[chvvkumar]

Since more people are starting to receive their cars and winter is approaching, I thought I would begin the tire thread for Gen6 for the inevitable wheel/tire discussions.

Stock tire size for Gen6 OB:
225/60R18 (Onyx, Touring XT etc.) and
225/65R17 (Base and Premium models)

Note for Onyx XT owners and owners who have added a full size spare to their car:
Make sure you include the full size spare in the rotation so as to keep tire wear even across all wheels. If not, the spare will have a larger diameter compared to the other four wheels and this is bad for the drive train.

Useful links:

Tire size calculators to compare dimension and odometer differences between tire sizes:

Tire size calculator: compare tires online

Our tire size calculator will help you estimate the difference of external dimensions of the wheels, height clearance, revolutions per mile and other characteristics, when installing tires of other sizes on your vehicle. This calculator allows you to tell the difference between the tires in...

tire-calc.com

Tire Size Calculator - Compare Tire Sizes | Tacoma World

Tire size calculator compares diameter, width, circumference and speedometer differences for any two tire sizes. Supports tire sizes in metric and inches.

www.tacomaworld.com

Tire Size Calculator

The best tire size calculator. Use our tire size calculator to find tire size specs and suggested tire sizes. Then check prices for all available tire sizes.

tiresize.com

 

[Sumrtym]

Working the spare into rotation is problematic with the tire sensors since the spare does not include one. I prefer not to drive with error lights up in my car from working the spare into rotation. Not doing so simply means in the event of damage to a front tire you have to rotate a back tire onto it and spare on rear. Short term driving on the full size spare is no big deal regarding tread wear if it's ok to drive under 50 miles on a smaller donut.

 

[Sumrtym]

Oh, and these were just released, Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail tire, 3-peak snowflake rated and available in 225/60r18 OEM size for Onyx, Limited, and Touring. This is the only A/T tire in OEM size for the 18" wheels and therefore won't throw off the speedometer and mpg readings.

I plan on these tires now instead of the 235 G015's I was planning on. About time someone made an OEM size!
Discount tire

 

[chvvkumar]

I am thinking I will just get a slightly larger size and get the Continental DWS06 in 235/60ZR18XL size. I've had 3 sets of these and I am a huge fan of how they perform. They are not A/T but I prefer the more frequently used snow performance over the off-road performance which I barely use.

 

['Radobaru]

How much do those tire sensors cost? Seems like the obvious solution.

 

[Jumpem]

I put Hakkapeliittas on the OEM wheels for winter, and put the original all seasons back on in the spring.

 

[Sumrtym]

How much do those tire sensors cost? Seems like the obvious solution.

System can only handle 4, not 5.

 

[chvvkumar]

System can only handle 4, not 5.

I wonder if Subaru has thought of this scenario and bumped up the simultaneous sensor capacity to 5 since the Onyx XT comes with a full spare from the factory.

 

[Paul from WNY]

I have owned rear wheel drive, 4-wheel drive, front wheel drive and now my first all wheel drive vehicle. I have never heard of any scenario where rotating the spare tire into the normal rotation is a thing. And yes, I have owned vehicles with a full size spare (not all of them). I think the spare tire is a spare tire, and that's that.

 

[chvvkumar]

I have owned rear wheel drive, 4-wheel drive, front wheel drive and now my first all wheel drive vehicle. I have never heard of any scenario where rotating the spare tire into the normal rotation is a thing. And yes, I have owned vehicles with a full size spare (not all of them). I think the spare tire is a spare tire, and that's that.

From:https://www.tirebuyer.com/education/tire-rotation-patterns

Rotation with spare

Five tire rotation - full size spare tire
If your vehicle has a full-size, non-directional spare tire (one that isn't branded “for temporary use”) and a wheel that's the same size as your four main tires and wheels, you may want to consider the following rotation patterns to keep all five tires evenly worn. This is especially important for four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles, because if you need to use your spare tire and it has different wear than your other three tires, it could place undue force on the drive train of your vehicle due to the difference in tread depth.

First, check your vehicle owner's manual to see if the manufacturer has recommended a tire rotation pattern; if so, follow those guidelines. If there is no rotation information available, consider the following patterns:

 

[Paul from WNY]

From:https://www.tirebuyer.com/education/tire-rotation-patterns

I always ask myself "what would tirebuyer.com say". Seems wrong. If you rotate your tires every 10k miles (not unusual at all), that means you are going to put a tire with 0 miles into the rotation? Especially on an awd vehicle, seems like a bad idea to me.

