2014 Forester Tire Options

[Daskuppler]

Hello all,

 

I recently acquired a 14 forester, it desperately needs new tires. The vehicle sees a fair amount of dirt, snow, rain, and light mud. Does anyone have any recommendations for new shoes? Anyone know what the biggest size that will fit is? Stock is 225/60 r17. It looks like a 225/65 might fit...

 

Thanks for your input!

[uniberp]

Yokohama Avid Ascend. Made with orange oil. 

[1 Lucky Texan]

nvrmd

Edited August 4, 2017 by 1 Lucky Texan

[freekraz]

1 Lucky Texan -- that's about the least helpful post I've ever seen on this board!

 

Of course he can go to his local Discount Tire Store and ask them to sell him some tires. Daskuppler is looking for someone with ACTUAL EXPERIENCE OWNING A FORESTER to recommend a tire -- not some guy behind the counter who is looking to move a set of tires because he's got too many of them.

 

Jeez.

[Daskuppler]

1 Lucky Texan -- that's about the least helpful post I've ever seen on this board!

 

Of course he can go to his local Discount Tire Store and ask them to sell him some tires. Daskuppler is looking for someone with ACTUAL EXPERIENCE OWNING A FORESTER to recommend a tire -- not some guy behind the counter who is looking to move a set of tires because he's got too many of them.

 

Jeez.

Exactly.  I can do my research and see what the manufacturer says.  I also know what Discount Tire recommends and it is usually what is in stock, not the best option.  I have run the Goodyear Tripletreads in the past with okay results, they tend to have problems evacuating Colorado snow.  They do surprisingly well in the mud and rocks for a street tire.  Those tires were on an older Subaru with smaller tires so I was hoping there were some other options for the Forester.  There doesn't seem to be much available for it in the A/T category without a lift.  It has the stock Geolanders on there now and they are horrendous.  

 

Thanks everyone for your input, I wish the BFG A/T came in a size that would fit.

[1 Lucky Texan]

nvrmd

Edited August 4, 2017 by 1 Lucky Texan

[freekraz]

Daskuppler,

 

I'm interested in what kind of tires you end up with. I just bought a '16 Forester from an insurance salvage auction (nice price) and once I get the electronics sorted out and the body work done, I'll be looking for a new set of tires, too. So feel free to DM me.

 

1 Lucky Texan, sorry if I offended you but I just felt you were stating the obvious, not really moving the conversation along.

 

Jeff in Boston

[1 Lucky Texan]

it's cool, I could have waited longer before posting but his original post went several hours with no response at all, not common here.

 

likely not agressive enough for regular off/soft road use, but the Pirelli Cinturato P7s on our OBW are great - helped get us home from CoSpgs in winter storm 'Ursa'  , we were the pilot car leading almost a dozen others off a closed road between Capulin and Clayton NM.

 

hope others reply

Edited August 4, 2017 by 1 Lucky Texan

[Daskuppler]

I'll update this thread when I choose tires. I contacted Treadwright tires, they had an option to request a tire size. Maybe they will make me a pair. I've had good luck with their tires on my truck.

 

As for the Pirelli P7, I'll look into oit. Theta tons ood good tires for road driving but the dirt puts a kink in it.

[Daskuppler]

I just stumbled across these:http://www.continentaltire.com/product/terraincontact-22560r17-99h

 

They are fairly new so there's not much information available on them, but everything seems positive. Anyone heard anything?

[1 Lucky Texan]

18 reviews at TireRack - all but one seem positive after quick glance. I THINK 2 subarus were wearing them.

[Daskuppler]

That was what I saw as well. I stumbled across an in-depth review of them which said they were great I fresh snow and average in packed/ slushy road conditions. My phone won't let me insert the link, I'll try on another device in a little while.

[1 Lucky Texan]

if you ask at the Forester forum and over at subaruoutback.org , maybe someone has tried them, but, as you say, they seem new-ish.

 

looks like there's a $70 rebate on any set of Continentals right now.

Edited August 7, 2017 by 1 Lucky Texan

[matt167]

My shop sells Continental. Or rather we can order them in for customers. They are garbage, overpriced crap. They might have decent traction when new, but Continental uses a soft rubber compound ontop of a harder compound to keep tires that will last. Some other companies do that too. They only have good traction for 1/4 the time they will last.. The only good part of Continental is the 30/60 day satisfaction guarantee.. A number of times, Customers have used their satisfaction guarantee to get something else..

 

I would recommend the General Altimax RT43. It's great on Subaru and what we normally recommend even though it's not a tire we have in stock

[Daskuppler]

Good to know! What are your thoughts on the new bfgoodrich advantage t/a sport? Or the good year tripletred?

