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'05 Outback XT recommended tires


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I love the Pilot Sports A/S's as well. I can't say enough about how great they are in the wet, dry and even in the snow. My old Jetta even turned a 14.0 @ 101 with these tire on. Of course they couldn't handle the HP with only front wheel drive and I spun them all through first gear but that is not what they are made for!

 

I went through two sets of them on my old Jetta and that's the only drawback. You will be lucky to get more than 25,000 miles out of them. I did not abuse the tires except at the track and I probably checked the tire pressure too much - if there is such a thing - and the softer middle compound was shot at 25k.

 

I can't afford to change tires that often at that price with my new outback so I went with the Yokohama Avid H4s's. They are only 'T' speed rated but have done me well so far. Plus they come with a 60,000 mile warranty. I may switch back to the A/S's after this set because they are so incredible but I will have to see how the pocket book is doing at that time.

 

 

OBXT:

 

Sounds like you had a quick jetta!

 

Yeah, the Pilot Sport A/S were steep but I just didn't like 92a's in the snow or the rain. After beating my head against my computer keyboard for a couple of months I narrowed it down to a Turanza EL42 (or something like that) and the A/S. In the end the price difference was less than $200.00. So I went for it. I'll keep you guys posted.

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However, you need to get new wheels. 245/50 is way too wide for the stock 7" wide wheels.

 

I bought 8" wide Rota Torques for mine.

 

...am contemplating a set of Rota Grids for my XT (never really liked the stock alloys, plus they've got the damn RE-92a's on them) and am not satisfied with the tire options in size 225/55-17.

 

How's the hydroplaning resistance on such a wide® tire? Any fitment issues, or tram-lining/wandering?

 

Would also love to see some pics if ya' have any!

 

Cheers,

Tim G.

'05 OBXT-L 5MT

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...am contemplating a set of Rota Grids for my XT (never really liked the stock alloys, plus they've got the damn RE-92a's on them) and am not satisfied with the tire options in size 225/55-17.

 

How's the hydroplaning resistance on such a wide® tire? Any fitment issues, or tram-lining/wandering?

 

Would also love to see some pics if ya' have any!

 

Cheers,

Tim G.

'05 OBXT-L 5MT

 

I'm still waiting for the wheels and tires to arrive, I will post pics as soon as I can.

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Thanks for all the discussion - it is helping me decide on new treads -

 

For those of you with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S - reviews say tire gets loader with ago, and breaks down quicker on all wheel drive cars - thoughts?

 

For those of you with Brigstone Toranza LS -Vs (or thinking about it) Tire rack says they have a $100 rebate starting this week

 

For those with Nokian WR's - I can't find a single consumer review site for these - so I a little worried about going with them.

 

Right now the Toyo Proxes Tpt and S/T have the best review status on 1010tires.com. Please keep the feedback coming :)

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For those with Nokian WR's - I can't find a single consumer review site for these - so I a little worried about going with them.

 

Before I got mine I searched here, NASIOC, Audifans, Volvo forums, BMW forum, etc. People are not just fans of this tire, but are actually downright fanatical at times. You'd think they are working for the company considering the praise they gush about the tire. The Audi Allroad uses the same size tire as the OBXT and many of those drivers use the WR. Again, if you don't see snow, there is no reason to run it as an allseason, b/c you lose its main advantage.

 

Consumer reports tested the older version IIRC, the NRW, and gave it moderate reviews. The WR supposedly improved wet braking abilities.

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If I want to run a +1 wheel size what do you think of this tire size that Tirerack recommends for an 18" rim, 235/45-18? There's not all that many choices for tires either so is there another size to look at?
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  • 4 months later...

Anyone have opinions on the Bridgestone Turanza LSVs? I have had the LSHs on my old car, but I was wondering how the LSV's perform in the snow. The Michilin Sport A/S are way too over priced.

