Recommendations for Performance Summer Tires2022 Subaru Legacy XT Limited (GT Limited In Canada)

[Suby1901]

This car came with Yokohama's, and truthfully wasn't too impressed pushing them to the limits especially in the rain. I had an 04 outback sedan that had continental that I could cross 5 lanes and not ever worry about it. It's not that they are bad, but just not my cup of tea. In the past I have really had good success with Continental, Bridgestone, and Michelin a long time ago made a tire called the MXM4 I believe from Michelin , when I had put them on my outback it was like driving a smooth higher end car. They were discontinued but from what I can see, their replacement is not supposed to be that great.

 

I always wondered why some people are buying all season tires for the summer  but have  separate have winter tires. I've seen so many people do this.

I think I'm looking for a summer tire that has great performance but that is quiet when I'm just coasting on long trips. It has to be amazing in the rain for sure and when pushed to the limits.

Been through all the website 1010, tiretrack etc, but just wanted to get feedback from folks who actually drive these cars daily.

One other thing, don't ask me why but I had Pirelli P7's once on my older legacy, and it scared the living crap out of me. I call them slipperellies now, so not interested in those.

 

Would love to know what folks are putting on this car for higher performance better traction.

 

Subie1901

Edited April 16, 2023 by Suby1901

[Code]

Pilot sport 4s

that is the only good answer to this question. Close the thread. I win. 

[Suby1901]

34 minutes ago, Code said:

Pilot sport 4s

that is the only good answer to this question. Close the thread. I win. 

Hahaha your awesome Code, been just reading about that tire exactly!!!!!!!!!!Lol

[blusubado]

Bridgestone potenza RE-71R is the only tire ill buy but they've discontinued them after they came out with the RE-71RS and I haven't bought those yet.

[MoleMan]

On this,

 

To put Pilot 4Ss on a stock unmodded XT is a waste of money.  Pretty much zero benefit.  Only time the 4s would be a benefit is if you are canyon carving.  Get into any wet weather and the car will barely have traction.

I hate Michelin tires with a passion.  Not saying they are not butter smooth on a road trip but that's about all.  The rubber compound is extremely hard on most models and this is why I dislike Michelin tires.  The MXM4 is nothing like a 4s handling wise.  Comparing a touring tire to a summer high performance.

 

As far as a tire that does it all I prefer the Continental DWS 06 Plus.  I have run the DWS line for 10 years and thrown everything at them on modded cars, weather, and normal driving and they have always smiled back.

 

Regardless both Michelin and Continental have a 60 day ride guarantee so of you hate them they will give you your money back including install costs.  Agreed Yokohama is bad and I compare Yokohamas to a wet noodle handling wise.

 

To answer the question as to what everyone is putting on.  I see a lot of DWS, and Michelin Crossclimate in my area. Then again die hards will switch to Blizzaks in the winter.  But most 7th gens still are running the OEM Yolks.

[Suby1901]

12 minutes ago, MoleMan said:

On this,

 

To put Pilot 4Ss on a stock unmodded XT is a waste of money.  Pretty much zero benefit.  Only time the 4s would be a benefit is if you are canyon carving.  Get into any wet weather and the car will barely have traction.

I hate Michelin tires with a passion.  Not saying they are not butter smooth on a road trip but that's about all.  The rubber compound is extremely hard on most models and this is why I dislike Michelin tires.  The MXM4 is nothing like a 4s handling wise.  Comparing a touring tire to a summer high performance.

 

As far as a tire that does it all I prefer the Continental DWS 06 Plus.  I have run the DWS line for 10 years and thrown everything at them on modded cars, weather, and normal driving and they have always smiled back.

 

Regardless both Michelin and Continental have a 60 day ride guarantee so of you hate them they will give you your money back including install costs.  Agreed Yokohama is bad and I compare Yokohamas to a wet noodle handling wise.

 

To answer the question as to what everyone is putting on.  I see a lot of DWS, and Michelin Crossclimate in my area. Then again die hards will switch to Blizzaks in the winter.  But most 7th gens still are running the OEM Yolks.

Thanks MoleMan currently also looking at Bridgestone.

[dohturdima]

I've used Conti DWS for years with my (now gone) Infiniti G35x and the car did very well in the rain and light snow on that tire. They do get pretty noisy after only 10K but still handle well. No AS tire will do well in the cold winter due to losing traction - need a set of dedicated winters for that weather. Stock Yoko's have done Ok but not great in wet weather, but not enough to swap out nearly new tires for any other. My experience with Michelins has been very good though - its the GY that I dislike. 

