After switching to a Forester late last year from 3 previous WRX's, I really wanted to get a beefier tire. I hadn't been too active on NASIOC anymore so I was happy to come across SubaruForester.org.
I did the obligatory search and came across plenty of threads with stock Foresters running a beefier tire. The two threads I gravitated towards however were Boone's 2014 Forester XT Touring & Boone's 2018 Forester XT Touring. I must admit I really loved SuBooneru's setup. Well, that and he had some great photographs. The '18 setup was exactly what I was looking for. 17" wheels with bigger rubber, a better look, some improved off-road capability and keeping the OEM suspension.
I looked at various different wheels. On Friday morning, I headed to my local Discount Tire. Like always, they worked up some magical deal on the wheels and tires. In the end, I decided on the same Drag DR-31's with a +35 offset that Boone had. Well, why stop there? I've always had good luck with Hankook Dynapro's so I ordered some 235/65 R17's. I did go with the newer Dynapro AT2 RF11 though. It's their newer version, and a bit better for the street. I live in Texas, Houston to be exact. I'm on roads nearly 95% of the time, and I like to road trip long distances to National Parks. So a bigger tire would be nice for the crappy roads here and the few times I'm exploring off-road.
Done, they're on order and I'm departing for a 3000-mile road trip to Colorado & Rocky Mountain National Park in 1 weeks time with the wifey. I was on the fence at the time about a lift and was considering a Subtle Solutions setup, something from 1 1/2" to 2". Since I was there at Discount Tire, I decided to call Subtle Solutions. I mentioned I had ordered some 235/65 R17's and was still on the stock OEM suspension setup. I could be wrong, but I felt as though they pitched some dire situation of constant rubbing during our road trip if I went with the 235/65 R17's. I had this feeling like it was a high-pressure sales pitch. One, the lift was really not in the budget, and two I just didn't want to wrench 1 whole day right before my road trip. All this after I had seen multiple posts about that size tire working on a stock Forester. What I hadn't seen though was how that tire worked with a loaded down Forester with 2 bikes on the back.
This was really in my head quite a bit. I talked to the manager at Discount Tire but I already knew they would recommend the more conservative size. I shot Boone a PM but don't think he ever saw it. I really wanted to know if he ever had his Forester loaded down with gear and if the tires rubbed. I couldn't really find an answer regarding that so I started a new thread search for other tires sizes that would surely work with no issues on a stock Forester. It came down to two really, either a 225/65 R17 or a 235/60 R17. I hit up a wheel offset visualizer to see the difference of various combinations. Indeed I think the 235/65 setup would work but it was pushing things very tight. On the other hand, the 235/60 setup was pretty close to stock. So, I could get a beefier tire, off-road tread and the speedo would read about the same.
Tire choices at this size are nill so I went with the Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S. I can honestly say, this tire is awesome. I didn't notice much of a drop in MPG in the city if any at all. On my 3000-mile road trip, I really can't give an accurate measurement. The first part of my trip about 300 miles through flat land, I noticed about a -1 MPG difference. Keep in mind, my Forester was loaded down, had a roof rack now, cargo basket and loaded cargo bag. That along with a Thule rack on the back with 2 mountain bikes. When my Forester was new I went to Lubbock, TX and back (about 1100 miles) and averaged 24.5 MPG. This trip, I did about 3000 miles, hit the mountains, 1 tornado warning storm, 1 blizzard, a desert and averaged 21.0 MPG. The Coopers have no additional road noise, they felt great in the rain and way confident in the snow and ice. I'm definitely a Cooper convert now.
