cypher0117 Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 This morning I was going to drive to work and noticed that the sidewall on my front right tire has a hold in it. The only time I hit something was when I plowed into snow/ice covered curb when someone cut me off. That was 400 miles ago and now the tire finally gave out. Here is the predicament: I've had these tires for about 5 months (put about 5000miles on them) and Sears will replace the damaged tire under warranty. I would have to wait 6-8 weeks for a replacement tire as mine are backordered for some reason (michilin pilot sport A/S plus). I would guess it's not recommended to drive around 6-8 weeks on the doughnut spare as the awd system would not like that. Besides the obvious bennefits of having a dedicated set of snow tires in a snowy climate, is there any other options I have? As my tires sit now, I would be barely within the 1/4" tolerance with a brand new tire. cliff notes: need a new tire, it's backordered. drive around on doughnut for 6-8 weeks, buy a set of snow tires, or any other options? additional questions: As long as I'm within the 1/4" window the drivetrane won't complain correct? will snow tires hold up on frequent long (250mile) commutes on the highway? Thanks in advance for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AShoe Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Do not drive on the donut spare very far, I wouldn't drive in snow at all with one. Good tire shops can shave the new tire to match the old ones circumference. Snow tires don't tend to wear as well as all seasons. Maybe 20k out of a good set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAC5.2 Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Find a tire shop locally that has a tire and see if Sears will reimburse you for it. How have you worn your Pilot Sports so much in only 5,000 miles? I've got more than that on mine, and they are probably 95% of full depth. [URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/proper-flip-key-interesti-159894.html"]Flip Key Development Thread[/URL] "Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped." - E. Hubbard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PearlBlueGT Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 You'd have to take off wheel and bring it to them as they will not install only one tire on AWD car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiener2 Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 buy a set of snows and deal with the other tires later My Mods List (Updated 8/22/17) 2005 Outback FMT Running on Electrons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cypher0117 Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 buy a set of snows and deal with the other tires later this is what i'm leaning towards. But I make a 500mile round trip on the freeway about once a month throughout the year. I know snows will wear quicker by nature but will taking these freeway trips cause them to wear even quicker? The reason I got all-season tires in the 1st place was because of these trips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAC5.2 Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Sustained high speeds will wear out snow tires faster than short burst commuting. [URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/proper-flip-key-interesti-159894.html"]Flip Key Development Thread[/URL] "Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped." - E. Hubbard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAC5.2 Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 But you'll only have the tires on for 6 or 8 weeks. That's only an extra 1000 miles on them. Why write off the Pilot Sports? Just have Sears order you a new one and get it ASAP. [URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/proper-flip-key-interesti-159894.html"]Flip Key Development Thread[/URL] "Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped." - E. Hubbard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS5689 Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 this is what i'm leaning towards. But I make a 500mile round trip on the freeway about once a month throughout the year. I know snows will wear quicker by nature but will taking these freeway trips cause them to wear even quicker? The reason I got all-season tires in the 1st place was because of these trips. I travel a 1000 mile round trip about three times a year with my snow tires (my commute home from college.) I'm also a very spirited driver, and let me tell you; I pay for it, literally. I can get one to two seasons out of my snow tires. I do also average about 25-30K miles a year of driving though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cypher0117 Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 But you'll only have the tires on for 6 or 8 weeks. That's only an extra 1000 miles on them. Why write off the Pilot Sports? Just have Sears order you a new one and get it ASAP. I expressed my dislike to Sears for not having the tire in stock and they told me there was nothing they could do because Michilin has them backordered. Sears said minimum of a 6 week wait. They did offer to put on an Eagle F1 tire which I refused because I've read it's also not good to mismatch brand tires on subarus. I've called a few shops around (not all yet) and none of them have the michilin in stock and all gave me the same 6-8 weeks backordered story. There is still snow on the ground and I don't feel