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I did not want to screw with the tire diameter size vs stock. also it may change the handling going to a plus sized tire. 275/45-20 the radius is 10 inches plus .45 * 275 converted to inches. that should be more then the stock size tires plus stock 18 in wheels.
when I ordered wheels they did not have a fit recommended for the B9. I got them to send out a tech to a local dealer to make the measurements so that they could recommend one. they said mine would fit. the price was right with the Scorze and the only tire that would fit with the same ending size as the factory was the Nitto.
I wanted a summer tire to get better traction and improved handling and the results was definitely noticeable. but not harsh. best of both worlds. as other said just watch the offset. my offset was i think the same at 5mm. worked out to like 1/2 inch more.
heres the posting on calc the total radius of the tire and wheel: click here
and Steve the Host posted a link to a online tire calc here
My bet would be on late August. Anyone else have any "insider" knowledge?
Click here
As for the fitting...the fitment guide stated a 275/45/20 would fit but when we tried it the tire did rub so make sure you do not get this size (I did notify them of this problem when I returned it.) This tire size is about .8" wider and has a .7" larger OD than the OE set-up. When you turned the wheels it barely touched but was enough for me to not accept the tires.
It should be noted that I had wanted a 275/40/20 which would have been .3" smaller diameter and probably would have worked but you still have the width issue so if you hit a large pot hole while turning it may rub.
With that said, I may go back to to a 255/45/20 which will be identical to to the stock dimensions to ensure I do not have a problem. The Nitto tire states it prefers a 8.5: wheel, which the MB wheels are so it should be a good fit.
Just be careful because the amount of "extra" space is very minimal with the Tribeca.
If you have any more questions please let me know.
Shane
Current MPG Has been 20 + for the last several thousand miles. 60% suburban, 20%urban, 20% highway @ 75 or so.
Jerry
Who did you speak/deal with at discount tire? The wheels are being delivered tomorrow and I was going to have them put on first thing sat. morning. I'm driving on the spare right now.
I couldn't get an appt. at my original Subie dealership for sat. and I wanted them to take the valve stems out of the stock tires since they have the sensors and put them in the new which they said they could do. But I wanted to put something on by sat. so was just going to put the new wheels/tires on and save the stock for the valve with sensor which I imagine they can switch out with tire on or would they need to take the wheels and tires off to put the stock vavles stems with sensors on?
I guess i could see how close the 275/45/20 Yokohamas come to rubbing and i'm sure discounttire will email me the postage thing to send them (hope its not a pain to send back though) and he'd find me some 255/45/20's that fit the MB wheels size recommended by the fitment guide on their site.
My local discount tire place did have some Toyo tires (have model written down at home) that were 255/45/20 so I could just get them and maybe even sell them the Yokohama's as I got such a good deal on them. What a mess. Either way I want to get the spare off on sat. and i'm not buying 4 new 18's as they dont have the GY Eagle LS so yeah i'll prob get the Toyo's which I think/hope are all season and either sell or return the Yokohama Geolandars which I was all excited for as they are top rated by tirerack.
:confuse:
Brian - you probably have the most customized B9 out there. That's a better sound system than my home!
TPH is unlikely to make production. Miller cycle has not yet been mated up to Toyota's HSD, so we're more likely to get something more conventional that Toyota could help Subaru with.
raybear: your tempting me, those prices sure sound good...still isn't a good time for us to buy now, though.
-juice
the same size as the MB wheels I got?
I am unclear if you got the wrong size at first and sent them back. Maybe it was cluelesspa who said something about having to send some back. Either way it seems like 255/45/20 is what will fit and work. I wish I had known who you worked with at discount tire, becaues it sounds like you told me he 275/45/20 doesn't work as it slightly rubs when you turn or something as you mentioned.
They should have made note of this so that they didn't recommend that size tire to other Tribeca owners.
Sounds like even cluelesspa got 255/45/30 size tires and I used the same guy (Dave) as he did. I think he coldn't look up his order to see without his full name or something though which is stupid. They should keep recored of what vehicle the person was putting the wheels and/or tires on so he could have looked it up by vehicle to see what size tires work, ugh.
Its going to be on them because he recommended them even after I said are you sure its not supposed to be 255/45/20?
Even tire rack only shows that size for 20"
what a mess and I want the spare off by sat so i prob wont be waiting for them to send other tires. Gonna see if the one local shop i talked to has the Toyos in the right size.
Didn't you tell Dave that the 275/45-20 size doesn't work on the tribeca as they slightly rub when turning was it? how bad are they. Cross ship or whatever. they still wont get here now by friday or early enough sat so i can take off the spare and put them on.
