What Have You Replaced the RE92's With and Why?

[brad21]

Before I get too much mileage to make them a good trade/resale and because you guys have scared me with all your bad RE92 talk I was thinking about dumping them and replacing them with something else, especially before winter in the Oregon high desert which sees a good combination of crappy and decent weather.

What have you replaced yours with, why, how much, and where?

Tire Rack has a Reno distribution center. I may be down there next month for the air races and could order and pick them up to save a little coin. Did that with my last Legacy L wagon now that I think about it!?

[Driver72]

Pirelli P Zero Nero's

After my 1000 mile break in, that's what will be going on mine.
But I don't know if they are great snow tires.
They are however great all season and performance tire in one.

[inthedeck]

First off, don't let people get to you...the RE-92's are capable of 'controlled' driving in the snow...trust me, I have used them...just don't push them toooo hard in the snow -- otherwise, you will love to learn to drift in the snow.

Secondly, if you are going to spend the money on tires, get some good snow tires...you can always have them mounted/balanced before/after the winter. I think that this would be a better way to go...if you get more than 6" of snow.

Lastly, if you have some extra money, try to find a set of winter wheels (possibly from someone that sells the stock rims). Add snow rubber to those, and change as necessary.

Again, I used the RE-92's on the WRX for about 30K miles, before I switched (about a year and a half - with one winter season (the worst in NY that I have driven in) and they were fine). Of course, the 16" RE-92 tires are prolly a little worse than the 17" RE-92...in terms of their 'performance.'

Later, and hope this helps.
i.

[racerdave]

I guess the main question is: "What are you looking for in a tire?"

All season?

[Drift Monkey]

Pirelli P Zero Nero's

After my 1000 mile break in, that's what will be going on mine.
But I don't know if they are great snow tires.
They are however great all season and performance tire in one.
I'm assuming the M+S

[*Jedimaster*]

I'm gonna be buying 2 sets of tires soon- one for my Rotas and one for the stock rims. I'll be looking at Cooper tires- I don't know if anyone else has ever used them, but I bought a set about 8 years ago on someone's suggestion and was impressed with them.

[bigbadboss101]

I have RE92 on my Maxima and in Western Canada I had to get some LM22 Blizzaks. My question is... are the RE92 limiting the GT's handling performance? If not, one might stick with them in the summer, and get snow for winter. I know I have hydroplaned on the highway with the Potenzas. IF a better tire brings out the potential of the GT, then we should look into them. It's like a baseball player using a bat that is not suitable for him!?

[gtguy]

Dunlop 9000s for the summer, because they're an adult performance tire. That is to say quiet, excellent rain performance, not quite the ultimate in dry grip, but they trade that off for good tread wear from a max performance tire.

Blizzak WS-50s for the winter, because they're about the best pure snow tire going.

Bigbadboss, upping the tire pressure helps the communicativeness of the RE92s. Inthedeck is right in that circumspection is the key to using the stock tires effectively. But they do have a high plastic content as I understand it, for better tread life, which generally comes with a downside.

Good luck,

Kevin

[brad21]

I travel quite a bit at times and could end up needing to be in So Cal in the dead of winter. Thusly, I prefer a M+S tire that I can just leave on year round. For instance though, last winter I ended up at Tahoe for a week and every time I end up there they have a 100 year blizzard. The worn out Hankook's (that were VERY good, and cheap) got me stuck in the Audi.

If I could fork out for a dedicated summer pair of wheels and tires I'd put a good M+S on for the winter, but as it stands I just want to leave one set on year round.

Driving at highway speeds with dedicated snow tires just plain ol' sucks. :)

[brad21]

Oh yeah, and of course I want my tires to be damn near free, last for the life of the vehicle, handle like race slicks in the dry and go like a snowcat when it's bumper deep.

Thanks for the help.

[*Jedimaster*]

I also increased my tire pressure last weekend- it does ehlp, but makes the tires more noisy- then again, the tires on the XT are 225/55/17- maybe the extra sidewall makes it louder.

[SUBE555]

Oh yeah, and of course I want my tires to be damn near free, last for the life of the vehicle, handle like race slicks in the dry and go like a snowcat when it's bumper deep.

Thanks for the help.

You're looking for something nobody makes. With something that sticks you are going to create friction, higher abilities of friction will wear the tires faster. The only tires that really kill in the snow are dedicated snows. Snows are no good in semi-warm to warm weather. All-seasons are a compromise on both.

You will NEVER get a tire to last as long as the vehicle, especially if you want them for damn-near free. If you're leasing for 36k miles, sure, doable if you don't have a LOT of fun on them, I wouldn't plan anything beyond 35-40k out of tires if you have lots of fun.

