Need input on tire choices

What is your intended use - do you really need All Terrain tires?

Maybe 800 miles a summer in Eastern Oregon's high desert on dirt, gravel, rocky roads, washouts, etc. We are rockhounds and go to some very remote places. I mainly need a tougher than all season tire and a little more sidewall flex than on an 18". There is no cell service and I like having the peace of mind with a stronger tire.
When we bought our Forester Touring I was looking for a lower model level with 17's but couldn't pass up the $30200 out the door price on a remaining 2018 model.

There have been some good reports for the Yoko Geolanders since they improved them (the sidewalls were too soft years ago and I lost 6 of 11 due to sidewall damage).

I know many people like the Coopers but as a tire repairman in outback Australia once said to me "Coopers, them's for city folks"

Can't comment on Continental.

I've used BFG for many years, AT on the Foz and MT on my ute and while I cannot fault them, other than their high cost, I think I'll give Bridgestone Dueler D697 a try on the Foz and Maxxis for the ute next time I need replacements.

PS - so of your 3 choices I would give the Geolanders a try.

Kevin has good answers. IME Cooper tires aren't very good tires, Continental meh too, especially off-road. BFG TA-KO2 are quite nice and on my old Toyota pickup 4x4 they did almost everything as well or better than some much more expensive TSL-SXs. Only downsides of BFG All-Terrains were not as good in thick mud and got punctures easier, but they rock crawling, road handling, rain, you name it BFG was better and cheaper.

I'd go with BFG AT or Yokohama Geolanders.

I just got the Continental Terrain Contact A/T's installed this morning. Would recommend!

Chilighost,
Just curious, since you just had tires installed today, what are the specific reasons you’d recommend them?

I have the cooper at3 4s and so far they have been awesome.
Awesome in the rain and quieter than the g015 in my opinion. Waiting to get more snow to see how they do.
I have only heard great things about the Coopers at3 4s and geolander g015

Steel City Subi said:

Chilighost,
Just curious, since you just had tires installed today, what are the specific reasons you’d recommend them?

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Good question. I probably need more time with them before I can make a definitive recommendation, but I really like how they are handling so far. Today it snowed and the roads are wet with slush. It's been handling great in the wet conditions so far. Also, I just like the semi aggressive look of the tire - I think it fits the Forester well. It's nice that it comes in the same OEM tire size as well. I was considering the Yoko Geolander G015's but realized the size was a bit different (no 225 /60 R17 size). Although it would have probably worked, I'm glad I went with these.

^.. thanks. if you remember, provide an update after 10-15k miles.

Steel City Subi said:

^.. thanks. if you remember, provide an update after 10-15k miles.

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Will do! :thumbsup:

chilighost said:

Good question. I probably need more time with them before I can make a definitive recommendation, but I really like how they are handling so far. Today it snowed and the roads are wet with slush. It's been handling great in the wet conditions so far. Also, I just like the semi aggressive look of the tire - I think it fits the Forester well. It's nice that it comes in the same OEM tire size as well. I was considering the Yoko Geolander G015's but realized the size was a bit different (no 225 /60 R17 size). Although it would have probably worked, I'm glad I went with these.

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This is the same reason I'm looking at those - they're a direct fit size.

nikfuL said:

I finally found a set of 17" Crosstrek wheels at a reasonable price on CL and now need some input .... Another question is how much to ask for my stock 18" Touring wheels and stock Bridgestone tires with 7000 miles and not a blemish? The tire shop said that they would give me $300 but I think that's low.

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There is a limited market for the original wheels.... So while 300 seems low, they're looking at the resale value and what kind of profit they can get.

How much did you pay for the Crosstrek rims? Use that as a base for considering your sale price for the 18" Tourings.

chilighost said:

I just got the Continental Terrain Contact A/T's installed this morning. Would recommend!

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The tread and specs looks pretty nice on those, thanks for the initial review and looking forward to your long-term report. Buddy of mine lives in the mountains where it snows and he does a fair amount of road trips and fire road travel recently installed 225/65R17 on his Outback and really likes the extra tire height, but for my more frequently road oriented use I'm thinking stock size like you got is probably better.

Crosstrek wheels look better than Forester wheels usually.

Nikful, Contis look great mounted on Crosstrek wheels on your Forester!

nikfuL said:

Discount Tire installed 4 Continental TerrainContacts on the 17" Crosstrek wheels I bought off of Craigslist. We're going to take a 4 day trip to the Oregon Coast this weekend. I'm looking forward to see how they perform in our coastal rain as I think the stock Duelers hydroplane way to easily.

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Looks really good! Have fun on the Oregon Coast - can't wait to get back there next year hopefully.

$140 for the four. 3 are perfect and one has a small amount of curb rash. Smoothed it a little with a flat file before being balanced and you can't hardly see it now if you aren't looking for it.

Honestly, if you have the space, I would keep the original wheels for when you go to sell or trade this vehicle. You'll do better keeping it stock and then selling the Crosstrek wheels & tires if that day comes.

Unfortunately, all I have is a carport. They will have to go.