Didn't Shane tell them the 275/45/20 dont work as well? Shouldn't they have had that on record?
frick I have my local shop finding what 255/45/20's they can find that are all season as the Toyos they mentioned ot me yesterday he said htey aren't but I thought i looked up the Toyo Proxes S/T and they were kind of all season. They said they aren't though but are the most reasonable price and then he said there arent a lot in that size and when i asked what would be all season he said maybe some michelins but they will be expensive?
since when are michelins more expensive then fancy tread Toyos?
argh.
After seeing the trouble he had getting that stuff to conform to the multi- contoured lens - I felt I got a real bargain. That poor guy spent almost 1 1/2 hours.
He said the B9 was the most difficult install he has ever had. He also said that 3M should recommend 20 or 30 mil material for a compound curved lens like the B9s.
For those that have had it installed - long should it take for the haze to clear up?
My local discount shop has the Toyo's in the right size and they are all season, decently rated and have a cool tread for nice looks like the Nitto and better then the Yokos i was getting from dtd.
I will just have my shop take off the Yoko's (maybe try one just to see if it really rubs) and put the toyos i get from then on my new wheels. In fact I hope to do an even trade to the tire place. Yokohama GeoLandar H/T-S GO52 275/45-20's for the Toyo Proxes S/T 255/45/20's. I think thats doable as that size Yoko's are bigger, well rated, great brand adn i think list for more. So they should at least give me even swap if not give me some money back.
Then i wont have to ship anything back as that would be a pain to ship back just the tires and though he told me the basic breakdown so i know price of the tires i paid as part of the package they might say it was a package so it changs what i get back who knows.
As long as my tire place can give me the toyos in even exchange or better i might not even call dtd back then because i'd like to believe they do only have htose nittos in teh 255/45/20 size and therefore I got a better deal as part of the package even with wrong tires for the benefits of the package deal in place of if i had just ordered just the wheels. free shipping? and whatever else is only for the wheel/tire combo purchase.
Hopefully this latest plan works out.
Today I mentioned it to my service manager - who informed me the Tribeca and most subies do not have "defrosters or De-Icers" they have "Defoggers". A much lower powered grid that is meant to merely clear mist not melt snow of ice on the rear window.
After referring to the owners manual, sure enough he was correct.
Can you believe a car maker of only 4WD cars (which are particularly used in the snow belt) has no provision to handle snow or ice on the rear window or side view mirrors. SOA is only concerned about snow & ice on the road surface.
Craig
Do you have B9? Can you check the OB manual and how it is described there?
The problem is there are totally of three separate buttons to push to put all the stuff to work. There are front windshield de-fogger button, rear window de-fogger button and another button for de-icers for front wiper and side mirrors.
Are you having the tires mounted on the wheels and shipped that way? If so you can probably get tires from your local tire dealer and have them take them off for you once you purchase new ones from them (not sure where you are located)or do as another said and have Dave ship you others, although they did not really want to do that with me and since I was not in a rush I will most likely get tires from a local deal as they will price match for me. also, so you know it was very easy to send the tires back to Discount as they send you an email link to the UPS labels and then you just drop them off at UPS.
As for the sensors, they actually attach from the inside of the wheel so they are not the easiest to remove, although I have been told you can take them off without totally taking the tire off, but they do require you remove the air and break the bead on the tire.
If you do want to get more sensors, I was able to get them for $50 each from Subaru internet dealer vs $100 each from local dealer. I know they are not cheap but I did not want the tire pressure light on and I have winter snow tires on the 18" stock wheels.
You may want to see what your local tire dealer will charge to remove them and install them in the new wheels. Most tire dealers are familiar with tire pressure sensors as many cars have had them installed for a few years now. One way to tell their knowledge is they should know just by looking at the valve stem, with the wheels mounted on the B9, that is is equipped with tire pressure sensors.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Shane
Like I said mine rubbed a minimal amount, but that was just sitting in the garage of the tire shop with the wheels turned. This does not take into what you might encounter in the real world such as bumps, dips, potholes, etc while driving or making a turn as the suspension compresses to absorb whatever you encounter.
I totally agree with you that they should have removed that tire size from their system or made a note of it. I was concerned of that size as well but was assured it would fit and it did not. At least the return was painless and customer service was good, but it did cost me time.
From what I have been told, Tire Rack actually gets the car in there and test fits all the different combinations on the car to see what really fits while some of the other dealers just take measurements from cars without actually test fitting each combination on the car.
Shane
Regardless as i said they dont seem to have any 255/45/20 tires except the Nitto 420s which are summer and I didn't want so I dont feel as bad. This way I still got the combo deal i guess and can just return the tires if my local discount tire place doesn't buy them which they said they prob wouldn't even though hed' buy my stock tires i dunno why. Guess he knows i would only take what i paid which is a good price and he can sell them for more.