comfortable driving on a doughnut and it sounds to be a bad idea anyways for anything more than emergencies. to me it kind of looks like I risk the drivetrane damage driving on a doughnut for 6-8 weeks or buy a set of 4 tires. I don't want to but would it be OK to take the Eagle F1 tire and mix it with my michilins? I really appreciate the input and help so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RabidWombat Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Driving on a different tire at freeway speeds is marginally better than the donut, but only a little. The problem with different tire models, is that each tire model will flex slightly differently under the car's weight. So even if the normal circumference matches, the rolling circumference may not. Can you get Sear's to put on a full set of F1's and credit you for the value of your current tires? That would give you a matched set immediately. Beyond that I'd get a full set of snows, and look into some new rims for the Pilot Sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiener2 Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 which I refused because I've read it's also not good to mismatch brand tires on subarus. it's not good to mismatch on any car and it's not because of overall circumference reasons. put the donut on the front axle and you shouldn't hurt the drivetrain at all My Mods List (Updated 8/22/17) 2005 Outback FMT Running on Electrons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorbykemike Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 buy a used matching michelin from a local used tire whore or ebay , when sears gets your new replacement in god knows how many weeks , have them mount it in the "bastard" tires place . you will end up w/ a spare tire that will keep you from having this problem again . if you get one off ebay you may want to talk w/ sears about mounting/bal it free of charge maybe get a wheel off ebay as well & have 5 mounted . i do this w/ all my vehicles , rotate the "5th" in every 2k , directional tires make this tough w/o having 6 or remounting . point is , the 5th tire at minimun laying around is a good thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanjk3 Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 You don't want Eagle F1 all-seasons anyways. Unless they changed the design, they will cup/feather after a few months or so and get ridiculously loud. Friends don't let friends drink cheap beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outahere Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 .................As long as I'm within the 1/4" window the drivetrane won't complain correct?.......... correct. circumference must be within 1/4" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmanaenk Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Two options: 1) go back to Sears and complain like mad to whomever required (manager, regional manager etc). Take your owners manual with you and insist on 4 new winter tires, since the manual says so. 2) Buy another set of winter tires else where. When Sears gets you replacement - sell a set of 4 on CL (next october/november). Do not drive on a doughnut, do not drive in mismatched tires. 666 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cypher0117 Posted February 12, 2011 Author Share Posted February 12, 2011 I called around to places around town. No one had a set of winter tires that would fit the OEM rims (or a set of 17" snow tires that would fit new rims and my car). No one except sears...go figure. So I'm getting a new set of blizzak ws70. I will only have to wait 5 days for those. The last guy I talked to seemed to actually know something about cars and agreed with me that if the tires were different sizes they should all be replaced. He told me a time to call the manager when he was in on Monday. I would take in my owners manual but I never received one when I bought the car. Is there any place online I can get a PDF? I did go out and buy my own tire gauge to verify what the sales guy at sears told me. All the measurements I took were 9/32 +/- 1/128 (8.75/32 to 9.25/32). The minimum measurement equated to .25" circumference difference (assuming a new tire will be exactly 10/32 and have a diameter of 25"). This seems too close for comfort but close enough for the sales manager to deny a set of 4 tires. Any suggestions? I did read that tire rack will shave tires but I could not find on their website how to request it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VermontGT Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Two options: 1) go back to Sears and complain like mad to whomever required (manager, regional manager etc). Take your owners manual with you and insist on 4 new winter tires, since the manual says so. It sounds like Sears is willing to honor their warranty and replace the tire. What could you complain about? Suggesting bringing the owner's manual in to try and weasel 4 new tires is completely ridiculous. It's not Sears' fault that we choose to drive AWD vehicles, and I'd be shocked if any tire store would replace four tires under warranty if only one is damaged. It wouldn't surprise me if they had a specific clause in the warranty addressing this exact situation. Having to replace all four tires in one shot is one of the few downsides/risks to driving these cars. You gotta pay to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAC5.2 Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 It sounds like Sears