mrlynn Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 My wife's 2007 Outback that we bought used last year has only 23K on the OE tires, but with winter here I'm thinking of upgrading to newer and better all-seasons. I've toyed with the idea of a separate set of winter tires, but since most of the time here in suburban eastern Mass. the roads and our driveway are plowed out, she's not usually driving in deep snow. Presumably the all-seasons handle and stop better on wet and dry snow-free surfaces, including ice. I looked at the TireRack surveys, but am overwhelmed with the options. So I'd welcome any opinions and comments on your experience with currently-available tires. The Goodyear Triple-Tread Assurance tires seem to be well-regarded. But I'm open. My wife uses the car for mostly commuting on secondary roads; occasionally we might use it for an highway trip. /Mr Lynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Presumably the all-seasons handle and stop better on wet and dry snow-free surfaces, including ice. Huh? Snow tires are made of a different rubber compound that stays grippier at low temperatures. Ice included, in my experience. All season tires SUCK on snow, ice, etc. In rain... not much different that I notice. Of course studded snow tires are loud, and don't handle as well on dry roads. But it sure is nice on the snow covered roads when you hit the brakes and just stop, instead of hitting the brakes and almost nothing happens (my other subaru which has brand new all season tires on it...). A subaru is a stable enough vehicle that I will drive one with all season tires in the snow, just keeping in mind I have to go slow. Pickup trucks and SUV's that spin more easily, I wouldn't drive without snow tires in the winter. If you're primarily driving on snow free roads, and only occasionally snow packed or icy roads, then the all season's are okay. I ran all season tires all year till I moved into the mountains -- Denver really doesn't get snow more than a few times a year and it melts right away... most the time, and if you can just avoid driving for the worst two or three hours of the storm, you don't really need them. But up here alot of the roads up here are 15mph all winter if you don't have snow tires because the snow builds up on them even though they are plowed, and turns into a layer of hard snow/ice that sticks around for a long time. Plus colorado's reluctance to put guard rails on most cliffs... Having said that, we have the tripletreads on our company cars ('07 outbacks) and they seem to be good for all season tires -- alot better than the factory ones at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelbteam Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 I have bought at least one new set of snows every season for many years, for the Suby fleet and a 2006 Tundra. Sometimes if someone is lazy the tires run all year and are replaced in the fall. We love Blizzaks and Michelin X-Ice. New winter tires are cheap insurance against that one slippery day that ruins your life. Climbing traction is not so much the issue as downhill braking, which is greatly improved with specific winter compound tires. BTW, recently put Blizzaks on daughter's LL Bean for around $450 with discounts available at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpar Mod Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 (edited) I certainly would like to hear about other owner's experiences with specific tires after this morning. I left work after 16 hours at 0700 this morning to freezing rain that made the entire region a skating rink. The AWD seemed to work well enough especially uphill, but the tires that were on the car when I bought it (generic a/s tires but nearly new tread. All 4 matched) allowed me to go out of control completely three times going downhill at a crawl. Just what I needed after such a long work day, total panic x 3 over exhaustion. Fortunately, I only sustained a scrape on the front bumper from contact with a guard rail on one encounter. Now, I know that no tire is perfect on ice except the closest thing being studded snow tires, but I saw fwd cars doing a bit better than I was doing which really infuriated me. I need to seriously consider something real soon before the flakes really start flying by what I experienced this morning. Unfortunately, my finances are a bit limited right now (and who's isn't these days?) so the really expensive ones like Blizzaks might be unobtainable. I'm seriously considering looking into an SUV style tire like a Wrangler, etc. if I can find any decent ones in a 205/15. Edited December 13, 2009 by Allpar Mod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Yeah... the factory tires on the newer outbacks are AWFUL on ice.... Potenza RE's, or Pretendza's I've heard them called... I happen to like the Hankook Ipike tires pretty well -- either studded or not. I've run them on a bunch of my subaru's over the past few years. On my trucks I run the Hankook Zovac studded snows.... a little more trucklike tire -- not the fancy new directional snow tires like the Ipike. One thing I like about the Ipike is that they are not noisy on the highway (well, the non-studded ones at least), unlike alot of snow tires, but they still do quite well in the snow and ice. They seem to be cheaper than the fancy michelin X-ices and such, but still hold up well and perform well in my experience. You could also see if you can get something from Uniroyal... I've gotten some really cheap all season tires from Uniroyal, that are working very well on my legacy wagon, for $264 installed (185/75/R14's). I've never asked for a snow tires from them, but they may have a decent one. If glazed ice is your thing, I think I'd get a studded tire. At least you can put big white claw marks in it while sliding on the ice... However, then you probably have to remember to switch them in the spring on the right date. Colorado I believe is the only state that allows studded tires year round, except for maybe Alaska. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chef_tim Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Put a set of GY Triple Treads on my wifes 08 OBW last year. So far they have lived up to their reputation. They are not cheap, but for my wifes safety it was money well spent. I just put Traction T/As on my 97 OBW and again, I haven't been disapointed. I drive in all types of weather here in SD, but have never needed snow tires as the roads get cleared pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpar Mod Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I was wondering about the Hankooks. I was at Pep Boys today and they want to give me a good sounding deal on the I Pikes, $360/4 with a $60 rebate mounted and balanced. They are a seriously aggressive looking tire, all right. The guy behind the counter told me that I should only expect 15,000 miles or so with them. I'm going to keep the a/s tires I have and use them spring through fall on another set of rims so whichever ones I end up with should last much longer timewise. I went to GoodYear and got a quote on the Tripletreads and they are WAY too expensive for me, good tire or not. $600/4. I got a quote for Blizzaks at nearly $500/4 and I'm going to check around for another quote, but as of now, I think the Hankooks are going to win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 yeah... if I leave them on all summer, I do not get a second winter on the Ipikes... I haven't found any snow tires that I can do that with though. Even switching them off in the summer, I only get two winters (I end up driving about 12,000 miles a year on my main commuter though). Soft rubber.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Put a set of GY Triple Treads on my wifes 08 OBW last year. So far they have lived up to their reputation. They are not cheap, but for my wifes safety it was money well spent. I just put Traction T/As on my 97 OBW and again, I haven't been disapointed. I drive in all types of weather here in SD, but have never needed snow tires as the roads get cleared pretty quickly. are the bf goodrich traction t/a rated for the ob? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.radon Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 blizzack ws-50 or ws-60 in the winter, regular tires in the non-winter. All season work well in fl and tx, not in snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chef_tim Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 are the bf goodrich traction t/a rated for the ob? Not sure how you mean rated. They were a suggestion on Tirerack.com. I bought both sets of tires there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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