Subaru Tire Recommendation Needed

I have a 1997 Subaru Outback that still have the original Michelin XW4 Tires with a 110,000 miles on them. Here is the amazing part... the tread is only

55% worn. Due to the age and miles on these tires, I have decided to replace them. The only reason I am not considering the XW4 is that I did not feel they handle well in the snow and ice. The problem when I call the tire shops, they just seem to be focused on their store brand. Tires recommended at this point... Michelin HydroEdge, Toyo Spectrum, Goodyear Triple Tread and BigO Euro Tour.

I do a lot of freeway miles commuting. The car is also used for skiing, camping, and hunting. What I want is a tire that can really deliver on it all, such as dry and wet braking and handling, winter driving/traction and have a quiet ride. Is there such a tire? Any thoughts on the above recommendation? What is your recommendation?

Reply to
InfoQuest
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Reply to
Edward Hayes

go to

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. Do consider the Continental Xtremecontacts or whatever they are called. good value.

Carl

1 Lucky Texan

Reply to
Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Great site... THANKS!

Reply to
InfoQuest

Nokian WR

Reply to
Roger Ramjet

Horseshit site since they only review tires they sell.

Reply to
Roger Ramjet

Go the local library and find the most recent issue of Consumer Reports that has a reveiew of tires. They only sell themselves.

Carl

1 Lucky Texan

Roger Ramjet wrote:

Reply to
Carl 1 Lucky Texan

My parents put Goodyear AuqaTred3 tires on their '97 Outback last fall. They're up in Vermont, and get the full range of winter and summer conditions. They like them a lot better than the OEM Michelin's, which they thought were terrible on ice. I'm guessing their driving style is similar to yours considering the mileage you got out of your 1st set. As for me (WRX driver) I think the AquaTred's feel a bit crisper and have better braking performance. Noise level is about the same.

- Byron

Reply to
Byron

I followed the Consumer Reports reviews of high performance all season tires and purchased a set of Falken SE 512 tires for my 2000 Outback. It has been a nightmare. Two of the four were out of round. I then had those two replaced. One of the two was out of round. A royal pain in the butt. They mau be a good tire, but if QC is not up to par it doesn't matter!

Reply to
JDC

I think by far the best advice you could get when shopping for new tires is to email or phone the sales people at tirerack.com. I have bought several sets of tires for my various Subarus from them and have found them the most knowledgeable and accurate source of info on tires. By the way, I am not connected with the tirerack in any way ;-) Just a happy customer.

They actually comparison test tires themselves, and keep large files of reviews of various tires from their customers accesible at their website.

There are so many tires and conflicting reivews, that it is worth just telling them what you actually use your car for and what characteristics you value (quietness, wear, wet or snow traction etc) and let them suggest something. Their suggestions haven proven very accurate for me in the past.

As to original equipment Michelin XW4 tires, I have found several other brands and models that handle etc much better.

My current Forester has Sumitomo HTR+ all-weather tires which are dynamite in the snow and rain, and very high traction on dry pavement. Others have reported that they have short life and get noisy at low milages, but in the 10k I've had mine they have been great. Especially in a trip to the Rocky Mountains in the winter (lots of snow driving), and locally on the freeways in the rain. They are relatively cheap too. (but then, good snow traction was more important for me than long wear etc).

For non-snow use, I have also had great results from Falken ZE-502 tires, but they aren't sold by the tirerack.

Hope this helps.

Reply to
H MURDOCH

One minor caveat about Tirerack ... their prices may not be the best. I recently, after looking at their tests, recommendations, reviews, etc., decided on a set of Kumho. (Surpassingly inexpensive, but VERY highly rated.) Tirerack's price was $55per, which, after adding in shipping and local mounting fees, would've come to $75-80 per. Still a good deal. Before ordering, tho, I decided to call my local tire dealer - part of a large, local area chain - to ask if he could get the same tires and, if so, how much. He checked his computer, said "sure" and price would be $69 per complete (mounted, balanced, installed and old tires discarded).

Incidentally, am very satisfied with the Kumho's, but, with only a few hundred miles on them thus far it's a bit too early to make any real judgment.

Reply to
Alan Smith

I just got a pair of the Kumho Ecsta HP4 716 tires in 225/60HR16 from tirerack.com put on my 2001 outback wagon and I am VERY IMPRESSED.

They are extremely quiet in contrast to the piece of cr*p Dunlop Sport A2's that they replaced, and more importantly, they are far more round than the Dunlop Sport A2's they replaced. I have all of 3 miles on them right now though, so stay tuned.

I have some things to add to what other posters have said though.

First, on tirerack.com:

If I had it to do again, I'd NOT have purchased from tirerack.com, though their review database is useful and led me to a purchase I'm currently thrilled with. I have bought 2 sets of tires from them previously and they do a good job, but here's the thing--It turns out the Firestone dealer where I got my tires installed locally could've ordered the Kumho's for me and gotten them next day (vs tirerack's 2 days), they could've BEATEN the price tirerack gave me (which was just $53 a tire on these), AND been able to offer me lifetime rotation/balancing service. As it is, I'll have to pay for rotation and balancing over the tires' lifetime which will cost me more than I've already paid otherwise.

So with tirerack.com, you're not necessarily saving money on the front end, and you're paying more in the back end. I'm walking away from this sale happy though because if it weren't for tirerack.com I'd likely have been goaded into a tire costing nearly twice as much if I resigned myself to the whims of the local salesfloor at a tire store like NTB or Just Tires. However, if it weren't for tirerack.com I'd never have gone to a Firestone store to shop for tires since I was under the mistaken impression that they only carried Firestone (and I was no fan of firestone based on a bad experiene with OEM Firestones on a Saturn, though the Wildnerness that came stock on this car were decent).

Second, on tire ratings and recommendations in general:

What tirerack or Consumer reports says is a good tire in one size may not be a good tire in your size. Take the Dunlop D60 A2 which became the Dunlop Sport A2--Very highly rated tires by Consumer Reports and Tirerack customers. I had great experience with them on a Mazda and a Saturn over the years, but these 225/60R16's I just got off of my Outback were UTTER AND COMPLETE CRAP. They were very loud, and all of them went out of round. As another poster here said in the past, "I couldn't wait to get those tires off my car!" I'm not sure if it was a defective batch, or what, but by the time I convinced that local dealer I bought them from that there was a problem, it was like pulling teeth to get them to replace even one of them with a fresh tire. They kept telling me I had alignment problems even though I'd had 2 4-wheel alignments done trying to follow their advice.

Needless to say, I won't be a Dunlop or Just Tires customer again any time soon over that experience.

In summary, take tire reviews with a grain of salt unless they're from owners of your vehicle who are using the same size you plan to use, and drive in similar conditions as you. And tirerack does what they do well and have a useful review database, but if you pick a tire you want, don't be hesitant to ask your local dealers to order such a tire for ya--you won't get shortchanged out of rotation/balancing services down the road.

Best Regards,

-- Todd H.

2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4 Chicago, Illinois USA
Reply to
Todd H.

(ContiExtremeContact] Got those 10,000 miles ago on my Passat 4Motion and can really recommend them - much better than the Michelins I had before. I can take the same curves/ramps now at 85mph easily where the Michelins put me into an (albeit nice, controllable) 4-wheel slide at

Reply to
TransFixed

interesting.

the eight i've put on my wife and sister's car have been perfect. course, i mounted and balanced them myself...

just another data point. so far i've found the tires grip well in just about any climate.

ken

Reply to
Ken Gilbert

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