 

I am looking for a all year tire that performs well in snow, rain, dry and has fairly low road noise. I do a fair number of ski trips so snow performance is important.

 

If you have other suggestions that use the same rim, same size, etc., it would be appreciated. I was also looking at the Falken Ziex ZE-512s.

 

-S

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The only all-season tire that performs well int he snow is the Nokian WR, it is an all-season that is tuned mostly for the winter.

 

The LSVs are probably the best all-around tire, but not a high-performance one.

 

The Pilot Sport (which I own) is great on dry and incredible in the wet, and they are quiet too.

 

The Pirelli P-Zero Nero M+S is nearly as good and half the price, buy'em in 235/55, which are exactly the same size as the Michelin in 225/55.

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The only all-season tire that performs well int he snow is the Nokian WR, it is an all-season that is tuned mostly for the winter.

 

The LSVs are probably the best all-around tire, but not a high-performance one.

 

The Pilot Sport (which I own) is great on dry and incredible in the wet, and they are quiet too.

 

The Pirelli P-Zero Nero M+S is nearly as good and half the price, buy'em in 235/55, which are exactly the same size as the Michelin in 225/55.

 

I did a check and it appears that the Nokian's are hard to find.

 

As for the LSVs not being "high-performance", what would I lose by it not being high-performance?

 

How would you rate the Pirelli's, Pilot Sport's and LSVs against the Nokian in regards to their snow ratings?

 

-S

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I did a check and it appears that the Nokian's are hard to find.

 

As for the LSVs not being "high-performance", what would I lose by it not being high-performance?

 

How would you rate the Pirelli's, Pilot Sport's and LSVs against the Nokian in regards to their snow ratings?

 

-S

 

Caveat: I haven't tried them all myself, this is my opinion based on the extensive research I did last winter.

 

The Pilots and P-Zeros, due to their design priorities, cannot possibly be more then acceptable in snow/ice. Depending on your weather and road conditions, coupled with Subaru's excellent AWD, this may be OK for you.

 

The LS-Vs should be somewhat better in snow, and with a stock Outback, you probably won't even notice the difference in dry performance.

 

The Nokian will be twice as good as all the above on snow/ice, but it will not be as good on dry. Everyone I know who has these tires absolutely raves about them, but they definitely are not designed for high-performance driving. If snow/ice perfromance is a priority for you, and you absolutely do not want to keep a set of separate winter tires (I personally use winter tires) , then the Nokian is well worth finding. You can buy them online if you can't find them locally.

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The Pirelli P-Zero Nero M+S is nearly as good and half the price, buy'em in 235/55, which are exactly the same size as the Michelin in 225/55.

 

Will the Pirelli's work on the stock rim? Tirerack is recommending a 7.5" one. I'm still loving my Yokohama H4s' but didn't get to test them in the snow all that much last year. Here in Denver we get the occasional blizzard but for the most part they keep the streets pretty clear so I'm not wanting to go with a dedicated snow tire. The Nero's get a little better ratings on Tirerack and they would bump me up to a W speed rated tire. I probably won't switch but am just curious in case I want to come winter.

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I will second the Falken Ziex-512. Great tire, great value - about $100 to $110 a piece.

 

I just went for 225/45-16 Falken Ziex-512 on my 3 series BMW as a replacement for Dunlop SP8000's. Very smooth and quiet, good in rain, M+S rating, 360 treadwear.

 

Seems like a sensible and affordable tire for daily driving, and still provides decent , but not ultimate, performance.

 

I would have to imagine they would be a nice improvement of Subaru's choice of RE92 and RE92a tires

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  • 2 weeks later...
The Proxes 4 is not available but the Proxes TPT is. It's a touring tire though, not UHP.

 

The Proxes S/T is actually classified as a light truck tire.

