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I believe that the newer Subaru’s do not allow for any tyoe of chains or cables as there is not enough clearance. We have purchased 5 subaru’s over the years and just love them. The only tires I changed out were on my STI and that was summer tires off in the winter because the summer tires were racing tires and not so good in wet weather! Anyone driving in the snow should know that anything over 35 mph is asking for trouble..just ask my husband who rolled our Suburban a few years back near cabbage patch on black ice…drove it home…but still, he was doing 45, not good.
Subarus great cars. But the worst thing about them is being behind one going up to Bear Valley skiing. They seem to be the road monitors with about 20 cars behind them. The worst is when they have the coexist sticker on the back then you can count on them never moving over and having the smug look on their face as they believe they are saving the world one traffic jam at a time.
I’m not a full timer, but I chose to get the second set of wheels and winter tires. I put them on in December and take them off in April. I think the Subaru is crippled without winter tires. But I agree it is a trade off. The winter tires wear out faster and are not as good on dry pavement. And it is more expensive to have a second set of wheels. For me they were worth the cost but if you come up infrequently maybe they are not the best solution.
I kept trying to buy all season tires that had a good snow rating and I used cable chains (front axle), but that got to be too much of a hassle. So many times there is snow at the higher levels, but not much at the lower levels, or there are patches where you need more traction coming out of the driveway or a local parking lot, but not on the main roads. Chains on, chains off. Most of the time the Subaru with all-season tires will do fine, but not always. The Subarus that get through anything have winter tires (probably studded).
I do hope you find something that works well for you.
Thanks for the responses. Winter tires are great for full-timers but not for making occasional winter trips.
In my view it’s all in the tires. Good winter tires make a world of difference. Not “snow tires”, but winter tires. Loads of information here: http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/index.jsp
If you look closely at the Subarus at Tahoe owned by the locals you’ll see winter tires on them. I suspect the same for the ones in BTV that can really get around.
Our driveway is at least a 25% grade. Our 4 Runner has no problem in the snow. Our Subaru is not as able.
I was gladly sold a set of chains at the Auto Parts store in Arnold for my Subaru, only to find out very long after the fact that I can’t put them on this vehicle. I thoght I read that cables aren’t allowed either. I have never had a problem with CHP during chain control situations.
I’ll toss out my opinion–I also just bought a Subaru for my daughter. I think their full-time 4WD system is better than the Honda/Toyota AWD systems. (1) Based on my research, you can put cables on the front tires–not chains. You should not have to put cables on except for extreme conditions. (2) I’m not sure what your 25% driveway looks like (in terms of length, side slopes, curves, or width) but driving up any steep slope with 6″ of snow (even with chains or cables) seems like it would be very difficult with any 4WD vehicle. Do you do it now with your current vehicle?
Hopefully this topic isn’t too far off tangent. Anyways, I just recently bought a used Outback for my daughter to use while attending UNR. I also plan on buying a new one for myself this Spring. I’ve read all sorts of Subaru forum posts that chains are not permitted on Outbacks. I’m not sure if that includes the low profile cable type chains or not. Everyone says that the Highway Patrol just waives the Outbacks through when under chain control. That’s a little hard to believe. In addition, I frequently need to chain up just to get up my 25% grade driveway. Any thoughts on whether an Outback would make it up the driveway with maybe 6″ of snow on it?
And finally, I’ve read that if I must put on chains, to get up my driveway, that they should be put on the front axle only. And go slow!
Thanks in advance for any input.
Blair
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