schlit

I've been running BF goodrich traction T/A's on two of my cars for the past 5 years. Felt the snow traction was much better than many other all season tires we've tried. I dont think you can expect miraculous increase in snow traction if you stick to an allseason type tire. Sounds like you need to get a set of Blizzaks and sacrifice your handling in order to get up your driveway.

Based on my experience of a bad front bearings, and CV joints, in general if it changes noise if you turn very slightly, then it's a wheel bearing. If it takes a lot of turning to make it noisy, its problably the CV. Also, I noticed my bad bearing making noise when I'd be driving straight, and then go over slightly uneven pavement (like a lowered shoulder or something).

I'm assuming you guys are putting the Synpower in yourself? Called the valvoline instant oil change store next door and they wont put Synpower in any differential. I need to have mine changed but dont want to be laying on the snowy/salty parking lot ground.

It needs to be changed to prevent problems later in the car's life. It's not one of those things that will fail your brake system at 50,000 mi if you dont change it, but it will corrode the lines and gum up the calipers eventually. Therefore, you will likely encounter a lot of people who dont change it because they just dont keep their cars past 125,000mi. If you're in for the long haul like me, three years is about right, maybe a little more often. I do my own flushes and typically it'll be very dark fluid w/ chunks coming out after about two years.

Yes, actually I did have those on my 2002 Forester. They were OK. They didnt last 85k and got scary after 40k. Had better luck with BF Goodrich Traction T/A's on my other vehicles, so I decided to give it a try on the Forester......5000mi later and I'm still happy.

You gotta be careful with Blizzaks, yea they're good when it snows and you want to keep going in a straight line, but for the rest of the time you're riding on a unresponsive marshmallow.

Wow, if you really feel that way and want to compare Subarus to Dodges I will definitely never buy a Subaru again. A head gasket failure is such a key element that shouldnt fail, ever. Especially when good cars these days are lasting past 200,000 mi easy. 2002 Forester External leak at 90,000mi. Dealer put extra stop leak in to patch the problem....so I guess if it fails at 120,000 miles then I can attribute it to normal wear and tear :-\

Nobody is doubting the snow traction of a snow tire. Before anyone goes out and purchases a set, they need to make sure they're not compromising 90% of their driving time to gain snow traction on the 3 times per month it actually snows.

Wow, a distributor. Yes, I have a rebuilt one in my trunk ready to be bolted on in the worst case. I cant bolt on a blown headgasket so easily. Subaru cant even produce an economical service manual...let alone a parts system that doesnt require a VIN number to lookup every freggin part.

Same here. TireRack is misleading in many ways. For the OP's case, I would stick with a good allseason such as a BF goodrich traction T/A. Have used those on many vehicles in the winter and have been really happy with their snow traction, and you're not going to be giving up the traction for the rest of the time you're not on snow. I tried studless winter tires, Blizzak WS-50's and performance winter tires, Blizzak LM-25's and think that unless you're driving on snow for more than 40% of the time, or you're really scared about driving off a mountain cliff, they're just not worth it. The Blizzak WS-50's were good in the snow and FRIGID cold temps, but gave up way too much dry, mild temp performance for me. They were very squishy, and once it got above 40, forget it...I felt like I was more likely to get in an accident on those days. The Blizzak LM-25's, were a little stiffer on the mild days but in the big picture didnt perform any differently than a good allseason. It wasnt worth the premium I paid for them.

One little article and you think Subaru is the best in the world....come back to reality guys. I have a Honda and a Subaru in the garage. By far, we trust the Honda more even though it has 40,000 miles more than the Sub which is more likely to strand us. My honda is easier to work on, get parts, and is cheaper to fix. Several others I know have the same sentiment.

Great advice. You always want them to think you're going to come back for more if they do a good job. If you flat out say no, you'll probably be back in there for ripped CV joints or balljoints in three months.

This is true until the partially dead deer sitting in your passener seat wakes up and mauls you. It happens a lot.

If you're driving straight and fishtailing it's your tires failing. AWD is not going to help this. If you drive on snow greater than 50% of the time, dont mind having a dedicated set of winter wheels, and dont care if your car handles like crap when the roads are plowed...then get some blizzak WS-50. Otherwise, get a set of some good allseasons such as BF goodrich Traction T/A's or Kuhmo Ecsta ASX. Some allseasons dont do well in the snow, but many do great. You just need to research a little. I just hope you're not driving on summer tires.