I chose Toyo Proxes 4's in stock size from TreaDepot.com for $402 shipped. We don't get a ton of snow in this part of Wisconsin, maybe 20-30inches on average per winter. I was told you shouldn't have any problem getting home when a decent amount of snow is falling. I don't go out in snowstorms if I don't have to anyhow. They stick really nicely and are rather quiet driving. I sure won't have any problems getting another set unless something much better and over the top is available. The PZero Nero's were rated about the same, but for that extra $100, not worth it to me.

[outahere]

I travel quite a bit at times and could end up needing to be in So Cal in the dead of winter. Thusly, I prefer a M+S tire that I can just leave on year round. For instance though, last winter I ended up at Tahoe for a week and every time I end up there they have a 100 year blizzard. The worn out Hankook's (that were VERY good, and cheap) got me stuck in the Audi. :)

If you want an all season tire with excellent winter traction, a lot of people seem to like the Nokian WR. If you want an all season tire that is biased towards excellent summer performance, look into the Toyo Proxes4 and the Pirelli ZeroNero M&S. You will not find a tire that excells in both summer heat and winter snow.

[brad21]

Thanks guys!

[gtguy]

Oh yeah, and of course I want my tires to be damn near free, last for the life of the vehicle, handle like race slicks in the dry and go like a snowcat when it's bumper deep.

Thanks for the help.

The closest tire to this, indeed as someone has mentioned, is the Nokian WR. It's an "all-weather" tire that has also passed muster as a snow tire, thus the snowflake brand on its sidewall.

I ran a set last year on the WRX, and they don't start feeling hinky until about 115 mph. They grip very well in the dry, do quite well in the snow (though not as well as a pure snow tire) and have a 50,000-mile treadwear guarantee.

Unfortunately, they aren't "darn near free." In the GT's stock size, they're something around $175 per tire.

Kevin

[*Jedimaster*]

Sube- thanks for that link- damn good prices on there! :)

[brad21]

Okay, here's another question: How big can you go up from the stock size on the stock wheel? Will a 225 work? I like a little meatier look.

[*Jedimaster*]

I thought they were 225?

[brad21]

I thought they were 225?

215's on mine... :?

[*Jedimaster*]

Oops- sorry- the Outback comes with 225.

[axis008]

You and your Outback. This is a LEGACY forum! Pshhh hahaha just kidding. :D :P

[SUBE555]

You can do 225/45R-17, but it will degrade your handling ability as the tire is a nice bit wider than the wheel and you may get more tire squirm. People do it, but if you are looking for rather good handling, you'd want to do a 225 width tire with a 7.5" wheel.

If you are going to keep the car stock, you shouldn't need more than 215 rubber. I've pushed my car rather hard at certain points so far, the rubber hasn't let go (my Proxes 4's.) We've went down this path before, but good 215 rubber can beat mediocre rubber in 225 or 235 any day of the week.

[rporter]

Since my GT Limited Wagon will be in around early September, I went and taked to the local Discount Tire about swapping. They will give me $50 apiece for the RE92s. I'll head over there right from the dealership.

Here in the Deroit area, we don't get enough snow to justify dedicated snow tires, so I still want all-season tires on the stock rims. Next summer, I'll get summer tires on another set of rims.

After some checking around, I'm going with the ContiExtremeContact, after considering the P Zero Nero, RE950, and a couple of other all-season tires. Here's the Tire Rack and Discount Tire links for them:

http://tinyurl.com/e2xn

http://tinyurl.com/3wqyq

With the tires being $106 each, the total should run me no more than $300 with the trade-in of the RE92s.

If I can swing it, we have a track day set up at Gingerman in late October, so it would be a good opportunity to give the car & tires a try.

Ron

[SUBE555]

I personally wouldn't do CEC's on this car. I had them on my last car. While they do faily decent in snow, they are really not much better in handling than an RE92 and squeel around EVERY corner.

[*Jedimaster*]

Since my GT Limited Wagon will be in around early September, I went and taked to the local Discount Tire about swapping. They will give me $50 apiece for the RE92s. I'll head over there right from the dealership.

Here in the Deroit area, we don't get enough snow to justify dedicated snow tires, so I still want all-season tires on the stock rims. Next summer, I'll get summer tires on another set of rims.

After some checking around, I'm going with the ContiExtremeContact, after considering the P Zero Nero, RE950, and a couple of other all-season tires. Here's the Tire Rack and Discount Tire links for them:

http://tinyurl.com/e2xn

http://tinyurl.com/3wqyq

With the tires being $106 each, the total should run me no more than $300 with the trade-in of the RE92s.

If I can swing it, we have a track day set up at Gingerman in late October, so it would be a good opportunity to give the car & tires a try.

Ron

Is this something tire dealers are known to do? I'd like to trade my stockers in on a set of dedicated snows.

[rporter]

Is this something tire dealers are known to do? I'd like to trade my stockers in on a set of dedicated snows.

Definitely yes.In fact, I got a set of take-offs on my previous car for a very good price.

