Martinjmpr Posted September 10, 2003 Share Posted September 10, 2003 Looks like it's finally time for me to get new tires, what with our first snow coming in a week or so (I hope.) So I'm wondering, how many of you have put slightly larger tires on your OBWs, and was it a good idea? I'm not thinking of anything huge, just going from the stock 205/70R15s to a 215/70. By my calculations that's only 10mm wider overall and about 1/2" greater diameter. What I don't know is if there is some peculiarity of the Subaru that this might affect (extremely close tolerances or something.) Anyone done it? And would you do it again? Oh, and I almost forgot the trivia question: Was the 2nd generation Legacy ('95-'99) ever available in the US as a FWD-only car? What year did Subaru go to all-AWD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hocrest Posted September 10, 2003 Share Posted September 10, 2003 yes/1997. What do I win??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyKeith Posted September 10, 2003 Share Posted September 10, 2003 As a general rule of thumb you never want to go wider for a snow tire. The narrower the tire the more weight per square inch on the contact patch. With that added force you dig into the snow and get better traction. This is want you want to do for normal winter driving conditions. Too wide and you can literally float on top of the snow. For some proof take a look at pictures of a WRC car running a snow and ice event. They run scary thin tires. Keith PS- Yes and 97 I believe the so called second Generation of legacy started in 94, and they offered FWD and AWD version through 96. 97 was the first year of the all AWD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtsmiths Posted September 10, 2003 Share Posted September 10, 2003 You want the weight of the car to sink you down to the compacted stuff. We also run studs on both our 'Roos (Whitefish, MT), but that's mostly for our own driveway, and then for the downhill braking into the garage! As opposed to driving THRU the garage, like a lumber delivery truck did a few winters ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbhrps Posted September 11, 2003 Share Posted September 11, 2003 Stay with the stock size snow tire, or go narrower! On my 97 OBW I ran the stock size (205/70/15) Bridgestone Blizzaks and stuck to the road like crazy glue. When I traded to an 02 OBW the new stock wheel size changed to 225/60/16. I put on new Blizzaks for the new wheel size for that year, and let me tell you...they definitely do not stick like the narrower 205's. I have learned to adapt to the new size, but they certainly do not have the same secure feeling. They tend to float, almost like aquaplaneing at speeds where the old tires still felt grippy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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