2K Outback Tire Replacement

[David Patnaude]

I am going to be replacing the tires on my 2000 Outback Wagon very soon w/
about 75,000 miles on the original Firestone Wilderness tires. I am looking
for an all-around tire for New England. I do not change tires with the
season and really didn't have much trouble with the handling of the
Firestone tires until the recent snowfall.

I took a look at Tire Rack and the following are the best sellers that
would fit:

Bridgestone Turanza LS-H (Grand Touring All-Season) - 426 people
reviewed

Continental ContiExtremeContact (Ultra High Performance All-Season)
- 1667 people reviewed

Kumho ECSTA HP4 716 (Grand Touring All-Season) - 1342 people
reviewed

These have good ratings overall at Tire Rack and good ratings for snow and
wet conditions which is important to me. Does anyone here have any input on
the above tires or other suggestions?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Todd H.]

I am going to be replacing the tires on my 2000 Outback Wagon very soon w/
about 75,000 miles on the original Firestone Wilderness tires. I am looking
for an all-around tire for New England. I do not change tires with the
season and really didn't have much trouble with the handling of the
Firestone tires until the recent snowfall.

Kumho ECSTA HP4 716 (Grand Touring All-Season) - 1342 people
reviewed

I highly recommend these Kumho's. They're the third set of tires I've
had on this 01 outback and I'm the happiest with them. I had the
original Firestones, and then some Dunlop D60 A2's that SUCKED (went
out of round in a big way), and now these Kumho's.

As I've said in threads here earlier, Tirerack isn't necessarily the
place to get em. Give your local tire seller a chance to special
order these for you and match the tirerack price. Often they will,
and you'll enjoy lifetime rotation and balancing that you'd otherwise
have to pay for if you bought them from tirerack and just had them
mounted locally.

Caveat: some tirerack installers sell reasonably priced lifetime
rotate/balance packages that net you out ahead.

Best Regards,

 

[Jim]

Just got Goodyear Assurance Triple Treds for my 97 (I had to also
get new wheels since they didnt' have my size.) They were top
rated for both wet and snow traction and they have definitely met
my expectations.

 

[Guest]

The Yokahama's on my Forrester are excellent. I've been in Vermont with
everyone else in the ditch and me moving along. Then again, I wasn't driving
like an idiot. They are expensive, though, and wear fast.

I have friends with the Kuhmos and they love them.

 

[H]

The response from BKS must be the first I have ever heard which compliments
the Yokahamas that Foresters are stocked with. I got rid of them after
17,000km and replaced them with Goodyear TripleTread. Here's a snip from a
group response I sent a while back -

Re: Triple Tread - They have a better rating than Michelin Hydroedge
(all-season). Note that the stock Geolandars have a Treadwear rating of 340
and a Traction rating of B. Compare that to the Triple Treads with a
treadwear rating of 740 (roughly 2.5 times the tread life) and Traction
rating of A. The Triple Treads really made the Forester seem like a
different (better) handling car. I think the Geolandars would be a disaster
on anything but a sophisticated AWD vehicle like a Subaru. What was Subaru
thinking with that choice?

 

[John Rethorst]

Re: Triple Tread - They have a better rating than Michelin Hydroedge
(all-season). Note that the stock Geolandars have a Treadwear rating of 340
and a Traction rating of B. Compare that to the Triple Treads with a
treadwear rating of 740 (roughly 2.5 times the tread life) and Traction
rating of A. The Triple Treads really made the Forester seem like a
different (better) handling car. I think the Geolandars would be a disaster
on anything but a sophisticated AWD vehicle like a Subaru. What was Subaru
thinking with that choice?

What's your source for these ratings?

 

[David]

However the temperature rating for the Geolander is A while the Triple Tread is B.
The Geo is the only tire I've seen where the traction rating (braking on wet pavement,
no standing water) is lower than the temperature rating. For most passenger car tires,
if it's rated to go at speed, it's pretty much a given that it can brake well on wet pavement

Compare that to the Triple Treads with a

I think the treadwear is the most vague of the UTQG rating. OTOH, the Geos wear out
pretty quickly and the Triple Treads should outlast them by a lot. Unless you drive fast...

and Traction

Inexpensive tires?

