215/75/15 / Tires under a Subaru?

[Forrest Behm]

I recently made the switch from Honda's to a Subaru. My wife and I travel lots of miles on forest service roads and are excited to see how the Outback holds up to this kind of travel. Question is, the stock tires are 205/75/15, and all I can find are 4 ply passenger tires for it. 215/75/15's come in 6 and 8 ply tires, as well as more aggressive tread patterns. These tires are classified as light truck tires. They are 1 1/4 inches taller than stock tires. Does anyone know if these will fit?

[rockhopjohn]

Welcome to the site, and to Subaru. I am down in Boise myself.

As for you tire question, a 215/75R15 is going to rub pretty bad on your car. Stock size for your car is a 205/70R15, which is 26.3"; a 27" tire is about max without serious rubbing, and the 215/75R15 is 27.7". You are going to have a really tough time finding a 6-ply LT rated tire that will fit your car.

I am a geologist and spend a lot of time off road, and ended up going with the General Grabber AT2, which is a 4 Ply, but it is about as aggressive as you can get, and I have had not problems on the Forest Service Roads around ID. Another good option is the Yokohama Geolandar AT-S. Both of these tires come in sizes that will fit your car, and are pretty rugged All-Terrain tires.

There are more options out there if you do some digging, the fact that you can fit 15" wheels helps a lots. If you search around the site for off-road tire info, you will find quite a bit of discussion on the topic.

[csweston]

WHOO!!! Another in Idaho. Im also down in Boise.