Which tires are original equipment?

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

Bridgestone Potenza RE92s.

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.

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

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

[quote name='gtguy']Well, the GTs come with Z-rated RE-92s, which we can hope are different from the much-reviled ones. Kevin[/quote] 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:

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?

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

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.

[quote name='CombatCQB']yea, I would just autocross the stock tires to death and get new ones.[/quote] That's the plan. :D

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.

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.

[quote name='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.[/quote]you think it might be some contact limitation? That would be a dumb limitation to have.

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

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.

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

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.

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

[quote name='SUBE555']I believe the G35 and some others may actually come with the same tire, so you can ask them that as well.[/quote] Just checked: Sedan - GY Eagle RS-A 16" and GY Eagle GS-D 17" Coupe - GY Eagle RS-A 17" and Michelin Pilot 18"

[quote name='SUBE555'] I'd imagine Subaru gets a screaming bargain on RE92s.[/quote] I hope so, because at the tirerack, these tires, in 215/45ZR17, are $149 each!!!! I think I will sell mine on ebay.

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?

[quote name='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?[/quote] 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

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

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.

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