A friend might buy the tires as they are top rated Yokohamas and again i got them much lower then tire rack price.
just a shame they will come mounted on the wheels only to be taken off and possibly shipped back which will be enough pain to drop them off at UPS and putting back in the box and all.
My local discount place is known to have the best prices in teh area but i think its all rep. their original quote to me for the 20 Toyo's which i am now getting and some crappy American racing 5 spoke black 20" wheels was like 1780 or something when i got he combo deal with what i think better rims and what shoujld be more expenseive tires for 1375.
They will prob try and rip me for the Toyo Proxes S/T but i know what they cost so we'll see but he knows i just want to get the spare off and need them so we'll prob call my bluff.
They are seeing if they can find a wheel in same bolt pattern similiar to teh Senna so that way i can get everything from them and then not even open the dtd box and just send back but I doubt local place price is going to be close to dtd as i mentioned in the example.
I wish you would have told me you worked with Kelly from dtd because i would have used him as well since he knew the situation and the vehicle. oh well, hopefully it worked out because i got the better deal maybe since otherwise might not have been free shipping on just the wheels and the only tire in that size htey have is the Nitto and Dave though so too when he called back. He was nice and apologized but its going to suck for them to have to take back because of his mistake.
Again I plan on trying to keep one of the stock tires with stock wheel on it as the spare underneath, will stick down further as its thicker hten the spare but hopefully it fits and the wheel with subie logo doesn't scratched up under there (i know i'll lose some departure angle with it sticking down lower but dont care) the reg small spare will look even smaller with teh 20's if i ever had to use it so the 18 will more like to the 20 what he spare is to the 18's.
I plan on having tire place take the sensors from stock tires and put in new and they said they do it all the time and hopefully the one on the flat that i had to ride on for a little is ok.
btw since you said tire rack test fits and you were thinking of that other size you mentioned 275/40/20 i prob wouldn't as they only show 255/45/20 for 20" as the only tire size which i told dave and he still sold me the 275/55/20.
Yup, works fine even on super cold days here in NY.
Robert B
B9 Limited
I picked up my 'Beca 2 weeks ago and with the very mild weather were having in NJ I decided to Wax the car.
I found a paint sealer on the net that only requires re-application twice a year. The brand is Klasse all-in-one, and Klasse sealent glaze.
the feature I liked the best is that it does not harm acylic or plastic - and is recommended for the headlight lenses.
It forms a hard slippery scratch and chip resistant surface.
IMO since the lense is angled rearward small objects would slip off the surface with no damage - provided there is little or no friction which this product achives.
I wish I had found this sooner - Hope this helps
Charlie
These fog light lenses are extremely fragile, compared to ones I've had on other cars and trucks. I have multiple fractures on one side, probably caused by a quantity of very small (anti-skid) stones thrown up by a car in front of me. I was never aware of being struck by the stones, nor is there any paint damage on the front of the car. Whatever broke the lens did no other damage.
The 3M protective vinyl sold as X-Pel is 40mil thick, about 1/6 inch. My fog lights are being replaced today and the X-Pel will be installed tomorrow, if I can get home from the dealer without any new damage. There is no comparison in the protection provided by a 1/6-inch vinyl sheet and a paint protectant that is thousandths of an inch thick, at most.
Let me know what combo you finally end up with.
-juice
The material they use for hoods and bumpers is 8 mil, which is very thin.
If you buy the light protection kit, you get precut pieces of 40 mil vinyl that cover the fog lights and the headlights.
Whether it's 20 mil or 40 mil, my point was that there is no comparison between this product and a coat of wax when it comes to stopping a stone from breaking the fog light lens.
Apparently you can call & request other materials. Keep in mind that this was the opinion of the installer and this was his first B9 install. The second headlight went much faster than the first but it was still tricky.
After viewing the process, except for the fog lights - trying to install this stuff yourself would be a disater.
I think the Klasse would be OK on the headlights.
Long story short I kept the MB Wheels Senna in gloss black with machined lip from dtd and got some Toyo Proxes S/T tires in the proper 255/45/20 size. They are all season and have a stylish attractive tread much more so then the Yokohamas i have to return to dtd do and hopefully are just as good in inclement weather. So both teh wheels and tires should be good for all season so I dont have to change them between summer and winter.
