215/65/16 or 225/60/16 would be fine for snow tires. The 215's would cut through snow and slush a little better, and the 225 will handle a little more comfortably.

I'd get whichever was cheaper.

Also, while they do not carry the Generals, Discount/America's Tire or their online store DiscountTireDirect carry the Hankook iPike which is a very similar design. They'll match or beat any competitor's installed price...and have earned me mentioning them a lot by doing so.

 

I have an 08 2.5i OB Wagon with the same stock size as yours. I have a set of 16" spare alloy rims and I bought a set of Yokohama Ice Guard "IC20" snow tires in the 225x60-16" size from Discount Tires here in UT at an excellent price. They are very close in size to the stock size in diameter (I'm currently running on Pirelli P4's in the 225x55-17" size for three seasons.).

I installed the snow tires yesterday after I replaced both the front and rear brake pads. Based on my GPS, the snow tires actually make the speedometer reading more accurate. I don't yet know how they will perform in snow, but they have an aggressive thread pattern and the proper rubber compound. The Yokohama's are also NOT directional so that I won't have any problems or extra expense with regular (I do 5K miles) tire rotations. I have had excellent results with other types of Yokohama tires.

I also discovered that both the snow tires and the P4's fit nicely into the spare tire well. I had to remove the "tool tray" but everything else fits nicely into the center of the tire. I really don't like the "donut" spare and am much happier to be able to carry a full size tire.
BTW, the 215x60x16" will make your speedometer error about 5% slow. It will say 60mph but will actually be doing 57mph.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I hadn't thought of 215/65-16 but if I go to that size I can get the Xice for nearly the same price as the Altimax (after rebate). I noticed that these would be 0.3" taller than stock - would I have any problems with that?

 

I just bought the X-Ice (instead of the Altimax Arctic) in the 215/65R16 for my 04 OBW. So far I've had light snow (less than 3 inches) and some minor snow pack and decent ice and have not had any problems. :29:

The 215/65R16 should clear just fine on your OB model, just make sure you have a set of 16 inch wheels since your stock wheels are 17's.


-Kevin

 

I did something similar on my 3 series, stock is 225/45R17, I bought 215/50R17 for my snows, rather than 205/50R17. (I forget the actual sidewall numbers). Narrower tire helps a lot in snow.

 

On our subi 225/60/16 was the stock size. I went with 205/65/16 on my last set of winter tires and would not reccommend it. The narrow tires, might have been slightly better to "cut through" the slush, but I found that they wore funny on the edges due to the narrower foot print putting more pressure on the edge of the tire. Also rememeber that the wheel wells are very small on these cars and the wells pack snow. Do not get a tire size that is any bigger in diameter. Going down one size in width and one size up in aspect will still yeild a larger tires. You need to step down two sizes in width in order to go up one in aspct. In the above post by chris as an example.
225/45/17=24.97"
215/50/17=25.46"
205/50/17=25.07
So to get the closest to stock you need to step down 20mm in width which I think will effect both handling a wear. If you really want to go narrower jsut go down 10mm in width and keep the same aspect ratio
215/45/17=24.6"
I have driven both 205 and 225 blizaks and it doesn't really make that much of a difference. The fact that you are running winter tires vs. all season is wheare you make the HUGE difference. Also rememeber even small changes in tires diameter will effect your speedo, odo, torque, and thusly accleration but most importantly how the auto tranny shifts.

i jsut got a set of blizzaks ws70s from costco for 468 mounted out the door. There is currently a 100$ off coupon. The biggest coupon costoc has ever issued for tires. TAKE ADVANTAGE of it, if you have a cotco nearby and are a member. Heck it would be worth getting a membership jsut for this deal.

 

Do not get a tire size that is any bigger in diameter. Going down one size in width and one size up in aspect will still yeild a larger tires.

Sounds like I'm back to 225/60-16 then. Opting for 215/65-16 was more for the financial aspect than snow handling but if I'm going to lose out in the long run on treadwear then it doesn't make much sense.

I am a Costco member however I really don't relish the thought of having to pay to have my tires swapped every season so I'd prefer a tire/wheel package.

 

Try Tire size calculator for a calculator to see what happens to speedometer when changing tire and wheel size. I'm running 225/65/16 in place of 225/60/17. Speedometer reads 0.4% too fast (speedo reads 60mph when actual speed is 59.8 mph). I just didn't like any of the wheels available in 17".

 

I run 215/65R16 as both my summer and winter tire size. No problems with wear or handling. The speedo difference is not of concern and extra tire height is not a hindrance. Handling is not comprimised. If your tires are wearing the edges, bump up your tire pressure a bit and make sure you're suspension is properly aligned.

Seriously, no problems, don't worry about it. Lots of Subaru owners are running this tire size, especially on this forum!

 

This will be the first winter for my Subaru Outback. Winter tire, yes or no? I live in PA. and we do get some bad snow storms. I really don't have the extra $ for extra rims, so I'll have to mount tires on stock rims, will this be an issue with the TPMS?
Tire size, 225/55/17. Looking at Firestone Winterforce @ $434.00/4 tires.

 

The Winterforce tires look like they would be a good snow tire especially for the price. The reviews are good too. I've mounted many of them and the tread looks like it will clear out snow very well and it has lots of flex and sipes which should help grip on ice. They are also studdable if you choose so.