is willing to honor their warranty and replace the tire. What could you complain about? Suggesting bringing the owner's manual in to try and weasel 4 new tires is completely ridiculous. It's not Sears' fault that we choose to drive AWD vehicles, and I'd be shocked if any tire store would replace four tires under warranty if only one is damaged. It wouldn't surprise me if they had a specific clause in the warranty addressing this exact situation. Having to replace all four tires in one shot is one of the few downsides/risks to driving these cars. You gotta pay to play. I seem to recall the Sears warranty explicitly stating that tires replaced under warranty would be done so at the discretion of the manufacturers requirement. It's been YEARS since I've gotten tires at Sears, but that's what I remember. [URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/proper-flip-key-interesti-159894.html"]Flip Key Development Thread[/URL] "Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped." - E. Hubbard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmanaenk Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 It sounds like Sears is willing to honor their warranty and replace the tire. What could you complain about? Suggesting bringing the owner's manual in to try and weasel 4 new tires is completely ridiculous. It's not Sears' fault that we choose to drive AWD vehicles, and I'd be shocked if any tire store would replace four tires under warranty if only one is damaged. It wouldn't surprise me if they had a specific clause in the warranty addressing this exact situation. Having to replace all four tires in one shot is one of the few downsides/risks to driving these cars. You gotta pay to play. What is ridiculous is that Sears is offering a replacement in 5-6 weeks. Which is completely unreasonable. THEY should have stock of tires they sold a replacement insurance on. It's not manufacturer's fault. If they can't deliver on promise - they should make it right in some other way. If you think that 5-6 week replacement is reasonable - I'd like to sell you some products. Businesses love suckers like you. 666 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VermontGT Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 THEY should have stock of tires they sold a replacement insurance on. No company is going to refuse sale on their last set of snow tires simply because they want to keep a backup set in case you hit a curb and need them. Bird in the hand, so to speak. Businesses love suckers like you. As far as your assumptions about what I think is reasonable and what kind of person I am, you'd be better off keeping them to yourself. That's about as restrained as I can be without sounding as disrespectful as you do. Does anyone have a copy of the warranty info that Sears uses? I'd love to read it. If they will in fact replace all four, more power to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cypher0117 Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 I have the warranty and I've read it over. They state they are not liable if you don't keep all your tires within 4/32 of each other on an AWD system. That's pretty much all they say. With out cars 1/32 is pushing the limit. I called tirerack and they wouldn't be able to get to 9/32 on a new tire. They only go by 2/32, so that would essentially put me in the same situation. So it looks like my options are to try and get 4 new tires from sears, or see what I can get returning my tires and buy a new set somewhere else. I did find a tire shop in town that had the right size snow tires in stock but still did not have the michilin pilot sports. Seems those tires are more rare than the Legacy GT wagons. At least I'm not driving around on a doughnut anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAC5.2 Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I had a hell of a time finding Pilot Sports in a 225/55/17 too. I think the Outback is the only car on the road that uses that tire size. That said, I love the tires. I thought the tolerance listed in the manual was more than 1/32" though. I thought it was 1/16 or 1/8. [URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/proper-flip-key-interesti-159894.html"]Flip Key Development Thread[/URL] "Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped." - E. Hubbard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS5689 Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I had a hell of a time finding Pilot Sports in a 225/55/17 too. I think the Outback is the only car on the road that uses that tire size. That said, I love the tires. I thought the tolerance listed in the manual was more than 1/32" though. I thought it was 1/16 or 1/8. It's such a silly tire size. The G37X sedan uses the same tires, so we decided to go with 225/50/17 on the replacement tires. The options in 225/55/17 all seem to be sub-par and overpriced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAC5.2 Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 The G37X uses that size? That must have been why the shop had a set. It's an absurd size, but I was caught off-guard by tire size and I'm not prepared to swap to a different size yet. [URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/proper-flip-key-interesti-159894.html"]Flip Key Development Thread[/URL] "Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped." - E. Hubbard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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