Tires for the Subaru

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jlee

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
I went with Dunlop Direzza Star Specs on the MR2 and I absolutely love them - ridiculous grip. Now I'm starting to look for tires for my Subaru. I have the stock 16's and a set of 17's as well (215/60/16 and 235/50/17 tires respectively).

Since I'm heading to AZ, I'm considering selling the snow tires off my stock wheels and getting a set of Yokohama Geolander A/T-S for them. I'm also debating between replacing the summer tires on my 17's and having two sets of tires, or just selling them and running the all terrain tires, keeping on-pavement spirited driving for the MR2.

If I do put a set of summer tires on it, there's a few different ways I could go...high performance all season, or just go straight to summers. I'm leaning towards summers since I'll have the Yoko Geolandars for sketchy weather or playing offroad.

Continental ExtremeContact DW might be ok - Bridgestone Potenza RE040 would be awesome, but ~$1k for a set of four is a bit steep considering the car is not built for autocross. Dunlop Direzza DZ101 and Nitto NT NeoGen ZR are the two I'm primarily considering right now.

I still have a bit of life left on my current summers (Firestone Wide Ovals) so I'll run them 'till they're gone - no rush on getting new tires, but I'm bored so I thought I'd start looking into what's next. :p

Does anyone have any experience with the above tires, or have a better suggestion for 235/50/17? I'm not interested in Yokohama S-Drives (see the autox thread). I've also had Falken Zeix 512's in the past and I'd like something a bit stickier.

Pics for the unfamiliar - 2004 Subaru Forester XT with STi turbo, STi intercooler, 3" turboback exhaust & Cobb Accessport OTS tune:

K2py1.jpg
 
Demo24

Demo24

Diamond Member
Aug 5, 2004
8,356
9
81
Uh, why not get star specs?


and aren't re040(or a variant) the ones that came on stock WRX's? Cause those were just plain terrible.
 
punjabiplaya

punjabiplaya

Diamond Member
Nov 12, 2006
3,495
1
71
do nt05s come in that size? I'm thinking of putting some on the ms3 since Texas no longer gets rain.

yes I know it's a ludicrous suggestion
 
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jlee

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
235/40ZR17 and 255/40ZR17. 235/40 would be way too small, and even 255/40 would be 4.3% small. :\
 
A

alphatarget1

Diamond Member
Dec 9, 2001
5,710
0
76
jlee said:
They might fit the front of the MR2 (could hit the spring perch), but would be way too small for the Forester. :p
Click to expand...

I've been trying to sell them on CL for weeks now... Might have a buyer on the line finally.

Having to buy tires sucks!
 
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T

thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,025
121
106
I had Direzza DZ101 on my miata and hated them. They were alright till it rained and then it was hard to take off without spinning them. The first couple times I did it I thought I had stopped on oil or something but it just kept happening. We are talking about a 90hp miata with a torsen rear here lol and I was just taking off normal like, not racing or anything. I've driven miatas on 5 or 6 different tires including some really crappy bald tires and only had that problem with the direzza tires.
 
A

ayabe

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2005
7,449
0
0
I ran ContiSport3's on my WRX, they are probably a little less grippy than the DW's but a lot more life. Breakaway is smooth and predictable, they get a little dicey in the cold until they're up to temp.

I still had ~70%+ tread after 20K.

Running the same tires on my AMG, I'll go with something grippier when they eat it, rears are way too easy to break loose.
 
NutBucket

NutBucket

Lifer
Aug 30, 2000
27,119
613
126
If you want all-seasons the RE960s are quite nice on the wife's WRX. Replaced a set of Advan S.4 that were killed early by an out of alignment wheel. Good dry grip...haven't really tested any wet limits yet. I'd venture the new 970s are likely better but I haven't read/seen anything about them yet.
 
KentState

KentState

Diamond Member
Oct 19, 2001
8,397
393
126
Isn't there a Subaru forum that would be able to help? Probably too general here.
 
Demo24

Demo24

Diamond Member
Aug 5, 2004
8,356
9
81
There really doesn't appear to be that all many good choices in that sizing, although the ps2's would be good but too expensive in that size. I'd probably just drop to 2xx/45 ratio and get the speedo adjusted a fraction if need be (I assume this is why you saying thats too small). Lot better choices for summer tires in the 45 and below range.
 
J

JCH13

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2010
4,981
66
91
I just did some silly driving in a certain parking lot on the S.Drives, felt better than at the auto-x. I think they were having some serious heat issues, worse than I thought.
 
F

fbrdphreak

Lifer
Apr 17, 2004
17,555
1
0
Take a look at the Potenza RE760 Sport's. They are summer tires and I went to them on my Subie after 2 sets of RE-01R's (18's and then 17's). I really like them. They don't have quite the sharp turn-in, but the grip is still more than I need 99% of the time and they were almost half the price of the RE-01R's. They are also quieter, though still not "quiet." I'm very happy with my purchase.

Though when I bought them at the end of April they had a $75 Amex gift card with them. (And I oddly qualified for a second $70 GC, so I double-dipped and got a wicked deal)
 
jlee

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
JCH13 said:
I just did some silly driving in a certain parking lot on the S.Drives, felt better than at the auto-x. I think they were having some serious heat issues, worse than I thought.
Click to expand...

Mental note: No S-Drives for Arizona. :p

fbrdphreak said:
Take a look at the Potenza RE760 Sport's. They are summer tires and I went to them on my Subie after 2 sets of RE-01R's (18's and then 17's). I really like them. They don't have quite the sharp turn-in, but the grip is still more than I need 99% of the time and they were almost half the price of the RE-01R's. They are also quieter, though still not "quiet." I'm very happy with my purchase.

Though when I bought them at the end of April they had a $75 Amex gift card with them. (And I oddly qualified for a second $70 GC, so I double-dipped and got a wicked deal)
Click to expand...

Will do - thanks!
 
Corn

Corn

Diamond Member
Nov 12, 1999
6,389
29
91
I picked up a set of Hankook Ventus V12 Evo's for my IS350. They replaced the stock RE050's. Overall impression of the Hankook's: They have much more grip than the RE050, have a much better ride (especially noted when encountering frost heaves or expansion joints in the road) and are a lot quieter to boot. Only real issue is a somewhat soft sidewall compared to the RE050's so initial turn-in feel is a little slow and sloppy.

Another impressive feat is the fact that all 4 tires were in the single digit range of the Hunter road force measurement on the initial mount.

All in all, they appear to be a superior tire to the stock RE050's that came on my car for only about 75% of the cost. I've got no issues buying another set when the time comes.
 
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