v8volvo Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Hey all, things are coming to a head with the tires on the Subie and we need to replace them. Thought I'd see what people think work well around here. Car has 68,000 miles on it, two replacement tires, two factory originals (!!!). Very worn, all the sidewalls are rubbed white, very ugly and getting unsafe. They're all the OEM type (Firestone something?). For the new tires, I am going to go a little thinner for higher mpg (probably 215s), and I definitely want blackwall tires because we parallel park often and inevitably white-letter tires start looking bad. But beyond that, and wanting something with good all-weather grip, quiet/smooth/efficient operation, and fairly low cost, I don't really know what to look for. What's the favorite around here? I have a bias towards Continentals (came OEM on our Passat, and they're awesome) and Michelins, but am open to anything. Suggestions.....??? TIA... George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8volvo Posted April 28, 2006 Author Share Posted April 28, 2006 Oh BTW--more car info--it's a '97 Legacy Outback wagon, 2.5L, 5-speed stick, in case that matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fnlyfnd Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 I've heard good thing about them goodyear assurance triple tread (all seasons). Being in Seattle I would uggest getting summer tires that are good in the rain, then getting some kickass winters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 check out http://www.tirerack.com, they have all sorts of ratings, reviews and stuff for each tire brand/type. very good information and feedback from people that bought and used them. different types/tread/rubber have an affect on gas mileage as well, might want to look into those ratings. i don't know so i can't elaborate on the specifics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmm001 Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 We've ordered 3 sets of tires from tirerack.com and have been extremely satisfied with the service. The customer surveys and ratings are extremely helpful. Don't count out the cheap tires... My dad's '97 Impreza now has a set of Khumo 732 All-seasons... Quiet, good traction and wear so far (approx. 7,000 miles on them) , and the best part: $33 each. They rated near the top in the customer surveys. Brian M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 seen a few others grab the kuhmo's and have heard good things from them as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Boncyk Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Well, I'll tell you what I've done -- not that I would generally endorse a "store brand" tire, but I was incredibly surprised at the miles that I got out of a set of Big-O "Legacy" tires. My OEM tires got me about 44K miles and needed to be replaced shortly after my '96 Outback's second birthday. The first set of Big-O Legacies that I replaced them with lasted over 75K miles, and I'm now on my second set of Legacies. My total mileage on this machine is in excess of 215,000. They are fine on wet pavement (unlike some other long-life rubber that I've driven), and moderately good in snow. My only complaint is that they are a little noiser than the OEM rubber on dry pavement. If anything, these tires are/were too good. I'm not sure that Big-O even sells them any more. But if you can find them, they're worth considering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commuter Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Repeat from another "tire" post... ------------------------------- I have a 97 OB with almost 500k kms now. I put 160k kms on a set of Michelin X-Ones and there was still tread left. Very good tire overall. I put ~220k kms on a set of Toyo 800 Ultras. I pushed them a bit distance wise and there was not much tread left. Very similar to the X-Ones, slightly better grip, but slightly noisier and slightly harsher. I also battled a slight highway vibration with these tires for most of their life. Balance was fussy. Last year, I put some Michelin Harmony's on my car. Very similar in feel and handling to the X-Ones. I like them so far. I opted not to go with the HydroEdge for a few reasons. I was informed that they might be even harsher than the Toyo's, and I didn't want that. Some reports on TireRack by Subaru owners confirmed this. Some also complained of noise. The dealer said customer feedback on winter handling was mixed. And all else being equal (which it never is), I'd rather not have a unidirectional tire that doesn't allow me full flexibility with tire rotation. My experience to date. Commuter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outback_97 Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 George: I don't have any tire recommendations, but wanted to point out a couple of things. 1) For future reference (too late to do anything about it now) Subaru recommends replacing all four tires at once; having two pairs of mismatched-wear tires could potentially cause problems with your differentials. 2) Stock size on your OB should be 205/70/15. If you want to go thinner you're looking for 195 width, not 215. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdonaldks Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 For summer, I run Michelin HydroEdge 205/70 R15 tires on my '97 Outback. They are as quiet as any tire I've used. They are a little firm but the car tracks as if it were on rails. The winter capabilities are a joke though. For winter, I run Michelin Arctic Alpin, 205/70 R15 tires. These tires are awesome on snow and ice and perform great on dry roads. I would recommend dedicated summer/winter tires/rims if you want to be able to get everything out of your AWD car... Regards; Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Boncyk Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 I use Michelin Arctic Alpins for winter on our AWD Chrysler minivan, and I concur -- they are a sweet winter tire. Long lasting tread, great grip in snow, and relatively quiet running on dry pavement. That's another tire that I'm not sure is still available, at least here in the USA. I remember looking for them for the Outback about 2 yrs ago, and I couldn't find a local place that sold them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8volvo Posted April 29, 2006 Author Share Posted April 29, 2006 Wow, thanks for all the recommendations. I think dedicated winter/summer tires won't be necessary; we're looking mostly for good rain and snow grip so probably all season is what we'll do. This car just sits a lot of the year (we have biodiesel VWs we take on summer trips) so the dry-weather grip is not as important. The Subaru only exists for tooling around town and for winter trips to central WA when the FWD Passat TDI won't cut it, and as soon as prices of used diesel Jeeps come down to a reasonable range you'll probably see the Subie for sale here. Looks like the Kumhos or Michelins are the good bet. I would not have replaced only two tires on an AWD car--that was the PO's doing. In fact, the two new tires were both on one side--not on the front or back! I quickly put that right, and I rotate them often so it's not too big a deal. But we will be doing all 4 this time. I thought I recalled 225 as the stock size, but if it's 205 than 195 is what we'll do. Thanks again for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8volvo Posted May 8, 2006 Author Share Posted May 8, 2006 OK, looking around, looks like I can get a set of Kumho Touring 795's in the correct size from Tire Rack for about $200 shipped, which is a great deal (though that doesn't account for mounting/balancing costs). I was leaning towards that, but then I thought I'd call up Les Schwab to see what kind of deal they could cut me. They said I could have a set of Nokia EA-603 all-season tires, for $250 installed. Has anyone heard of this tire? It is hard to find information on it...the guy at Schwab's said Nokia was selling off a stockpile of them and they bought the lot. I know Nokia makes some of the best snow tires available--but do you guys know anything about their mid-grade all-seasons? I'm kind of inclined to go for the Nokias just because it is easier, but don't want to end up replacing them again in 25,000 miles, or being unhappy with their performance, and it sounds like the Kumhos are a pretty sure bet...:-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmanaenk Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 If you're getting allseason I've heard BFG Traction T/A is fairly balanced tire did not try them though. You are probably talking about Nokian tires. Do a search and couple of topics will pop up, mostly about Nokian WR. Those are better than any other all-season tire in terms of winter/snow/ice traction. Not so sure about rain though and not so good in terms of dry grip (but no worse than average allseason tire) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 Was about to say "Nokia make tires!?". I use Goodyear Eagle NCT's and theyve performed really well, pretty quiet and perform well in the wet. Also they're standing up to my thrashings really well and are still good after 30,000kms of hard use. KELTIK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broyer Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 I put a set of Kumhos on my 2000 OBW and I think they are great. I've put about 25K on them and they look like new. They were much less expensive than the Michelins. I chose them based on some of the consumer reviews I read. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8volvo Posted May 12, 2006 Author Share Posted May 12, 2006 All right, well, sounds like that's what we'll do too. Thanks for all the advice-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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