SpecBee Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 Getting rid of the RE-050A's after 9 months of use and sick of the winter snow/ice/slush crappy traction and was reading the Bridgestone's write up on tirerack.com for the RE 50's and saw this.... "Potenza RE050A was developed to provide good traction along with responsive and predictable dry and wet road handling. It is not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice." Why the F*** would Subaru provide stock summer only tires on an AWD supposedly all season vehicle? I should be asking for a credit from SOA..... Anyone prepareing to buy a specB should demand "all season" tires.... My rant is done....but still pissed....
Guest heightsgtltd Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 You didn't know that they were summer tires when you got the car? It's not safe to drive in snow on those!
SpecBee Posted February 24, 2008 Author Posted February 24, 2008 Nope! Had two Forester's prior to this car and figured Subaru would not do something as stupid as to put a summer only on an AWD car. It's not like I was buying a corvette... Plus the dealer did not tell me not to drive this car when it's below freezing or snowing unless you buy new tires because it's not safe...
Aczwild Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 Pretty sure, that it says in the brochure the tires are summer only, and I'm pretty sure too it said the same thing on the window sticker. JDM'd All to hell Thanks Jimmy @ Hkc-Speed.com! RIP Coxx & Thanks
Garandman Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 Nope! Had two Forester's prior to this car and figured Subaru would not do something as stupid as to put a summer only on an AWD car. It's not like I was buying a corvette... Plus the dealer did not tell me not to drive this car when it's below freezing or snowing unless you buy new tires because it's not safe...RTFM The SOA website says, "215/45 R18 89Y summer performance." I'm surprised anyone would want all season tires on a performance car, since they scream like stuck pigs when driven hard in the dry. Who Dares Wins スバル
boostsr20 Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 If all you wanted was an All season vehicle then why did you buy the "race version" of the legacy? Teh car was built for a purpose and for it to compete with its competitors it would get destroyed using all seasons. So many people these days jerk off to magazine numbers and tires are probably the #1 thing to help improve the car in multiple categories. Braking,slalom,skidpad,laptimes etc...
Guest heightsgtltd Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 If all you wanted was an All season vehicle then why did you buy the "race version" of the legacy? Teh car was built for a purpose and for it to compete with its competitors it would get destroyed using all seasons. So many people these days jerk off to magazine numbers and tires are probably the #1 thing to help improve the car in multiple categories. Braking,slalom,skidpad,laptimes etc... "Race version" BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA
SubLo Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 The manual clearly says that these are Summer Tires and not to drive in freezing, snow, and icy conditions. It's all there in plain bold Engrish. The Shrek window sticker also states "Summer Tires." There are also many threads here on people testing these tires in Winter - very, very bad idea. Extremely dangerous. Not Subaru's fault and you shouldn't be asking for a credit. It's not their "fault." It's a "feature" of the Spec.B. ________________________________________________ [URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/vbpicgallery.php?do=view&g=1980"]'05 BSM OBXT Row-your-own, W.I.P. :rolleyes:[/URL] [URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/vbpicgallery.php?do=view&g=1242"]'06 Shrek B # 64 - The car the wife loved to hate :( Sold...[/URL]
SpecBee Posted February 24, 2008 Author Posted February 24, 2008 Still....It's not hard to find a very well performing "all season" tire that leans towards great summer performance and moderate winter... I know you cannot have the best of both worlds with one tire. I would think that there are many options out there for a $180 tire... SO then, SOA's thinking with the SpecB must be that "hey the average driver of this car will take it to the track everyday vs. driving in wintry weather..." If they ever do they must get new tires or if it drops below 32deg... It's a moot point cause I already dropped $1300 for new 17" wheels and tires... The RE-050A's are going to the dump.... Unless some one wants them. One has a bubble sticking out an inch from hitting a pothole last week...
Vimy101 Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 Still....It's not hard to find a very well performing "all season" tire that leans towards great summer performance and moderate winter... I know you cannot have the best of both worlds with one tire. I would think that there are many options out there for a $180 tire... SO then, SOA's thinking with the SpecB must be that "hey the average driver of this car will take it to the track everyday vs. driving in wintry weather..." If they ever do they must get new tires or if it drops below 32deg... It's a moot point cause I already dropped $1300 for new 17" wheels and tires... The RE-050A's are going to the dump.... Unless some one wants them. One has a bubble sticking out an inch from hitting a pothole last week... I think you are overreacting. While the bubbled tire has to be replaced (and the new one shaved down to the same circumference as the old ones), keep the 050s with the 18"s for summer use. True summers will outperform even summer biased AS by a mile in summer. One thing that you must get used to is that AWD involves extra maintenance costs. It comes with the territory. BTW, if you go to 215/50-17, you will stay quite close to the OEM 18" wheel/tire diameter thereby keeping your odo and speedo readings more accurate.
SpecBee Posted February 24, 2008 Author Posted February 24, 2008 ^ Yea the 225/50R17 has a circumference of 25.9" with 807 revs per mile where as the 215/45R18 is 25.7" and 811 revs per mile. Thats pretty close. I'm pissed cause I should have replaced all 4 last summer when two went from a piece of wood on the interstate so now this will be the third tire I will have to replace in 9 months from hitting a pothole...
