katiecake Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 I'm driving my 2013 Subaru Outback up an 8 mile dirt road to the top of a mountain where I live. I do this pretty much twice a day, to and from work to go up and down the mountain to the pavement and on another 40-50 miles to work and back. I've got Continental tires now and have had them for about one year (bought my Outback in 2012), moved up here to the Ozarks and have been driving like the above said for a year. I've got about 23k miles on the outback now, and it seems that the treads are now going and I'm getting a hole every other week from rocks etc. What with this being the case I have now been looking into getting some better tires, however am running into the difficulty of finding a good off roading tire that is in a smaller ply. I'm told all I can go to is a 5ply. I have no idea where to start, what the recommended brands are or who has the best pricing on the. Moseyed to this forum for your guys' help. Please give me some suggestions. The tire size on the car currently is 1225/60 R 17 98T. Really what I am looking to find is a good tire that I can keep longer than 20k miles. Again Please Help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 It sound like you really want a tire to hold up against rocks on a dirt road, not driving off road through heavy brush and fording streams. Don't think anything 5 ply is needed. I would suggest a tire with strong sidewalls to resist stone punctures, yet would be smooth on the highway. Prolly any top of the line tires from most any name brand manufacturer would fill your need. Don't recommend any tire that is off brand, as quality can be spotty, Michelin and Yokohama tires are my favorites. I thought about you going to a light truck tire, but don't think anything is available that would fit your 17" wheels. Also suggest you contact Tire Rack on line. They offer chat service to recommend tires for a specific need. I am guessing your tire size is 225 - 60 - 17". Don't know what 98T represents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 (edited) 98 is weight rating, T is speed rating. Not sure who told you that you can't go above a 5 ply tire. More plys is not a big deal, its when you go with fewer plys that you run into problems. The number of plys really shouldn't be a factor in your decision making, since I can almost guarantee that any off-road capable tire you find in the size you need will have an adequate number of plys. know BFGoodrich makes the All Terrain T/A in 17" sizes but I don't know of any specific sizes or how close you could get to the original size if they don't have it. (Though I would think you can probably get within about 5%, which should be acceptable.) General Tire is another good brand for off-road tires, and will cost a bit less than BFG. The best for overall mileage would probably be Michelin, but I'm unsure what they offer for off-road suitable tires. Also check out Firestone, they have a good line-up of off-road tires. Tireracks page with their offerings of tires in that size. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?tireIndex=0&autoMake=Subaru&autoYear=2013&autoModel=Outback&autoModClar=2.5i+Premium&width=225%2F&ratio=60&diameter=17&sortCode=49751&skipOver=true&minSpeedRating=S&minLoadRating=S&tab=All You can sort by type on the left side to help narrow down or expand the results. Firestone, Michelin, and Yomohama all have good tires in that size. The Geolandar has a more aggressive tread pattern than a standard all season if you're looking for something that will have better traction in mud or snow. Edited October 7, 2013 by Fairtax4me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 General Grabber is a good strong all around tire. I have run them in a couple different sizes on a couple different cars and they wear well and hold up to a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosDiosDeVerde86 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 (edited) General Grabber is a good strong all around tire. I have run them in a couple different sizes on a couple different cars and they wear well and hold up to a lot. I had the General Grabber AT/2's on my 96 legacy. They had GREAT traction in the mud, but I did get some pinhole punctures on the shoulder and sidewall. Edited October 7, 2013 by LosDiosDeVerde86 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosDiosDeVerde86 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 If you end up going with a larger size, PLEASE post what it is. In about 45k miles I'll be attempting a Legacy to Outback lift and would like to max out the tire size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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