Subaru Forester STI Tires

On this page you will find the best real world tire reviews from owners of the Subaru Forester STI.

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Tire Reviewed Dry Grip Wet Grip Feedback Handling Wear Comfort
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 (407) 92% 89% 85% 85% 80% 87%
Avon WV7 (14) 82% 84% 83% 76% 82% 88%
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (322) 91% 88% 81% 84% 73% 78%
Vredestein Quatrac Pro (38) 88% 91% 86% 79% 78% 91%
Nokian PowerProof (24) 87% 89% 80% 75% 67% 85%
Hankook Ventus V12 evo k110 (114) 84% 75% 76% 78% 74% 79%
Nokian WR A3 (75) 92% 87% 88% 82% 90% 91%
Falken FK452 (211) 82% 72% 75% 73% 69% 73%
Continental ContiSportContact 5 P (109) 85% 78% 77% 75% 55% 72%
Bridgestone Potenza S001 (160) 83% 69% 74% 74% 67% 61%
Sunitrac Focus 9000 (10) 79% 66% 63% 75% 77% 57%
Dunlop Graspic DS2 (7) 59% 53% 53% 60% 86% 83%
Accelera PHI R (28) 77% 50% 68% 69% 65% 73%
Achilles ATR Sport 2 (43) 72% 45% 61% 63% 73% 66%

Subaru Forester STI Tire Review Highlights

Writing about the Vredestein Quatrac Pro given 83% (245-45-17-)
Driving on mostly country roads for 2000 spirited miles
Having had a proper winter this year, it was interesting to see how these tires fared. I'd heard good things about their dry handling and feedback, but to be frank was sceptical about how a non-directional tire would fare in the snow. The answer was pretty good - maybe not quite as good as Nokian WR-D's or similar but with decent power on tap those wouldn't be the best on dry or wet roads which is TBH the norm for most of an English winter. I went on some seriously rural roads including 1 in 5 hills with over 7cm of snow and going uphill on shot ice and didn't spin a wheel. The handling figure given is an estimate as you'd have to be driving like the Original Nutta to get them to unstick in the Forester which is not a good idea with typical road conditions round here i.e. a dry stone wall on one side and a 150ft drop ont' other. Unless I end up moving to a snowy part of the Highlands I'll get some more. How they would do on a hot summer's day i don't know, but then it would always be the Nokian Powerproofs for me when the weather's warm.
tire reviewed on 2021-03-14 18:17:45
Writing about the Nokian PowerProof given 88% (235-45-18-W)
Driving on mostly country roads for 6000 spirited miles
When these landed the first thing I noticed was the really wide grooves, 2mm wider than the previous Z-Lines, the only grooves I'd seen anything like this wide were on Michelin PS4's - what was the dry grip going to be like I wondered? Then a bit of poking showed that the sidewalls were definitely more flexible than the previous tires - :rolleyes: Anyway I needn't have worried about the grip, as the guys in Finland have obviously working hard to improve their rubber. It's superb, dry and wet - I've never managed to unstick them in the slightest, I think you'd need to take them onto a racetrack for that as it would involve speed/manouvres that really aren't meant for public roads, hence the N/A rating for how progressive they are at the limit. The softness of the sidewalls is noticeable though, you get the slightly odd feeling that the tread is welded to the road and the car is moving a bit on top of that. Upping the pressure a few psi helps with this, but doesn't altogether remove it. Steering feel/response is very good, the extra tread grip compared to the previous tires gives a sharper turn in and more focused road feedback, though this is slightly spoiled by the soft sidewalls. And they're quieter and more comfortable than the Z-lines too, though if you're driving a car like the FSti that's likely a secondary consideration!
Will I buy them again - probably, unless Nokian do what they ought to and make a version with stiffer sidewalls - after all they have the Wetproof for general high powered cars, why not make the Powerproof for those of us who really want to DRIVE?
tire reviewed on 2019-11-08 15:15:06
Writing about the Accelera PHI R given 91% (225-50-17-)
Driving on a combination of roads for 20000 spirited miles
fitted on Subaru Forester SF5 turbo...

great balance all rounder....

for the price range...nothing will beat this tire...

very good quality...superior to any cheap unknown china made tire...

drive with confident..never have any air pressure loss or leaks or blow out...

