Subaru Forester Tire/Wheel Questions
Had a bad blowout on left rear Yokohama Geolander this week on interstate going 75mphin left of 3 or 4 lanes...geez it was scary. The sidewall was damaged badly in 2 places. My 05' Forester handled just fine...still alive.
Now the question??? My 3 other tires have 21k miles and wear is at 6/32" tread depth with my full size spare at 9/32". Should I just get another similar Yokohama and put it on the front with the spare tire, and then run them until they get nearly same tread depth as rear tires and then start rotating. Or should I get 4 new ones...like Yokohama A430's ...have done all my tire needs at Merchant Tire for years. Thanks for your advice.
Now the question??? My 3 other tires have 21k miles and wear is at 6/32" tread depth with my full size spare at 9/32". Should I just get another similar Yokohama and put it on the front with the spare tire, and then run them until they get nearly same tread depth as rear tires and then start rotating. Or should I get 4 new ones...like Yokohama A430's ...have done all my tire needs at Merchant Tire for years. Thanks for your advice.
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Comments
Could somebody explain this to me? :confuse:
Basically Subaru wants you to have 4 evenly worn tires in use whenever possible, and I'd have to agree with that strategy.
-juice
The 50 mile limit probably has more to do with the donut itself, they're not very sturdy.
-juice
I hate temp spare tires—and for the very reason you mentioned. What if you're towing a trailer (a very real possibility with a number of Forester owners) and you get a flat? You can't tow with one of those donuts either!!!
In other world markets, almost all Subies get fullsize spares. We should too.
Bob
John
-juice
Our dealer gave us two rationales for the deletion of the full-size-spare:
1) simple economics -- it knocks a couple of hundred dollars off the cost...
2) with a donut, there is now room (and a slot) above the donut to stow the cargo privacy cover when you don't need it... perhaps twisted logic, but followable, at least.
I'm a little disappointed (I loved the VW coelocanth commercial!), but I'd be more unhappy if I was still in Montana and not DC. I also keep a emergency kit with "goo" and a pump in the car -- and I've already given one person a jump!
-juice
I am pretty sure the '04 XT (and likely the '04 NA) all had the full size.
The XT came out in May of '03 so it was essentially an '03 model also. I don't think there was a midseason change to donuts.
If I had to guess I would say it must have happened to the '05 + models.
John
If you think about it, there is no way in *$%! you could keep all tires the same circumference with a 5 tire rotation.
John
It's a tough call.
Bob
John
Steve, Host
-Brian
The EPA ratings aren't different for the Forester X (heavy steel rims) and the alloy wheel versions.
John
Steve, Host
(I got full sized spares for both my rides)
If you ever use "fix a flat" or any similar solution, make sure the shop that is repairing the flat completely cleans the rim after fixing the tire or replacing the tire.
Spare tires are also designed as a means of crash protection for rear impacts- the tires help absorb crash energy.
AKA1
I don't know whether they are designed for that purpose but their placement certainly helps!
tidester, host
Looks like I will stick with the temporary spare and hope for the best. Probably will drive the Forester close to home and on the long road trips drive one of my other vehicles.
Anyway, the person I was dealing with strongly discouraged the use of a five-tire rotation, saying that unless you were rotating your tires on a weekly basis, it'd be damn near impossible to stay within the variance. He also hinted that using a 5-tire rotation could void warranty coverage of "certain driveline components."
Food for thought.
As for the full-size vs. donut spare issue, I understand Subaru's in a pressure-packed cost environment, but the donut really runs counter to the brand's spirit and one of its biggest selling points--safety. I'm sure thankful my model has the full-size: given the condition of the local streets between our place and my wife's work, we probably would have stood a 50-50 chance of blowing out a donut on the trip back home.
I got Plus One rims, 225/60R16, and my spare is an OE 205/70R15, which is a tad smaller (as big as a donut would be, though). The difference is probably more than a new tire vs. a worn one.
Any how, I got a flat in the middle of a road trip home from the beach, 3 hours total, right smack in the middle. It was more than 50 miles in either direction, so I headed home. Made it, no problem whatsoever. I did take is easy on the speeds, though.
Specifics - the flat was the driver side rear tire, and mine has an open differential (as opposed to a limited-slip on S, XS, and XT models).
I doubt tread wear would harm things as long as it's temporary use.
Nice thing about AWD is the 4 tires wear pretty evenly. I lose track of when I rotated because they all look the same for wear.
FACT: my wife's old donut weighs 29 lbs. My OE steel rim and tire were 44 lbs. Her tires are smaller, but the donut still saves about 14 lbs.
How do I know? I'm home and I just weighed the donut. I had weighed the steelie when I first installed the alloys.
-juice
John
How do I get those off before my wife kills me? :surprise:
-juice
John
Thanks Matt
-juice
BTW, it says don't go over 50 MPH with the doughnut - not 50 miles in distance.
Also, last paragraph states when you use a spare on a non-turbo automatic that's also not a 3.0, you should deactivate AWD by inserting a fuse in the FWD connector.
Here's the link
http://www.subaru.com/owners/carcaretips/index.jsp?pageid=tire&navid=TIRED_TIRES- - -
John
-Brian
-Brian
2005 Subaru Forester®
Standard Equipment
Forester 2.5 X
· Full-size spare tire
John
Samantha
Your thoughts?
BTW, there's no mention of a break in period. I'm assuming take it easy for the first 1,000 miles.
BTW BTW, For those interested in the non-turbo, I feel the base engine has stellar performance. For those who want that xtra rush, the turbo can't be beat.
The 50mph or 80kmh limit is pretty standard for all donuts and is usually printed on the tyre sidewall. They are also intended only to get you to the nearest tire repair shop. Typically they come with a recommendation not to use for more than 50 miles. Theya re also pretty dangerous when fitted toa front wheel and some manufacturers recommend fitiing to the rear and then swapping a good tire onto the front if you suffer a front wheel flat.
Given the emergency spare is narrower and much smaller than the conventional tyre, handling is seriously affected and at anything above 50 mph you are endangering yourself, your passengers and other road users, you have to wonder why anyone would want to drive faster. If you do not want the inconvenience of travelling slowly to the nerest tyre shop, don't use an emergency spare.
In Australia, because disctances to the next town can be huge, donut spares are severely frowned upon. When Mercedes announced that their new M Class would be sold with a donut spare, it was greeted with amused laughter. Mercedes instantly offered a tailgate mounted fitting for a full size tyre and reengineered their wheel welll to accomodate a full size tyre.
When Subaru first showed the Outback down under, the example they showed the press was fittted with a donut tyre and the press instantly pilloried the Outback as a show pony. Despite the Ouback being delivered with a full size spare (a tight fit in the spare wheel well) it took some time to live it down.
Cheers
Graham
Bob
I replaced the donut on our 02 Legacy will a full size spare, indeed all I had to do was remove the foam filler piece, very simple. Try on your 06 Forester before you buy a new rim and tire, just see if you can fit one of your existing tires in there.
-juice
I'm looking for tires to replace original Geolanders.I'm thinking about BFGoodrich Traction T/A or Michelin Pilot.
I'm open to any suggestion. Basicaly I want avoid another "disaster" such as Geolander.
Thanks in advance.
They are quiet, CR #1 rated, you can get them for $59 each free shipping from discounttiresdirect.com
I actually ordered them throught a local tire dealer. After he looked up the price he agreed to match it. This avoided mounting and balancing issues that could have come up.
I put these 4 tires on my MPV. My Geos will go until 60k at least but I will put the Falkens on the Forester too.
John
They will be my next set of tires on my Forester... They wore great and handled extremely well in all weather...