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Tires, tires and oh yeah, tires


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86' GL wagon. I have a chance for some nice 155/13's. I know they are shorter than 165 and 180's. Am I asking for trouble? Mileage suffer? I hate wide tires, so thats not an issue. Narrower the better, for me.

 

Any insight??

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You get what you pay for. And with tires I never skimp! Because that is the only thing between the road and your car. Tires are said to have a shelf life of 8 years and then they are unpredictable. 155 will be real skinny and may not handle the load as intended. There is a reason Subaru recommends 175 for your vehicle.

 

And how tall are they? There should be an additional number between the 155 & 13... they should be 155/??R13

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75 I believe. No, paying full price for them.

 

Wide doesnt cut it in snow country, plain and simple. I can go for what the sticker says but they are wide for the road conditions I frequently travel in. When they came up with this size, did they have snow in mind, I wonder.

 

I dont skimp on tires either, usually Toyo everytime.

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The 155's will be lower in load rating than the original tires. IF you go for them, keep them at maximum pressure listed on the tire, don't load the car to the max, and don't try to rally it!

 

I am using 155/80's for snow tires on my Loyale. Mostly because I cannot obtain 165/80's, the recommended size. 175/70's are a reasonable substitute, but they are wide, which I don't like in a snow tire, and smaller in diameter. They do have a similar load rating. The 155/80's have about the same diameter as the 175/70's, but a lower load rating. As a result, I am doing as I suggest above, running them at max. pressure, and the car lightly loaded. January to March last winter, so far so good. They go on the car tomorrow, as it just started snowing around here.

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I think that 155 width may have been standard on the 2wd EA81's. A little lighter car. If the load rating is up to it, the narrower tire would be alot better in the snow.... Most OEM tires are not designed for good snow performance, as they are way too wide (but then again, most people spend most their time on pavement... where wide tires are better...)

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