Vimy101 Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 ^ What are you doing with your OEM 18" wheels? Put them up for sale on this site and the interest will be great.
Garandman Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 // There are also many threads here on people testing these tires in Winter - very, very bad idea. Extremely dangerous. Not Subaru's fault and you shouldn't be asking for a credit. It's not their "fault." It's a "feature" of the Spec.B.Car and Driver did a comparison of Goodyear Winter, All-Season, and Summer tires. Emphasis added. The high-performance Eagle F1 got an F on the snow. We only managed to reach 11 mph, and that was with two burly guys pushing. Otherwise, it was wheelspin city. Let us be clear here: Don't attempt to drive on snow with high-performance summer tires. Even if your car has four-wheel drive and can manage to get moving, four-wheel drive can't help the car turn or stop. That's the tires' job. Who Dares Wins スバル
SpecBee Posted February 24, 2008 Author Posted February 24, 2008 Today 12:16 PM Vimy101 ^ What are you doing with your OEM 18" wheels? Put them up for sale on this site and the interest will be great. Not sure... Two were repaired when I hit the wood last summer and another has curb rash from the wifey... Not sure anyone would want them... I may buy some blizzaks next fall to stick on them... Of course that doesn't help with the pot hole issue with low profile tires...
whiteGDB Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 wow, you read about people complaining about RE92s all day long. First thread I've seen complaining about RE050As. I've would have been dissapointed had my SpecB come with all seasons.
Guest heightsgtltd Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 Well unlike the RE-92s, the RE-050s are great at what are SUPPOSED to do
SpecBee Posted February 24, 2008 Author Posted February 24, 2008 I have not been impressed with the RE-50 on dry pavement. I could go around a roundabout and lay into it a little and start sliding sideways... Last week with salt covered dry roads I almost did the same thing going through an intersection... Im sure it was the amount of salt on the road or maybe all of this is because the temp was below 30? I guess the tires are only good from June to August? If the traction is poor when it's 30 outside then it must be marginal @ 50.
boostsr20 Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 "Race version" BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA You know what I mean and thats why I put it in quotes. It was a very loose meaning. This car was made directly to compete with the MS6. To do that they did what every enthusiast would do to a regular 05. Better shocks and tires.
Brady Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 This has always been my thought ... If you can't afford a set of winter tires, you shouldn't be buying a $30,000+ car. I love my RE-050A Pole Positions for my '05 LGT ... I also love my Blizzaks ... and don't mind having them swapped at the appropriate time of year.
Brady Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 I have not been impressed with the RE-50 on dry pavement. I could go around a roundabout and lay into it a little and start sliding sideways... Last week with salt covered dry roads I almost did the same thing going through an intersection... Im sure it was the amount of salt on the road or maybe all of this is because the temp was below 30? I guess the tires are only good from June to August? If the traction is poor when it's 30 outside then it must be marginal @ 50. These tires are not intended to be used at temperatures below 40° F. At 50, they should be just fine. Get yourself some winter tires and you'll be happy.
boostsr20 Posted February 24, 2008 Posted February 24, 2008 Once you get winter tires you'l never go back. They are SO worth it.
Vimy101 Posted February 25, 2008 Posted February 25, 2008 I have not been impressed with the RE-50 on dry pavement. I could go around a roundabout and lay into it a little and start sliding sideways... Last week with salt covered dry roads I almost did the same thing going through an intersection... Im sure it was the amount of salt on the road or maybe all of this is because the temp was below 30? I guess the tires are only good from June to August? If the traction is poor when it's 30 outside then it must be marginal @ 50. Summer tires lose their grip below ~40F. The design idea behind summer performance tires is to keep them intact and grippy in high temp conditions. The opposite is the case with of performance winters and true snows. They are designed to be pliable and grippy in low temps. Raise the temp too high and the rubber on those tires will melt away causing loss of grip.
SpecBee Posted February 26, 2008 Author Posted February 26, 2008 Yesterday 05:24 PM Brady This has always been my thought ... If you can't afford a set of winter tires, you shouldn't be buying a $30,000+ car. I love my RE-050A Pole Positions for my '05 LGT ... I also love my Blizzaks ... and don't mind having them swapped at the appropriate time of year. Well this is annoying because I already bought winter tires and rims for the truck which I change spring and fall. I bought 16" rims and tires for the wifey's Miata due to the crappy stock set now I have bought a 2nd set of rims and tires for the Subie. Looks like i'll have to buy a lift for the garage....
Waxiboy Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 Why the F*** would Subaru provide stock summer only tires on an AWD supposedly all season vehicle? . STi & Evo's come in summer tires too I have not been impressed with the RE-50 on dry pavement. I could go around a roundabout and lay into it a little and start sliding sideways... Last week with salt covered dry roads I almost did the same thing going through an intersection... Im sure it was the amount of salt on the road or maybe all of this is because the temp was below 30? I guess the tires are only good from June to August? If the traction is poor when it's 30 outside then it must be marginal @ 50. Ding! ding! ding! ding! Summer tires like the RE050A will not perform as intended below 45 deg even if it is dry. Seems like All Seasons tire is the solution for you. I have heard good things about the RE960PP A/S.
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