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Subaru Legacy/Outback Tire Issues

Question about your tires post here.
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Comments
If they wore unevenly you could argue it was the alignment or something Subaru did wrong.
-juice
What tires do you have on your Subaru?
Krzys
I am not sure why it lasted such a short period of time, but maybe it has something to do with cost reduction since so many owners tend to oust those tires early on anyway. From the manufacturer's point of view, why pay for a 50,000 mile tire when folks tend to replace them within 20,000? I am not sure if this is the case, but it is possible.
I was in an accident 3 months ago. The car was totaled by the insurance company. Guess what? The airbags did not deploy!! I think that I may have gotten a lemon? This vehicle was the one in the show room.
That was my first subaru. I love subaru but will reconsider next time when i look for another car.
-mike
As for the bent frame, do not blame SOA, chances are and this is well documented, that dealers damage the cars in transport and do not (and don't have to) disclose up to 4k of damage in some states.
-mike
-mike
So, I am calling Subaru to complain. Whatever happens, I need new tires, what is your recommendation? Best tire, not best deal.
Dunlop SP5000s -Great all season tire, better dry grip than wet grip, ran these tires on the track and through the winter, price in the $115 range
Sumitomo HTR+ -Outstanding all season tire, less dry grip than the SP5000s, but superior wet and snow grip, ran these for 2 winters on my SVX and were better in the snow than the SP5000s, priced under $65
Pirelli PZero Nero M&S -Haven't used them but several other subaru owners say they are great all-seasons, again not as good in the dry as the SP5000s but better in wet and snow. Priced $103
There are some $150 ones out there but I don't feel they are any better than those listed above.
-mike
They are only $70/tire (plus installation/mounting), but they are one of a select group of tires with a AA traction rating (also A temp and 500 treadwear). I bought them as replacement tires for my old Forester and never got to use them in snow, but they were absolutely first-rate in every other respect.
For summer tires I like the Yok ES100s and the Faulken Azenis Sports
-mike
-mike
I live in Seattle and recently a cargo ship carrying a bunch of mazda ran into rough whether. I don't think there were any physical damage to the cars but they were shifted from one side to the other. The story was in the seattle times. If car manufacturers didn't have to let the customer know, i wonder why mazda did? In this case, the damage $ was less than the figure you gave earlier.
Since we are discussing tires for Subarus, I thought I would throw this question out there.
We have an '05 Outback 2.5i Our OEM Potenza RE92's are ready for replacement at 32,000 miles. Have narrowed down the choices to a handful, but 3 of them are directional tread.
Aside from the obvious tire rotation limitations (can only move front to back on same side of car), are there any immediate concerns with using a directional tread pattern tire on an all-wheel drive vehicle?
The tires being considering are:
Yokohama Avid H4S (Directional)
BFGoodrich Traction T/A (Directional)
Continental ContiExtreme Contact (Directional)
Kumho Solus KH16 (non-directional)
Continental ContiPremier Contact (non-directional)
The Outback is driven mostly on the highway, so low noise is very important. Ride is next most important, followed by responsiveness. Would also like something that is competent in rain and the occasional light snow.
We have read very good things about the Kumho, and that is the front-runner right now, but the Yoko also seems like a good choice.
Thanks so much!
-Brian
Thanks!
I guess my concern with the directional and rotation would be if the following rotation is done:
RightRear to RightFront (OK with directional)
RightFront to LeftRear (RightFront tire would need to be remounted as it would be facing the wrong direction)
LeftRear to LeftFront (OK with directional)
LeftFront to RightRear (LeftFront tire would need to be remounted as it would be facing the wrong direction)
The only way to prevent having to remount and balance 2 tires every 5-6K miles would be to do a LF to LR, LR to LF, RF to RR, RR to RF swap. Then I would never get the real benefit of rotating the tires for optimal wear.
-Brian
-mike
-Brian
Surprising. If those vehicles were tied down properly then there is no reason why they would have sustained any damage unless fuel spilled.
Many of those fluids are corrosive to steel, hoses, and paint jobs.
Still, I'd love to buy one at $0.10 on the dollar
John
I need new tires on my '06 Outback. I got a lot of suggestions in my last post. But, in reviewing those suggestions I realize I neglected to mention that I do not live in snow country. It freezes maybe once or twice and once in a long while we may get a light dusting, but no major snow driving. It does rain and I do commute over a twisty mountain road. In these parts we leave the same tires on the car year 'round, none of this changing of tires to fit the season. So, taking all of this into account, what is the best tire? Thank you! d
If your tire type allows it, there's no reason why you can't cross rotate them. In fact the rotation pattern should be determined not only by tire type but by tire wear pattern as well.
Ken
-Brian
or
Sumitommo HTR+ (These are my favorite all-season tires out there)
-mike
What size is stock on the XT? 17 or 18"?
As for rims, I got lucky. I found some '05 alloy base Outback rims that were taken off by the dealer when they pimped out one of their new cars. I don't know why they do such things, but I was the happy beneficiary of a set of new rims for only $300.
Doug
Thanks.............
Thanks.............
60 to 65 series is not that big a change, though.
-juice
Hope you have not already done damage to it .
There is a lot of positive buzz around Kumho tires, so we are giving them a shot.
-mike
-juice
I think it would be tough to get enough circumference differential to cause damage to the system simply through not rotating the tires, but I guess it all depends on how aggressively the vehicle is driven. Considering the RE92's have made it 50,000 miles (!), my guess is that the vehicle is not driven aggresively.
The space is tight though. Intuitively, I would surmise the increase you are seeking should work. I doubt the height gain will be noticable though. You might do better to put a 2 or 3" lift on it (if such a kit is available).
Thanks again..............
-juice