Edited May 1, 2023 by dohturdima

[Suby1901]

7 hours ago, dohturdima said:

I've used Conti DWS for years with my (now gone) Infiniti G35x and the car did very well in the rain and light snow on that tire. They do get pretty noisy after only 10K but still handle well. No AS tire will do well in the cold winter due to losing traction - need a set of dedicated winters for that weather. Stock Yoko's have done Ok but not great in wet weather, but not enough to swap out nearly new tires for any other. My experience with Michelins has been very good though - its the GY that I dislike. 

Thx D I like Conti's too for the most part.

[Code]

Title says performance summer tire and Yinz in here talking about all season bullspit. C’mon man. 

[Suby1901]

4 minutes ago, Code said:

Title says performance summer tire and Yinz in here talking about all season bullspit. C’mon man. 

Hey Code, off is the direction I need you to go, and when you get there, let me know what tires you found or not!

[MoleMan]

Code,

I did comment on the summer tire question very clearly.  Summer tires are not for a stock unmodded seventh gen at all.  It's not a right fit for the car.  Then again if we were talking about a modded gen 4 with heavy suspension work then perfect.

 

My two cents...  Thanks for the effort

[MoleMan]

On 4/30/2023 at 10:29 PM, dohturdima said:

I've used Conti DWS for years with my (now gone) Infiniti G35x and the car did very well in the rain and light snow on that tire. They do get pretty noisy after only 10K but still handle well. No AS tire will do well in the cold winter due to losing traction - need a set of dedicated winters for that weather. Stock Yoko's have done Ok but not great in wet weather, but not enough to swap out nearly new tires for any other. My experience with Michelins has been very good though - its the GY that I dislike. 

Thanks.

 

Had to pull the G37 out today. Forgot why that car is so fun.  And also remembered why I stopped driving it.  To many pesky WRXs and Focus STs wanting to race.  But the Stillen kit makes it so fun lol.  

Next car will be a Lexus RC F lol.

[Fred H]

Other tire review sites: https://www.tyrereviews.com/ and https://www.thetirelab.com/245-45-R18/summer/

My approach was to choose the summer tire that was best in the wet — a Conti, as it turned out this time. 

[MoleMan]

37 minutes ago, Fred H said:

Other tire review sites: https://www.tyrereviews.com/ and https://www.thetirelab.com/245-45-R18/summer/

My approach was to choose the summer tire that was best in the wet — a Conti, as it turned out this time. 

Absolutely no point to buying a summer tire for wet weather driving.  A summer tire is just that. Once you start to drive those tires in wet or temps below about 50 degrees they are not sticky at all.

A generally normal car like a gen 7 or even gen 6 Legacy honestly is a waste to put summer tires on.  Maybe a modded WRX or LGT for track driving yes.  However really no point with a CVT trans on a car with under 300 HP.

Most are Michelin Pilots when I do see the summers. Generally on Porsche 911s.

I am a Continental DWS mega fan and have been running them on all my cars for yeats except for the 1994 500 SL that seems to love Michelins.

But then again to each their own

[Suby1901]

36 minutes ago, MoleMan said:

Absolutely no point to buying a summer tire for wet weather driving.  A summer tire is just that. Once you start to drive those tires in wet or temps below about 50 degrees they are not sticky at all.

A generally normal car like a gen 7 or even gen 6 Legacy honestly is a waste to put summer tires on.  Maybe a modded WRX or LGT for track driving yes.  However really no point with a CVT trans on a car with under 300 HP.

Most are Michelin Pilots when I do see the summers. Generally on Porsche 911s.

I am a Continental DWS mega fan and have been running them on all my cars for yeats except for the 1994 500 SL that seems to love Michelins.

But then again to each their own

Continental are definitely my favourite and have always done well on all my Subarus.

[BoozeRS05]

I wouldn’t get all-seasons, they suck at everything in my opinion. Highly recommend a good summer tire paired with a dedicated winter setup. 

[MoleMan]

On 7/8/2023 at 9:35 PM, BoozeRS05 said:

I wouldn’t get all-seasons, they suck at everything in my opinion. Highly recommend a good summer tire paired with a dedicated winter setup. 

The question is why do that unless the car has heavy mods to the suspension?  Honestly stock Gen 7, Gen 6, Gen 5, or even a Gen 4 is not going to handle any better with summer tires.  

If the car is modded then you would feel the handling difference.  

Since the OP is from the great North I believe it's mandated you use winter tires unlike here.  Still winter tires are one thing.  But to me once again as soon as the temps get below 50 degrees those summer tires are not fun to drive on.

