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HI ALL - Newbie in need of tire advice - fast!


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Hi. My husband needs to replace the tires on his 04 outback wagon - H6.

 

His commute to work is 40miles each way so there's lots of highway driving and we live in New England so some winters there is a lot of snow - others, not so much - this past winter there was a ton.

 

The stock Bridgestone Potenzas were "ok" but we figure if we are putting on new tires, let's try something new. I checked tire rack and the Bridgestone Turanza's look good but I think most of the revieww come from people with sedans.

 

Thoughts? SOrry for the rush post but we are looking to do this today or tomorrow!

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I've really liked the BFG Traction T/A's on my Impreza Outback Sport. They really grip well in the snow and rain. I've had them for about 20,000 miles now and they are wearing well. My only complaint is that they are a little loud on the highway but nothing terrible, and I really like the raised white letters for some reason which these don't have. They ended up running me about $90 a tire about a year ago.

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Hi. My husband needs to replace the tires on his 04 outback wagon - H6.

 

His commute to work is 40miles each way so there's lots of highway driving and we live in New England so some winters there is a lot of snow - others, not so much - this past winter there was a ton.

 

The stock Bridgestone Potenzas were "ok" but we figure if we are putting on new tires, let's try something new. I checked tire rack and the Bridgestone Turanza's look good but I think most of the revieww come from people with sedans.

 

Thoughts? SOrry for the rush post but we are looking to do this today or tomorrow!

 

Goodyear Regatta 2's or Goodyear Assurance Comfortreds. They've got a 75,000 and an 80,000 mile warentee respectivly. they're both really good tires too.

 

I have the regatta 2's.

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We like Yokohamas... We have a set of Avid Tourings on our legacy wagon right now and they are really quiet, have good traction, and 80,000 mile warranty. We got about 60,000 out of a set of Yokohama Aegis LS4's before that.

 

Brian

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I'm really in favor of the Nokian WR's....an all season radial with excellent winter and wet traction. Tire wear isn't that great, but if traction is an issue, I really don't care about wear as long as I can go a few years on them. I'm approaching 50K on my set with our Legacy wagon and I'll need to replace them before the winter since they'll be over 60K by then. Look at www.nokian.com for more information. Not everyone carries them since they are exclusively sold by Tire Factory.

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avoid the Dunlop SP Sport A2. They got all chopped up in under 5k, had to replace at 9k, they sounded like an airplane getting ready to take off. We rotated them several times to even them out, nothing worked... Fortunately the tire shop gave us full credit on them.

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Potenza 720 is an outstanding tyre in rain. Haven't tried it on snow, that's where I find that Blizzak LM18's shine. They also grip well in wet conditions, which is often a weak point in winter tyres.

 

I would recommend that you switch to running different tyres for the "two" seasons.

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Thanks all- I just went through this with my car (explorer) and its funny - people would post what they liked and there were generally 2 or 3 brands/models that people would agree on and would get the majority of votes.

 

YOU PEOPLE LIKE TOO MANY :D !!

 

tirerack's high ratings include the bridgstone Turanza - over rated?

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I have Potenzas on one of my Subies, and really like them, but......they are the G009 Potenzas, NOT the stock RE92s (which my mom has on her 03 OBW). The G009s seem to grip well in the dry, and wet, and seemed very good in the snow, and were not too expensive.

 

Personally my next set for the 98 legacy will be BFG All Terrain KOs, but that is fodder for the off road forum. :D

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I've really liked the BFG Traction T/A's on my Impreza Outback Sport. They really grip well in the snow and rain. I've had them for about 20,000 miles now and they are wearing well. My only complaint is that they are a little loud on the highway but nothing terrible, and I really like the raised white letters for some reason which these don't have. They ended up running me about $90 a tire about a year ago.

 

 

what size you running?

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Turanza's are excellent tires, I think Bridgestone's best. A perfect tire that is quiet and comfortable with decent handling. I drove these on my aunt's Mercedes S500. If you don't like them you get a full 30 day satisfaction period, you pay a bit more than others for them but in the end they are well worth it. Don't even compare to Potenza RE92's which are underwhelming.

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My vote for a relatively inexpensive, but good quality tire is the Yokohama Avid Touring. I got 60,000 miles out of a set I bought from Tire rack in 2001.

 

 

They performed very well in rain and snow, were quiet, and lasted a long time.

 

 

I just put a set of Kumho 795 A/S Touring tires on my 96 Legacy. They are about 10 dollars cheaper per tire, and they seem to be working great so far.

 

Consider putting dedicated snow tires on in winter if you live in a snowy region. They make a huge difference. Even if you have excellent all-season tires, the snow tires put them to shame.

 

Matt

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I got 100K from the stock Michelin tires that came with my 98 OB. Replaced them with the same. I can also see that the new set is also doing well.

 

Rotate rotate rotate!

 

My vote for a relatively inexpensive, but good quality tire is the Yokohama Avid Touring. I got 60,000 miles out of a set I bought from Tire rack in 2001.

 

 

They performed very well in rain and snow, were quiet, and lasted a long time.

 

 

I just put a set of Kumho 795 A/S Touring tires on my 96 Legacy. They are about 10 dollars cheaper per tire, and they seem to be working great so far.

 

Consider putting dedicated snow tires on in winter if you live in a snowy region. They make a huge difference. Even if you have excellent all-season tires, the snow tires put them to shame.

 

Matt

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i found that continental extreme contact from tire rack to be superb tires in rain dry and some snow if roads are plowed. they didnt fare well when i had to drive through 4+ inchs of snow. i have winter heavy snows for ny upstate winter and summer treads like continentals which are a great price as welll

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I put a set of Yokahama Avid T4s on my wifes 97 legacy wagon 4 years and 40K miles ago and she still loves them. Good traction,in dry wet or snow. Also very quiet, quieter than than the stock bridgestones. There is still lots of life left on them. I am currently looking at the Goodrich Traction T/A for my 99 Legacy GT sedan. I am replacing some Uniroyal Tiger paws that are marginal at best.

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The tire rack site is very helpful. The best way I've found to compare tires is to use the "Search for tires by size" (or "view all" once you get your size by selecting the model car). Once you have your size in, select the categories you like (or all), and leave the brands unchecked to select all brands. At the results to that search, select all the check boxes on every tire, usually several pages. Then select "Compare selected tires". This should give you a ton of tires. You can sort the list by clicking on the categories on the far left of the screen. I sort by snow traction first, which the Goodyear Triple Tred wins. Several other tires are close for less money, but I'll get the Triple Treds this fall.

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I like the Tire Rack site for comparing tires. Go through the "select by model" process to find your size, then select "view all". Click on most of the categories, leave the brands unchecked to select all. On the results screens select all the check boxes (several pages), and click "compare selected tires". That'll give you a ton of tires to compare. On the comparison screen click the categories on the left side to sort by that category. My priority is snow traction, and the Goodyear Triple Tred wins that. Good in several other categories as well. Several cheaper tires are not bad, but I'll probably get the Triple Treds this fall. I live in Michigan, work in Chicago, and dedicated winter tires don't hold up on the dry roads I see most of the winter.

 

My final step is to print out the tire and price from Tire Rack, show it to the local dealer, tell him he doesn't have to beat it, just be in the ballpark. They've matched it on my last four sets. Tire Rack is an hour from my house, I used to go there, but it's nice to buy locally.

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