Best Tires for Subaru Forester

Budget for snow tires. AWD is not magic, and you generally can't use chains with AWD systems. In terms of cars, Subarus are good and reliable. I've owned two Foresters.

My vredesteins last foreverrr only had to change them because of stupid nails on the side wall

With regular tire rotation I used the tires that came with the car for 65000 miles. I think the brand was Falken. 2019 Forester. My driving is mostly city driving in New York City, which has rough roads.

I have Michelin crossclimate 2's and they make a huge difference and really unlock the capabilities of the cars.

Parents 2018 Forester got ~65k miles on stock Yokohama tires with regular rotations and replaced them with a bit over 3/32” left on them.

I have these on my forester I bought used two years ago. I have maybe rotated them once, never had an alignment, and will need to buy new ones next year. Not because the tread is wearing out but because they are getting those cracks from being nearly 5 years old. Fantastic tires and i will be purchasing again!!!

Cooper's aren't THAT much more and they're great tires. I got 67,000 out of the ones on my 2003 Subaru Forester XS (RIP) they were at the end of their life though.

I had the Vredestein Sportrac 5 previously.

Positives:

+ Quiet and smooth ride

+ Very reliable on flooded highways

Negatives:

- Soft sides, tires looked deflated at the recommended pressure (2.2/1.9 bar - if the car is not loaded, which is most of the time). If I inflate more the drive gets extreme hard and uncomfortable.

I have not driven a lot of tires but wonder if that soft side somehow dampens accuracy?

- Surprisingly bad at braking on the dry, even at low speed in the city, they slide.

I have always had a great experience with Falken tires. I’ve recommended them many times but I do wonder if something has changed in the last few years to their formula or manufacturing process?

2025 forester with 3200 miles on the falken tires. I have already had 2 instances of road damage. First a sheet metal screw in the tread and now a puncture and tear on the inner sidewall due to a piece of gravel.