I took you word for it that the 275/45/20's would rub when you turn the wheel and didn't even try it. I did however try to put the stock tire with stock subie wheel underneath as the spare in its spot but it just sticks down too far and is more then just losing some departure angle. So i'm stuck back with teh small spare, and if i ever have to use it again it will just look even smaller with teh 20's
Discount tire direct is sending me the postage to return the wrong size tires and even reimbursing me for a minor missing set of parts from teh install kit and for my labor costs incrued with having to dismount the wrong size tire and remount the proper size. I will see how well they follow through with that and if they do then I will still be able to definately recommend them in general including other tribeca owners here.
So thats the combo I ended up with. It looks pretty great and the installer took pics.
Juice I will post a pic as soon as I get a chance.
cluelesspa and/or shane. Don at dtd gave me an email address to send him something but it doesnt' seem to work. I may have written it down wrong. If either of you have an email address for anyone there I would appreciate it as they are closed for the day. HOpefully they are open on Saturday or i have to wait till monday to email them which be fine because i have to wait until then to get the postage emailed from them anyway but just a little peeved that the supervisor or whatever he was didn't give me the email address clearly.
The headlights are a whole different matter. There are installation photos and videos on the X-PEL website that make it look like anybody could do it. In fact, the light they are using looks very much like the Tribeca headlight in size and shape. But after reading that eyewitness account of the difficulties an experienced installer had, I'm not even tempted to try it myself.
Has anyone else had this problem? Any recommendations on how to find and fix it?
Actually I have experienced this in the past with my old Outback as well. Is this just a Subaru phenomenon?
Thanks for any feedback.
I was thinking of taking off the Tribeca lettering under the B9 now that the vehichle is more common and I put on new larger 20" wheels and tires to separate further from others.
but then I was thinking to break up the letters in TRIBECA and make a new word.
here is some of what i came up with.
B9
beca (obviously)
B9
Tea
B9
Tribe
B9
Tie
B9
Tic
B9
Treca
i dunno but those are just ones keeping the letering in order and just removing unneded ones but being that they are all connected and will have to break them into separate letters to do that anyway i can put them in any order which gives you much more options.
one of my faves in honor of all the rice boys out there is:
B9
rice
continuing:
B9
beaT
B9
caT
B9
cab
B9
ice
B9
bear
B9
baTe
B9
biTe
B9
eaT
B9
rib
B9
race
B9
bic (if you like pens and/or razors i dunno)
B9
ace
B9
car
B9
baT
B9
beT
B9
biTe
B9
biT
B9
Tab (in honor of the old soda)
B9
Tec
(for Tec 9)
Also though i think its in a differnt font imagine if I use the letters I have from the SUBARU lettering I took off sine day one. Plus I think they are all capitalized including TRIBECA so all those last ones i listed would be in all caps not just cap T.
B9
ARIBA
comes to mind using the A from subaru with the other a from tribeca along with the r and i. but then you really need the Undalay Undalay (sp?) [Speedy Gonzales reference]
I'll let you guys think of any others using any of the letters from SUBARU TRIBECA
course you could always steal letters from other cars and then just tell whole stories .... LOL. :P
A quick way to get ideas is with Andys anagram solver.
For tips on removing the letters, check out Badge/emblem removal techniques in the archives.
Steve, Host
I really don't know where they are. Except for one person, who seemed to love the car and hate it when I bought mine (jealousy?) everyone digs the looks of the Tribeca. Only negs I hear are online and a lot of that is just people who's yet to even see one in person. The buying public has forgotten what a car can look like. They've forgotten grills and agressive design and style. They all want the same egg shaped cars.
I guess I haven't been trained well enough...I still like cars that look different.
Robert B
Tribeca Limited
NY
Regarding the automotive press' criticism of the front, if the car had an Alfa Romeo badge on it, auto journalists would be falling all over themselves in praising the car's unique and beautiful styling.
I also agree with jonpnj about the interior; what a magnificently styled interior! In an era when so many car interiors, with those center stacks, look so much alike, how refreshing to find such a masterpiece of style and individuality.
Thank in advance.
then last month removed the TRIBECA ... a little tougher to get off even with a heat gun then the Subaru Logo but I could spell my first name with the Tribeca lettering :-)
now I see the B9 and it looks just right. I saw one locally with nothing on the back and it looked too naked.
The installer I had ended up not satisfied with the look (it just was not perfect) so he redid it in 30 mil film instead.
the fogs are 40 mil. but I worry not about the 40 mil stopping the stone but the strength of the plastic to even withstand the pressure of the rock hitting the 40 mil film. the force will be dampened but it still has to go thru to the lens maybe more uniformed. the fog light lens are just way too thin of a material. not nearly as thick as they used for the headlights.
I gave up on trying to put them on for my WRX headlights and cut them up to protect my Tribeca fogs!