2019 Subaru Forester Speedo recalibration

[Thekevin]

Hi everyone,
I’m swapping out my 225/60/17 road tires for a set of 245/65/17 AT K02s. One issue I’m running into is the speedometer difference due to the 1.9 inch tire diameter difference. After searching the internet and even calling a dealer there doesn’t seem to be an easy option to correct this. Does anyone have any experience or solutions for this?

 

[Wawa Skittletits]

Hi everyone,
I’m swapping out my 225/60/17 road tires for a set of 245/65/17 AT K02s. One issue I’m running into is the speedometer difference due to the 1.9 inch tire diameter difference. After searching the internet and even calling a dealer there doesn’t seem to be an easy option to correct this. Does anyone have any experience or solutions for this?

Only way to do it is by changing out the speedo gear in the transmission. Don’t know of a single person who’s bothered on a modern Subaru.

 

[Sasquatch SC]

Hi everyone,
I’m swapping out my 225/60/17 road tires for a set of 245/65/17 AT K02s. One issue I’m running into is the speedometer difference due to the 1.9 inch tire diameter difference. After searching the internet and even calling a dealer there doesn’t seem to be an easy option to correct this. Does anyone have any experience or solutions for this?

I looked into this when I went to the bigger tires on my '19 Outback and here is the easiest solution... don't worry about it.

Going from 225/60/17 to 245/65/17 if you're speedo reads 35 mph, you're actually going 37.42. So only about 2½ mph difference.
Reading 45 mph - actually 48.11. A hair over 3 mph difference.
Reading 55 mph - actually 58.8. About 4 mph difference.
Reading 65 mph - actually 69.49. About 4½ mph difference.
Reading 75 mph - actually 80.18. About 5 mph difference.

As long as you are aware of it, you just adapt your driving habits. Here is a calculator to help. It would just take way more effort to have it adjusted to justify the change. Subaru will be happy to tell you the EyeSight system won't work right, blah, blah, blah but they won't go into the computer to recalibrate the speedometer. For the record, my EyeSight system still works fine. I went from the stock 225/60/18 on my '19 OB Touring to 245/65/17 and my speedometer on the top end reads 75 mph then I'm actually only going 77.38 - a difference of less than 2½ mph. I guess the drop in wheel size made the difference less dramatic. The biggest hurdle I had when I changed wheels and tires was getting the TPMS system to work again. I took my car to the dealer and three different tire shops and nobody could get the TPMS light to go off or could give me an answer of what I could do to fix it. I finally found a solution for it after hours of internet sleuthing and it wasn't what I expected. I had to get the tire shop to program the sensors in the tires for a 2017 Impreza... that fixed it. It's unexpected and strange, but it worked. The onboard tire pressure readout is correct now to what the actual pressure in the tires is as well.

 

[Thekevin]

I looked into this when I went to the bigger tires on my '19 Outback and here is the easiest solution... don't worry about it.

Going from 225/60/17 to 245/65/17 if you're speedo reads 35 mph, you're actually going 37.42. So only about 2½ mph difference.
Reading 45 mph - actually 48.11. A hair over 3 mph difference.
Reading 55 mph - actually 58.8. About 4 mph difference.
Reading 65 mph - actually 69.49. About 4½ mph difference.
Reading 75 mph - actually 80.18. About 5 mph difference.

As long as you are aware of it, you just adapt your driving habits. Here is a calculator to help. It would just take way more effort to have it adjusted to justify the change. Subaru will be happy to tell you the EyeSight system won't work right, blah, blah, blah but they won't go into the computer to recalibrate the speedometer. For the record, my EyeSight system still works fine. I went from the stock 225/60/18 on my '19 OB Touring to 245/65/17 and my speedometer on the top end reads 75 mph then I'm actually only going 77.38 - a difference of less than 2½ mph. I guess the drop in wheel size made the difference less dramatic. The biggest hurdle I had when I changed wheels and tires was getting the TPMS system to work again. I took my car to the dealer and three different tire shops and nobody could get the TPMS light to go off or could give me an answer of what I could do to fix it. I finally found a solution for it after hours of internet sleuthing and it wasn't what I expected. I had to get the tire shop to program the sensors in the tires for a 2017 Impreza... that fixed it. It's unexpected and strange, but it worked. The onboard tire pressure readout is correct now to what the actual pressure in the tires is as well.

