[FourMoBro]

Here is crappy pic of my new 18" wheels since I put Blizzaks on my 20" OEM wheels. I had to do a test fit before getting tires mounted. I blurred out the manufacturer just to see if people can guess it. Shouldn't be too hard. They are 18x8 with a 45offset, load rated to 1797lbs. I am undecided on the rubber to put over them. Leaning towards the Continental Terrain Contacts (245/60-18) which have a $100 rebate until the end of November, and Discount Tire has 10% rebate Black Friday deal. Have 2 days to act on that. Was originally thinking Costco/Michelin Defenders, but Costco does want the liability of installing OEM TPMS sensors in these wheels?!?!? Anyways, I am open to suggestions.

 

[FourMoBro]

Ordered the Conti's will be a week or so to get in. Will post pics once mounted.

 

[zulater]

Tanagra rims? From the Jalad factory, maybe Darmok factory?

 

[FourMoBro]

Tanagra rims? From the Jalad factory, maybe Darmok factory?

Close. It does sound Canadian...

 

[FourMoBro]

Here are the new rims with tires mounted.

Wheel data:
FastWheels - Switch
18" x 8", 5x114.3 PCD, 45Off

Tire data:
Continental Terrain Contact
245/60 R18

Tires purchased and mounted at Discount Tire with an extra set of OEM TPMS sensors from Lithia Subaru.

Next mod.....window tint and chrome trim delete/wrap

 

[Robert.Mauro]

Late to the party... sorry...

I ran the TerrainContacts for a while on my Outback. +2psi on them and I was pretty happy with them in the sand and on the road. The Yokohama Geolander AT/S are better suited for snow (contrary to Continental's claims of perfecting winter driving), but the Conti's are by no means slouches and perform well. They'll claw through just about anything, but the Yokos seemed to do so with a little more control than them.

On the road, they're "better" (smoother and quieter) than the Yokos. That tradeoff is what I think causes the difference in snow performance.

They were pretty decent in flooding water and hydroplane levels of water, retaining control nicely, with the only non off-road tire I've driven on lately that's surpassed them being the Kumho Road Venture AT51s - but those are far more aggressive and a big hit on gas mileage.

The Yokos and Contis wear VERY well if rotated regularly and kept overinflated by about 2psi (helps make them wallow less around turns on all that "excess" rubber). I'm talking easily surpass 50,000 miles type of wear, with tread left over.

So, I know I am late to the party with my response (since you already bought them), but, all in all, I think they're a great choice and I think you'll enjoy them.

FINAL NOTE:
If you went from the 20's to the 18's, use the 18" tire pressure (35psi) and add 2psi to that. Don't inflate them to the 20" tire pressure of 32psi or 32+2psi.

 

[FourMoBro]

FINAL NOTE:
If you went from the 20's to the 18's, use the 18" tire pressure (35psi) and add 2psi to that. Don't inflate them to the 20" tire pressure of 32psi or 32+2psi.

I had them inflate to 36psi. I will have them check and inflate to 37psi tomorrow as I have to go back and see them. I left something there. Thanks for the tip! I will keep these on to check for vibration and such for the next few days, but the Blizzaks go back on for the cooler weather and mountain snow.

This will be my non-winter setup until Cobb gets off their butt and makes the AccessPort available, with a tune and hard parts, for the Ascent. At that point I will purchase better 20" tires mounted for the "summer".

 

[toycarcollector]

What is the general opinion of the stock tires on the Touring? Come to my ready room and we will talk over a nice earl grey.

 

[smahlberg]

Which rack is that?

 

[Alan]

FourMoBro,


I like your style! Turned out similar to mine. I went with the Black Rhino Mozambique series wheel in gloss black with milled accents and Nitto Terra Grappler G2 tires in 265/60R18 (plus a 2" lift)

 

[FourMoBro]

FourMoBro,


I like your style! Turned out similar to mine. I went with the Black Rhino Mozambique series wheel in gloss black with milled accents and Nitto Terra Grappler G2 tires in 265/60R18 (plus a 2" lift)

I liked the BR's, too; Nicely spoked, black, had character, flow-formed/light. They were just too wide and too small of an offset to run without a lift. Had I known about LP's BF sale on their lift, I might have changed my mind on the Ascent plans. These 18s, I hope, to run on the next vehicle in 2 years.....which will have a lift.

 

[FourMoBro]

Which rack is that?

I assume you are talking crossbars? They are Yakima JetStream in 60" length on Timberline Towers. Almost wish I went 70".

 

[FourMoBro]

What is the general opinion of the stock tires on the Touring?

Here is my opinion. They are the worst tires put on a new car that I have ever driven on. I do not find them capable in the least for day to day driving. I didn't notice the deficiencies on my short test drive, nor did I see them on my 15mile commute. I did see it on long trips and off pavement. Not off-road, but easy gravel roads. Once the rain came, I knew I could not live them. I didn't even want to chance it with white stuff on the ground. In their defense, once it got "really cold" (sub 40F), I felt like they handled better but they were under-inflated at that point to 30psi. The stocks have a treadwear rating of 360, so good luck getting 30K out of them!

Some background on my vehicle history....

I have owned 12 vehicles in my driving career, all but the first were new from the factory.
Four of those 12 are/have been Subarus
Only 3 of those 12 were not 4WD/AWD
I have bought tires only twice for those vehicles due to mileage wear.
I have bought only 1 pair of spare snow tire/wheel setup (before this Ascent) even though the AWD was sufficient on my VW. I wanted the extra safety in mountain passes for ski travel.
I have bought only 1 spare set of wheels/tires (before this Ascent) as I was modding the **** out of my 2005 Legacy GT more than a decade ago. The stocks did fine, but needed new wheels to clear the STi Brembos I put on there.

All in all, the stock tires in previous vehicles did great, but the Ascent's are junk IMO. If they are good tires, they are on the wrong vehicle. I think the vehicle overcomes the tire's lack of performance and lulls the owner into a false sense of security. So I have a set of OEM 20"s in my crawl space for anyone that has trouble finding a spare after a blowout or the like....under 5K miles on them.

 

[smahlberg]

I assume you are talking crossbars? They are Yakima JetStream in 60" length on Timberline Towers. Almost wish I went 70".

I know this is a tire/wheel post, which btw, I love the look and am very interested in upgrading mine as well. Can you do me a favor and post a pic of the ride head on, I'm trying to get a feel for the look of the crossbars, thanks.

 

[Sgorman13]

Have you guys noticed any mileage difference going from 20” to 18” rims?

 

[FourMoBro]

Have you guys noticed any mileage difference going from 20” to 18” rims?

I have not noticed, then again, I really don't keep track. Too many things happening at once for me to really make a determination:

Roof bars back on
Tire/Wheel switch
Winter gas
Near end of oil change interval...

 

[Kvan]

Here are the new rims with tires mounted.

Wheel data:
FastWheels - Switch
18" x 8", 5x114.3 PCD, 45Off

Tire data:
Continental Terrain Contact
245/60 R18

Tires purchased and mounted at Discount Tire with an extra set of OEM TPMS sensors from Lithia Subaru.

Next mod.....window tint and chrome trim delete/wrap

Can I ask where you purchased the wheels and what hub bore they are?