New tyres options!

Hugh

Hugh

Forum Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2021
Messages
48
Location
South Australia
Car Year
MY06
Car Model
SG Forester X
Transmission
5MT w/ DR
Alrighty, the time has come for new tyres!
I was looking at some sort of AT for a better offroad tyre etc. I'll be driving probably 80/20 onroad/offroad. I was looking at either the Coopers ATT or the Yoko G015 for a mild AT, both only offering in the 215/65R16 as the smallest.

Any recommendations?
Does 215/65R16 fit in the wheel well on the SG?
How much does a 215/65R16 affect fuel economy?
Is it just worth staying with good quality road tyres?

Keen to hear thoughts!
Cheers
 
As we say here localy rly winter tires are ok tires for off road kinda and then just use them all year...not too loud enough agressive for light off road and even mud
 
Hugh said:
Does 215/65R16 fit in the wheel well on the SG?
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Yes! that's what I'm running.
How much does a 215/65R16 affect fuel economy?
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Err... a little?
Is it just worth staying with good quality road tyres?
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Depending on your definition of off-road, quite possibly.

I did the Bloomfield track on the way back from Cooktown the other day, that would be doable with road tyres nowadays. Aired mine down to about 30 just to cushion things a bit. I did use low range up a couple of the steep bits, it was pretty dry though. the wettest bits were south of Cape tribulation, and that's all paved anyway.
 
I have been using 215X65`s for about 250000 kms. It may be necessary to cut some of the foam away from within the wheel well and/or deflate them. Not a great affect on economy but does make speedo a tad more accurate.
I had a very good run from 2 sets of Pirelli Scorpion tyres before I changed to my present Bridgestones. Found Coopers a waste of money and could never recommend them.
 
Thanks everyone!

Did a bit of looking around, and given realistically I will be driving roughly over 80% on paved road I thought I may as well keep the tyre size as close to stock as possible.
The good: the Yoko g015 is available in 215/60R16 in Aus
The bad: there are none available in Adelaide and none in Aus warehouses, same for 215/65R16, so they could be up to 6 months away.

Currently I am on the spare and have 3 different tyre makes on the car, which is less than ideal.

I'm considering buying 2 cheap tyres to keep till the Yoko's come in OR going down the Rally method of things, and buying a full set of RE003 or similar good road tyre with not bad side wall.

Since I live in SA and most off-road driving I have done has been sand, how do these better quality road tyres handle in sand?

Sorry for potentially opening up a can of worms 😉
 
Road tyres will be just fine, and probably better, in sand than ATs
 
yes in sand less agressive the better. when i drove in sand with used winter tires i was surprised how it didint sinked or diged down. as they not dig down they can be good in other situations too .
 
When you get to the tyre shop ask to look at the ones you are interested in. Poke the sidewalls with your thumbs - the sidewalls should be stiff, not soft. Look between the treads, particularly around the edges - are there places that can trap a sharp stone? Is the tyre soft or stiff in those places? Don't go on just looks alone. A popular A/T tyre that I fancied failed my inspection, so you might just end up with road tyres, like I did.
 
And while you're at it which tyres did you go with?
 
If both those are aimed at me - you got me guessing a bit here because it was more than 10 years ago when I was looking for to replace the OEMs of my old OB ... but they were Bridgestone Duellers in 215/65-16 or 235/60-16s - they looked like the current A/T 697 - but was there a 694 or similar around then?
My current set are Bridgestone Ecopia (look up my recent post in tyres maybe EP300) - boring looking but stiff. Previously I had Turanza ER300 - also in 225/60-16. Likewise boring but stiff. Both of these did quite a bit of 'dirt highway' running.

This is just me (a boring but stiff old man), but I still advise to do the poking and prodding.
 
Yes, there was a "D694" back then. There are at least a couple of members in the local Subie club that have stayed with that brand series for years and BTW they've never had a flat which is pretty good considering the off-road driving they undertake.
 
If is the case to what extent is the stiffness of a sidewall related to its thickness/strength?
What factors of a tyre decrease chance of sidewall puncture?
 
Anyone tried a Bridgestone Duravis R411?
Has light truck construction in the 215/60R16 size
 
I am currently using 697`s on both my MY03 and "Palace on wheels" and am happy with both. They are not really suitable for the Palace and regular rotation to even out wear is necessary. However it is all good exercise for me.
No flats at all so far in a combined, more or less, 90000kms.
 
Hugh said:
If is the case to what extent is the stiffness of a sidewall related to its thickness/strength?
What factors of a tyre decrease chance of sidewall puncture?
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I've had BF AT KO's, 3 ply tyre with some bad cuts on the sidewalls but no puncture, then General AT's with small cuts on the sidewalls and 1 big cut...tyre dead. Now I'm on Nokian Rotiiva AT's and the sidewalls look like new despite the treads having more chunks of rubber missing than on the two previous sets. I think that the aramid in the compound of the sidewalls is what prevents sidewall punctures. Very happy so far.
 
I have a friend here in the US who has been using proper suspension setups on his Outback. Such were not available when I had mine.

One of these is an Ironman suspension. While light duty by my current standards, those are far better offroad than the stock suspension.

The reason I bring that here is that a stiffer suspension allows for heavier tires without issues. The stock Outback suspension had lots of trouble with KO2s on corrugations. basically, it was unbearable.

So, with stock suspension I would go for P-metric AT and with a heavier duty suspension, I would go LTC, more puncture-resistant tire. Few fit Subarus but there should be a Ko2 option.
 
Hugh said:
The good: the Yoko g015 is available in 215/60R16 in Aus
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Wonderful tyre model. I am really contented with my set of 5. I have better adjusted fuel consumption with these than the old HiFlys which I ditched almost immediately when I bought the 16" wheels.

You can also check the G055 H/T tyres from Yokohama. I thought of getting it vs the G015s but they were a bit more pricey. The G055s have kinks on the tread gaps to give extra traction in loose surfaces. According to Yokohama here, both tyres have the same ply rating and materials and the difference is just the tread pattern.
grump said:
My current set are Bridgestone Ecopia (look up my recent post in tyres maybe EP300) - boring looking but stiff.
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That's a pretty popular model from Bridgestone. It's good to know that the sidewall is with that stiffness as it's also an LRR tyre.
 
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