General Tyre / Tire Discussion

Mocky,

These are the tyres I use off road. Also a dunlop rally tyre. Agressive, bit noisy, tend to wear a bit fast for every day road use, but ok on a second set of rims for weekend or winter/snow use.

I can't find them on the Dunlop site, but I spoke to Stuckey Tyres this morning, he has them in stock, and are still available. I think he imports them direct from Japan. $168.00 each plus freight.

The SP85 may be a better all terrain type tyre, but have not used them, so not sure of their longevity on, or off road.


https://www.stuckey.com.au/tyres_details.aspx?TyreName=SP83-R

Beigewagon.
 
Thanks Beigewagon, wealth of knowledge as always. I'll see if I can locate the 85R as it looks like a little more of a cross over tread. However I do have a spare set of rims so could put the 83R on them perhaps.

Decided that now I'm going to make this a little more capable, so better tyres and perhaps a small 1" or 2" suspension lift. But that's for another thread. ;)
 
Bought a new set of Yokohama ATSs today from Bob Jane. Great deal buy 3 and get 4 tyres!

Fitted these onto some SF GT rims that I got off Gumtree for $80. These will go on the 2004 for the snow season.

The current set (215-60-16) have done around 100,000 km and are still serviceable, but in the snow I prefer to have reasonable tread depth. So I will use the old set as an everyday tyre until they are buggered.

Could not speak more highly of the ATSs a great tyre for snow, sand, off road and quiet on road. They also have excellent wet grip.
 
Otoh, I am no fan of the AT-S.

When I got AT tires for my B9, my first AT tires, I was sorry that I could not use the ATS in that size. The reason? All I had read about ATS on the Subie forums (before I joined them all). Well, I now think that the ATS gets far too positive a treatment by Subie owners.

I bought my first set of AT-S for the OB coming from Toyo Open Country AT II on the B9. The first impressions were that the AT-S were fine, if uninspiring. What I noticed right away is that they are no match for the Toyos on dirt. The B9 on the AT II felt like it was on rails. The OB never felt that confident on the SAME roads on ATS. Maybe the wider Tribeca tires were part of the reason, but still.

Now that my second set of AT-S is under 7/32s, the main original weaknesses--cornering on road and hard braking on road--have become almost liabilities. By almost I mean that the tires are okay in normal driving, but push the car a little faster around a corner or try a hard stop...and you will know that spirited driving is out of the question and emergency maneuvers would be scary. I guess it can be said that the ATS encourages VERY safe driving!

Off-road, the AT-S has never failed me though its limitations in gnarly conditions became obvious a couple of times. Although not as good as the Toyos, they are fine on dirt but I would surely not sign up for any rally cross running ATS tires.

I have comparatively limited impressions in snow and ice, but nevertheless not insubstantial. In snow, the ATS is fine. But it is awful on ice or in slush.

I now have BFG TA KO2 as my trip-time tires. On a set of lighter-than-stock Enkei Racing wheels, which negate some of the KO2's weight penalty, the KO2 perform better on road than the ATS ever did (even new).

That said, I am past the one-tire-fits-all-conditions approach. Once the ATS are finished, I will get a set of performance all seasons and keep the KO2s for trips only.

In sum, the ATS is an okay tire but in my opinion obsolete. I hear there is a brand new version--I know nothing about it.
 
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Comparing my Bridgestone RE-002's to the Yokohama AT-S I have run on the same car. There is no doubt that on sealed roads the RE-002's are a far better tyre. Having said that, I have pushed quite hard on the AT-S and for what they were, I thought they were ok. Certainly better than the Cooper CS4's or whatever they were when I first got the car.

Off road I found the RE-002's far superior as well. While both tyres provided sufficient grip to be never the cause for getting stuck, only the RE-002 got me home every time without puncture. The AT-S failed on EVERY trip I ever did on them.

An examination of the thickness of the sidewall provides the answer as to why the AT-S continually failed. I don't have numbers, but it seems that the thickness of the sidewall on the AT-S is about half that of the RE-002. The RE-002 has proven itself on dirt, rock and in mud. And on road, no comparison. Maybe in extreme mud the AT-S might prove superior, but chances are it would get a puncture.
 
Rally,

That's interesting. One complaint I do not have about the ATS is punctures.

I do not air down much if at all though. The one time I aired down to about 20 psi for some miles of sand I promptly got a tiny sidewall cut. I have been through short sections of deep sand without airing down.

Did you air down the ATS a lot?
 
Yes, to about 25 psi. Same as I do with the RE-002
 
Interesting indeed as sidewall damage was the reason I stopped using the original Yoko AT several years ago. I thought the ATS had addressed that issue. I lost 6 Yoko AT to sidewall damage before switching to BFG AT
 
Never heard of RE002, not available here in the US.

