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Old 12-26-2012, 01:24 AM   #1
cnlson
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Default Tires for a 12 Premium hatchback

My OEM Yokos are about 1/2 (6-7/32nds) and this will be their last winter, so I'm wondering what others have planned for or have already purchased. I'm guessing the Yokos will end their life around 46-50k which isn't too bad for 320 treadwear tires. I've been looking at Sams and they have some BFG Touring T/A's in a 205/55/16 91V that match for $110/tire and on TireRack.com most of the Subie owners like them (some even rave) and they have a 60K wearout warranty which is pretty decent as far as V rated rubber goes. The tradeoff seems to be that they are not a LRR tire so they will not positively impact my gas mileage.

Anyone got a better fit?
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Old 01-02-2013, 07:26 PM   #2
cmiovino
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If any Subaru's tire lasts you 60k, that's crazy. Even on our passenger only Subarus... '95 LX, '04 Forester... we tend to get about 15-20k out of them... hard rubber too. Pittsburgh has the most potholes and roughest roads. It's known you'll never reach any warrenty mileage. Even my grandma's '97 Escort has been through two sets in under 30k I believe.

Anyways, tirerack is your friend. I highly suggest summer and winter tires if you see temps below 40 degrees in the winter and some light snow (which you do). It actually saves money in the long term... or it's at least equal. And yes, even with just a 2012 2.5i, summer and winter tires aren't a bad thing. Doesn't mean you have to get hardcore track tires!
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Old 01-03-2013, 11:44 AM   #3
flyboy1100
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cnlson View Post
My OEM Yokos are about 1/2 (6-7/32nds) and this will be their last winter, so I'm wondering what others have planned for or have already purchased. I'm guessing the Yokos will end their life around 46-50k which isn't too bad for 320 treadwear tires. I've been looking at Sams and they have some BFG Touring T/A's in a 205/55/16 91V that match for $110/tire and on TireRack.com most of the Subie owners like them (some even rave) and they have a 60K wearout warranty which is pretty decent as far as V rated rubber goes. The tradeoff seems to be that they are not a LRR tire so they will not positively impact my gas mileage.

Anyone got a better fit?
continental DWS seem to be all the rage....probably what I will be getting next summer/fall
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Old 01-03-2013, 12:11 PM   #4
BajaGuy68
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I have dedicated winter tires and rims, but this spring I'm getting rid of the Yoko's(with only 4k on them) for Contenental DWS's. The stock Yoko's are noisy and do not handle wet roads well enough for me.
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Old 01-03-2013, 12:31 PM   #5
foghelmut
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BajaGuy68 View Post
I have dedicated winter tires and rims, but this spring I'm getting rid of the Yoko's(with only 4k on them) for Contenental DWS's. The stock Yoko's are noisy and do not handle wet roads well enough for me.
Are you sliding around or something? I haven't noticed a difference between wet and dry. What should I be noticing?
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Old 01-03-2013, 12:32 PM   #6
flyboy1100
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Quote:
Originally Posted by foghelmut View Post
Are you sliding around or something? I haven't noticed a difference between wet and dry. What should I be noticing?
you might not be driving hard enough. i have slide a few times on the stock tires.
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Old 01-03-2013, 04:46 PM   #7
foghelmut
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flyboy1100 View Post
you might not be driving hard enough. i have slide a few times on the stock tires.
I should get better tires so I can drive more recklessly in poor conditions.
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Old 01-03-2013, 04:47 PM   #8
flyboy1100
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Quote:
Originally Posted by foghelmut View Post
I should get better tires so I can drive more recklessly in poor conditions.
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Old 01-03-2013, 02:56 PM   #9
sgoldste01
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BajaGuy68 View Post
I have dedicated winter tires and rims, but this spring I'm getting rid of the Yoko's(with only 4k on them) for Contenental DWS's. The stock Yoko's are noisy and do not handle wet roads well enough for me.
Baja, I see you live in Western NY. I live in a suburb of Rochester. Let me know when you put your Yokos up for sale. I might buy them if the price is fair. Send me a PM when you're ready.
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Old 01-04-2013, 12:48 AM   #10
BajaGuy68
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sgoldste01 View Post
Baja, I see you live in Western NY. I live in a suburb of Rochester. Let me know when you put your Yokos up for sale. I might buy them if the price is fair. Send me a PM when you're ready.
I will let you know this spring and give you a good deal. I'm a little south of Buffalo in the "Snow Belt".
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Old 01-03-2013, 03:42 PM   #11
myrt1987
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Ive heard DWS are a little more squishy resulting in poorer mpg. Any truth to this?
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Old 01-03-2013, 04:46 PM   #12
flyboy1100
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Quote:
Originally Posted by myrt1987 View Post
Ive heard DWS are a little more squishy resulting in poorer mpg. Any truth to this?
you can have either mpg or traction....can't really have both.
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Old 01-03-2013, 04:48 PM   #13
PuyallupCoug
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Quote:
Originally Posted by myrt1987 View Post
Ive heard DWS are a little more squishy resulting in poorer mpg. Any truth to this?
They're a little more soft on the sidewall and as a result, cornering performance supposedly suffers a bit.

