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Subaru Legacy/Outback 2005+

10833 messages,  Last post on Feb 26, 2013 at 5:40 AM

You are in the Subaru Legacy & Outback Forum.

What is this discussion about? Subaru, Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Sedan, Wagon




Your Community Leaders are ateixeira and rsholland.

Messages Page 957 of 1084

#9556 of 10833 Re: Replacement Tires [meliaant] by garandman

Nov 27, 2006 (3:53 pm)

Replying to: meliaant (Nov 25, 2006 3:08 pm)
Hey folks, on my 2005 Legacy 2.5i, the OEM tires are pretty crappy Bridgestone Potenza RE92's...anyone have any suggestions for the best replacement for someone in New England that is looking for a sweet all-season? I know the Yokohama AVID is nice, and Toyo Proxes TPT is swell, as well, anyone mind throwing their two cents in? Thanks!
 
I'm convinced there's no such thing. We now use dedicated snows, even on our Subarus.
 
There is one all-season passenger tire that has the "mountain/snowflake" severe duty snow rating. The nokian WR is not sold mail-order but there are many dealers throughout New England.

#9557 of 10833 Re: Howling noise from my new Outback [doug1] by xwesx

Nov 27, 2006 (4:18 pm)

Replying to: doug1 (Nov 27, 2006 12:46 pm)
I ran through some wind last night (55-60 mph+, gusting) and found that when there were particularly strong gusts broad-siding me, the resulting vacuum on the lee side of the car actually pulled the windows slightly away from the frame gaskets and the wind noise was horrendous. As soon as the gusts would subside, so would the noise. Granted, my car is 11+ years old with 220,000 miles on it, so I am well able to tolerate such intermittent weather-induced annoyances.

#9558 of 10833 Re: Replacement Tires [garandman] by pathtomax

Nov 28, 2006 (2:35 pm)

Replying to: garandman (Nov 27, 2006 3:53 pm)
I am on my second set of Bridgestone Turanza's. I rotate every 7-8,000 miles. The last set I had lasted about 55,000 miles. I was going to have them on longer, but one needed to be replaced, so I purchased all new ones. They are expensive, but worth it in Northern New England (NH).

#9559 of 10833 Re: Replacement Tires [meliaant] by luck11

Nov 28, 2006 (6:56 pm)

Replying to: meliaant (Nov 25, 2006 3:08 pm)
I replaced my re92s with Falken Ziex this spring. Never again. I do not "mario andretti" my vehicle by any means and yet, they have worn tremendously....more quickly than any tire I have ever had. They seemed to stick well on dry and wet....which is what I wanted them for. But I don't want to replace my tires every 2nd year.
 
I echo the sentiments that an all-season is really a compromise tire...especially for the winter. Go for a summer or all season that is has good dry and wet rating, then a true winter tire (snow flake on sidewall) for winter.
 
Cheers.

#9560 of 10833 Tire Wear by paisan

Nov 28, 2006 (6:59 pm)

I replace my tires every 2 years even if I don't need to as the rubber compound breaks down and you get less grip after 2 years. That's just me, so if they wear out in 2 years it's not a big deal for me.
 
-mike

#9561 of 10833 Re: Tire Wear [paisan] by lilengineerboy

Nov 29, 2006 (5:47 am)

Replying to: paisan (Nov 28, 2006 6:59 pm)
I replace my tires every 2 years even if I don't need to as the rubber compound breaks down and you get less grip after 2 years. That's just me, so if they wear out in 2 years it's not a big deal for me.
 
Wow, while I applaud your dedication to safety, 2 years might be a bit excessive, with the industry recommending tire replacement based on age at 5-6 years.
Detroit Free Press Article
 
With respect to the Legacy, 205/55/16 is a super common tire size, so there are lots of choices. My last car had Dunlop SP5000s and I was happy with those. Given how cheap WRX take off wheels are on ebay, I might be tempted to pick up a set of those with the RE-92s still on them, and put snows on the other wheels...then when the 92s wear out get a fun summer tire.

#9562 of 10833 Re: Tire Wear [lilengineerboy] by luck11

Nov 29, 2006 (8:03 am)

Replying to: lilengineerboy (Nov 29, 2006 5:47 am)
Yes, I would have to agree that every 2 years is excessive, and in fact, seems like a waste of money. But that's just me. I too have been told by a local tire shop that tires, generally, are good for 4-5 years.
 
The first set of tires I ever purchased were a set of Pirelli winter tires. They began cracking after 2 years. After some research, I quickly learned that they had been manufactured 3 years BEFORE I had bought them.
 
Lesson learned? Check the manufacture date on the tires before they are installed!!
 
There are several sites on the net that help decipher the manufacture date code.

#9563 of 10833 Re: Tire Wear [paisan] by kyfdx HOST

Nov 29, 2006 (8:37 am)

Replying to: paisan (Nov 28, 2006 6:59 pm)
That isn't a bad idea... I start hating my tires at 30K, anyway... I've got about 43K on mine now.. and wish I had swapped them out months ago...
 
Excessive maybe, but I'd be happier that way... Now..where is the phone number for my tire dealer?

#9564 of 10833 Re: Tire Wear [paisan] by ateixeira

Nov 29, 2006 (10:29 am)

Replying to: paisan (Nov 28, 2006 6:59 pm)
I'm with mike on this one.
 
Old tires start to crask and lose grip, because they get hard.
 
I replaced an old set of Bridgestones on my Miata and new tires made a huge difference in grip.
 
No more spins when you merely let off the throttle mid-turn.
 
-juice

#9565 of 10833 As Juice said by paisan

Nov 29, 2006 (1:59 pm)

It's not a matter of there being tread left, generally there is plenty of tread, however the rubber itself becomes hard and in the wet this translates to slippery. I should also note that I put on 15-20K miles a year on my cars. Usually in the 30k-35k range I start to swap tires.
 
For intance on my Armada hitting 33k, the OEM Highway All Seasons are done. These Continentals were bad from day 1 in the snow, now they are bad in the rain too, there is still plenty of tread just the compound is shot. Replacing them with Bridgestone Dueller AT Revos, which apparently are great tires.
 
On my Subaru I used to run Faulken Azenis Sports in the Summer for 2 summers w/a few track days thrown in on them and then they were shot.
 
The way I always look at it is if I were to have an accident due to my tires being bad, I'd be kicking myself for not dropping the $500 or so on tires. Is it really worth it for $500? In my opinion $500 is a cheap price to pay for knowing you have good traction.
 
Those who drive out to 5 years on your tires, could you live with yourself if you smacked up your car to save a few bucks?
 
-mike

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