rotating tires on Forester

Yes. I do on my '03. I put off on '98 and had to get a new set at 25k miles. Alignment had also gone off. Frank

Yes.

~~Phil~~

It is absolutely necessary. RTM.

It's in my manuals. The WRX gets it 7500 miles schedule minimum, left F to R; right F to R - no crossing.

Carl

Actually, it's EXTRA necessary.

I believe the dealers do it during services.

Uh, yeah, for $90-$100.

BoB

Which tyres wear out quickest, front or rear in a AWD car. Was just wondering.

Usually front, even if the power bias is slightly to the rear. The fronts on my 2004 US-spec WRX were slightly more worn than ther rears, but not as much as with my previous FWD car. I would sometimes spin the tires a bit before it gained traction. That's not a problem with AWD.

Much of front tire wear is because the fronts are used to steer, and most of the braking force occurs on the front.

actually it's almost the opposite

Subaru's AWD REQUIRES that all the wheels be the same circumference within a few percent... this means that equal wear is imperative - including your spare

Are you sure about the math? A 215/60-R16 tire is about 82 inches in circumference. 1/4" is about .03% of that.

The 2004 Forester had a full-sized spare, but many other Subaru models (including the 2005+ Forester) come with compact spares. I believe they recommend the FWD fuse be inserted when using the compact spare with some of the automatics. The manual models just take take the compact spare with no problem as long as you don't exceed the 50 MPH recommended speed.

This is what my 2004 WRX manual says (which doesn't really seem to apply to the WRX but for other non-turbo Subaru models):

"(If your vehicle is AWD with automatic transmission, except turbo models) Before driving your vehicle with the temporary spare tire, put a spare fuse inside the FWD connector in the main fuse box located in the engine compartment and confirm that the Front-wheel drive warning light "FWD" in the combination meter comes on. The all wheel drive capability of the vehicle has now deactivated."

The 1/4" difference seems to be unrealistic about the real world. My guess is that circumference has been off by more than that on most people's Subarus and it hasn't been noticeable or caused damage. Not that 1/4" isn't a good number to shoot for.

Rotating tires? They rotate all the time when you drive!

Which is bogus, based on increased stopping distance with compact spare. Ignore 50MPH rule and increase folloing distance.

I never said there wouldn't be decreased performance. I only meant that the manual transmission models wouldn't suffer massive damage because a compact spare is used for a bit. The viscous-coupled center diff should be able to take more abuse than the electronically controlled clutch packs. Heck - the automatic with turbo models don't even have the FWD fuse, and most come with compact spares now.

Just think about it. Automatic + compact spare + FWD fuse needed = the system will wear out prematurely if the tire sizes don't match. Manual (or turbo auto) + compact spare - FWD fuse needed = the system can tolerate some tire size differences of more than just a few percent.

Basically, the compact spare should just get someone far enough to get the damaged tire in for a proper repair.

I believe you are directed to put the spare on the rear, even if it requires changing 2 tires to move a rear to the front.

Carl

I looked in my 2004 WRX owner's manual, and I can't find anything directing that the compact spare can only go on the back. I also can't think of any way to do what you suggest without jacking up the car with one flat tire on the ground. I would never consider doing that.

Really - viscous-coupled center diffs aren't going to die because of a 1/2" difference in tire circumference.

The sense that I (and many others get) is that Subaru is being extremely conservative in recommending that tire circumference can't be more than the equivalent of .03% difference in circumference. It might possibly be more critical in some of the automatic transmission models.

On page 9-3 of the manual that came with my '06 WRX Wagon (In case of Emergency, Temporary Spare Tire) I find the following; "* The temporary spare tire must be used only on a rear wheel. If a front wheel tire gets punctured, replace the wheel with a rear wheel and install the temporary spare tire in place of the removed rear wheel."

I doubt I would be concerned about putting the temp spare on the front if I were immediately going to the dealer/tire store for a repair and it was withing 20 miles or so. Still, I suppose they have a reason for the instructions in the manual. YMMV

Carl

"The temporary spare tire is smaller and lighter than a conventional tire and is designed for emergency use only. Remove the temporary spare tire and re-install the conventional tire as soon as possible because the spare tire is designed only for temporary use."

The 2006 transmission and AWD could very well be a different design to go with the 2.5L engine.

However - there's no way I would buy a car with that ugly new grill. That thing is just horrible.