A couple years ago I replaced the stock tires on my '05 forester with .. the same yokohama geolandars it came with. Drove over Carson Pass in another snowstorm on Monday afternoon and they seemed to do alright. Mud-bogging on the Lee Vining Canyon power station road was ok too.

Maybe I'll switch to goodyear tripletreds after these wear out.

TacoDelRio wrote:What kinda tires are you guys running in your Subies in winter?

I currently have a Big-O brand M&S tire on mine. They work OK but they aren't the best. A couple of years ago I had them put on a real winter tire (Big-O brand, don't recall the model) which kicked butt.

Thanks guys. No complaints? How do they drive on tarmac? Any lack or initial turn-in/response?

Anyone use Bridgestone Blizzak series tires?

jonesa37 wrote:I love my subaru, the only complaint I have is that sleeping in it is super hard to manage since the seats don't fold down all the way...

same for me in my 02 legacy... i was thinking of taking the seats out, or at least the big one and butting in a plywood bed but (so far) i've found sleeping on the incline isn't so bad for me. i use by super cush Big Agnes pad and i sleep very well in summer and winter...maybe im just to lazy to take the seats out and actually build something cool.

Sure, the stock tires work fine. But then I don't drive fast anymore, for obvious reasons.

No way dude... AWD Audis are where its at

sisyphus wrote:I have a 1999 4 cyl Outback that's about to pass the 175K mark. Never had to do anything other than replace the normal stuff--brakes, tires, etc. Never had a major problem with the engine or transmission.

Do you drive much on rocky roads -- e.g. those with lots of baseball-size rocks?

Have you replaced the ball joints or any of the CV boots or bearings on the front end?

RokIzGud wrote:No way dude... AWD Audis are where its at

Service on new ones is absurdly expensive. One of the benefits of most Japanese cars is that they're typically inexpensive to purchase and maintain.

Turns out I had to install tripletreds sooner than I expected. Got a sidewall puncture in one of my geolandars, and that meant new tires on all four wheels, or else getting the new tire ground down to match the tread wear on the other three. As I understand it with subaru AWD you have to run all four wheels as closely matched as possible or else the differential may fail prematurely.

So far the goodyears are working well. Mileage seems about the same and they seem to stick well, on dry and wet pavement. Haven't driven them in mud or snow yet.

Good Year triplethreads rock. Awesome in the snow, 80k warranty.

We have two Subarus.

A 1991 wagon that is at 246,000 miles and still going strong. Only thing ever gone wrong with it was a broken timing belt.

A 2006 STi with 110,000 miles and still going strong. Only problem ever was a faulty injector.



Best cars ever.

Our 2008 Impreza WRX has 26K on it and is a mountain pass/road trip/car camping machine. have to watch it though, 2 tickets in 18 months... This is the second one. Had a 2000 Outback that is still going strong for the current owner at 220K+.

rhyang wrote:As I understand it with subaru AWD you have to run all four wheels as closely matched as possible or else the differential may fail prematurely.

I think that is a scam by tire retailers to sell more tires. If that were the case, failing to rotate tires or failing to regularly check tire pressure would cause the differential to fail. So would a lot of driving on windy roads.

Have any of you folks had a stabilizer bar snap? It's the equivalent of a sway bar in "ordinary" cars, but there are two. One idea is that the bushings that hold the bars age, and the rubber becomes brittle, allowing undue flexion.

The left stabilzer bar on my 2003 outback snapped while I was descending a heavily eroded dirt road; sounded like a gunshot. Because of a quasi-emergency situation, I had more weight in the car than intended, and as I came off a hummock just right of the left front tire, the bar snapped -- the bottom of the wheel was probably slightly forced out. The car was totally drivable after, but rolled more when turning on highways.

I've read of people having the bars snap in parking lots and other benign places. I live in a hot area, and rubber in tires, wiper blades, etc. tends to degrade quickly.

MoapaPk wrote:Have any of you folks had a stabilizer bar snap? It's the equivalent of a sway bar in "ordinary" cars, but there are two. One idea is that the bushings that hold the bars age, and the rubber becomes brittle, allowing undue flexion.

The left stabilzer bar on my 2003 outback snapped while I was descending a heavily eroded dirt road; sounded like a gunshot. Because of a quasi-emergency situation, I had more weight in the car than intended, and as I came off a hummock just right of the left front tire, the bar snapped -- the bottom of the wheel was probably slightly forced out. The car was totally drivable after, but rolled more when turning on highways.

I've read of people having the bars snap in parking lots and other benign places. I live in a hot area, and rubber in tires, wiper blades, etc. tends to degrade quickly.

Nope. 200k miles, a good portion on rough dirt roads and no problems like that.