What's your source for these ratings?

You can look up these UTQG ratings on www.tirerack.com or www.1010tires.com.

 

[H]

You can find these ratings on the side of the tire. It's standardized
(arguably).

 

[Florian Feuser /FFF/]

I highly recommend these Kumho's. They're the third set of tires
I've had on this 01 outback and I'm the happiest with them.

I just switched from decent but 70% worn Potenza RE910 to the Kumho HP4 [205/55-
16 on a 98 GT Wagon].

So far they are quieter, better ride, much better in snow and seem to get better
mileage.

florian /FFF/

 

[David Patnaude]

Re: Triple Tread - They have a better rating than Michelin Hydroedge
(all-season). Note that the stock Geolandars have a Treadwear rating
of 340 and a Traction rating of B. Compare that to the Triple Treads
with a treadwear rating of 740 (roughly 2.5 times the tread life) and
Traction rating of A. The Triple Treads really made the Forester seem
like a different (better) handling car.

The TripleTred has a lower speed rating than the Outback's original tires.
T rating vs. H rating which is 118 mph vs. 130 mph. I don't plan to hit
even 118 in the Outback.

Do you think there was any decrease in high speed handling with the change
in speed rating?

Dave

 

[H]

I have about 4000km on the Goodyear Triple Treads now (04 ForesterXS). We've
had wet snow, wet, gritty roads and heavy rain. My opinion is that these
tires are far superior in handling all those conditions. As for the speed
rating, I don't drive 118MPH+! I think the Vehicle responds way more
accurately to input now. The Yokahama Geolandars were basically a small
truck tire. They are jittery by comparison. Normally you trade wear for grip
and visa versa, not so with the Geolandars. I highly reccomend anybody who
has not driven their Subarus with a non-stock tire should do so. Choose a
tire based on your driving needs. Me, I live on Vancouver Island (wet,
coastal), I drive mostly highway miles at all times of the year. The Triple
Treads are comfortable, grippy in wet or dry, good in the snow and improved
the handling of the Car. And yes, Subarus are cars, not trucks.

 

[Voja]

This is well said:"Choose a tire based on your driving needs." so I
wanted to ask you:

By your opinion how quiet/comfortable is your ride now comparing to
stock tires?

I'm between TripleTred and ComforTred. I want tire that is veeeerrrryyyy
quiet and has good (not excellent) traction on wet road (Vancouver,
Burnaby, Richmond BC).

Did you consider ComforTred at all or your choice was based on
TripleTred features?
Where did you get your tires?

Too many questions, sorry to bother you but I want to finalize my
decision and this thread came in the perfect moment (for me).

Thanks in advance,
Voja

 

[H]

I chose my tire based on the fact that I have to access construction sites, bridge sites and dam sites for my work. I knew I didn't need an aggressive off-road tire. I considered the comfort tread but decided that if quiet ride and comfort was the primary criteria for making a choice, well I would probably have chosen a different vehicle altogether. The Triple Treads, in my opinion, offered a year-round solution, compromising only slightly on ice and deep snow/mud performance. I judged (without driving them) the Comfort Treads to be more tuned to Luxury type driving and vehicles. I like to feel connected to the roadway with good feedback. I look for predictable response and good (not extreme) comfort, this is what I got with the triple treads. You live in Lower Mainland (I grew up there), It;s nice to have a very good rain tire. What you want is stopping and turning power in the wet. Any tire can handle dry roads. Believe that the Geolandars are a hideous tire choice for the Forester.


H in Nanaimo



This is well said:"Choose a tire based on your driving needs." so I wanted to ask you:

By your opinion how quiet/comfortable is your ride now comparing to stock tires?

I'm between TripleTred and ComforTred. I want tire that is veeeerrrryyyy quiet and has good (not excellent) traction on wet road (Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond BC).

Did you consider ComforTred at all or your choice was based on TripleTred features?
Where did you get your tires?

Too many questions, sorry to bother you but I want to finalize my decision and this thread came in the perfect moment (for me).

