This will be my first winter here in the Northeast of the US driving a Subaru OBW. The car came with all season tires that are 225/60R16. I have been looking at winter tire options for this car on Tirerack.com and they recommend the same size. The car manual, however, recommends 215/60R16. The choice of tires at that size is much more limited. I contacted tirerack.com and they replied indicating that 225 would be fine. Any experience from Subaru owners using 225/60R16 winter tires would be greatly appreciated.
I've got 225/60R16 Michelin Artic Alpins (snows) on my 2000 OBW. They come pretty close to the "mud flaps" behind the front tires at full-lock, but don't actually rub. They do tend to pack the snow up in the wheel-wells, but all tires do that to some extent.
I live on Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula (200-300" inches of snow a year) -- The Alpin has proven to be an excellent winter tire, especially on hard-packed snow and ice. You'll get lots of folks recommending going to a much narrower tire for winter use (to "cut" through the snow). This may be a valid argument in really deep snow (over several inches), but on hard-pack and ice (where probably 90% of my winter driving is done) I want as much bloomin' sticky rubber hitting the ground that I can get... Note that most snow tires (including the Alpins) are only "Q" speed rated rather that the OEM tire's "H" rating. So, try to stay under 99 MPH on the snow...
You'll probably find that any of the true "snow" tires don't handle quite as well as the stiffer summer tires with a higher speed rating. The Alpins were pretty "twitchy" when new, but seem to have settled-down after the first winter. They also tend to "sing" a bit on wet pavement -- not really objectionable.
This will be my 4th winter on the Alpins and they are probably less than half worn. My only complaint is that they are getting very noisy. Wheel alignment has been checked several times and is right on the money, so I'm not sure what's up with the Michelins. I'd seriously consider Nokians or perhaps Bridgestone Blizzaks next time around (although the Blizzaks tend to really wear quickly on bare pavement and they salt the highways like crazy up here).
If it snows where you live, get a set of winter tires for your OBW. You'll be amazed by the difference it makes.
The owner's manual says to go with 215's because of clearance issues with 225's. A lot of 215's are closer to 225's because of a full snow tire's "chunkiness."
215's are slightly narrower, which would be an advantage when cutting through deeper snow. 205-65's in a full snow would probably be great, but would probably leave much to be desired in dry handling.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.