EJ251 - 2.5L 4cyl SOHC 155HP/155ftlbs Impreza '00-'02 Forester '00-'02 YES Gasket problem: external coolant leak Non turbo EJ25 engine. C) EJ252 2.5L SOHC Legacy '00 YES Gasket problem: external coolant leak D) EJ253 2.5L SOHC Impreza '02-'07 Legacy '01-'02 Forrester '99 NO Gasket problem past 2003 Designed to take turbo boost. E) EJ25D 2.5L DOHC Legacy '96-'99 Forester '98-'99 YES Gasket problem: Internal leak/blown F) EJ25E 2.5L DOHC Impreza '99-'01 Forester '99-'00 Legacy '00-'01 YES Gasket problem: Internal/blown

No, not necessarily. BUT it does give a legit reason for CR not to promote SOA....especially with the timing of the article. Note neither Ford nor Chevy made the list and CR mentions they think that high mile ranger was a fluke. This is my last post on this subject as I see you guys dont really listen to opposing points of view anyhow.

I garuntee Toyota and Honda didnt have as widespread of a problem as this, for cars that pertain to the current article. And your 20% failure rate is heresay, SOA never relased those numbers. Maybe if SOA did better in the early 2000's they'd be on the list. I dont see why it's so surprising to you. EJ251 - 2.5L 4cyl SOHC 155HP/155ftlbs Impreza '00-'02 Forester '00-'02 YES Gasket problem: external coolant leak Non turbo EJ25 engine. C) EJ252 2.5L SOHC Legacy '00 YES Gasket problem: external coolant leak D) EJ253 2.5L SOHC Impreza '02-'07 Legacy '01-'02 Forrester '99 NO Gasket problem past 2003 Designed to take turbo boost. E) EJ25D 2.5L DOHC Legacy '96-'99 Forester '98-'99 YES Gasket problem: Internal leak/blown F) EJ25E 2.5L DOHC Impreza '99-'01 Forester '99-'00 Legacy '00-'01 YES Gasket problem: Internal/blown

I totally disagree. The stop leak patches the real problem long enough to put you past the extended warranty period. An appropriate approach wouldnt have required the stop leak. Just one of many reasons why SOA isnt on the list.

Problem is, that's a long span of years to be making cars with serious issues. Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't these cars the flagships for the product name? And the inadequete way Subaru delt with HG problems was also another hit against the name. I would tend to think this is a larger factor into the judgement of CR...not a conspiracy theory.

Preach on man, totally with you on this one. Maybe it's because the Subarus that are currently reaching 200,000 miles are part of the "lemon years" 1998-2002. My god, I know several people who bought sub's in these years and they'll never buy one again because of repairs. I've just about had it with mine. My other car that has 165,000 miles has had far fewer and cheaper maintenece repairs than my 85,000 2002 forester. It seems like people on this site turn a blind eye when it comes to all the expensive problems these years have. Maybe the newer models are better, but they just havent been around long enough for most to reach that 200,000 mi marker.

I guess you'd have to have worked in a ford, chevy, or Jeep parts department to make that comparison. Maybe we're just unlucky the first subaru we've owned has had so many problems.

I have an 02 Forester. It sucks, it constantly has problems, and more on the horizon, and initally cost more. Cat converter just took a crap on me, and the headgasket is weeping away (common on the 02) and probably about to blow....only 80,000mi on it. This is the first car I've ever owned that requires new OEM CV boots every other year. AWD seems more of a maintenece issue than anything. I dont really rely on it, and therefore dont feel like buying anything else because it'd end up costing more. If your wife is driving it around and you dont want her stranded, trade it up. What you trade it for really depends on how many miles you drive and what sort of cars you can tolerate. I've owned hondas for 20 years and never had the issues that this piece o crap has.

Blizzak WS-50's are good in snow, everyone raves about them, and I agree. Blizzak WS-50's are bad in the dry. Blizzak WS-50's are unreliable and squirmy when it's dry and above 40degrees....RARELY does anyone ever talk about that. Unless you're driving in winter mountain passes or on snow for more than 60% of the time, you're better off getting a set of allseasons that do decent in the snow. Blizzak LM-25 is about the same as an allseason with a 25% premium price tag.

I have a set of T/A V's on my civic and am looking at getting a set for my Forester. Is there a real difference between the T, H, and V? All three speed ratings come in this size and obviously get more expensive the higher the rating. Squishier sidewalls on the lower rated ones? Harsher ride? Hard to compare to the size I'm running on the civic as it's a 195-55-R15

02 Forester has em too. With as many times as you open/shut the doors along with normal air leakage I dont see how it's really doing anything. It's cheaper to buy allergy pills than to keep replacing those. Yes, the VIN crap is annoying and they still order parts incorrectly even if you give it to them.