2005 Forester with spare on

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Andrew Webber - 22 May 2006 04:39 GMT

I know this has been discussed but I couldn't find it now that I want
it. :(

2005 Forester XT. Got something in right-rear tire, probably a big
nail. :( Had the wheel changed for the spare. The vehicle has about
35K km and I'd guess 25K of that on these tires (the rest on the
winter tires).

Do I need to worry about the AWD and the spare being slightly bigger
than the other tires? If so, what do I do about it? (Couldn't find
in Owner's Manual). Are there limits on how far I can go at highway
speeds (100-120kph) in this case?

If the tire can't be repaired (not sure if it's a nail, bolt,
whatever), do I have to replace all four? And any recommendations on
a tire in that case?

Thanks!
=aw
andrew [awebber@wwwebbers.com]

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Body Roll - 25 May 2006 01:12 GMT

> I know this has been discussed but I couldn't find it now that I want
> it. :(
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Do I need to worry about the AWD and the spare being slightly bigger
> than the other tires? If so, what do I do about it? (Couldn't find

Yes you do need to worry about awd. And especially so that you have LSD
in the back.
No, I don't think the spare is bigger than the rest.
It would help if you'd specify the sizes of all the tires you run
including the spare.

> in Owner's Manual). Are there limits on how far I can go at highway
> speeds (100-120kph) in this case?

50 miles (80 km) I think. The limit is more like 80 kph.
Seriously, the doh-nut spare is just for limping home on your car.
On any run of the mill one wheel drive car from Chevroyota you can
probably drive indefinitely
one a spare if you can stand it. Not so on a Subaru. Consider buying a
firth wheel
and buying tires 5 at a time (But then tire rotation would be a pain).
I suggest to find
your owners manual or get a replacement from ebay/subaru dealer.

> If the tire can't be repaired (not sure if it's a nail, bolt,
> whatever), do I have to replace all four? And any recommendations on
> a tire in that case?

That depends on where you're located. US and the rest of the world have
different tire models.
It also depends on your driving style. If you have time for reading go
to tirerack.com
and read all the retarded reviews posted by the mustang bogans.
The tests are more useful but they compare only 3 tires at a time.
They also have a TON of technical articles which are a must to read for
anyone serious
about researching their tire options.

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Andrew Webber - 28 May 2006 19:36 GMT

>> I know this has been discussed but I couldn't find it now that I want
>> it. :(
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>It would help if you'd specify the sizes of all the tires you run
>including the spare.

I'll look them up but they're whatever was the standard size for this
vehicle. 2005 has a full-size spare, my concern was that the spare
hasn't been driven on and the others have, so they wear down. I'm
sure it's not a lot but I thought there was some point where replacing
one meant replacing them all, if one was unusable.

It turned out the hole was fixable, so I only drove a short distance
in the city on the spare. Still have found how to disable the AWD in
the Owner's Manual. :(

>> in Owner's Manual). Are there limits on how far I can go at highway
>> speeds (100-120kph) in this case?
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>time (But then tire rotation would be a pain). I suggest to find
>your owners manual or get a replacement from ebay/subaru dealer.

I used to rotate all 5 tires on my old Ford Explorer, but all the
wheels were the same. With this Forester, I've got alloy rims and a
steel spare.

>> If the tire can't be repaired (not sure if it's a nail, bolt,
>> whatever), do I have to replace all four? And any recommendations on
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>articles which are a must to read for anyone serious about researching
>their tire options.

Thanks for the pointer, I'll probably have to buy new tires sooner or
later and will know where to look. I'm in Canada.

=aw

andrew [awebber@wwwebbers.com]

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Body Roll - 31 May 2006 00:17 GMT

> sure it's not a lot but I thought there was some point where replacing
> one meant replacing them all, if one was unusable.

Right. If you haven't replaced all 4 yet next time I'd put the spare in
front since you
have LSD only in the back.

> in the city on the spare. Still have found how to disable the AWD in
> the Owner's Manual. :(

If it's an automatic I think there is a fuse somewhere.

Since you're in Canada consider investing in two sets of tires.
One for summer only and another for winter. I think there is a lot of
very
good winter rubber suitable to all tastes that appeared in the last 5
years for less than $250 a set.
But you'd need to buy another set of rims of course. That's extra
dough.

As far as summer rubber goes if you don't drive aggressively any
garbage including manager's "special" $100/set would do. I'm sure a lot
of Forester owners would love to tell you how they like their
Tripletreds :^) If you want to have fun occasionally for about $250 US
you can get good UHP summers or "all season"s. Consider that an
investment into some essential wet weather safety equipment. Then,
again, tirerack tests (as opposed to reviews) would be of help. If you
want
to kill some time by all means read some bogantalk also. You'd be
amazed how retarded some
of those writings are. Maybe THAT's why tirerack server is so slow
these days?

Hope this helps. If you know how to grep thru the archives for this
group you would probably find
a ton (and then some) of tire threads.

Take care. And happy tire shopping.

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