[aoteri]

I have a 2012 Premium, with 60k on the clock, and my OEM tires are bald. I have a set of dedicated snow tires (Yokahama Ice Guard) that I use for winter driving. I'm in New England, so we get quite a bit of snow and Ice up here in the winter. I'm in the market for a new set of tires for the other 3 seasons, and was wondering if anybody had any experience with the tires I have come up with. I'm open to alternative suggestions. What I'm looking for is a tire that is quite, comfortable, and will provide good dry and wet traction, and will give good fuel economy. Since I have the snow tires, I could care less if they can handle snow or ice, and I almost never take the car off the road, so a chunky tire is not necessary. I spend a lot of time on the highway, probably 85% of my driving is long highway trips, and the other 15% is short city driving.

The tires I have looked at and am considering at the moment are:
1) Toyo Versado LXII 225-60R17 98H
2) Yokohama Avid Ascend 225-60R17 98H
3) Hankook Optimo H727 225-60R17 98T


Anybody have any experience with these, or have any other suggestions I should look into.

 

[island21638]

Continental DWS. Perfect 3 season tire and also very good in the snow. You will get 60K plus out of them.Very quiet and smooth.

 

[mpnret]

I narrowed my final choice down to Defenders, TripleTreds and H727s. I ended up with the Defenders which I am very pleased with. I think any of the final 3 would have been ok but they all have their pluses and minuses. Defenders have a firmer ride, TripleTreds can be noisy and H727s have a slightly better snow performance but are poor in wet and dry performance. I would think the H727s would be at the bottom of your list being you have the snow covered with your winter tires and are mainly looking for wet and dry performance.

 

[fun2drive]

Michelin Primacy is an excellent long mileage tire that works well 3 seasons.
Contential DWS is another great choice too...

 

[SE95]

I have a 2012 Premium, with 60k on the clock, and my OEM tires are bald. I have a set of dedicated snow tires (Yokahama Ice Guard) that I use for winter driving. I'm in New England, so we get quite a bit of snow and Ice up here in the winter. I'm in the market for a new set of tires for the other 3 seasons, and was wondering if anybody had any experience with the tires I have come up with. I'm open to alternative suggestions. What I'm looking for is a tire that is quite, comfortable, and will provide good dry and wet traction, and will give good fuel economy. Since I have the snow tires, I could care less if they can handle snow or ice, and I almost never take the car off the road, so a chunky tire is not necessary. I spend a lot of time on the highway, probably 85% of my driving is long highway trips, and the other 15% is short city driving.

The tires I have looked at and am considering at the moment are:
1) Toyo Versado LXII 225-60R17 98H
2) Yokohama Avid Ascend 225-60R17 98H
3) Hankook Optimo H727 225-60R17 98T


Anybody have any experience with these, or have any other suggestions I should look into.

I run the Ascends on my '04 in the Summer. I love them. Quiet, smooth, excellent handling, excellent rain and dry traction. Improved fuel economy as well. I was probably one of the first people in PA for sure to have a set on their car. I bought them in March last year right after they came out.

 

[pgh]

Bridgestone Alenza's on my 10. They seem quiet and have sharpened the handling up a bit

 

[subiesailor]

BFG Touring tires have nearly the same tread pattern as some of the high end tires mentioned above. Two of us had them put on last fall and they have proven to be nice tires. BFG and Michelin tires last I heard were made by the same hands.

I have about 8,000 miles on them now they have a much stronger sidewall than the Continentals which gives a little sharper turning response - they hold balance FAR FAR FAR Better than the Continentals did. So far I'm pretty sure judging by the wear and quality that we will see far better tire life than the continentals had.

 

[KansasMatthew]

I'm not in the market for tires, yet. But, which of those brands/models are more widely available? I seeme to have bad luck with tires over the years and if I get stranded with a shredded tire, I'd like to replace like with like. I know that eventually the tires will reach a state where if one goes bad you have to replace all...there's not much I can do about that, though.

 

[subiesailor]

I'm not in the market for tires, yet. But, which of those brands/models are more widely available? I seeme to have bad luck with tires over the years and if I get stranded with a shredded tire, I'd like to replace like with like. I know that eventually the tires will reach a state where if one goes bad you have to replace all...there's not much I can do about that, though.

Best approach for this is to look at the largest tire chain's and see what tires they list as their standard product etc. Then if you shred a tire during a road trip said tire chain store can easily get one and have you on your way.

