rudy Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 Before buying the Legacy I was definitely preloaded with the notion that the stock tires were pure evil embodied in rubber. Now, I haven't done anything too crazy with the car to really test their limits, but in both dry and cold/wet conditions I haven't had any warning flags set off when accellerating, braking or cornering. Is it more that the tires fall flat on their face after midlife wear, or under auto-x type situations, etc., or is there really legitimate reason to be cautious with the RE92s on the street? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustangendsley Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 they are okay, they just wear out very fast. I only got 28,000 miles and I drive a lot on the highway. I got khumo asx on now and they is a big diff in quiet and performance now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilT Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 If you drive the car harder you will find that the limits are lower than other, cheaper tyres. They are still acceptable, as long as you know where the limits are. Double Award Winning Legacy GT Wagon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 They hydroplane badly and stop the car poorly. These are the deal breakers. Ditch them and buy decent rubber. New rubber is cheaper then car totalled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilT Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 http://freon.shackspace.com/misc/re92.jpg Can't possibly have another thread about RE 92's without using this Double Award Winning Legacy GT Wagon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godwhomismike Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 They also bubble easily. You can look at them wrong and they will form bubbles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgt_nube Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 There's one ski instructor (I think) on this forum who said they worked fine for him at Bear Valley in snow that was stopping chain-equipped cars. A few photos of the LGT My current ride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godwhomismike Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 my experiences with them were nothing short of absolutely terrible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 They are fine if you drive like grandma, but if you drive the car in a spirited manner as so many of us to, then they become inferior. They are econo tires meant for slower driving in a mix of conditions. The are horrible on the limit so get new ones if you plan to do spirited driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandman Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 I was reluctant to blame the Impotenzas for anything, since a poor workman blames his tools. But my eyes were opened when I drove my 97 OBW (Michelin HydroEdge with 40,000 miles on them) through the same area of standing water on the highway as my brand new 06 - and the 06 hydroplaned! I've since put them on one of our minivans, which has helped clarify their strengths and weknesses. Strengths are low noise, smooth ride, low rolling resistance, and respectable cornering limits on dry roads. On wet roads, they feel greasy and their transition to high slip rates is not communicated well to the driver. The best rain tires have better hydroplane resistance and have slip rates that increase gradually, giving the driver more margin to cope with the conditions. Who Dares Wins スバル Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beanboy Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 Okay dry, horrible in rain. As others have mentioned, no indication they are gonna slip and then they do, and hydroplane on the highway. -B http://www.standardshift.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKEBRAVO Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 If you have nothing to compare them to they are great. Compare them to any thing and then they suck . I found them acceptable in California snow. However, They are shit compared to the Contiextreme I just put on. If you can afford College, you probably don't need to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirSix Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 I've put about 35K of spirited driving on these tires and they're fine at about 40 - 50% wear left ( rotation every other oil change religiously). I live in the Seattle metro area and drive on soaked roads that haven't been fixed in three decades and yes hydro planing is an issue. But with siping I found it occurs less frequently. I mean come on, this is a 215mm all weather tire on a 17x7-inch wheel. It wasn't made to handle the autobahn. The truth is most drivers are outdriving their skills as opposed to outdriving the Potenzas. As stated above, this tire is the recurrent Scapegoat for driver error. I tell myself that an N/A Forester is just an STI without all the fluff like, power, handling, style, racing heritage, and curb appeal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 I felt the same way until this past Thursday when my front right blew out and I went to Dunlop Wintersport M3's (OEM sizing). Coincidently, earlier that day had been the first time I felt one of the tires let go on a turn. I only had < 2000 miles on the RE92's but switching over I felt a difference in grip that resulted in much more confidence in all driving scenarios. But hey if you like the re92's that much, I have 3 of them for sale! Oh, BTW, the price for a new re92 was ~$250 and the M3 was $190... The Crimson Dynamo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beanboy Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 35K and 50% tread left? That seems to be really mild driving... Either that, or showing how plastic the OEM tires really are! -B http://www.standardshift.