definately the tire to go in on budget and still thinking about safety...
tire reviewed on 2018-07-11 04:54:58
Writing about the Sunitrac Focus 9000 given 60% (225-45-17-)
Driving on a combination of roads for 75000 spirited miles
The Sunitrac Focus 9000 was recommended by a good friend who owns a tire outlet company.
I had never heard of these tires before. I have always driven on Bridgestone, Dunlop, or the well-known brands so was a bit reluctant to try these tires after some reassuring invested in Sunitrac Focus 9000.
After a month fell into a pothole and damaged tire, when i went to purchase a new tire was told they had stopped stocking them Drove the tires around town and some motorway driving, I noticed the tire handled well on dry roads, in the wet good traction impressive.
What i didn't like was the noise i started to experience on the roads around town, and worse on the motorway. It got so bad i had the car checked thoroughly exhaust, bearings etc everything checked out good, decided it had to be the tires.
Not a bad tire for the price but i wouldn't invest in them again the noise was too much.
tire reviewed on 2018-01-09 11:45:42
Writing about the Avon WV7 given 94% (245-45-17-V)
Driving on mostly country roads for 2000 spirited miles
Bought these on a hunch that they might be better than a lot of winter tires in the wet/dry (which compose 90% of British winter weather) and indeed they are. However they're also very good in winter conditions with excellent grip on fresh and frozen snow and ice, climbing a 1 in 6 hill in fresh snow was no problem, as was stopping on black ice. Their outstanding characteristic is the steering feedback, better than most winter tires (Nokian, Vredestein) that I've run - though obviously won't be as good as a HP summer tire, due to isolated tread blocks and loads of sipes - and the sidewalls are stiff enough to make the car feel controlled and give you confidence when pushing through the corners. And lastly they're suprisingly quiet for a winter tire too, less high frequency noise than the previous summer tires I ran. All in all a very competent tire at a decent price to boot, and the folk at Avon are most helpful with information.
tire reviewed on 2018-01-01 11:49:23
Writing about the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 given 77% (225-45-18-W)
Driving on mostly country roads for 2500 spirited miles
Mixed feelings on these, whilst braking and grip's not bad wet and dry and the wear is very good, steering feedback is not the best, and they don't inspire as much confidence as my previous rubber (Nokian Z-lines). I put some of this down to the rather narrower tread width (180 vs 200mm), and also the sidewalls aren't the stiffest. In short they're a very competent tire, but if you have sporting pretensions and want to enjoy your driving , check out other options first. Also they don't seem to be overly tough, I've lost 2 to kerbs/potholes in 2500 miles :-( , whilst that could be just bad luck, similar calamities in the past haven't resulted in tire failure.
tire reviewed on 2017-07-13 13:48:23
Writing about the Nokian WR A3 given 53% (225-50-17-)
Driving on mostly country roads for 2000 spirited miles
These were my third set of Nokian WR's and I was expecting great things on the new motor, but have ended up rather disappointed. The great thing about these tires in the past was their great all round ability, very important in the UK where we rarely get an "all snow" winter. I noticed when fitting them that the rim protector bead previously present had gone, a query to Nokian resulted in the reply "it's to reduce rolling resistance". Seems that's not all that's changed, the carcass feels less rigid and road feedback has dropped to the point where it can be positively worrying in a performance car even when not driving hard. They're still great in the snow, but in mixed conditions I can't recommend them to a driver with any sporting pretensions.
tire reviewed on 2015-04-14 16:33:29
Writing about the Achilles ATR Sport 2 given 86% (235-45-17-)
Driving on a combination of roads for 1500 spirited miles
yessss this tire performs on the road much like any other expensive premium tire....last longer, more reliable sidewall than those thin-sidewalled premium tire brands... treadwear rated at 420..u can expect it last more than 50k kms easily even when abused....the tread design also promotes silent and comfort highway driving..which is pretty pleasant experience.

all of that is really good when the price is less than half of those premium branded tire....since this tire came from some major "rubber producer country" in the world, u can expect high quality rubber with less money...

got it with the price of RM255/pcs (around $80) whats more u can ask from that?
tire reviewed on 2014-08-13 00:44:09
Writing about the Bridgestone Potenza S001 given 77% (225-45-18-V)
Driving on mostly country roads for 5000 spirited miles
Decided to go with the S001 as my preference in tires is a primarily a stiff sidewall, and Bridgestones tend to have this. The S001 certainly has this which translates to a nice direct & tight feel :)

A standout feature of the tire is wet performance, which quite frankly is eyebrow raising, especially in standing water. Confidence is immense with totally predictable progression. The centre channels are huge which must drive water out. When driving at higher speeds in the wet, a huge trail of water spray can be seen in the rear mirror.

Dry performance is very good, . I have an uprated rear arb fitted which gives better balance, with oversteer if provoked, again with reliable progression.

The only downside is wear rate, which has been quite alarming. However, given all the other standout attributes, the fierce wear rate seems a fair trade off

Reassuring safety, high confidence levels, and will buy again. Limited choices available in this size tire

STi 330/340
tire reviewed on 2014-03-02 02:38:56
Writing about the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 given 74% (225-45-17-H)
Driving on mostly motorways for 15700 average miles
The Tire creek after 25000Km
tire reviewed on 2013-10-09 23:20:05
Writing about the Dunlop Graspic DS2 given 39% (225-45-17-)
Driving on mostly town for 3000 spirited miles
No comments left
tire reviewed on 2012-10-31 10:20:53
Writing about the Hankook Ventus V12 evo k110 given 87% (235-45-18-W)
Driving on a combination of roads for 16000 spirited miles
I drive a 2006 330bhp forester sti with 370ftlb torque so its no slouch and use the car for commuting and a bit of spirited fun.
These tires were fitted already to my car when i bought it so don't know how many miles they'de already done (what i DO know is they had done several laps around the nurburgring by the previouse owner plus his traveling driving from the uk and back again). I had done around 1000miles before i had them checked and they were all on 5mm, ive done 16k since then and they are now on 3mm so now looking for a new set. Handling is well up there with the hi end brands, in fact i feel more confident with these than i did with my eagle f1's and conti contact3's! Road noise can be a little irritating but by just turning up the radio cures that..lol In fact the ONLY downside and if any the only reason i wouldn't use them again is the availability of them, they seem to be out of stock everywhere!
tire reviewed on 2012-03-10 01:47:55
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