Is it P or LT tire?

17" wheel size tires for Subarus are almost exclusively P metric in the US whereas the "real" AT tires are LT. I think that there may be more LT options for 16" wheels.

Some tires that feature tough sidewall construction in LT sizes are much softer in P sizes.

This was a major reason to get the BFG TA KO2. There are only 5 AT tires my Outback can fit w/o major compromises and this is the only LT tire among them.
 
Passenger tyre, since replaced by the RE-003. It's not an off road tyre. I run 16" rims from an MY99 WRX on my MY04 Forester. Made it up here, even though well worn, first attempt. A Pajero on brand new AT's took 3 goes, had no trailer.

 
Which brings me back to my pet argument. You can spend all the money you want on a "real" 4WD, put the best tyres on it, and it's almost all for nothing. Better off to save the money and learn how to drive. Time and again I see people raising their cars and putting "The worlds best off road tyre" on them, when in the vast majority of cases it's just not needed.
 
Gee I buy a set of Yoko ATS and the debate starts all over again. Well MAS & Rally we all have different views and have formed opinions based on our experience. And that's okay!

I bought this set for my 2004 Foz and these tyres until worn will be used as snow tyres. From my first hand experience the ATS are excellent in snow.

As both my daughters work as ski instructors and I am a skier the Foz travels from home up the Black Spur to and from Mt Buller several times a week over the ski season. We have on site parking at the lodge and the road up to the Mt Buller village can be treacherous due to ice.

This is the second set on this Foz. Based on my first hand experience the tyres perform faultlessly on very wet roads , snow and ice. Obviously there are times when we don't have a choice and the police won't let you proceed to the village unless you have snow chains fitted due to the ice.

At the Victorian ski resorts it is compulsory for overnight vehicles to carry chains. I have skied extensively in NSW and you guys don't get the ice we do on the roads and hence rarely need chains.

I have also used the ATS for 4 wheel driving and have made many trips in the high country and in the Victorian desert country and can not fault them. It terms of airing down I have gone down to 14 psi as the lowest. I am aware of side walls failing but if you drove as hard as we do on some trips I am not surprised something gives.

Anyway as I said we all have different experiences that have formed our views and that's okay
 
I agree. All I can do is talk of my own experiences. I've not taken my car through snow/ice (or sand either for that matter) to any great extent.
 
Yup, it would be so boring if we all went for the same thing all the time!

Most people around here with lifts and oversize tires probably never ever go places where generic sedans do not. But they spend money, worsen the mpg, and probably also affect the safety of their vehicles for "looks."

Such is life. So long as they help keep AT tire costs acceptable and do not rear end me....
 
Currently I have stock 215/65r16 on my 2011 SH forester auto 2.5L. I'm looking at going to either 215/70r16 or 225/70r16. Does anyone know if there's a noticeable difference in performance (town and country driving), fuel economy, ride and handling?
 
Nickshforester said:
I'm looking at going to either 215/70r16 or 225/70r16.
Click to expand...

225/70/16 with a 2" lift kit is the largest you can fit on a SH without rubbing

Does anyone know if there's a noticeable difference in performance (town and country driving), fuel economy, ride and handling?
Click to expand...

With the larger sidewall, ride comfort will be noticeably better as it absorbs bumps in the road more. Handling won't be quite as good when cornering hard. In normal driving will be similar.

You will notice a difference in acceleration, braking & economy but depending on the brand/type of tyre won't be too bad. Light truck tyres like BFGs will be more noticeable, a trade off for them being such a tough tyre
 
I would advise against getting LT, heavy tires for a naturally aspirated H4 car.

Even on an H6 or turbo models, LTs are best used for trips only. I ran my TA KO2s for 4,000 miles to see if I could consider running them all the time. The answer is negative, unless you have no room to store another set of wheels/tires AND are doing challenging offroad frequently.

That said, there is one positive to the LT on road and that is the stiff sidewall. The car corners better with LT tires than equal size P-metric tires.

The difference in comfort between 225 60 17 and 225 65 17 is massive in favor of the latter (in my case). Similarly, my car rides so much better than our Tribeca, which wears its stock 255 55 18 size. The two cars are very similar, so it is an apt comparison.

I strongly recommend SubieLift OZ for anyone who goes places. Great kit, low price, makes an easily felt difference offroad. But I cannot recommend any lift at all for the purpose of "looks."

I also strongly recommend Subaru's STi flexible front strut brace accessory. It may be pricey, but it is a MUCH more sophisticated way of ensuring great cornering after lift than the common rear sway bar upgrade.
 
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