Which tires are original equipment?

[outahere]

Anyone know which tires (brand and model) will be original equipment on the GT wagon and sedan? :?:

[Drift Monkey]

Bridgestone Potenza RE92s.

[outahere]

This is not good. At the tirerack website, the RE92 ranks (in consumer surveys) next to last among 22 high performance all season tires. The RE950 ranked much higher, at 4th.

[Th3Franz]

Yeah they're not very good. Once I have enough extra cash, I'll probably get another set of wheels with summer tires.

[gtguy]

Well, the GTs come with Z-rated RE-92s, which we can hope are different from the much-reviled ones.

Personally, Blizzaks are going on the stock wheels, and my Prodrive P1s with Dunlop 9000s are going on the wagon.

I have to retain my WRX's record of never having driven a foot on RE-92s.

Kevin

[outahere]

Well, the GTs come with Z-rated RE-92s, which we can hope are different from the much-reviled ones.
Kevin

They will have a different internal construction to get the Z rating, but the tread pattern will likely stay the same, and this means good performance in the dry, poor performance in the rain, and useless in the snow. Doesn't a $26,000 sports sedan deserve better tires from the factory? :roll:

[SUBE555]

I believe the G35 and some others may actually come with the same tire, so you can ask them that as well.

Kevin, I'll just be burning mine up by winter for something more all-season snow-worthy. We just don't get enough snow up here on a consistent basis to put dedicated snows on. I might consider Nokian WRs, but we'll see.

Kevin, how much are Nokian WRs, last time you checked?

[CombatCQB]

yea, I would just autocross the stock tires to death and get new ones.

[RSPDiver]

S555, if memory serves me, the 16" wheeled G35s come with those. I can't recall what the I saw on the 17"-ers. Seems like it was something else, though.

[SUBE555]

yea, I would just autocross the stock tires to death and get new ones.
That's the plan. :D

[agctr]

The original equipment on the GT model here in Oz is a Bridgestone Potenza RE040e. Apparently these tires have been especially designed for the car and the conditions here in Australia.

[SUBE555]

Well you guys are lucky then. Almost everything up here keeps getting the RE92's over and over. If they want to keep sticking with Bridgestone, it would be nice if they could use RE950's, but that isn't likely at all to happen.

[CombatCQB]

Well you guys are lucky then. Almost everything up here keeps getting the RE92's over and over. If they want to keep sticking with Bridgestone, it would be nice if they could use RE950's, but that isn't likely at all to happen.you think it might be some contact limitation? That would be a dumb limitation to have.

[gtguy]

Sube, my 16" WRs were about $150 per tire, so figure on about $160+ per wheel for the larger size.

The RE950s, a purer performance tire, isn't likely to be OE equipment for the Legacy, you're right. Automakers have gotten too burned by the low wear and poor cold weather performance of pure performance tires (with customer complaints...don't forget that not everyone is as educated as we are), not to mention replacement costs and road noise.

Kevin

[SUBE555]

There are a lot better tires out there in all aspects compared to the RE92, including price. I think a lot of performance model owners, like yourself Kevin wouldn't be so quick to trade-up tires or burn them up like me if they actually put a performance minded tire on the performance models (not to the extreme of the 070's on the STi of course) as there are a lot of options out there.

I'd imagine Subaru gets a screaming bargain on RE92s.

[gtguy]

Right on, Sube, I think it's definitely bargain city on the RE92s, and perhaps Subaru could offer something more aggressive as an option tire. But we should be careful to realize that we aren't the real target market for the Legacy GT, even though it will be a success with us.

The average GT customer isn't going to go anywhere near the limits of the RE92s in rain or snow, much less the dry, so they will never know. I'm not sure if ignorance is bliss in that case, however.

Kevin

[SUBE555]

I think if it were to winter weather alone (where a significant majority of their sales are already located), the RE950 would prove a significant improvement in handling safety. I know the mags like Consumer Reports have always been wear of the safety handling procedures, which I think a good amount of that could be due to tires.

Improve here, lose there, there will never be a full package deal. :( Dems da facts.

[racerdave]

RE92's are just plain garbage. I may pre-order a set of Zero Nero's to put on right away.

[RSPDiver]

I believe the G35 and some others may actually come with the same tire, so you can ask them that as well.

Just checked: Sedan - GY Eagle RS-A 16" and GY Eagle GS-D 17"
Coupe - GY Eagle RS-A 17" and Michelin Pilot 18"

[outahere]

I'd imagine Subaru gets a screaming bargain on RE92s.

I hope so, because at the tirerack, these tires, in 215/45ZR17, are $149 each!!!! I think I will sell mine on ebay.

[SUBE555]

Kevin, how much did the dealership give you for your RE92's on exchange at the dealership, or did they just swap them and you took them home to sell them?

[gtguy]

Kevin, how much did the dealership give you for your RE92's on exchange at the dealership, or did they just swap them and you took them home to sell them?

What I did, Sube, was simply swap the stock WRX wheels over to the Legacy GT wagon that I traded in, and put the P1s from the GT onto the WRX. It wasn't as much a matter of trade, as there needed to be wheels on the Legacy.

Kevin

[SUBE555]

I see. Can't really do that with this one I'd imagine. Lets just hope those bolt patterns didn't change. :roll:

[AMT4SWA]

I bought a set of Sumitomo's (215/45/17 "Z") HZR II for my IS300 at 40,000 miles and I now have 20,000 miles on them with great even tread wear. The tires have been very good in heavy rains and are much more grippy then the SP9000's that came from the factory...best of all, I bought them at Sears for $114 a tire...not to bad. This should be a good economical replacement for the RE92's.

