Subaru Driver's Tire Reviews

[Ionlyhave3suubs]

I have done some looking and have not seen anything like it on the message board. What I am looking for is for our users to rate the tires they have/had on their suubs. Things I am interested in are things like handling on road, off road traction, snow/ice traction, price/value, where you bought them, how long they lasted(so far), what you have them on (ex. 1997 OBW etc.), anything else our users might find interesting.

 

I am currently shopping for tires for my 97 OBW and am considering the General Grabber UHP H speed rated tire 205/70-15. It has been a long time since I have had a set of General tires (my last ones were xp 2000's on my 88 hatch) If anyone has experience, good or bad with the Grabbers, please let me know.

 

I can order these from Sears for $65.55 each.

 

My last set of tires on this car were BFG touring t/a s from Sams club. They lasted pretty decent (not sure exact miles). They still have about 4/32" tread on them, but they are eat up with dry rot. On road traction was acceptable as was snow and offroad traction (for the tire type). I wouldn't recommend this tire for serious offroading or muddin'.

 

Anyone have a better recommendation? cost is a factor, but I don't want to buy something that is no good.

 

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_09540193000P?prdNo=7&blockNo=7&blockType=G7

[Legacy777]

I haven't seen a place for Subaru driver's specific tire reviews. The reviews on tire rack are a pretty reasonable indicator of the tire. Discount online also has some reviews.

[Rooster2]

I haven't seen a place for Subaru driver's specific tire reviews. The reviews on tire rack are a pretty reasonable indicator of the tire. Discount online also has some reviews.

 

I have read reviews on both Discount Tire and Tire Rack. Some good reviews, some bad, most sound legit, but also some reviews read more like ads written by the marketing department of the tire company or the store. Those reviews sound too good to be true, so glowing in virtue, with no down side. It makes me wonder how legit the review really is.

[StructEngineer]

Tire Rack's written reviews give you some indication if you look at ones from people who have driven more than 5000 miles on the tires. Anyone writing a review with 500 miles on the tires you should just ignore.

 

Tire Rack's (and any other websites) numerical rating system is completely misleading. How can anyone distinguish between a 6/10 and a 7/10 in any category? You cant.

 

Tire Rack's track testing is even more misleading. It's marketing, nothing more. If you sit down and think about what tires they're testing against each other you see they're just pushing certain tires. For example, they'll test an allseason tire against a winter tire on an ice skating rink, but never on dry plowed pavement.....god forbid they show that an allseason does better than a snow tire.

 

The best thing would be for USMB to integrate a review section into the tire/wheel forum.

[Ionlyhave3suubs]

Thanks for the input so far. I have read reviews from tirerack.com and other companies, however I am more inclined to trust the input from the people on this forum over the tire sites.

 

Tire "a" might do exceptionally well on car "b" but unless car "b" is a Subaru, the review of a buyer that posts on the tire site may not be relevant to my car. The Subaru AWD system on Legacies are unique to subarus therefore I am really looking for input from Subaru owners.

 

If not this tire, then which one do you recommend?

 

The price seems reasonable.

 

Anyone have any experience with this tire on a Legacy or other Subaru model?

[heartless]

I cant help you any with the specific tire you asking about, but I can throw my 2 cents out on a couple of others that I have had/have now...

 

1st, i prefer to buy locally vs online for some things, tires being one of those things.

 

the first set of tires i put on my 1990 Legacy LS AWD wagon were Cooper's - I forget the specific model, but they were an all season touring type, something in the neighborhood of 70K mile rating. They handled well on dry or wet road , but being a fairly hard tire, not the best on packed snow/ice - not bad, but not great either. Got great fuel mileage with them, as compared to what I am running now.

These tires got replaced due to age/weather cracking on the sidewalls - at just over two years old, i figure i did ok, altho they still had quite a bit of tread left on them. approx milage on these was around 50-52K

Forget what i paid for them, but it was a deal at the time.

