2015 Outback tire question

[jeep-N-montero]

In Canada we have our fair share of snow and ice, some of us drive on All season but the lack of proper tire is compensated with experience. However, even with experience the main problem isnt always you but others.
One winter I was on all season and some drunk idiot crossed the media and hit the car in front of me. That day I have learned There's one thing AWD won't make any better than other vehicle and its the most important one: braking.
Even with a good distance (about 5 cars lenght driving at 40km/h) my crv did not come to a stop and I hit the car in front of me, was deemed ''partly responsible'' and had to pay $500 in deductible; which could have been put on winter tires.
I hope you have experience in snow and ice. If not, well....
AT tires are doing well in snow but not on ice. Ice on the coast is what we get most of the time and in october/november you might drive in freezing rain.
I'd buy a cheap set of winter tire. This would be a better compromise than some A/T that wont be any good on ice anyway.
Some of use drive on winter tire all year round, just keep dont go to fast (over 120km/hmph) or they will wear out quick.

I run snow tires on our commuter car all through the year, not just great for driving on snow but they do well on muddy dirt roads as well in the summer when driving to some of my fishing spots. The last set lasted over 2 years and put a new set on in October. Our little Mazda 3 with snow tires will pass SUV's with ease and I usually drive in the lane that hasn't been plowed yet.

 

[Dake21]

I run snow tires on our commuter car all through the year, not just great for driving on snow but they do well on muddy dirt roads as well in the summer when driving to some of my fishing spots. The last set lasted over 2 years and put a new set on in October. Our little Mazda 3 with snow tires will pass SUV's with ease and I usually drive in the lane that hasn't been plowed yet.

Must be funny to pass SUVs and truck with the little mazda. 4x4 and AWD can only give as much traction as the tires can...

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Must be funny to pass SUVs and truck with the little mazda. 4x4 and AWD can only give as much traction as the tires can...

I grew up driving in Maine, so winter driving out west is a piece of cake in comparison. Even more entertaining is when I used to drive the mx5 Miata in the winter and pass idiots in their 4wd on my way to go skiing, had good traction but had too many close calls to getting hit that it lives in the garage over the winter these days.

 

[CurtStyler]

Thanks for all the info, we will def keep it in mind.

The reason for an all terrain tire is we used to go to central florida (lots of sand) to offroad and hike in our old truck, had bfg all terrains, and never had an issue with traction. We wanted to start going back more often but feel we need better tires.

Buying dedicated winter tires would be the best solution, but its not possible.

We are planning on getting snow chains or cables if we need them, but figured we would decide once we got there.I know it might not be the best idea to wait till last min.

Thanks everyone again for everything. Any more info would be appreciated

I'm running 245/65R17 Cooper AT3's on my 2016 Outback. They hit my milage a bit but I think you can get them in a more stock size. They are a great light AT tire. I'm wanted something for driving to Alaska this summer so I needed an AT that was good on the highway and had a good enough tread for hitting dirt, sand, mud and snow. I've put about 10000 miles on since October, mostly high way but a few trips to sand or forest roads. So far they have been perfect, they are much quieter than the stock tires and give a sturdy feeling on the road.

I really like the AT3s for my purpose. I'm from Chicago and I can tell you that unless you get a true winter tire, AT's are the best your gonna get. They will do pretty well in snow, but as this get slick there only so much you can do.

You could run a snow or winter if you want, but it won't do well in the Florida summer. The compound is usually softer on winter tires to allow them to flex in the cold and grip the ground along with a few other things like lots of sipes for digging into the ice. The softer compound will get REALLY soft in the Miami heat, I would avoid running a winter tire year round in Florida.

 

[brushogger]

We have a 2013 outback. The last two summers we have spent 3 weeks each in the pacific NW and Canada. I've had to replace tires on both trips due to sidewall damage. I just need something with stouter sidewalls than the stockers or the ones I replaced them with.

 

[freshlikesushi]

For the OB and typical needs Michelin passenger tires all seasons have some of the best snow and Ice performance of the Allseason choices. I rarely see snow and Ice and have just shy of 40k on my BFG touring tires. They have been really good, but are not as good on snow and Ice as the stock tires. For dirt roads, wet roads the BFG touring tires have been some of the best tires Ive had on my subarus period. If I did snow and ice seasonally or multiple trips a yr my choice would be Michelin all seasons.

I would go AT tires 16inch wheels if we started doing lots of desert rocky road stuff. But the pretty well built BFG touring tires have held up really well towing, and coastal dirt roads etc. The AT tires hit the mileage fairly hard and so far between the Subaru AWD keeping wheel spin and tire shreding to near zero just a really solid passenger tire with respected reasonable allseason performance do pretty good. Nothing will beat dedicated winter snow/ice rubber but with good Michelin allseasons the Subarus are pretty rock solid.

You cant. 17" only with 2015s

I run atturo 235/65-17 on mine 245-65/17 rubs in certain conditions (though not all that much) with the At3s and i ripped two of them already...main reason i switched

 

[Dake21]

You cant. 17" only with 2015s

I run atturo 235/65-17 on mine 245-65/17 rubs in certain conditions (though not all that much) with the At3s and i ripped two of them already...main reason i switched

Was it a tire failure or a lack of wheel well clearance?

 

[freshlikesushi]

For MY at3 tires it was cut sidewalls and ripped off tread

for the rub, its just the mud flaps