[Drift Monkey]

C'mon Subaru, at least put on some Potenza S03 Pole Positions! Geez...:lol:

[jim1969]

What about Falken Ziex ZE 512's? They come in the 215/45/ZR17 size.

[SUBE555]

I haven't heard as much about them, but looks to be about the closest thing to the PZero Nero M&S, Toyo Proxes 4's. The overall marks are a little lower for the Falken than the two I have mentioned too and the Toyo is the same cost.

My measurement marks are from 1010tires, as they carry all 3.

[Opie]

The RE92's are a fine tire for the average driver, they are even an acceptable tire for an aggressive driver as long as you recognize their limits. We never get snow here in FL, but we get almost daily downpours and I've never had a problem with the RE92's on any of the SUbaru's I've owned that had them ('91 Legacy Turbo, '00 2.5RS, '03 Legacy SE). Mine will be staying on the car until they are worn out...they are nowhere near bad enough to waste $600 right off the bat, especially when learning the handling characteristics of a new car. And when they do wear out, Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3's will replace them, just like I had on my last car.

http://www.subaruchallenge.com/Wills/re92poster.jpg

[subey25rs777]

I happen to work in the tire buisness, and the RE92 in my opinion realy suck.
I have changed countless RE92 model tires off of new vehicles on a daily basis due to customers complaining of poor ride quality. As for these tires being a Z rated tire I could not say what the quality will be.

Could someone who owns a new GT tell me if these tires are truely Z rated? If these tires are in fact Z rated I will be willing to give them a shot.

It is a shame that Bridgestone does make the G009 in a 215-45-17 due to the fact that they are starting to come stock on new BMW and Mercedes vehicles.

[SUBE555]

Opie, my family owns 4 late-model Subaru's, 3 of which were new and have had RE92's. None have lasted more than 25k miles and none have been safe to the second winter (the first winter of each were questionable at best.) After the first 15k or so they also were hydroplaning fairly well too. The other family members don't drive very agressively either.

Granted, they're better than no-name tires, but there are certainly much better options out there, at least for the performance models such as the WRX and Legacy GT, perhaps the OBXT and FXT as well.

[sdgarber]

I replaced the OEM RE92s on my 2002 WRX with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (A/S = all season) Z rating. Those tires made a huge difference in the ride and handling of the car in both wet & dry conditions. They produced less noise than the Potenza RE92s too. Given that I recently traded my WRX for the Legacy GT, I never got to see weather the Michelins would measure up to the promise of improved tread life. They do boast the top tread life rating in the premium high performance all season tire class. I know from experience that the Potenza are really no good after 30k miles. :twisted:

[kanoswrx]

The RE-92's are just about the worst tire ever made in the world. Was driving last night in some heavy rain, and going through even tiny puddles made the car jerk around. I guess I was to used to my Goodyear F1 GS-D3's. Can't wait until I get some better rubber on. But that won't be until the spring, when I get new wheels and some high perf summer tires.

[SUBE555]

I think I'm going to have a Subaru rep go along with me in my GT during the ride and drive, only modification is that it's shod with Toyo Proxes 4's and show him how much better it handles with those in comparison to RE92's, it's quiet, downright much better, and the Toyo's were a bargain! Ask why we can't get something like that on the GT to make it actually perform.

[wunderkind]

Oh come on... my mom's 02 RS has RE92s and we get lot sof snow up in Toronto. It worked ok. Just drive safely.
There are plenty of 2wd cars with brand names like Tiger Paw or wal-mart stuff that went thru winters with no problems. I think you guys are:
a) being too harsh on the tire
b) lousy drivers

I hope it's the former.

[Gumby]

The RE92's are a fine tire for the average driver, they are even an acceptable tire for an aggressive driver as long as you recognize their limits. We never get snow here in FL, but we get almost daily downpours and I've never had a problem with the RE92's on any of the SUbaru's I've owned that had them ('91 Legacy Turbo, '00 2.5RS, '03 Legacy SE). Mine will be staying on the car until they are worn out...they are nowhere near bad enough to waste $600 right off the bat, especially when learning the handling characteristics of a new car. And when they do wear out, Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3's will replace them, just like I had on my last car.

http://www.subaruchallenge.com/Wills/re92poster.jpg

I totally agree.

[SUBE555]

You're in Cali, you're biased! :lol:

And what happens if you're not average? :mrgreen:

There is a very noticeable difference IMO, but that's just me.

[rao]

ROFL, that picture is excellent. :lol:

[Legacy05GT]

Theres someone on EBay selling the RE92's for $900.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2486086330&catego ry=6755

[SUBE555]

Actually it's a set of stock wheels with the RE92's still on them. $900 isn't too bad for a set of them actually, but new ones are likely about $300 more. If there isn't a scratch, great deal.

Still gotta get rid of those RE92's then! :lol:

If only I had an extra $900 laying around so I could pick up the extra set of stockers. Well I do have it laying around, it's just earmarked for this fall.

[brad21]

I had a set of Hankook's M+S on my Audi. Can't remember the exact model, but they lasted a long time, were very inexpensive and were great in all conditions, until they wore out.

[brad21]

So what would be an economical replacement tire for the stock Bridgestone's? You guys are scaring me and with winter coming and the type and amount of driving I do in crap weather I'd rather have a better tire and off these on eBay or something while I can!