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GOOD TIRES FOR A 2011 SUBARU FORESTER


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Matt 

  Just for your info. My 2011 Subaru Forester stock tires were the Bridgestone Duler. 27,000 miles out of them rotated. 

I have kumho solus tires on Forester now. They need to be replaced. I got 30-33k out of them rotated. 

 I take care of the tires and that mileage seems low on a set of tires. I should be able to get at least 50-60k out of a set of tires no problem. I take care of them meaning I rotate the tires all the time like you are supposed to and I keep the proper amount of air in the tires. 

That is why I am looking for a different brand of tire. A good tire that would give me more mileage out of a set. That are good for daily driving. Thanks. 

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Bridgestone Dueler or the Geolanders are optional on The Foresters. 50-60k will not happen on a Subaru with 'good' tires. If you get 40k out of a set on any Subaru your doing good.

Thing to remember is tires with a high mile warranty are going to be made of a very hard rubber. They won't have the best traction but they will wear and wear. I will never recommend such a tire.

One of the big reasons I advocate a Nokian is their rock solid warranty. The WRG4 has a 60k mile warranty in a size a Forester will accept. It will last 30-35k miles which is average for a Subaru. Nokian will cover the warranty and your next set will come in at 50% off more or less.. Keeping in mind that Nokian is not the most expensive tire. We install WRG 3 or WRG 4 tires on probably 90% of the Subaru's we service. Most of those are warranty exchanges with happy customers that love how the tires handle

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Matt 

  Why won’t I ever get 50-60k miles out of a set of tires on my Forester.What are the reasons. What is good mileage to get out of tires on my Forester. 

Matt what do you think of the Bridgestone duler or kumho solus tires. I will check into the Nokian. Tires. Thanks. 

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Subaru has Symetrical AWD that powers all tires all the time, so even rotated they will wear faster than a 2wd vehicle either rear or front drive and for sure, your only getting that far if you rotate. No tire will survive that much past 40k miles unless you buy a highway tire with a very hard rubber compound ( high treadwear number ) and it will be rated for a crazy amount of miles, 75-90k miles. But then look at the rain traction on that tire and it will be non existent

Bridgestone Dueler isn't a bad tire, anything that Khumo makes is garbage. severe Runout, just pure junk

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Matt. 

  Now I understand. Because of the all wheel drive I am not going to get a lot of miles out of the tires. I can expect an average of around 30k. 

  I will check into the Nokian tires. Are their any other tires you would recommend just so I have some choices. Thank for the help. 

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From top to bottom recommendations

Nokian WRG3/ WRG4 ( severe discounts on WRG3 right now as they are on clearance )

Nokian Entyre

Mastercraft Grand Touring LSR/ Cooper CS5

Uniroyal Tiger Paw

Bridgstone Ecopia

General Altimax RT43

Veredestine Quadrac 5- I am not a dealer for these, but they are probably as good as a WRG3. Wish we could get them, but Nokian and Veredestine dealers don't intermix

We sell the Kelly Edge A/S as our bottom price in stock tire. This is a slightly better tire than the Douglas All Season you get from Walmart and about as low as I would go.

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can't comment on those Toyo's, other than they look like junk. The 3.5 out of 5  rating in dry conditions is pretty scary as well.. Yokohama Avids are generally ok. if you had to pick between those 2, the Yoko's would be my selection

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On 4/21/2019 at 1:35 PM, bull6791 said:

stock tires were the Bridgestone Duler. 27,000 miles out of them rotated. 

I have kumho solus tires on Forester now. They need to be replaced. I got 30-33k out of them rotated. 

 I take care of the tires and that mileage seems low on a set of tires. I should be able to get at least 50-60k out of a set of tires no problem 

That's what I've been asking for  - the conversation is much more productive now that we know you're concerned about mileage.

As matt said, 4WD isn't very forgiving and longer lifespan comes with harder materials which doesn't perform as well, particularly in snow which is often an issue for Subaru owners. 

The types of tires it seems you're leaning towards are likely to not perform well in the snow.  
When it comes to winter driving, tires are far more important than 4WD.   Many people act as if 4WD is so superior that tire choice doesn't matter for performance - which is not true at all.  Tires make a bigger difference than 4WD for snow performance.  

So this might come down to whether or not snow performance matters to you - look up reviews and try to find reviews of them from people who use those tires in real snow conditions.

The reviews are heavily biased though so you need to look carefully.  Many people who need snow performance won't even buy them so you're not getting great feedback from demanding snow use.   They're going to have inflated reviews of snow performance because the majority of people buying them don't need or have very demanding snow needs.  Sift through the reviews until you find a few that seem to indicate people who really need snow performance. 

