I got a call from my daughter, (2) tires blew out on her 2001 Forester, 5-speed manual. Her spare is a full size. She's stuck at school. The spare in my '95 Impreza is a mini. I know tires need to be similar on Subaru's. Do the Foresters have the fuse holder under the hood to convert to FWD only, like my Impreza has? If not, is it completely unsafe to lend her my mini spare so she can get to a tire shop? She'd be driving on (3) full size and (1) mini for the rest of the day. Thanks for input!!

No FWD fuse on a 5sp trans. 

 

Not worth the possible problems, get a flatbed truck or take new tires to her.

No FWD fuse on a 5sp trans. 

 

Not worth the possible problems, get a flatbed truck or take new tires to her.

agree, better to flat bed to a tire shop. Not worth adding potential AWD problems to the Forester. Perhaps you have tow insurance with AAA, or car insurance that will cover the cost. If not, still better to pay the tow out of your pocket.

yeah, use the spare only if you need to roll it into a parking space or something like that but don't drive on it.

 

2 tires blew? Did she hit a curb? get tires slashed?  If they went bad from driving be sure to inspect the remaining ones very carefully.

 

Some good deals on craigslist for good used tire sets. Or find a cheap set of subie wheels and tires and throw them on. When the tires on my wife's 2000 outback started showing some real dry rot, I had her driving around on a set of Impreza steels and tires. Made the car look like a turtle until I found a good set of nearly new tires and put it back on 17 inch alloys. But any matched set subaru or 5x100 bolt pattern 15 inch rims and up will get you through.

Have it towed, not worth chancing it

Thanks everyone. We have AAA, she's having it towed to a tire shop.

Thanks everyone. We have AAA, she's having it towed to a tire shop.

Just be sure the tow is actually having the Forester moved on a flat bed tow truck, not by anything else that tows the car with 2 wheels rotating on the pavement.

Good point, Rooster. Yes, every time we've called AAA, they ask what type of vehicle and have always sent a flatbed for our Subaru's.

Know that you're in for a full set of four tires now.

You can not mix two new tires and two old tires or the AWD system may be damaged. If the old tires are fairly new they need to be within 1/4" circumference of the new tires to be able to use them.

If they are within 1/4", the new tires must exactly match the old tires in brand AND model design.

Different tires, even made by the same brand, will have varying circumference even if the size is the same.

To have two tires go down at once........there has to be a story behind this. If the suspension was subject to any trauma, then prolly a good idea to get a 4 wheel alignment, when new tires are installed.

in the event of replacing just 2 tires, moint them cross-diagonal from eachother or both on the same side. Diagonal would be preferred, and rotate in every other oil change.

 

You can do this if all 4 tires at once ore out of the budget. As long as you have the same size and aspect ratio it works. This works because with the open front and rear diffs, the center will see no different as ong as one front and one rear wheel are the same. The overall final ratio will assume the smaller of the tires. New tires with new treads vs the existing would be close to the 1/4" circumfrence threshold. But mounting them opposide or side front to rear would allow them to wear in to within your 1/4" tolerance

We got her (4) new tires, knowing the issues with mismatched tires on a Subaru. From what I can gather from her, she hit something in the road and both tires went down, leaving her stranded. Luckily, it happened just before the parking lot to her college. She's a happy camper again and back up and running. Thanks, everyone, for your help and input. One of the many reasons I love this forum.

Good deal. Stay frosty!

if the tires are old - they'll also blow out together, having been subjected to the same conditions, age, use, etc. 

in the event of replacing just 2 tires, moint them cross-diagonal from eachother or both on the same side. Diagonal would be preferred, and rotate in every other oil change.

 

You can do this if all 4 tires at once ore out of the budget. As long as you have the same size and aspect ratio it works. This works because with the open front and rear diffs, the center will see no different as ong as one front and one rear wheel are the same. The overall final ratio will assume the smaller of the tires. New tires with new treads vs the existing would be close to the 1/4" circumfrence threshold. But mounting them opposide or side front to rear would allow them to wear in to within your 1/4" tolerance

 

 

miles would this cause torque steer? even slightly just curious