Thanks in advance,
Voja

H wrote:

I have about 4000km on the Goodyear Triple Treads now (04 ForesterXS). We've
had wet snow, wet, gritty roads and heavy rain. My opinion is that these
tires are far superior in handling all those conditions. As for the speed
rating, I don't drive 118MPH+! I think the Vehicle responds way more
accurately to input now. The Yokahama Geolandars were basically a small
truck tire. They are jittery by comparison. Normally you trade wear for grip
and visa versa, not so with the Geolandars. I highly reccomend anybody who
has not driven their Subarus with a non-stock tire should do so. Choose a
tire based on your driving needs. Me, I live on Vancouver Island (wet,
coastal), I drive mostly highway miles at all times of the year. The Triple
Treads are comfortable, grippy in wet or dry, good in the snow and improved
the handling of the Car. And yes, Subarus are cars, not trucks.



Re: Triple Tread - They have a better rating than Michelin Hydroedge
(all-season). Note that the stock Geolandars have a Treadwear rating
of 340 and a Traction rating of B. Compare that to the Triple Treads
with a treadwear rating of 740 (roughly 2.5 times the tread life) and
Traction rating of A. The Triple Treads really made the Forester seem
like a different (better) handling car.
The TripleTred has a lower speed rating than the Outback's original tires.
T rating vs. H rating which is 118 mph vs. 130 mph. I don't plan to hit
even 118 in the Outback.

Do you think there was any decrease in high speed handling with the change
in speed rating?

Dave

 

[Voja]

Thanks for the info. Your input means a lot to me since you know what
kind of weather I'm dealing with here.

Cheers,
Voja

 

[Mark Williams]

I second that...

I have a 1997 Subaru Outback and went looking and researching for a tire
that would really deliver on it all, such as dry and wet braking and
handling, winter driving/traction and a quiet ride. Some leading
recommendations were Michelin HydroEdge, Toyo Spectrum, Goodyear Triple
Tread and BigO Euro Tour. I came close to getting the Michelin HydroEdge,
but the reviews were just too mixed. I read the design and logic behind the
Goodyear Triple Tread and talked to a number of tire shops. When I told
different tires shops what I was looking for, they kept recommending this
tire. Finally, I talked to a person at one tire shop that got a chance to
demo them and loved them. I decided to take the risk and be one of the first
to give the tire a try.

I have put 6,000 miles on them and can sum them up in one word: WOW! What a
difference. With my old tires, I had to turn up the stereo once I got on the
freeway. I don't even touch the dial now. You will not believe how quiet
these tires are. I used to think the reason I felt every crack in a road was
the Outback's stiffer suspension. The difference with these tires is
incredible. I took a tight circle freeway offramp with a 20 mph speed limit
at 40 mph and the car took the turn better than going 20 mph with the old
tires. Where I used to get a side lean in a corner, these tires hold solid
and make cornering effortless. I was driving one day down the freeway going
from dry road to heavy spring showers and could feel no difference - and the
traction was solid.

I just got back from taking them up to mountains. While I was there I got to
try the tires in snow, ice and combo of slush and ice. I was amazed how well
these tires griped in all these conditions. I was deep in the mountains on
logging roads and really tested these tires. They exceeded my expectations!

 

[MikeL]

What average mileage did most people find they needed to replace their WRX
tires?

Can a 215 be shoe-horned onto where an OEM 205 goes?

Mike

 

[mulder]

The life of the stock RE-92s varies depending on several factors,
including how the car is driven, if it is ever tracked or autocrossed,
whether the tires are properly inflated etc. Also they tend to lose
some of their wet/snow traction even before the tread has worn down.

As for replacement sizes, the OEM size is 205/55/16. It is possible to
do a "plus zero" upgrade to 225/50/16 which has essentially the same
diameter and rolling circumference. However although this size can be
mounted on the stock wheels it's best to get wider rims for this
purpose, since the stock WRX wheels are only 6.5" wide. If you want to
mount the wider size 16" tires, 7" rims are preferable. A set of rims
from an older RS ('01-earlier) fits the bill, as do Rota Slipstreams.