To your point going with a harder to find uncommon tire has its disadvantages. Only reason I would go with a harder to find uncommon tire would be for specialty tires which case a Truck you might go with very specific BFG tires considered some of the toughest best performing off road tires that can be had. The every day shops won't have those tires instock but you have a full size spare and those types of tires are known for being nearly impossible to get a flat.

Flip side you have a sports car you drive locally and want some super sticky high performance specialty tires again not really a big deal given your local all the time etc.

But for a car you do cross country long trips a car tire that isn't hard to find is not a bad idea.

 

[SE95]

I would say based on personal experience, out of the selection above Yokohamas are the most widely available.

 

[scoobydoo2]

I have been using Michelin Primacy MXV4 as replacements for OEM tires and really like them...ALOT! They wear well (with good alignment of course) are quiet on the highway and are great in wet weather. They would get my vote if they were on your poll. :29:

When the Conti's on the OB wear out it will get a new set of these.

 

[tommersyip]

Odd - I have done a bunch of tirerack tire searches for the Gen4 and not once has the Conti DWS popped up on the results.

You guys are matching the OEM size? 225/55-17?

But yea, if the DWS is a fit - I'd do the DWS. I have DW's or DWS's on all my cars and family's cars w/o probs. My only complaint, and this is on low profile sizes, is the slightly weaker sidewall compared to the old Conti ContiSportContact 1/2/3 tires.

 

[SE95]

225/60R17 is the stock size on most 4th gens. 225/55R17 was stock on third gens.

 

[pt37]

If you go to 235-55-17, you get much better tire selections. Many people on this forum are running this size without a problem. I think they are under 1% difference than stock.

Continental extreme contact DWS, $162 - 99w, 540 A A
Bridgestone Turanza serenity plus, $153 - 99v, 600 A A
Cooper zeon rs3-a, $103 - 99w, 500 AA A
Continental purecontact, $158 - 99h, 700 A A
Michelin mvx4, $182 - 99h, 620 A A

Serenity v purecontact v mvx4:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...=post-id-16b13c83-b75f-4868-b138-13143373b414

DWS:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=165

Pro contact v mvx4:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=86

 

[147_Grain]

The Michelin Primacy MXV4 sure performed well in almost all categories.

 

[jp1203]

Continental DWS. Perfect 3 season tire and also very good in the snow. You will get 60K plus out of them.Very quiet and smooth.

My sister has these on her '98 Legacy GT. Other than the marshmallow sidewalls, they are excellent.

 

[mrz415]

235/55-17 Conti DWS

 

[J Delman]

I put these Yokohama AVID ENVigors on my 2004 Nissan Murano and loved them. The Murano is a heavy car, and they stood up to it well. Great handling, confident on high-speed winding roads, and quiet. Unidirectional - doesn't that make sense? Don't know how long they'll last as I sold the car early, but indications and wear ratings are good. Always great for me in the rain - not the top pick for snow, but it is rated 4 seasons. (UPDATE: Read reviews saying they suck in snow). Tire Rack got very good gas mileage on them. They were also quite reasonably priced at Tire Rack - $220 less than Michellen MXV4s on a set of four!

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...13&autoModel=Outback&autoModClar=2.5i Premium

Here's a Tire Rack test video comparison, with a better description of the qualities than the text. BTW, Dunlops it tested against are not available in a 17":
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...13&autoModel=Outback&autoModClar=2.5i Premium


Anyone going up a tire size for 3 season use on the Outback (stock rims) and felt it helped much? My last 3 cars - 2004 Murano, 1997 Accord, & 1991 Accord - all benefited in handling and driving confidence when I went up a step in width, usually going to a smaller height to width ratio to stay close to the OE tire diameter.

 

[mpnret]

The Michelin Primacy MXV4 sure performed well in almost all categories.

Only problem is they don't make them in the right size for the 2010-2013 Outback (225/60/17). I have the Primacy MXV4s on my Legacy and love them. However when I went tire shopping for the OB too many negatives came up when going to the closest Primacy size available which would be 235/55/17. The revolutions per mile would be about 2% greater. This would lower highway mpg and increase the speedometer reading slightly in a car that people are already complaining that it reads too fast. Same affect on odometer but not enough to really worry about. Also the stock 225 size has a slight advantage over the 235 size in winter driving. I went with the Defenders which did come in the right size, had a 90,000 mile warranty instead of the Primacy 60,000 mile warranty and also have a better UTQG treadwear rating.

 

[subiesailor]

BFGoodrich Advantage T/A

Good tire and worth looking at. This is what I had Discount tire put on. Good friend went with the same tire about a week later on his 2010 OB also. So far both of us have been really happy with it. Great tire