Seek better sidewall protection for '09 Forester

[RudiLorenz]

Several times a year I travel on unimproved roads with lots of sharp stones. About 6-7 years ago I had several sidewall puncture events on Goodyear OEM tires on a Jeep Cherokee; after I switched to Michelin LT tires I had no more punctures. So far I have not found any comparable tires for the '09 Forester that would not void the warranty. Any suggestions?

[Ian Man]

Grabbers.....but dont know if they void warranty

best to get a seperate set of rims for offroad if you are worried

[RudiLorenz]

Thank you for this suggestion but I'll pass.

[Smash81]

Ok, so if not grabbers what type of tire are you looking for? You're going to have to go with a more offroad oriented tread for a thicker sidewall. Geolander AT-S would be my suggestion, they much better mannered on pavement than the Grabbers (which I have).

[nipper]

Why do you think tires will void the warrenty?

As long as the tires dont rub, and all four match you will be fine. I have never heard of a matching set of tires voiding a warrenty.


look at www.tirerack.com (http://www.tirerack.com), drop them a note. What you really need is a tire with more steel belts in the sidewalls.


Also do you air down? Airing down will help as the tires will have more give.

nipper

[mr turbo]

G'day RudiLorenz & :welcome: to ORS.

Geolander AT-S would be my suggestion,
Thats what I have & I think they're great. Both on & offroad. :)

Why do you think tires will void the warrenty?
Thats a good question. :shrug:

As long as the tires dont rub, and all four match you will be fine. I have never heard of a matching set of tires voiding a warrenty.
Insurance yes (if they are a different size than stock), but warranty, no.
Provided they are a matching set & the same size as the OEM, I really can't see a problem.

Just my 2cents worth.

Regards
Mr Turbo

[ian059]

G'day RudiLorenz & :welcome: to ORS.


Thats what I have & I think they're great. Both on & offroad. :)


Thats a good question. :shrug:


Insurance yes (if they are a different size than stock), but warranty, no.
Provided they are a matching set & the same size as the OEM, I really can't see a problem.

Just my 2cents worth.

Regards
Mr Turbo

And a very good 2cents worth it is.
I agree with all of the above (I have the A/TS's as well, specifically for the stronger side walls)

IanC

[RudiLorenz]

I agree that 6 steel plies would be desirable; my Michelin LTs had them.

I do not see a size 225/55 R17 on the Yokohama Geolandar ATS webpage. I do see a 225/60. I cannot tell the number or material of the plies.

The manual's warranty pages were written by lawyers whose primary objective is to protect the manufacturer. The manual explicitly warns against installing oversize tires. It seems to me that I would not prevail in a warranty claim unless the component that failed (or was the proximate cause of another component's failure) had been sold and/or installed by a Subaru dealer.

I have run oversize tires for over 20 years, first on my '76 Porsche 911S and then on my '96 Jeep Cherokee.