I'm impressed with my Michelin X-Ice's I got this year! So far so good and we had some really really nasty ice the other day which I had to drive 25+ miles in and I was soooo impressed by the grip these tires had! I'd definitely recommend these and I think Tire Rack is still having a good sale on them.

 

The Winterforce tires look like they would be a good snow tire especially for the price. The reviews are good too. I've mounted many of them and the tread looks like it will clear out snow very well and it has lots of flex and sipes which should help grip on ice. They are also studdable if you choose so.

I'm impressed with my Michelin X-Ice's I got this year! So far so good and we had some really really nasty ice the other day which I had to drive 25+ miles in and I was soooo impressed by the grip these tires had! I'd definitely recommend these and I think Tire Rack is still having a good sale on them.

 

Michelin Ice-x are the winner of this years winter tire shoot out on tirerack and some other sites. The main thing that stands out about them is the ice performance and the low rolling resitance. Most winter tires sucks down the MPGs.

The mastercraft glacier grip IIs are a popular studdable winter tire around here. Good price.

However in my experiance a studless winter tire like the ice-x and the blizzaks are WAY better as far as performance goes. They both are only good for about half the threadlife though. Studs get busted and studless lose the special compound.

I kept my eye out on craigslist for a while. I also bought my rims on the coast and not in the mountains. People get rid of stock wheels for 18's and other performance/bling wheels. In the mountains it is hard to come about a extra set of stocker. Oh I paided about 200 bucks for all four. Around here winter/summer swap out cost about 60 bucks, lets say 50 for rounding purposes. In one year you will be paying 100 for swap out. Extra set of wheels paid for them sevels in 2 years. I haev had mine for 5.

However, most local tire shops will swap out seasonally for free. You pay extra to buy them at the shop instead of tirerack or the like. But the free seasonal swap is worht the extra you have to pay up front.

My new blizzak ws70s have been ripping it up on the ice. So pleased with their ability to stick on ice.

There is something to chew on.

 

225 45 r17??

Hi guys,
Someone just gave me an almost brand new set of Blizzak 225 45 R17. Im thinking on mounting them on the OEM 17 wheels and ditch the OEM Potenzas. I untderstand that the total circumference is 25in vs 26.7in for the OEM tires.

Would you mount them, or should I say thanks, but no thanks??

 

Hi guys,
Someone just gave me an almost brand new set of Blizzak 225 45 R17. Im thinking on mounting them on the OEM 17 wheels and ditch the OEM Potenzas. I untderstand that the total circumference is 25in vs 26.7in for the OEM tires.

Would you mount them, or should I say thanks, but no thanks??

Your car will ride nearly 2" lower. Your speedometer will read

 

I'd run them! If they were free then they were worth it! And those stock Potenze's are just going to get you in a wreck - they are terrible on anything but dry pavement!

Also, got my hands on a set of General Altimax Arctic and Hankook Winter iPike's going onto customer cars at work. They both are very similar in design with generous siping and are studdable. They seem like they would be a good choice for a decent price thoug I have not driven either on the road. Just seem like good quality tire construction.

 

Thanks for the responses guys,
The reason I'm considering the Blizzaks is that according to the manual; which includes Wheel sizes 16, 17 and even 18!! the total diameter of the different wheels goes from 24.6in for the 215 45 R17 to 26.7in for the specific combination I have (225 55 R17). If I take the 215 45 R17 against the Blizzaks, the diff in size is only 1.5% (24.6 vs 25 in) but if you take the size I have (26.7 vs 25in) the difference is 6.6% just as Tirolerpeter mentions. Finally I'll be doing 80% city driving and the rest highway. My OB version is what they used to call 2.5i (mid level with 17in wheels) but the basic version of that year shipped with the 205 55 R16 which has a total diameter of 24.9 in (vs 25in for the Blizzaks ) So going by the manual, a 25 in diameter is covered in the different suggested OEM diameter and some European versions of the Outback even seem to ship with 225 45 R17; That's why I am so confused and still on the fence. Tirolerpeter, do you still think I should sell them? I would hate to part with them but safety goes first!
Thanks again for the comments.

 

I have had Blizzaks and WinterForce on my front-wheel drive Nissan. Blizzak was far superior. The WinterForce was a good tire for daily winter driving, but as a skier, the WinterForce did not hold up to severe conditions (deep snow, ice, hill climbing, etc).
For my Outback, I decided to go with the stock tire size because of handling. I found with smaller tire sizes, I found cornering suffered too much for my liking.
This time I bought Dunlop Graspic DS-3's. They have been a real good snow tire. For the price I think they perform well. I still think the Blizzaks are superior but the way I go through tires, I like to save a couple bucks.
I hear great things about Nokian tires, but again, you pay a pretty penny for those. I have a co-worker who commutes over 200 miles a day in NH and he swears by his Nokians.

 

I have an 08 OB with 215/65-16 X ices (for winter) and a 09 OB with 225/55-17 Nokian WRG2s all year round. I honestly can't say I can tell the difference in traction in winter between the two but both are vastly better than the stock RE92s. With the Nokians I can at least run them all year and not worry about swapping them off when warm weather arrives.

I have had 4 seasons on the XIces and they are still good for the rest of this season, tread showing 6/32in still. The nokians have 36K miles and the 4mm tread wear indicators are gone on the fronts and clearly wearing away on the back (4-5 /32in tread). I just got a new set, don't want my teens driving without optimal tread this season though so far its been unseasonally warm.