Even on that link you posted, it clearly says "First, check your vehicle owner's manual to see if the manufacturer has recommended a tire rotation pattern; if so, follow those guidelines. If there is no rotation information available, consider the following patterns: "

What does the OB owner's manual say about tire rotation? Absolutely nothing about rotating the spare. Do what you want, but unless you leave the spare in the compartment in the back of the hatch, it will be wrong...

 

[Jumpem]

I wonder if Subaru has thought of this scenario and bumped up the simultaneous sensor capacity to 5 since the Onyx XT comes with a full spare from the factory.

I am not sure the size difference matters for how short of a time a spare should be on the vehicle. I wouldn't expect the donut spare in the other models to be an identical diameter to the full size tries.

 

[Jumpem]

I always ask myself "what would tirebuyer.com say". Seems wrong. If you rotate your tires every 10k miles (not unusual at all), that means you are going to put a tire with 0 miles into the rotation? Especially on an awd vehicle, seems like a bad idea to me.

Even on that link you posted, it clearly says "First, check your vehicle owner's manual to see if the manufacturer has recommended a tire rotation pattern; if so, follow those guidelines. If there is no rotation information available, consider the following patterns: "

What does the OB owner's manual say about tire rotation? Absolutely nothing about rotating the spare. Do what you want, but unless you leave the spare in the compartment in the back of the hatch, it will be wrong...

View attachment 472292

My thought is that introducing the spare would mean that you would always have a tire not being used at a point in time and always have four tires with different diameters. This would put more stress on the drive train in my mind. A spare only needs to be used to get you home, to the dealer, or to some place to park and call a tow truck.

 

[Sumrtym]

Just remember, the spare can not be used on a front wheel. If a front wheel is the problem (flat), your donut or full sized spare must go on the rear and that rear tire replace the front to prevent damage to the AWD system.

 

[chvvkumar]

I am not sure the size difference matters for how short of a time a spare should be on the vehicle. I wouldn't expect the donut spare in the other models to be an identical diameter to the full size tries.

The onyx XT comes with a full size spare mounted on a regular where like the other for wheels, not a donut.

 

[Jumpem]

The onyx XT comes with a full size spare mounted on a regular where like the other for wheels, not a donut.

Yes. But a tow truck should be able to get most anywhere an Outback would manage. If you needed the spare, I still couldn't see needing to drive on it for more than a few miles.

 

[chvvkumar]

Yes. But a tow truck should be able to get most anywhere an Outback would manage. If you needed the spare, I still couldn't see needing to drive on it for more than a few miles.

Tow truck is not an option most of the places I go which are remote and out of phone coverage area with no services for hundreds of miles.

Even in normal driving though, I would just drive on the spare and use the punctured tire as a spare after getting it fixed. Why would I want to use the spare only for a few miles?

 

[Jumpem]

Tow truck is not an option most of the places I go which are remote and out of phone coverage area with no services for hundreds of miles.

Even in normal driving though, I would just drive on the spare and use the punctured tire as a spare after getting it fixed. Why would I want to use the spare only for a few miles?

Diameter difference. Like I said above introducing it into rotation would mean that the four tires currently on the vehicle are always going to have one that is different.

I would get the spare patched as soon as is practical, and put it back in the hatch.

 

[Paul from WNY]

My thought is that introducing the spare would mean that you would always have a tire not being used at a point in time and always have four tires with different diameters. This would put more stress on the drive train in my mind. A spare only needs to be used to get you home, to the dealer, or to some place to park and call a tow truck.

I think this is exactly right. The whole point of rotating tires is to keep tread wear even across all four tires. If you rotate your tires at every 6k, and you have tires with a 60k expected tread life, that would mean that you have used approximately 10% of your usable tread between rotations. Probably about 20% for the OEM tires. Throwing the spare into the rotation means you would never have even tread wear across your four tires, which is the exact opposite of the whole concept. Keep your spare, either donut or full size, as a spare!

 

[Paul from WNY]

Tow truck is not an option most of the places I go which are remote and out of phone coverage area with no services for hundreds of miles.

Even in normal driving though, I would just drive on the spare and use the punctured tire as a spare after getting it fixed. Why would I want to use the spare only for a few miles?

Because that's what it's for! A spare!