However, everything else about them is very good. I swapped out my stock yoko's after 3 days in the rain. I love the DWS' so far. Their rain performance is night and day better than stock and I love their snow performance. It's not as grippy as a dedicated winter tire but it was pretty close.

Here is Tirerack's original test results on "Ultra High Performance All Seasons" and the DWS came in pretty good, but not the best.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=165

However, when they did their "Winter Testing" for the same group of tires, the DWS blew everyone else out of the water. You can see the full test report here, it's also worthwhile clicking on the "test video" and watching that too.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=124


So I guess it really depends on what kind of weather you will run into. If you live in Southern California, you probably wont need the advantage of the DWS. If you live somewhere that gets a lot of rain and or wintery weather (but not enough to justify a dedicated winter tire) then the DWS is an excellent choice.

Good luck!
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Old 01-14-2013, 03:19 PM   #14
sager
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How are the DWS regarding noise levels? Our Interstate 5 here in Seattle has a very rough surface due to the allowance of studded tires and our Impreza Sport is VERY NOISY at speed.

Hoping that when I change my tires in a few years this will improve. Is certainly did for our 2002 Legacy wagon (RE92 to RE960).

Thx!
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Old 01-14-2013, 06:46 PM   #15
Spec-C 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sager View Post
How are the DWS regarding noise levels? Our Interstate 5 here in Seattle has a very rough surface due to the allowance of studded tires and our Impreza Sport is VERY NOISY at speed.

Hoping that when I change my tires in a few years this will improve. Is certainly did for our 2002 Legacy wagon (RE92 to RE960).

Thx!
I put a set of DWS 245/40/18 on my sti and I live in tacoma and I love them. Your Impreza will have more side wall so it should be even better. Don't know how they would compare with your factory ones though. I like them in the snow and rain. My car got a little quieter but not much.
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Old 01-14-2013, 09:00 PM   #16
Dirt Bringer
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Is it possible to mount the stock 17" tires on the impreza premium or sport premium on rims that are 7.5 inches wide? I know the stock 17's are 17 inches wide so I don't know how that translates to tire mounting?
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Old 01-14-2013, 09:24 PM   #17
ans2k
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they would be very skinny or you would be stretching the tires. proper fitment would be 225 or 235
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Old 01-22-2013, 12:27 PM   #18
danstheman7
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As far as size goes, I currently have 15" Yoko stock tires. I'm looking to get continental DWS tires, but I want to up the size (as I don't have rims, only steel wheels) to increase my terrible ground clearance.

Would 17" tires be too big?

According to TireRack, 205/50ZR17 93W fits, as well as 205/55ZR16 91W.
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Old 01-22-2013, 12:33 PM   #19
sgoldste01
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Quote:
Originally Posted by danstheman7 View Post
Would 17" tires be too big?
No. The Sport and Limited models come from the factory with 17" wheels/tires. But this won't increase your ground clearance, because while the wheel is bigger, the sidewall of the tire is correspondingly shorter.
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Old 01-22-2013, 10:19 PM   #20
danstheman7
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Originally Posted by sgoldste01 View Post
No. The Sport and Limited models come from the factory with 17" wheels/tires. But this won't increase your ground clearance, because while the wheel is bigger, the sidewall of the tire is correspondingly shorter.
So, aside from a lift kit (or forester struts which is too experimental for me) how can I boost my ground clearance?

I remember another user sometime recently saying with WRX wheels and tires they boosted their ground clearance.

Thanks!
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Old 01-22-2013, 11:10 PM   #21
ans2k
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Quote:
Originally Posted by danstheman7 View Post
So, aside from a lift kit (or forester struts which is too experimental for me) how can I boost my ground clearance?

I remember another user sometime recently saying with WRX wheels and tires they boosted their ground clearance.

Thanks!
it was a wrx with xv wheels and tires and i think the difference he said 1 inch, math says .8 (205/50/17 (stock) - 225/55/17 (xv))
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Old 01-22-2013, 10:30 PM   #22
sgoldste01
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If you buy tires with a larger diameter than the OEM size Subaru ships on the Sport/Limited 17" wheels, then that would increase your ground clearance slightly, and would make your speedometer read slow too. But the additional ground clearance would be small.

If you Google search on tire size calculator, you'll find web sites that can help you determine this info.
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Old 01-22-2013, 11:35 PM   #23
Drink15
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my 09 2.5i came with a set of DWS with most of the tread left and on a drive from Phila to DC I got 28 MPG doing mostly 70-75 mph. I think they are a tad loud i think.
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Old 01-23-2013, 06:39 AM   #24
flyboy1100
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ans2k View Post

it was a wrx with xv wheels and tires and i think the difference he said 1 inch, math says .8 (205/50/17 (stock) - 225/55/17 (xv))
If which only .4 increase in ground clearance?
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Old 01-23-2013, 09:22 AM   #25
ans2k
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Originally Posted by flyboy1100 View Post
If which only .4 increase in ground clearance?
no, it is .8 inches. stock diameter is about 25.1 and the xv tires are 26.7. which is 1.6 inches of difference. 1.6/2=.8inches
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