In the end, I'm 100% happy that I went with the 235/60 R17. I experienced absolutely no rubbing, even at full lock tight turns, off-road loaded down with gear and the tires look great. Hope this helps anyone trying to decide on which tire size to go with on their stock setup.
https://tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/
Comparison between 235/65 R17 and 235/60 R17 vs the stock XT setup of 225/55 R18:
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The new Drag DR-31's with Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S (235/60 R17)
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Setup on unloaded Forester
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Setup with loaded down Forester with bikes on the back
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Closeup of the clearance when loaded down
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I did the obligatory search and came across plenty of threads with stock Foresters running a beefier tire. The two threads I gravitated towards however were Boone's 2014 Forester XT Touring & Boone's 2018 Forester XT Touring. I must admit I really loved SuBooneru's setup. Well, that and he had some great photographs. The '18 setup was exactly what I was looking for. 17" wheels with bigger rubber, a better look, some improved off-road capability and keeping the OEM suspension.
I looked at various different wheels. On Friday morning, I headed to my local Discount Tire. Like always, they worked up some magical deal on the wheels and tires. In the end, I decided on the same Drag DR-31's with a +35 offset that Boone had. Well, why stop there? I've always had good luck with Hankook Dynapro's so I ordered some 235/65 R17's. I did go with the newer Dynapro AT2 RF11 though. It's their newer version, and a bit better for the street. I live in Texas, Houston to be exact. I'm on roads nearly 95% of the time, and I like to road trip long distances to National Parks. So a bigger tire would be nice for the crappy roads here and the few times I'm exploring off-road.
Done, they're on order and I'm departing for a 3000-mile road trip to Colorado & Rocky Mountain National Park in 1 weeks time with the wifey. I was on the fence at the time about a lift and was considering a Subtle Solutions setup, something from 1 1/2" to 2". Since I was there at Discount Tire, I decided to call Subtle Solutions. I mentioned I had ordered some 235/65 R17's and was still on the stock OEM suspension setup. I could be wrong, but I felt as though they pitched some dire situation of constant rubbing during our road trip if I went with the 235/65 R17's. I had this feeling like it was a high-pressure sales pitch. One, the lift was really not in the budget, and two I just didn't want to wrench 1 whole day right before my road trip. All this after I had seen multiple posts about that size tire working on a stock Forester. What I hadn't seen though was how that tire worked with a loaded down Forester with 2 bikes on the back.
This was really in my head quite a bit. I talked to the manager at Discount Tire but I already knew they would recommend the more conservative size. I shot Boone a PM but don't think he ever saw it. I really wanted to know if he ever had his Forester loaded down with gear and if the tires rubbed. I couldn't really find an answer regarding that so I started a new thread search for other tires sizes that would surely work with no issues on a stock Forester. It came down to two really, either a 225/65 R17 or a 235/60 R17. I hit up a wheel offset visualizer to see the difference of various combinations. Indeed I think the 235/65 setup would work but it was pushing things very tight. On the other hand, the 235/60 setup was pretty close to stock. So, I could get a beefier tire, off-road tread and the speedo would read about the same.
Tire choices at this size are nill so I went with the Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S. I can honestly say, this tire is awesome. I didn't notice much of a drop in MPG in the city if any at all. On my 3000-mile road trip, I really can't give an accurate measurement. The first part of my trip about 300 miles through flat land, I noticed about a -1 MPG difference. Keep in mind, my Forester was loaded down, had a roof rack now, cargo basket and loaded cargo bag. That along with a Thule rack on the back with 2 mountain bikes. When my Forester was new I went to Lubbock, TX and back (about 1100 miles) and averaged 24.5 MPG. This trip, I did about 3000 miles, hit the mountains, 1 tornado warning storm, 1 blizzard, a desert and averaged 21.0 MPG. The Coopers have no additional road noise, they felt great in the rain and way confident in the snow and ice. I'm definitely a Cooper convert now.
In the end, I'm 100% happy that I went with the 235/60 R17. I experienced absolutely no rubbing, even at full lock tight turns, off-road loaded down with gear and the tires look great. Hope this helps anyone trying to decide on which tire size to go with on their stock setup.
https://tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/
Comparison between 235/65 R17 and 235/60 R17 vs the stock XT setup of 225/55 R18:
The new Drag DR-31's with Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S (235/60 R17)
Setup on unloaded Forester
Setup with loaded down Forester with bikes on the back
Closeup of the clearance when loaded down