What helps the price (which is is negotiable) is that the RE92s will have less than 20 miles on them. The more miles....the lower the trade-in price.

[rporter]

I personally wouldn't do CEC's on this car. I had them on my last car. While they do faily decent in snow, they are really not much better in handling than an RE92 and squeel around EVERY corner.

Personally, I like the comment on the 911 list that I'm on:

"All-Season tires Should Be Called No-Season Tires"

FWIW, I have Nitto 450 Extremes on my summer-only 911, and they are great in the wet. Folks in my other car club also love them in the winter.

In my other car club, there have been good comments on the Contis in the winter. This also matches the Tire Rack Survey responses.

One of the "key" issues is that the Contis are one of the newer silica-compound tires, which are not supposed to get hard as they get old. My wife's '95 Del Sol came with RE92s, and they sucked. Also, look at the Tire Rack RE92 Survey....one of the lowest Survey averages.

FWIW, I have Yoko ES100s on my other car ('94 SHO MTX) that does very well on the track with them (I've done three tracks with them....Blackhawk, Gingerman and Thunderhill) and will consider them as my summer tires.

I have also had Pirelli 7000 Supersports, which are also a great all-season tire. One of the considerations for P Zero Neros are that they are all-season, silica compound, and Pirelli tires are also quite light. It's just that the early Tire Rack survey is not very good for the P Zero Neros, and the Discount Tire guy (who seemed to be up on his performance tires) liked the Contis better.

Ron

[rporter]

I personally wouldn't do CEC's on this car. I had them on my last car. While they do faily decent in snow, they are really not much better in handling than an RE92 and squeel around EVERY corner.

I don't give a flying fork as to whether they squeal or not.....it's how they stick. Squealing has more to do with the corner tread design than anything.

As Terry, our Skip Barber instructor says: "A squealing tire is a happy tire"!!

Ron

[SUBE555]

Ron, I'm not trying to get you POed at all, I'm just saying, it appeared you were more into a performance A/S. The CEC's I had were decent in the snow until they got heat cycled about 3X (AutoX's that I felt too lazy to bring other tires along for) and then they were only so-so on the white stuff. Those were 205/55R-16 size. The 215/45R-17 may be a bit better, but the sidewalls are fairly soft if you are going to Gingerman, Blackhawk Farms, and others with this tire. They do roll the edges easily (my Proxes 4's roll about 1/3 to 1/4 my Conti's did at about 42psi with the Toyos at a few pounds less per.)

Now, if you don't track them and heat cycle them, they should be a decent cool weather tire. They do squeel, but give enough time prior to breaking to warn you and when they do break, it it very progressive, which is a good thing.

They're a decent tire, just not really a performance tire IMO as I have owned them and my mom still has them on her RS.

[rporter]

Ron, I'm not trying to get you POed at all, I'm just saying, it appeared you were more into a performance A/S. The CEC's I had were decent in the snow until they got heat cycled about 3X (AutoX's that I felt too lazy to bring other tires along for) and then they were only so-so on the white stuff. Those were 250/55R-16 size. The 215/45R-17 may be a bit better, but the sidewalls are fairly soft if you are going to Gingerman, Blackhawk Farms, and others with this tire. They do roll the edges easily (my Proxes 4's roll about 1/3 to 1/4 my Conti's did at about 42psi with the Toyos at a few pounds less per.)

Now, if you don't track them and heat cycle them, they should be a decent cool weather tire. They do squeel, but give enough time prior to breaking to warn you and when they do break, it it very progressive, which is a good thing.

They're a decent tire, just not really a performance tire IMO as I have owned them and my mom still has them on her RS.

Reread what I wrote about my tire plans.

Remember......ALL-SEASON TIRES SUCK FOR ULTIMATE PERFORMANCE

I'm talking about tires that I will run in the winter months, and I am not gonna buy sticky summer tires this season before I do Gingerman. Haven't decided on what the 2nd set of wheels will be for the summer, anyway.

Also, the newer silica-based tires are much better for long-term wear, so that's also what I look for in any tire that I buy.

[Max Capacity]

I have been thinking about the WR as a tire. I know they are not cheap but I haven't looked for them in 17's yet. I have a Audi buddy who swears by his Nokian Hak Q's. I have seen him go into amazing amounts of snow with those. I'm talking 2 feet of snow.

This will be my first winter with this much HP. On my last two Legacy's I have run Michelin MXV4's and have never had any real problems with them. I'm a skier the skis 65+ days a season. My plate is GOT SNO. I drive in winter more then summer.

This year I'm begining to think the WR or Hak Q's may be the way to go. I want bigger wheels next summer also. I just need more money... I want I want.

Yes I have left the RE92's on the first winter or two but when they wore out, I would not buy them again. They were fine in the snow but the MXV4's were better all around.