New Tires for My Subaru (F150, 2015, traction, truck)
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I'm getting new tires at Les Schwab. They gave me six choices, which I have narrowed down to two (or three).
Road Control NW3 ALL SEASONS BW, 65000 mile
OR
Eclipse ALL SEASONS BW, 70000 mile
Speed and load are more than adequate on both.
The car is a 2015 Subaru Impreza, which I drive about 10,000 miles/year. I drive on wet roads from mid-October through April, and on snow a couple times/year. Both tires are supposed to be good in wet weather. I think both are supposed to be quiet.
The questions:
1. Is one brand better than the other in general?
2. How does time factor in? I assume the warranty gives me an idea of how far the tread will go, but are there other factors involved that would make it better or safer to have a tire a shorter period of time rather than a longer one? (For example, might a six-year-old tire with decent tread still have some other, hidden, age-related risk?)
3. Any experience with either of those specific tires and whether they truly are quiet and good on wet roads?
+1 on doing research on TireRack. Don’t just buy whatever junk they happen to have on hand. In particular stay well away from any no name Chinese brands.
Les Schwab has a rep of selling off brand tires at top tier prices.
Mrs. NBP's Forester came with Yokohamas and those were tires that wouldn't die. I finally replaced them with another set of Yokos when the originals aged out. I also replaced the Michelins on my F150 with Yokohamas.
As a note, I never had good luck with Michelins over a range of cars and trucks. They always seemed to wear out thousands of miles sooner than their rating.
I'm getting new tires at Les Schwab. They gave me six choices, which I have narrowed down to two (or three). (snip)
The car is a 2015 Subaru Impreza, which I drive about 10,000 miles/year. I drive on wet roads from mid-October through April, and on snow a couple times/year. Both tires are supposed to be good in wet weather. I think both are supposed to be quiet.
If the factory tires that came on your car gave good service all year then replace with that same exact brand /type of tire.
Swapping brand / type tire can lead to handling changes that you don't want unless there is a specific handling change needed.
Personally, I always buy Michelins. I've done that now for 40 years and I've never been disappointed.
Good post Vision, thanks.
OP, the views here about Les Schwab are correct. Run, don't walk, away.
I've never heard of those off-the-wall "brands" and I too research tires at Tire Rack. I buy at Discount Tire, though, because TR has become increasingly difficult to deal with over the past 5-10 years.
I replaced my OE (Original Equipment) Nexen 671 tires with slightly oversized BFG G-FORCE Comp2 A/S (OE=205.60.16 vs. BFG 225.55.16, largely because that was the only comparable size) and the BFG are sweet. And they get excellent test results and consumer ranking at TR.
Good luck, I'd stick with Michelin, Conti, BFG, but again each line is different. It's not the brand, but one line (model) can be very different from another. There are lots of Chevy models, so just saying "buy a Chevy" isn't sufficient. Tires are like that too.
Tires are one place I don't cheap out. There are safer places to save a buck.
I think I've read that the most important safety equipment on any car are the driver and the tires. I've driven Foresters for 20 years and use all-season tires on them. Used Goodyear siped tires for rain and Nokians for winter. So far so good. Some "winter rated" tires will wear too fast if you run them in summer...too soft. Whatever you put on it, don't try to save money by mixing treads or replacing just one axle with the same tread with a big difference in mileage wear. You'll end up with much more expensive problems than the tires!
My 2018 Outback came equipped with Bridgestone 4-seasons. I purchased a set of Bridgestone Blizzak winter tires for the car when winter set in.
These are my 3rd and 4th sets of Bridgestone tires, and they have all been superior in their wear and traction. The Blizzaks are the second set of these tires I've owned; the first went on another car, and after 6 winters, they were still almost as good as new, with very little signs of wear.
But they are a tire that is specialized for cold weather use only, and must be replaced before the weather heats up. But by buying them, I fully expect the 2 sets of tires I have will last me for well over 50,000 miles, each set. Since cold weather varies as to it's length, I'm sure I will be able to drive 100,000 miles without needing to replace either set of tires. Probably more than that, if the 4-season tires prove to be as durable as the Blizzaks. The first set of Bridgestones I ever bought was.
The thing about tires is pay now or pay later. It doesn't make any sense to buy expensive tires if the car isn't planned to outlast them. I have an old truck that has much less expensive rubber on it because it's not used very often, and any tire that is sound will do fine for it's use. Since it's so seldom used, a cheap tire is as good as a spendy tire.
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