquiries.
Greg