Interesting hopefully I don’t run into this issue. The wheels and tires I’m getting have oem sensors in them but if not at least I know what to do now!

 

[Sasquatch SC]

Interesting hopefully I don’t run into this issue. The wheels and tires I’m getting have oem sensors in them but if not at least I know what to do now!

Yeah - hopefully this will save you some grief. I don't know if the Foresters have the same TPMS calibration issues, but my OB did not like the sensors that came with my set from Tire Rack at all. It was a nightmare for me... I had just bought the brand new car, spent a bunch of money on suspension, lift, wheels and tires and I had that angry orange light staring at me from the dash with less than 5k miles on the odometer at the time.

 

[Thekevin]

Yeah - hopefully this will save you some grief. I don't know if the Foresters have the same TPMS calibration issues, but my OB did not like the sensors that came with my set from Tire Rack at all. It was a nightmare for me... I had just bought the brand new car, spent a bunch of money on suspension, lift, wheels and tires and I had that angry orange light staring at me from the dash with less than 5k miles on the odometer at the time.

Well that’s unfortunate. I’m getting the wheels/ tires and lift kit today and am looking to install them this weekend. I’ll report back if the forester has the same issues.

 

[Sasquatch SC]

Well that’s unfortunate. I’m getting the wheels/ tires and lift kit today and am looking to install them this weekend. I’ll report back if the forester has the same issues.

I don't envy you, but good luck! Don't forget to get the alignment right after you lift! Doing the lift on mine was a bear of a job for something I had never tried before.

 

[Thekevin]

I don't envy you, but good luck! Don't forget to get the alignment right after you lift! Doing the lift on mine was a bear of a job for something I had never tried before.

What lift kit did you use?

 

[Sasquatch SC]

What lift kit did you use?

I was a cheap-ass and did the ReadyLift kit, which resulted in me having to do a lot of suspension parts to get it right.

 

[Thekevin]

I was a cheap-ass and did the ReadyLift kit, which resulted in me having to do a lot of suspension parts to get it right.

...... that’s what I got. What’s your recommendations for making install easier

 

[Sasquatch SC]

...... that’s what I got. What’s your recommendations for making install easier

Get a outfitter shop to install it for you is the best advice I can give you for that one.

 

[Thekevin]

Get a outfitter shop to install it for you is the best advice I can give you for that one.

What was the issues that you ran into?

 

[Sasquatch SC]

What was the issues that you ran into?

It was just a series of issues. I had a buddy come over and we started on it and we were quickly over our heads. I forgot how long the instructions said it would take but it took us over 12 hours to get it back together. The front sway bar end links ended up shearing off within the first 100 miles. It was just a combination of things that made it a miserable, miserable experience. Unless you have a lot of experience with modifying strut/spring suspension I wouldn't recommend trying to do it yourself. It was almost 8 months ago that I did the lift, but it was an experience I wouldn't sign up to do again.
I may just be a shitty backyard mechanic, but it gave me hell. On the surface it seems simple enough, but when you have the wheels off your car and the suspension out and it's taking two people to try to wrestle the control arms back into place to bolt back together... it isn't fun.

 

[Thekevin]

It was just a series of issues. I had a buddy come over and we started on it and we were quickly over our heads. I forgot how long the instructions said it would take but it took us over 12 hours to get it back together. The front sway bar end links ended up shearing off within the first 100 miles. It was just a combination of things that made it a miserable, miserable experience. Unless you have a lot of experience with modifying strut/spring suspension I wouldn't recommend trying to do it yourself. It was almost 8 months ago that I did the lift, but it was an experience I wouldn't sign up to do again.
I may just be a shitty backyard mechanic, but it gave me hell. On the surface it seems simple enough, but when you have the wheels off your car and the suspension out and it's taking two people to try to wrestle the control arms back into place to bolt back together... it isn't fun.

Well that sounds like a terrible time. I’m going to be doing it with a friend of mine that has more experience in this kinda stuff so hopefully it goes better. I’ll post the results.