However as I have stated to each His/Her own.  I just think summer tires are a complete waste on a car that is not modded and raced on a track.

[Code]

And here we are again….

portions of your statement are completely incorrect and you’re justifying it by spouting off about temps dropping and location and mods and blah blah.  
 

performance summer rubber, in the conditions for which they are designed (SUMMER!)  will improve LATERAL GRIP and decrease braking distance on ANY vehicle when compared to a non-performance-focused tire, this applies to a 7th gen Subaru Camry as much as it applies to any other car   The science doesn’t care   

 

 

[Suby1901]

We are not mandated to have winter tires although I believe the province of Quebec is.

However with that been said in the winter I use continental Winter tires with the Legacy AWD it doesnt get better than that. I think my thought was initially was, why am I buying an all season tire just for the summer. Which pretty much they are used from April to. November only. So what I was trying to get at is there a benefit to having a summer tire over the all season and is a performance one necessary? My car is stock there are no mods, its not a race car, but make no mistake I push this car to its limit. In light of that I was wondering if a performance tire would be safer and better traction.

[Code]

You’re on the right path with a dedicated winter setup.  If it were me, I’d look at a summer tire with a 300-400TW rating. Mps4s are at 300, the Conti’s are around 360ish if I remember correctly.  Either will give a huge improvement in grip over an all season without being TOO performance-focused. 
 

 

 

[Suby1901]

11 minutes ago, Code said:

You’re on the right path with a dedicated winter setup.  If it were me, I’d look at a summer tire with a 300-400TW rating. Mps4s are at 300, the Conti’s are around 360ish if I remember correctly.  Either will give a huge improvement in grip over an all season without being TOO performance-focused. 

 

Thanks Code
 

 

 

 

[BoozeRS05]

I adopted the same model probably 9 years ago and never looked back. Summer tire from April to November, and winter tire from December through March.

There’s a huge difference in my experience with a reasonable summer tire compared to the “best” all season tire.

I recommend getting a light weight summer wheel too, and using your oem wheels for the winter setup.

[tysparks81]

4 hours ago, BoozeRS05 said:

I adopted the same model probably 9 years ago and never looked back. Summer tire from April to November, and winter tire from December through March.

There’s a huge difference in my experience with a reasonable summer tire compared to the “best” all season tire.

I recommend getting a light weight summer wheel too, and using your oem wheels for the winter setup.

I live in Canada and those are pretty much my tire change times.  Definitely see a benefit to running dedicated performance summers.  Improved braking in wet & dry, as well as better grip in corners.  Even on a stock car you will feel like you can push your car more than you could before.    Your budget is going to determine which tires you go with, keeping in mind that treadwear should be your deciding factor on tires.  Just don't buy summer slicks like R888's or NT-01 and you will be fine. 

[Suby1901]

7 minutes ago, tysparks81 said:

I live in Canada and those are pretty much my tire change times.  Definitely see a benefit to running dedicated performance summers.  Improved braking in wet & dry, as well as better grip in corners.  Even on a stock car you will feel like you can push your car more than you could before.    Your budget is going to determine which tires you go with, keeping in mind that treadwear should be your deciding factor on tires.  Just don't buy summer slicks like R888's or NT-01 and you will be fine. 

tysparks81, thats the exact answer IU was looking for . thank you. Makes total sense.

[tysparks81]

I should have mentioned I had a slightly modded legacy running slipperilies, as well as some Bridgestone sport comp2's, and now currently on the pilot sport 4s in a highly modified legacy now. 

I daily drive my car, and will hit up a track 2 or 3 times a year when I can.  Which means driving to the track and back on the same tires.

You have had the Pirelli's so I won't speak to those.

The Sports comp 2's were a budget tire - wore very quickly even with the higher treadwear rating, and were not confidence inspiring in the rain. Even though they have the same wet weather rating as the Pilot sport4's.

I only have 7-10k on my Pilot sport 4's and this will be my first complete summer on them.  After picking them up late in the season last year.  IMO these are the best tires you can get before going to a dedicated track tire but I don't think you need anything like that for what you are looking for. 

Other tires I looked at were the Continental Extreme contact, Falken Azenis, Firestone Indy500's as well as the bridgestone Potenza's.  2 of these tires have a higher treadwear rating, 1 equal and one lower.  But when reading reviews the Indy500's & Potenza they both seemed to wear much quicker than expected, which resulted in less grip sooner in the life of the tire.  The Falken & Continental were either more expensive at the time or not in stock when I went to buy my tires last year but they also had good reviews.