Subaru Outback tire replacement

[OBSOB]

Hello all and thanks in advance for bearing with me as I figure out how to navigate OB and also for any input given on the following question. This one may be somewhat specific to the outback owners out there. I have a 2018 outback 2.5. In the last few days I’ve had three punctures. On two tires. Fortunately all occurred in convenient locations. I’ve read about how bad the stock tires can be and figured I’d replace them with something as they approached the end of there life. The second time my tire was punctured by what looked like a light housing clip - so it has two hooks that punctured next to one another with about an inch spread.

We brought it somewhere to be patched and they refused due to the proximity of both punctures on the same tire. I wasn’t ready to replace or make a move so the spare is on now. The current tires have 8k miles. I could replace the one tire or use as an excuse to upgrade all 4. Here come the novice questions. What are people’s thoughts on the bf t/a ko2? They come in the size I need (225/65/r17)

Are they ok to put in stock rims for now or is that a no-go for some reason. I’m not crawling around anywhere, yet drive around the Mojave and eastern sierras occasionally trying to get lost on easy rides. Should I consider another tire? Any thoughts?

Thanks again.


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[SOCOSam]

Stock tires on Subaru’s are junk. We got less than 25k out of the Bridgestones that came on our 2017 which is my wife’s DD. I’m looking at the Uniroyal Tiger Paw as a replacement. Supposedly they handle gravel well for an all season and aren’t too pricey. We have snow tires for the winter so winter performance isn’t a big deal.

The BFG are a great tire. But they are expensive and in my opinion they will alter the driving characteristics of the car too much for my liking. Typically they have a very stiff casing.

I run the general grabber at2 on my Jeep and it’s a rough ride as a DD. These tires are very similar to the BFG.

If you want a mild all terrain look at the Yokohama geolander ATS I’ve seen some of those on Subes and have heard good things.

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[Terry Pickens]

Love my BFG AT KO2's, I have the 225/65-R17 size tire and they fit great on my 2" lifted Outback. No rubbing. I have about 8,000 on these. Have had BFG AT's on my vehicles since 1990's. Loved them and have gotten about 50,000 on each set.

 

[OBSOB]

I ended up with the geolanders and will share my thoughts as soon as I’ve had them on long enough. Thanks all for the input.


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[Scout-ED]

Any feedback on the Geolanders? I’m coming up on needing a new set and would be interested in their overall performance. I mainly do hwy miles during the week but like to hit the dirt/gravel roads on the weekends.

 

[Banjor]

Just to throw another idea out there, I just ordered a set of 5 Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S in 235/60-17. They are about 3/8” shorter and 3/8” wider than the BFG K02, but weigh 32 instead of 40 pounds. I decided that while the big beefy K02 would be the best off-road, I wanted something with good on-road manners as well. A lot of Subaru drivers love the Coopers.

 

[OverLamb24]

Just to throw another idea out there, I just ordered a set of 5 Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S in 235/60-17. They are about 3/8” shorter and 3/8” wider than the BFG K02, but weigh 32 instead of 40 pounds. I decided that while the big beefy K02 would be the best off-road, I wanted something with good on-road manners as well. A lot of Subaru drivers love the Coopers.

Is this on a factory setup?

 

[Banjor]

Is this on a factory setup?

I put the 235/60-17 on at the same time as 1” lift springs, but many people have put these same tires on a stock setup. Most people report no rubbing, a few said there was a tiny bit of rubbing at full steering lock.

I tried hard to get it to run, and there doesn’t seem to be any chance of that happening.

Note that when you lift a Subaru with a multi-link rear end but don’t drop the subframe, the rear wheel moves forward in the wheel well. This means that a lift may mean you need smaller tires in the rear than without. A lift does help the front, as does a rear lift with subframe spacers.