[Rooster2]

I am running Ohtsu FP700 tires on my Outback, and daughter's Hyundai. They have been great, and are reasonably priced. Listed as an all season tire, but chunky tread pattern looks more like a snow tire, so it is not surprising that they run great in the snow, and yet quiet running on dry interstate travel. Plenty of positive reviews if you google Ohtsu tire reviews, and where to buy them.

 

Ohtsu brand tires is tied in with Falken and Sumitomo tires. I guess the Japanese manufacturer sells tires under the three different brand names, so rest assured they are not junk tires from some third world country.

[matt167]

OHTSU is made by Falken as their value line..

 

Tripletread is an ok tire, we don't sell too many because it's expensive.. The T/A sport is a good tire

[Daskuppler]

I think we will be giving these a try. It's soother new tire with limited information but the techies are all positive and there has been good feedback on Winter performance. There's plenty of siping, water evacuation channels, and the larger blocks should lend to moderate offroad casualties. We will be getting them in early September.

Edited August 10, 2017 by Daskuppler

[Daskuppler]

OHTSU is made by Falken as their value line..

 

Tripletread is an ok tire, we don't sell too many because it's expensive.. The T/A sport is a good tire

I currently have the tripletreds on my Subaru, they tend to pack with snow here in Colorado. Performance seems to drop off after about 50% tread wear.

[matt167]

I currently have the tripletreds on my Subaru, they tend to pack with snow here in Colorado. Performance seems to drop off after about 50% tread wear.

 

That's pretty much our experience too. There ok, but overpriced.

 

The Advantage T/A is an excellent tire. We have sold many sets since they were introduced. I don't think you can go wrong.

Edited August 11, 2017 by matt167

[Daskuppler]

Update to the tire situation: We got some BfGoodruch Advantage t/a sports in 225/60r17 installed Wednesday last week. We have just over 1000 miles on then so far. We are very pleased so far. The tires are fairly quiet, smooth, and have a great tread pattern. Dry handling was significantly improved over the worn out oem tires. I would say dry handling is excellent as is wet handling.

 

I our 1000 miles the tires saw heavy rains, gravel roads, rocks, ruts, mud, and a small creek crossing. Unfortunately we were unable to find snow. The ties performed phenomenally on the asphalt, which was expected. When the going got rough the tires really held their own.

 

Gravel: the tires realty shined here, the grip on a smooth gravel road sends endless! 60-80mph I gravel was smooth and the tires felt confident. Los of traction was predictable and controllable. I am very pleased!

 

"Offroading": turning off the gravel road led us up a steep and rocky trail climbing to tree line. The tires did really well gripping the steep, loose, and rutted terrain. Traction control only kicked in once on a steep hairpin turn across a rut. The tires performed much better than expected for an all season passenger car tire.

 

Mud: while there wasn't much mud, I played in what I could find. The tires gripped well, and cleaned out quickly.

 

Deep water: we had to cross a creek about 10" deep. The tires did well but do seem to be a little slippery on rock when soaking wet... still a passenger car tire though.

 

Snow/ice: untested, snow should be hitting mountain passes shortly, I'll update when I have some input.

 

On a side note, aftermarket mud flaps are highly recommended if you take these tires off- road. The wide tread pattern really grabs a lot of rocks and will chew up your paint. I recommend the Gorilla flaps if you need some.

 

If toy have any questions or I missed something, let me know!

[Daskuppler]

Further update:

 

After nearly 10,000 miles, the tires are wearing well. A recent snowstorm brought almost 10" of snow to Colorado. The tires perform okay in the snow, nothing fantastic. Stopping performance is mediocre at best. Acceleration traction is pretty good for an all season tire. Turning performance is okay as long as there is some loose snow on to.

 

For me, the most important thing is predictability in traction. While these tires don't have the best traction, you know exactly where the limit is and they let go and hook up smoothly. I know exactly what they can and cannot get through and when to expect that glorious slide! There are better all season tires out there for snow Teton, but none that I have tried are as predictable as these. I've also not found a better all season car tire for mud, gravel, rocks, roots, and all the other terrains Subarus are meant to explore!

 

Mud flaps are all necessary for these tires! They chuck rocks like no other!

[uniberp]

Yokohama Avid Ascend. Made with orange oil. 

I've had these for 3 years now, they are superb in rain and really good in snow. The orange oil compound is less sensitive to temperature, and tougher than petroleum rubber. They are rated 90,000 miles but they are not hard or loud, and again, are excellent in rain and snow. At about 50k miles they are only starting to show wear. but I am a very conservative driver.

I paid about $400 at DT.

Edited January 26, 2018 by uniberp

[Daskuppler]

I'm sure they're a great tire. The tread pattern is a little tight for the off-road usage though. There are much better tires if you're not leaving the pavement much and don't push them.

 

We periodically see 100 mile stretches of dirt road and cruise on them at speeds in excess of 60mph. With Subaru's AWD, the car still does fine in snow up to about a foot. If it's dealt snowy we take the truck so score performance was important but not the only factor.