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesA Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 They are a compromise tire. They are designed to suit the average driver. As enthusiasts, we might wish a different set of compromises had been made. If you push them, you will find their limits pretty quickly. I have kept them because it seems wasteful not to use them. I am looking forward to their replacement, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tantal Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 These tires are bad in comparison to what is available these days. 15 years ago these were good tires. Of course, new cars of that time were offered with 110 hp engines as the top - line model, and had 9 inch disc brakes, and a 50 series tire was exotically low profile. With a 250 hp, 3400 lb car like the GT, you notice the limitations of these tires. In the dry the other day I was able to spin the left front at full throttle shifting into 3rd gear on a highway on-ramp, in a straight line. May not seem like a big deal, but the car is just overdriving these tires. I am not able to spin, by way of comparison, my summer rubber under any conditions in a straight line, at temperatures above 50 F - haven't driven on them in colder temps. In the cold and wet, about 45 F with a wet road but no rain, I had a similar situation where the wheelspin was more noticable - but not at full throttle this time. There is a noticable improvement in braking distances upon switching from RE92's to my summer rubber too - Bridgestone RE 050. Highly recommend this tire, and it is about $20 cheaper than the RE 92 last I checked LOL. They just aren't particularly good tires. With a performance car like this, you notice it a lot more than with a 100 hp, 2500 lb nissan sentra and auto transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nKoan Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 I certainly wouldn't buy them again, but I'd hardly call them horrible. I've lasted through a couple of winters on RE92's and they are a very predictable tire. They lose grip easier then other tires (in all conditions), but they do it gradually and predictably and start making noise well before traction is really lost. Unfortunately, a lot of people outdrive the tire and blame the tire. As long as you know the limits of the tire, then it isn't half bad. But, you won't get the most out of your car with them (then again, who is 'getting the most' out of their car on public streets anyway). All in all, they aren't junk that you should throw away, but once they are gone don't buy them again, since there are plenty of better tires out there for cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trax Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 They hydroplane badly and stop the car poorly. Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandman Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 I've put about 35K of spirited driving on these tires and they're fine at about 40 - 50% wear left ( rotation every other oil change religiously). I live in the Seattle metro area and drive on soaked roads that haven't been fixed in three decades and yes hydro planing is an issue. But with siping I found it occurs less frequently. I mean come on, this is a 215mm all weather tire on a 17x7-inch wheel. It wasn't made to handle the autobahn. The truth is most drivers are outdriving their skills as opposed to outdriving the Potenzas. As stated above, this tire is the recurrent Scapegoat for driver error. How is the driver at error during hydroplaning? Lets see what you say once they've been replaced! Who Dares Wins スバル Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesA Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 How is the driver at error during hydroplaning?... Hydroplaning increases with speed. If your tires can't shed the water building up under them, it's time to slow down and regain traction. If you are hydroplaning, you are overdriving the tire -- I thought everyone knew that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gire Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 They are fine if you drive like grandma, but if you drive the car in a spirited manner as so many of us to, then they become inferior. They are econo tires meant for slower driving in a mix of conditions. The are horrible on the limit so get new ones if you plan to do spirited driving. +1 At the limit, ie: fast highway speeds in sweeping turns, they have always felt too greasy and squirmy for me to have any confidence in them. Cheaper Kumho's I've owned in the past just stuck to the road much better and and didn't give me any buttered road feeling... Drive around the city in regular traffic without acting like a dumb ass, and they are completely acceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjundi Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 I feel at least the RE92's communicate when they are about to let go vs my Nokian WR's on my Subaru WRX. The Nokians have more grip but just let go vs letting you know. I cannot wait to shed the RE92's on our LGT and Nokian's on my WRX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirSix Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 MilesA took the words right out of my mouth. As a driving instructor and someone who has investigated hundreds of traffic collisions, I can say if you're hydroplaning, you're driving too fast for road conditions. Similarly, if you lost traction in snow would you blame the equipment or just make the necessary input correction? How about on a track if you kept breaking loose through the turns? Tires, coilovers, sways, or driver input? Now again, I wouldn't expect a snow tire to perform well on a track in the middle of summer. But that would allude that we're discussing the relationship between a very specific task and the best tire suited for the task. But that's not the question here. For an all weather tire, the Potenzas are fine for probably 90 plus percent of the drivers that will ever use them. My overall comment was not really to de-bunk that the 92's are not the cream of the crop (but def overpriced), but merely to say that the average drivers, although probably at their skills limits, are not driving anywhere near the limits of even a bone stock LGT. As enthusiasts I think we can all agree that the first mod should be done to the driver. I tell myself that an N/A Forester is just an STI without all the fluff like, power, handling, style, racing heritage, and curb appeal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brady Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 Hydroplaning increases with speed. If your tires can't shed the water building up under them, it's time to slow down and regain traction. If you are hydroplaning, you are overdriving the tire -- I thought everyone knew that... Yeah ... this seems like kind of a no-brainer ... Hydroplaning = Driving too fast for conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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