Searching for new tires for your Subaru Forester is an exhausting undertaking. There are so many options on the market that finding the ones suited for your individual driving habits can be difficult. That’s why we have taken the time to put together a short list of the 3 best tires for a Subaru Forester.
Figure 1: The Subaru Forester is a great SUV for family trips and off-roading alike. Source: Edmunds.com.
The tires you select for your SUV can make all the difference in your driving experience and the performance of your vehicle. The choice you make will depend on your needs and the type of driving you do on a regular basis. Things like weather, road conditions and desired fuel economy will all come into play.
It can be overwhelming to look at all the options available in such a saturated market. Luckily, today’s post can help you sort through the choices and make the right one for your Forester.
Source: CarTalk.com.
What Makes a Great Tire for a Subaru Forester?
There are many factors at play when it comes to the best tires for a Subaru Forester. However, in general, most Forester owners will do well to look for all-season touring tires. The OEM tires that come with the Forester fall into this category, and unless you are doing serious off-roading, it is best to stick with them moving forward.
All-season touring tires are manufactured specifically to promote a comfortable ride and a safe grip on the road. They have a wide tread that increases the amount of rolling friction as the vehicle rolls on the pavement. This allows the Forester’s all-wheel drive to do its job more efficiently and increase handling on both wet and dry roads.
Figure 2: Your Forester’s tires should serve to enhance the car’s already stellar handling. Source: TireSize.com.
The wide treads are what make all-season touring tires the best tires for a Subaru Forester. Many people choose the Forester for its safety and the extra rolling friction provides protection against hydroplaning. Wide treads push layers of water out from under the car and channel them to the side. This allows the rubber to have more contact with the road itself in wet conditions, giving you a safer ride.
All-season touring tires are so-called because they work well in a wide range of temperatures. This adherence to the spirit of an all-wheel drive vehicle is what makes them the best tires for a Subaru Forester. Forester owners have chosen that model for its versatility and adaptability to all kinds of road conditions and the best tires for it will have those qualities as well.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO COMPARISON OF ALL-SEASON TIRES VS. SNOW TIRES
The best tires for a Subaru Forester will also have a quiet ride on the highway. People who regularly drive with kids in the car understand how important this can be. Because the tread blocks on touring tires are not uniform, they will not produce high pitched whines or other harmonic noises that can be a distraction on the road. Blocks that are shaped differently will produce varied pitches and cancel themselves out at different frequencies.
Sources: SubaruForester.org; BridgestoneTire.com; TireDeets.com; School-For-Champions.com.
How Did We Pick the Best Tire for a Subaru Forester?
We chose all-season touring tires for this shortlist due to their ride quality and comfort on the highway. Seeing as the Forester is known for being a comfortable, all-season vehicle, your best bet is going to be a tire that matches these features.
We spoke to an expert at TireRack.com who told us that all-season touring tires have “the best ride out of any category. They come up a bit short in winter performance, which depresses the rating a bit, but if that is not a concern, they will meet your needs better than any other tires. Depending on your car and what type of driving you do, you may not have to worry about their winter performance.”
Figure 3: Even in wet conditions, all-season tires promote good handling and a safe grip on the road. Source: AutoBlog.com.
While all-season tires are not ideal for snowy conditions, the all-wheel drive of the Forester can help make up this deficit. Their all-around high performance makes them the best tires for a Subaru Forester in all kinds of weather conditions and terrain types.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO ON THE BEST TIRES FOR A SUBARU FORESTER
We have put together a short list of the best tires for a Subaru Forester based on this criteria. All of the below tires are highly rated and have the best all-around performance in all kinds of categories. They also all feature some technological innovations that make them top of the line in their individual classes.
Sources: PopularMechanics.com; Interview with TireRack.com expert conducted 11/8/2020.
1. Continental TrueContact Tour
Figure 4: The TrueContact is a great all-season touring tire with all around performance. Source: TireRack.com
The TrueContact Tour by Continental is one of the best tires for a Subaru Forester. They were developed specifically for family sedans and SUVs to give you the most comfortable ride and the safest features available on the market.
The tread compound in the TrueContacts is made up of functional polymers that are activated by temperature. This allows them to harden when the weather is hotter for less rolling resistance, which makes them more fuel efficient and promotes a longer tread life. A lower rolling resistance means it takes less energy to move the vehicle and will ultimately lead to less fuel consumption in the long run.
These tires are fortified with +Silane additives which help improve the grip on slippery roads. These additives react with the moisture on the road to become stickier when they need to be and dry out when the surface is hotter. Combined with the all-wheel drive of the Forester, this promotes shorter stopping times and an overall safer ride.
These tires are also specifically designed to be as comfortable as possible. They utilize Continental’s Comfort Ride Technology, which acts as an underlayment between the treads and the contact points of the rims. This puts another layer between the vehicle and the road for a smoother ride and less road noise in the cabin of the vehicle.
They also feature a symmetric pattern that helps resist irregular wear. This contributes to a longer life for the tread and the tires themselves. It also promotes an easier rotation interval for people who may not have the time for regular tire maintenance. This could end up saving money and time in the long run if you look at your vehicle’s tires as an investment.
Source: TireRack.com; GripAuto.ca.
2. Michelin CrossClimate+
Figure 5: The CrossClimate+ performs especially well in wet weather. Source: TireRack.com.
The CrossClimate+ by Michelin is the most versatile tire on our list. It is perfectly suited for all kinds of weather and terrain and is designed to deliver high performance no matter what elements you might be running into with your Forester.
The tread pattern on the CrossClimate+ is directional and meant to wick away as much water as possible from underneath the tires. The tread blocks have beveled edges that provide more grip on surfaces that contain a lot of water. This makes them a great choice if you live in a rainy climate and are concerned about safety.
Unlike some of the other tires listed, the CrossClimate+ is rated for some use in the snow. It will not give you the same amount of traction as a dedicated snow tire, but it does give snow traction beyond what most other all-weather tires are capable of.
The treads feature emerging grooves that are meant to help with traction even as the tire wears. These grooves become more prominent as other traction blocks wear down and give the tires consistent grip as they get older. This makes them a great investment that will keep working at peak performance even as they start to get older.
Source: TireRack.com.
3. Cooper Discoverer SRX
Figure 6: The Discoverer by Cooper is able to perform in both wet and dry conditions. Source: TireBuyer.com.
The Discoverer SRX by Cooper is an all-season tire built specifically for SUVs and all-wheel drive vehicles. It has a long tread life and is rated for both mud and snow, which is an incredibly desirable feature in an all-season tire. This makes it one of the best tires for a Subaru Forester due to its durability and multi-faceted handling abilities.
One of the most innovative aspects of the Discoverer is its STABLEDGE PERFORMANCE technology. This makes sure that the tread blocks are stable as the tire rolls, which reduces any flex in the rubber itself and keeps the handling solid on dry asphalt. Due to the Forester’s already stellar steering and handling, this only stands to make the handling that much better.
The Discoverer also has handy wear indicators located on the edge of the tire itself. As the tire’s tread starts to wear down, these indicators will start to wear as well. This helps give you the most accurate reading of when your tires need to be rotated, which saves on maintenance due to uneven wearing in the tread.
Source: TireBuyer.com.
