need some 17" aggressive tires

[freshlikesushi]

So here is the story:

Im limited to like 29.5ish inch tires

245/65-17 is the size im looking at.

There are a few options:
Nitto terragrapplers
BFG TA KO (ko2 in 225/70 arent out yet)
falken wild peak
cooper at3


these are the best options i have found?

Use:
2015 subaru outback
1.5 inch lift
terrain seems to be a mix of mud in the spring, and general dirt/rocky during summer/fall.
sound doesnt matter. i care more about how well they do offroad than on. bought this car just for this.


any suggestions?

 

[rayra]

Well if a TA meets your definition of 'aggressive', take a look at the Yoko Geolanders. They seem to have good reviews and they have a lot of siping in their lugs as well. I've only got about 1k on mine and nothing more than dirt roads yet, so no report.

eta pictured are 265/70-17

You might get better referrals too if you describe the type of wheeling you do and how much of your time / mileage will be on the highway.

 

[freshlikesushi]

t/a doesnt really....but given the size i can run from spring perch limits, i cant really get into good 30s. also i cant go smaller than 16s because of brake size, so 15" wheels are out.

this is why im asking here. I imagine you guys know alot more about whats out there as an internet collective than me. I dont like geolanders. ive had them before and wasnt very happy overall with them. had some issues with rocky terrain traction.

if you read the last few lines of my post...it does exactly that.


Use:
2015 subaru outback
1.5 inch lift
terrain seems to be a mix of mud in the spring, and general dirt/rocky during summer/fall.
sound doesnt matter. i care more about how well they do offroad than on. bought this car just for this.

 

[amo292]

I think the 17" wheels are going to be your hang up. You may be able to broaden your search if you could scrounge up a set of 16" or even 15" steel wheels. In my quick search I couldn't really find anything that met your criteria. If you could find the cooper at3's in that size that would probably be your best fit for the conditions. I have yet to see a bad review for them. I would still look into the Yokohama Geolander ATS even if you have had prior bad experience with them. we run them on all of our work trucks and thy have yet to fail. I also see them used widely on Subarus like yours and the WRX models.

One problem I see with your plans is that all those tire options are Light Truck tires. The weight should probably be a consideration in your search. I can see some LT tires on a Subaru really holding it back with loss of power and more importantly braking distance and handling on the road. You would be surprised how well an aggressive p rated winter or all weather tire will take a Subaru. They are amazing machines.

Good luck with your search!

 

[VistaCruiser]

Cooper AT3 works VERY well across varied terrain. They also offer an XL load range in some sizes, sort of in between the P & LT rated load range. Lot's of siping and track well. Airing down to 12lbs. is no problem, strong bead and sidewall. Check the tread depth also between the tires also, might be surprised. Falken's I've seen turn into 5 smooth ribs at about half tread. HTH

Sam

 

[Dake21]

I was shopping for AT tires on my grand vitara and it's similar to your forester. I was first looking in my original size (because DD) and they only had the geolandar ATS ansd pirelli scorpion. I almost bought the geolandar but wasn't convinced by the thread pattern that looked too street biased. I went with the cooper AT3 in 235/65r17 and they are just as good on pavement (10/10 traction in heavy rain!) and green lanes and fireroads.

Just something to consider however; your acceleration and braking distance will decrease on pavement. On the 1st 1 or 2 thousands KM the tires felt very heavy and I used to rev my engine around 3000RPM from a stop but then had to rev it up to 5000 to have the same acceleration. This was for the break in period, now they are fine but acceleration still isn't as great as the highway tire. Also I lost about 40KM of fuel efficiency. Noise isn't any worse than a winter tire. If you can live with that, then go ahead and take them. I would recommend them to everyone but somebody who see extensive use on ice and snow.

But you know, in 235,245/65r17 you have many AT tire choices you can make. In my opinion the AT3 was the most aggressive looking tire in the size.

 

[freshlikesushi]

if the AT3 are THAT good i have no issue going with them. i just didnt know if there was something better out there which is why im coming to you guys.


Im trying to scrounge up some 16s...makes it a bit easier now since i can use 5x4.5 (114.3) its just a matter of finding a set, then looking from there. But for right now, im on 17s.

Im not worried about on road as much here guys. I have a loaded 2014 CRV for daily use. I bought this as a dead reliable adventure mobile i can take on 5-600 mile journeys. Ive had a jk unlimited and hated it after a year, so i decided to go this route. I rarely have the engine over 2500 rpms anyways on the road unless im cruising, so performance isnt an issue lol

 

[rayra]

if you read the last few lines of my post...it does exactly that.

No, not really. Cruising back trails vs highly technical rock crawling? Sidewall-tearing rock scapes or dirt / mud? You describe the surfaces but not your style of wheelin'. That makes a good bit of difference in tires you'll need. Which is why I asked.

I'd also appreciate hearing your negative experiences with the Geolanders so I know what to look out for. I hadn't much negative about them, so I'm interested to hear what might be wrong with them. In my areas and likely uses, it's dirt forest roads, high deserts and dry lake beds, maybe a bit of snow and a lot of highway. The Geolanders seem a good match for those uses. That's why I'm asking for your likely uses as much as what surfaces you'll be rolling over.

 

[freshlikesushi]

I just wasn't very impressed with them in rocky/loose rock type stuff. not quite rock crawling, but not fire roads either. So it wasn't a good match for what I was doing. Im sure in the majority onroad vs offroad they are fine. But like I said. this outback is pretty much only used for weekend stuff as I have my CRV for normal use.

My uses include http://rc4x4.org/, trails, not rock crawling at all. most things short of that. Outback wont do well in that instance.

 

[skeeter06]

I agree on the Cooper AT3s. I just dropped my MTs for a set because they are better suited for my driving. They work real well. I have not been out on the rocks yet, but did have to deal with snow the day I had them installed

 

[freshlikesushi]

alright. well I just pulled the trigger on at3s. ill be buying 5 tomorrow. they are bringing them in and matching discounttireonline price