Bridgestone RE92's, Crappy Tires?

[SoldonSubie]

Been doing some research on these and it seems that they aren't the best tires.

First, they're rated at 160 AA which means that they won't last that long.

Also, the review section at Tire Track made them sound like they're pathetic snow tires.

Anybody have any real world (snow, AWD) experience with them?

[*Jedimaster*]

The ones on the WRX are crappy- the ones on the Legacy are supposed to be better.

[outahere]

Look at this thread: http://www.legacysti.com/viewtopic.php?t=812

[SoldonSubie]

Thanks for the link!

Curses! Not only do these tire suck but there don't seem to be too many alternatives that are good in the snow. Being as the primary reason for my owing a Subaru is to go in the snow I may be changing my choice to the Outback XT.

Any thoughts?

[racerdave]

Yeah.

Snow performance has to do with *tires,* not an XT vs a GT, ground clearance aside.

It's all about tires. If you want tires that are good in all 4-seasons with decent snowfall, good luck. Let us know when you find something.

For me, I'll be getting dedicated 3-season tires, and snows for the winter.

IMHO, it's the only way to fly.

[SoldonSubie]

Racerdave:

Thanks for the reply. Problem is I live at 7,000 feet and can drive in the snow as early as September and late as May. Snows for 3 seasons and HP tires for 1?

My 01 Outback did just fine with those crappy Firestone Wilderness things and is much improved with the Michelin XGT h4's I put on last fall.

I may go back to the dealer and drive on of the new Outbacks (more tire choices for the size).

At least I have a choice.

[axis008]

Upgrade to the Pirelli P-Zero Nero M/S! :)

[racerdave]

Either the Neros, or I think Nokian makes some "intermediate" tires too.

So Soldon... where do you live at 7k feet? I can see the quandry... hmm... the Nero M&S could be good, but there might be others too...

[Melvin]

I switched out my stock Bridgestone Potenza tires on my 2K2 Legacy L Sedan after about 34K miles and went with the aggressive, all-season cut from Goodyear -- Eagle GT HR. See my positive account of its performance in the Technical Forum under 2005 Legacy 2.5i -- "2K2 2.5 Sedan Owner Facing 2K5 Sedan Upgrade Decision". Google this tire name to catch a quick look at its thread pattern. I'm not sure if they have a version of this tire that will fit onto the 2K5 Legacy GT but I would surely change over to them when the time came if they're available. The only thing is that my mileage dropped off slightly after installing the Goodyears but they have given me overall great grab and go power in the rain and snow.

[SoldonSubie]

Racerdave:

I'm in Colorado. I do a lot a gravelling very early in the morning (3-5 AM) or late at night (10-Midnight) and plowing/cleaning roads seems to not be a concern for local authorities.

I am now seriously looking into the XT alternative. Only in a monochromatic color though! I'm pretty happy with the handling of my 01 Outback so the XT should be nice.

Does anybody have any links to pictures of the XT interior?

[gtguy]

Soldonsubie, not that the XT isn't a most excellent choice (I was pretty much sold on a black one, then the lure of the pure road car came calling), but if you're thinking of tires, a good choice would make your GT unstoppable.

1. Nokian WR, an "all-weather" (Finnish for all-season) tire that is snow rated. I ran some on my WRX this past winter, and they did very well in the white stuff, but also rock the house in the dry. They're stable up to about 115mph, before they start getting squirmy.

2. Bridgestone Blizzak, a pure snow tire that comes in real snow, and performance snow. My preference would be for the real snow, the WS-series. With these on a Subaru, the car is unstoppable, period, no matter what the snow throws at you, unless it's so deep that you high side, which is unlikely. These are a better snow tire than the Nokian WR, but nowhere near as good a dry weather/rain tire, so it's your choice of tradeoff.

On the other hand, the OBXT is a very cool ride.

Kevin

[SUBE555]

Soldon, I plan on burning my RE92's up in the last few AutoX's up here, I won't drive on them for the winter. Considering how much/often we get snow, I'll probably be just fine with PZero Nero M&S or similar for a good all-around use while getting a dedicated wheel/tire combo for summer/AutoX use.

Either the Nokian WR or Blizzak WS-50 should work great for you. If you're looking at something you don't want to take on/off, the WR's will probably be perfect. I know a number of guys that swear by them and ice race on them decently.

[PPower]

For those who have driven the GT, how were the tires? A 160 rating should mean that they are quite soft and should get some decent grip. These aren't necessarily the same pathetic qualities of the WRX's RE92 tires.

I would definitely go with the Nero M+S for the second set. I'm sold on those tires for all around use.

[Dr. Zevil]

Yeah, I was going to get a set of Nero M+S's too. They have gotten some rave reviews.

[Drift Monkey]

On the bright side, when you all wreck your Legacys, you can blame the RE-92s, WRX style. :lol:

[outahere]

Yeah.

Snow performance has to do with *tires,* not an XT vs a GT, ground clearance aside.

It's all about tires. If you want tires that are good in all 4-seasons with decent snowfall, good luck. Let us know when you find something.

For me, I'll be getting dedicated 3-season tires, and snows for the winter.

IMHO, it's the only way to fly.

After moving to snow country I wll also buy a set of dedicated winter tires. But for the rest of the year, my choice is a summer tire or an all season tire. The one reason I can see to favor the all season tire is that they perform better at temperatures below 45F. It can of course get that cold in the evenings a month or two before the first snowfall arrives. But according to R&T, most summer tires have better rain performance than all season tires. Hmmmmmm, what to do, what to do?

[Th3Franz]

My plan might be to gradually transition and keep the 92's for awhile through winter. Then next spring get some good all-season tires to keep on the stock rims. Go a year with those, then get a new set of wheels with summer tires, and use the stock rims with the good all seasons for winter. It depends on my cash flow situation..

[Lodro]

Racerdave:

Thanks for the reply. Problem is I live at 7,000 feet and can drive in the snow as early as September and late as May. Snows for 3 seasons and HP tires for 1?

I sympathize. :-) I just took my snows off 3 weeks ago and usually put them on in late October. 2 seasons on, two season off -- but hey look at it this way, Winter tires are cheaper than ultra-high performance, and they wear better. I use Dunlop WinterSport M2s and they are actually very very good in the dry, quiet, and of course awesome in the snow.

[agctr]

The Oz-Spec cars are coming out with Bridgestone Potenza RE040e rated tyres. Once you get the green off them, they are fine. Currently running RE030 and they wear really great and I throw mine around a fair bit. I had a CRX a few years ago and I had RE88's and they were really great too, very stable in the wet and dry, although, remember to check yr PSi ratings, I run about 1 psi under the recommended which seems to work great.

[Drift Monkey]

Just wear the RE92s out as fast as you can. Problem solved.

[SUBE555]

That's my idea, then PZero Nero M&S or something of similar or better grade before the snow flies. ;)