 

The replacements - Kelly Explorer - 45,000mile all season.

Only have a few hundred to a 1000 miles on these, so i cant speak to longevity yet, but i like them so far, except my fuel mileage did go down some (softer, "stickier" tire) Not a lot of road noise from them and handling on dry road is great! car will take curves/corners like it's on rails :cool: Winter handling so far has been pretty good - our county is notorius for doing a lousy job of road plowing - most of the time you cant even tell they went thru, unless it is really deep...have not had any issues yet.

These i paid $60 per tire - that included mounting, balancing, new valve stems and old tire disposal fee at a local independant tire shop.

 

We also put these on the other halfs car - 1990 Leg L sedan, FWD - and he likes them, feels much more secure on the road than with his old balding tires! LOL And he got an even better deal - $54 per tire, all the same stuff included ( i just bought too soon i guess! )

[Rooster2]

1st, i prefer to buy locally vs online for some things, tires being one of those things.

 

Same thought, I buy locally. By the time you buy tires on line, then pay the shipping cost, the overall cost works out to be about the same, as buying locally and paying the sales tax.

 

I don't think that Subarus are any different then any other car as far as tire needs is concerned. I remember reading that Subaru AWD is about 90% front wheel drive, and 10% rear wheel drive. So rolling wise, not that much different then any other car.

 

I personally like Michelin tires. Expensive, yet always perform very well, and can wear for 80K miles. In the long run, cost per that many miles makes them an excellent value. Never had an issue ever with Michelin tires as far as tire balance or quality.

[Allpar Mod]

This is a tire that I bought last year to improve bad weather traction on my '99 OBW. Size pictured, 205-65R15. Still in use, picture taken today.

 

 

It is the Pacemark Snowtrakker. I bought them at Sam's Club and they only go for about $65/each ($270 + tax & mounting/balancing for 4. Yes, you should get 4). These tires got me through our major snowfalls of last year where Western Pennsylvania was literally paralyzed. I never was late for work one day. These are like putting on a light truck/SUV aggressive tread tire on a Soob. They work equally well on the interstates as in the city or rural roads. I drive all of them.

 

Pros: Low cost, excellent traction on snow & ice, good rain traction, wear, several sizes available at same price, balance well

 

Cons: Road noise, no guarantee on wear, Sam's will not install if they aren't specified by manufacturer tire size (still can get cash & carry), lose a couple mpg (still get over 22 with these tires).

 

I'm tight right now being on disability for heart surgery and the wife's Jeep needed new tires badly. I put a set of these on and she loves them in the snow.

 

Bottom line, recommend highly. They will wear down if used for a long time on dry roads like over the summer, but not as badly as you would think they would.

Edited January 5, 2011 by Allpar Mod

[94Loyale]

I have to chime in and agree with Allpar, I have a set of Snowtrakker's for the winter, and I love them. My 99 Outback will go anywhere with them. And they are cheap too for an all out snow tire. They also grip pretty well offroad. But snow and ice is where they excel, great tire!

 

For all the other seasons, I have 17in wheels on my Outback and for 40k now I've had on Goodyear Eagle GT-HR's. They are an outdated model right now, but after 40k they are about half tread, I cannot believe the treadwear on these tires. They still make the car handle like it's on rails, and do excellent in the rain. But personally, they are bad in the snow and ice.

 

At work we sell a lot of Cooper's and Starfire's. Mostly Starfire's, I see plenty of cars come back with them on. They seem to wear very well on these cars as long as you rotate them regularly, and get very good traction in all conditions I've driven in. They work well on dry, low noise, good in the rain, and decent in the snow. They are priced very well too. I would rate them the same as the Cooper's honestly.

 

Hopefully this all helps you out a little bit. If I can make one suggestion, since I see it everyday, people get sucked into them. Is stay away from Fuzion's, probably the most terrible tire I have ever dealt with. I'd run bias plies over them. They are cheap in price and quality, wear absolutely terrible, and just suck all around.