southpawboston - tire speed rating question

twokidstwodogs

New member
I saw your discussion of tires on another thread, and thought you might be a good person to ask for advice on this.

I drive an 06 Legacy GT Limited wagon. The OE tires are Bridgestone Potenza RE92s (215/45-17). Folks on Subaru forms complain about them, and they are rated poorly on Tire Rack for snow traction and only somewhat better for wet traction. I haven't driven the car in snow yet, and have found them to be fine in the rain, though not outstanding. (I know that everyone likes to complain about OE tires anyway, and Subaru drivers tend to be picky about such things.) I live in an area that gets some snow, but not enough to warrant winter tires that I don't have room to store anyway. So what I need are some good all-season tires. Unfortunately, the selection in that size is pretty limited, and it's even more limited when I keep it to the recommended Z speed rating.

I don't need new tires yet, unless the RE92 turn out to be truly horrific in the snow, in which case I will replace them. But I don't expect to get more than 20-25 K miles from them, so I want to be looking ahead.

Two questions for you:
1) Do you think it's a terrible idea to go below the Z-rating, given that I have no plans to drive more than 149 mph?

2) Do you have any ideas for fabulous all-season high/ultra performance tires? (Michelin does not make the Pilot Exalto in that size, or I'd go for those.)

TIA!
 
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SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
If all season performance in slippery conditions is a priority, I'm thinking an H-rated tire would be more than sufficient. That assumes you don't do any racing or autocrossing. Also, double check your manual to see if it says anything about tire specifications.
 

southpawboston

New member
+1 with darren for checking with your owner's manual for tire ratings. as darren said, you don't need a Z rated tire. but you do want an H-rated tire, especially if you do any sustained highway travel and especially given your sporty vehicle (where's the drool emoticon!!!). since you drive a subaru, a great source for recommendations would be the subaru boards.

unfortunately, while your tire size is GREAT for sporting driving, your tire size is not ideal for snow (wide + low profile = poor snow traction, all other things remaining equal). but since you can't do a dedicated snow tire in a taller/narrower size, i would start with the following in your stock size:

dunlop SP sport A2's
fuzion HR's
kumho ecsta AST's

people raved about these in the forum i used to moderate (elantraclub.com, back when i owned a hyundai elantra)

i also believe the kumhos and fuzions are very reasonably priced. if i had to pick one of those today, i would go with the dunlop SP's, since i am very impressed with my current dunlop wintersport M3's, which almost match my goodyear eagle RSA summer tires in dry handling!

oh, almost forgot-- also look at yokohama avid H4's

tirerack.com lets you do a direct comparison between different models. and make sure you check out the owner surveys.

and if you belong to a subaru forum, try posting a poll asking them to rate those above choices based on their own experiences. could be informative.

--spb
 

southpawboston

New member
out of my own curiosity, i went ahead and plugged those tires into tirerack, but unforunately i can't link to the results. all four do similarly well in light snow and deep snow, while the dry cornering advantage goes to the dunlop and yokohama. yokohama also edges out ahead of the others on hydroplaning resistance, wet traction, ride comfort and treadwear.
 

twokidstwodogs

New member
Thanks to both of you. (Darren, your wife has an Outback, right?) Southpaw, I've heard people mention the Kumhos and the Yokohamas, along with some Contis, but I haven't heard much about the Dunlops or Fuzions. I'll check them out. Going down to H gives me lots more options, assuming my trusty indy mechanic is willing to put them on. (The manual says nothing about speed ratings.) It didn't occur to me to check out tire options before I bought the car. I still would have bought it, but I'm a little annoyed at Subaru for putting such hard to find tires on it. Serious Subaru drivers are probably in the WRX or the spec B anyway. Surely Z-rated tires are overkill for ordinary people like me. I love to drive, which is one the reasons why I bought a car like this, but I'm neither an autocrosser nor an insane person who drives 100 mph on the highway. I just wanted a safe, zippy, reliable little station wagon with enough room for my kids and dogs.

The particular Legacy forum I watch is mostly filled with people who mod their cars and who switch tires around a lot. They're not always tolerant of all-season tires, and I have trouble sorting out the sensible people there from the crazy ones. (That's why I asked here!) But I'll check out their archives and perhaps ask around there.

Southpaw, you have a Mazda3 right? I have a good friend with a WRX who drove one of those as a rental for a while and loved it.
 

twokidstwodogs

New member
Good to know. I'll keep an eye on those Yokohamas. I already had to replace one of the RE92s, along with the wheel, when I hit a curb. The wheel was expensive, of course, but the RE92 is awfully pricey too. I don't mind paying out for good tires, but paying a lot of money for a mediocre tire is really annoying.
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
Our Outback came with H-rated Firestone all-seasons from the factory. We put on some Bridgestone Turanza LS-H around 40k or so I think. I don't drive it much, but they seem to be very reasonable for traction and wear so far. I'm guessing they will be repalced again before next winter to have a deeper tread for better traction.
 

twokidstwodogs

New member
Darren, can you put Michelin Harmony tires on your Outback? They were the last tires I put on my 99 Forester, and I loved them in all conditions. Highly rated on Tire Rack too.
 

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