 

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Ok. So now we are getting down to it. You do not get a lot o miles out of tires with all wheel drive. 30k is kind of average. I do not what a tire rated for 70k miles because the tread is very hard and I will traction in snow and rain. 

  I do Subaru what would be your recommendation for tire. From what I am understanding from reading this tread maybe it would be better to go with a 40-50k mile tire. It has softer tread and better traction in the snow and rain. Plus wit awd your only going to get 30k rotated with the tires. Am I starting to get it. 

Question. Since 70k mile tires have a harder tread and you lose traction on snow and rain. Is it ever worth it to get 70k or 90k tires. Thanks. 

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Yep, you're on it and have the right idea. I'd look through online reviews via google, tire rack, etc and narrow in on the specifics you're concerned about - snow and longevity.  Reread my advice concerning reviews above.  See which ones do well in snow and longevity.  Go through the recommendations already given and read reviews and see if any of them fit. 

In my experience lower price point tires often degrade in snow performance by year 3 so I'm hesitant to say that any one tire is great in the snow without compelling reviews/experiences otherwise.  And I don't have enough statistically relevant experience in that regard to answer your question.  But maybe your snow use/concerns aren't that high, so it won't matter. 

1 hour ago, bull6791 said:

Question. Since 70k mile tires have a harder tread and you lose traction on snow and rain. Is it ever worth it to get 70k or 90k tires. Thanks. 

Yes high mileage rated tires can totally be worth it if snow and messy traction isn't a concern.  Down south, people that don't drive in the snow or have impeccable local maintenance, flexible work schedules, or people that have dedicated winter tires can run whatever they want the rest of the year, or people who have multiple cars. 

I routinely have tires I wouldn't dare drive in the snow, but I have more than one Subaru and I have an extra set of wheels with dedicated snow tires so my other tires can be anything I want.

Edited by idosubaru
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same here.. the CS5 is a high mileage "touring" tire.. meaning it has harder rubber for longer life

but I also mentioned the Mastercraft snow tires being good - there is a reason for that. ;)

the CS5 is great for late spring, summer and into fall use (wet weather traction is pretty good), and ok for a "light" dusting of snow, but for serious WI winter weather, it is all about snow tires!

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9 hours ago, bull6791 said:

I live in pa. I do not need dedicated snow tires but a tire that is good in the snow would be a plus. 

Nokian WRG 4 as I stated earlier. It will last ~30k miles and they will honor the warranty for a pro rate.

 

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if you need a good 'compromise' tire, you might look at Pirelli Cinturato . They helped us survive white-out conditions returning from Colorado a few years ago in winter storm 'Ursa' . They are not noisy and work well for us in downpours here in DFW area too.

But, if you absolutely must be able to drive in very bad snow conditions, the BEST all-season will never be as good in snow as the WORST dedicated snow tire.

 

tires are full of trade-offs and you must be honest with yourself about requirements - then comes your budget.

everyone wants a tire that's ; quiet, comfortable, gives great fuel economy, doesn't overheat at highway speeds, grips good when cold,  great traction in rain, great grip in snow, long-lasting, and cheap...yeah, that's not gonna happen.

 

Edited by 1 Lucky Texan
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6 hours ago, bull6791 said:

Matt 

  The Nokian wrg4 tires are they new because I can not find any reviews on the tires. What kind of tires are they. Also are they good in any kind of weather. Snow and rain. Thanks. 

They are " All weather tires " designed and majority built in Finland, the remainder is built in Russia.  They are snowflake rated for severe winter duty, but also carry a 60k mile warranty for use in every season. Nokian has been making a WRG all weather for probably 10 years now and the WRG4 was introduced into 2017 alongside the WRG3 originally. Now the WRG3 is discontinued and Nokian will likely have a WRG5 out at some point. Reviews are out there

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/778595420962974515/reviews?client=firefox-b-1-d&channel=cus&q=nokian+wrg4&ved=0ahUKEwid497BtuzhAhVihuAKHZEkCc4Q4jUIOA

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All weather is basically a snow tire ( 3pt snowflake rated ) that they reformulated them a bit to be able to give them year round performance and treadlife and back them with a treadwear warranty.. All season tire will not have half the winter performance, but you might get more miles out of them in some cases.

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All weather tires have superior rain/ wet  traction compared to a 'basic' all season. probably not as good as rain tires but, it's PA not Seattle

They are still plenty soft for dry pavement traction. Actually a lot of racing classes will use snow tires because they are grippy in dry conditions

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Matt 

  Is it safe to say that for snow rain and dry road that a all weather tire is better than an all season tire for any vehicle. That is what I am understanding. 

 Matt if so I will get away from all season tires even for my Toyota Corolla. Thanks. 

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