Hi

 

any recommendations for 02' ll bean tire replacement, the dealer

want's to put oem bridgestones but they only lasted 40k, would any

particular michelin be recommended instead?

 

thanks

I bought a set of Michelin Pilot XGT H4 from Costco about 12k miles ago, they are much quieter and smoother running than the OEMs (which only lasted me about 44k) and Costco is having a $60 off 4 tires sale right now on their web site, so if you're not a member $40 gets you a year membership.

 

I have similar sized tires on a Toyota Camry and they have given me over 40K and so far I'm still happy with them since they still have plenty of tread. I'm hoping to get the same performance from the one's on the Outback also.

I can't complain about the Michellins on my Forester. They seem to be called Weatherwise. I'm not even sure you can still get them as they are a few years old. The car has 122,000 miles and the first set lasted over 60,000 miles and were replaced after a tire was trashed on a cross country trip. These have been on the car ever since and still have way too much tread to change. They are fairly quiet and go very well in Tahoe's snow and the mud I see regulary this time of year.

The answer really depends entirely on what you want to use them for and where you are in the country, check out http://www.tirerack.com - they have a pretty extensive selection and a lot of good tech. If you're not in the market for new rims, I wouldn't buy from them, just find the tires there. I live in VT and run Blizzack WS-50s in the winter and Pirelli Pzero Nero M+S in the summer - but I'm a lot more concerned about traction than wear distance, so my choice is optimized for that.

 

Where do you live? Which criteria are most importat: wear duration, dry traction, wet traction, snow traction, ride comfort?

I agree that it depends on your needs. There are decent compromises, but generally if you need a tire that will provide outstanding performance in snow/ice, I suggest switching tires in the winter. Good winter tires do not wear well or provide good characteristics for year round conditions.

 

I have put Yokohama Avid TRZ's on my '00 Outback sedan, my CRV and Impala and love them.

I like the advice that Suzam stated about going to Costco for your tires. It is hard to beat their warranty and prices. They have a good selection of tires and something from Michelin should work well for you. Looking at your location it doesn't look like you have to worry about driving in snow so a summer tire should work for you. You may also want to get a all-season type tire. Talk with the sales folks where ever you end up at and let them know your driving requirements. They should be able to recommend a good tire to you.

 

You can get a long lasting tire but you may not like the way it feels since they tend to be a harder type tire tread than something that is soft and handles well but may only last 40k miles. Decide what is most important to you.

Just in case anyone hasn't notice that the original post is over 2 years old, I still like the Michelin tires I got at Costco. They are still providing good service on both the Outback and Camry.

 

Costco often has that same sale I mentioned several times per year.

I didn't notice the date of the OP. Thanks Suzam.

I like going to tirerack.com, finding tires I like, then harrassing my local tire dealers to get the ones I like at a price similar to tireracks. They hate me.

Tirerack is the best. They'll ship to you or your favorite mechanic if you like. Great prices and the survey results are the best consumer info out there. I got Kumho Solus for our 03 Outback and they're great.