QuestionI have a 04 Impreza 2.5 TS. It came with Potenza RE92's - good dry, but horrible in rain and snow. It's now time to replace them(thank goodness) but the problem is: What do I replace them with? Every tire has good and bad reviews. I am looking for a all season tire(live in Canada) that has a sporty demeanor, and will match my car. Any suggestions to help me narrow the search? Thanks.
AnswerJason,
A 2004 Subaru Impreza TS 2.5 originally came with P195/60R15 87H's inflated to 32 psi front / 29 psi rear. Please check the vehicle tire placard to be sure this information is correct. The tire placard is usually located on a doorpost or in the glove box, but sometimes you'll find it on the fuel filler door or in the trunk.
Subaru specified an H speed rated tire and that implies a certain level of sportiness - and it sounds like that is what you also want.
So you need to sort through what is important to you - recognizing that there are conflicts that will prevent you from optimizing more than one property.
For example, ride and handling (meaning steering crispness, not grip) are opposition. Also traction, treadwear, and fuel economy are in conflict. So you can't have great treadwear without sacrificing fuel economy or grip (or both).
What about snow traction? Snow traction is mostly about tread pattern, but tires that get good snow traction also tend to be noisy.
So make a priority list, making sure that you don't have any of these opposing properties in the same half of the list. From that you ought to be able to sort out all the tires available into a short list of those tires that meet your needs.
From there it ought to be easy to get to a final selection.
