Hi Group -- this is my first post. I just bought my first Outback. It's a 2011 2.5i. We're an active family with two kids, who loves to camp, ski, hike, climb, etc, and I spend a lot of time on dirt tracks navigating my way to kayak put-ins and take-outs. So I'm looking to slowly upgrade the car's off-road capabilities. This is my first time ever going down this rabbit hole, so please forgive me if I err in forum etiquette, or ask questions that are somehow silly.
My very first step is going to be to replace the tires since it needs new tires anyway. I've tried to find the best tires that combine good off-road performance with solid on-road performance, that have a high snow/ice rating, and of course, that look cool . So i've narrowed it down to either the Cooper Discoverer A/T3 or the Geolandar A/T G015.
So here are my questions:
1) Do those seem like two reasonable choices?
2) I'd like to get new wheels at some point. My motivation for doing so is primarly aesthetic, but if there are performance considerations to think about, then I would obviously not ignore those. I've been wondering whether it makes sense to consider upsizing from the stock 16" wheels to 17" wheels. From what I've read, it seems like the performance pros and cons of such a move boil down to, 16" wheels better off-road, 17" wheels better on-road. I am sure that's a vast over-simplification. Can anyone help me think more clearly about the pros and cons of this decision?
3) Finally, a question about tire size. I'll preface this question with a question about forum best practices. I read in another post on here about tire size, and the author of that post said to the effect of, "i know never to ask about tire size on here, but..." He didn't explain why it's considered bad form to ask about tire size. So, if this next question is in bad form, then accept my apologies, and perhaps someone can explain to me why that is. If not, then i'm wondering about the pros and cons of getting a larger tire size, say a 225 or a 235, etc.
Thanks in advance for any and all help.
My very first step is going to be to replace the tires since it needs new tires anyway. I've tried to find the best tires that combine good off-road performance with solid on-road performance, that have a high snow/ice rating, and of course, that look cool . So i've narrowed it down to either the Cooper Discoverer A/T3 or the Geolandar A/T G015.
So here are my questions:
1) Do those seem like two reasonable choices?
2) I'd like to get new wheels at some point. My motivation for doing so is primarly aesthetic, but if there are performance considerations to think about, then I would obviously not ignore those. I've been wondering whether it makes sense to consider upsizing from the stock 16" wheels to 17" wheels. From what I've read, it seems like the performance pros and cons of such a move boil down to, 16" wheels better off-road, 17" wheels better on-road. I am sure that's a vast over-simplification. Can anyone help me think more clearly about the pros and cons of this decision?
3) Finally, a question about tire size. I'll preface this question with a question about forum best practices. I read in another post on here about tire size, and the author of that post said to the effect of, "i know never to ask about tire size on here, but..." He didn't explain why it's considered bad form to ask about tire size. So, if this next question is in bad form, then accept my apologies, and perhaps someone can explain to me why that is. If not, then i'm wondering about the pros and cons of getting a larger tire size, say a 225 or a 235, etc.
Thanks in advance for any and all help.