 

Your right, the Toyo TPT is a touring tire, however, it grips better then any tire I have ever used, just about perfect for the OBXT!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello,

I know this is not the way this thread was going, but... has anyone stuck off-road tires on their OXT? I mean something like Bridgestone Dueler A/T REVO's, in a 30X9.5R15, 31X10.5R15, 265/65R17, etc. These have diameters of 29.6 to 30.5, instead of the stock 26.9 (around 1.5" more clearance under the car)... I'm more interested in knowing whether they'll fit and clear the fenders, though.

 

I have my old Raceline RL-7 rims (15x7, awesome rally wheels) just begging to be put back in action...

Joel

 

 

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I've actually thought of doing this, but the closest AT tire I could fine that might work was the Toyo Open Country AT 215/70-15(?).

 

I have Revo's on my wife's GX470, and they are a phenomenal tire both on/off-road. They are heavy muthers, however.

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Hello,

 

Why the OE outside diameter? I want to go bigger for more clearance.

 

BTW, my last road trip put on some 50+ offroad miles and one thing I noticed is that it's hard not to get scratches on the side of the car. I kept getting onto roads that were just too narrow for the OXT. She's a big car!

 

Fortunately, nothing really scratched and it all buffed out (so nothing as deep as the clear coat, even).

 

The suspension was fun except on big drops. We'd drop off a rock or burm and slam all the way down, bottoming out that damn too-soft, yet still underdamped, rear end. Heh... oh yeah, and I need to get rid of the bumpers. I need more departure angle :)

 

But yeah, how wide can I fit, so I know how big I can go?

 

Joel

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I'm worried about clearance between tires and fender/strut, but given how difficult it is to creep in a manual OBXT (i.e., fry the clutch) and my wife's GX, I'm only using the OBXT for blasting fire roads and light offroading. I'll leave the offroad OBXT experimentation to chaps like yourself.

 

I always keep a machete, short-hand shovel, maul-axe, and brush trimmers in the car/truck at all times for brush clearance; but am still a seasoned user of my Porter polisher.

 

Here are some picks of the roads I usually frequent.

 

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/martindetels/album?.dir=3cfb&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/martindetels/my_photos

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Hello,

 

Well, more offroading this last weekend and... hmm, that clutch issue is pretty sad. Drop down in speed to a crawl and the clutch slips all day long. It takes a few seconds of 500 rpm 1st gear through rough stuff to fill the cabin with burning clutch.

 

I guess that's a good excuse to find a clutch with way more clamping force :p And lower gearing.... Hahahaha...

 

I'll figure something out.

 

Joel

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Hello,

 

Huh. So we do! I didn't even realize that :p So let's see... 1st gear is 3.166, final drive is 4.44, and according to TireRack, the OE RE92 225/55 VR17 get 775 rotations per mile. So... speed at 700 rpms is:

 

Speed at 700 rpms in 1st gear = (60 min/hour * 700 rotations/min) / (3.166 * 4.44 * 775 rotations/mile)

 

= (42000 rotations/hour) / (10894 rotations / mile)

 

= 3.86 miles/hour

 

Basically, below 4 mph, the clutch slips (I noticed the OXT clutch won't hold the idle down to 500 rpms, even under load), even if you don't clutch-in. I wish the clutch was strong enough to stall the engine, at least!

 

Just for fun:

 

The OE tire has a diameter of 26.9" while a 30X9.5R15 has a diameter of 29.6". Ignoring whether that will clear the front and rear lower corners of the wheel well, that would put 700 rpms idle at 4.24 mph.

 

Hmm... The OXT is not really a good offroad crawler :p Hahhahah...

 

Just out of curiosity, I checked out the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, for comparison. The wrangler has a 3.85:1 first gear, 4.11:1 final drive, 4:1 transfer case, and 245/75R16 tires (30.7" diameter and 681 revs/mile).

 

In full crawl mode:

Speed in 1st gear at 700 rpms = 60*700/(3.85*4.11*4*681)

= 0.97 mph.

 

Hahaha...

 

Joel

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