[Lawrence Spencer]

I am new to the site and am a first time Subaru owner. We live in Waetern North carolina; west of Asheville at an elevation of 3800 feet. We moved here from Ft. Lauderdale, FL and I decided we needed 4X4 or AWD so I traded the wifes 2000 Avalon for the 09 Forester. We have been delighted with the car. We just went through the great snow storm here in the mountains. We got around 14 inches. We had driven to Knoxvilee the morning the storm hit and were on our way back around 2 pm when the fun started. Heading south on I-26 toward Ashevill an 18 wheeler jacknifed and brought all to a halt. Not wanting to spend the next 16 hours languishing on the highway the wife fired up the GPA and we evetually managed to work our way through back roads back to I 240 and evetually I 40 to get home...around 35 miles west of Asheville....to make a very long story short the roads - including the inerstate were a mess many inches of unplowed snow but the Forester soldiered on and evetually got us into our little development wher I finally got stuck on the bridge. I hope the attached picture comes through.

Anyway, I love the car but would like some information from more experiences Foreter owners about chains. My OM says No Chains. My neighbor has a 2000 Outback and uses "low profile cable chains" called "Z Chains" made by SCC and meets Class "S" clearance requirments it says 1/4 inch. I checked tohe clearance and there is plenty at the actual wheel well and I "believe" sufficient behind the wheel in and around the shock area......

Does anyone have any experience with, advice etc.

We only get snow 3 or 4 times a year and generally not more tha2 or 3 inches and it usually burns off totally in 48 hours or less. My concerns are that the road to my house is arond a 6 % grade and I am concerned that with the "factory tires"Geolanders I may not be able to manage the grade when it melts and refreezes. This recent storm, while probably a once in a decade event, has caused me to wonder what other measures I can take short of buying a separate set of Snow or Winter tires.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lone Ranger]

You do not need chains and I would discourage their use. You just need dedicated winter tires. Look into Nokian WRG2's or Bridgestone Blizzaks. They will make your Forester unstoppable in snow.

 

[Lawrence Spencer]

You do not need chains and I would discourage their use. You just need dedicated winter tires. Look into Nokian WRG2's or Bridgestone Blizzaks. They will make your Forester unstoppable in snow.

So I would need to purchase another set of wheels as well and then put them on for the winter months. I have heard that using dedicated winter tires when the roads are dry or only wet from rain is not good. Any advice on that. Is there perhaps a good alternative all season tire. I have Michelin LTX M/S on my 99 Silverado and wonder if someting like that would be an alternative to a separate set of tires and wheels for the limited use I would have for dedicated winter tires?

 

[TC2000]

You could get something like the Yokohama Geolander A/T-S which would be good year round.

that looks deep even snows might not have gotten you thru that

 

[Lawrence Spencer]

The weather service guys say we got 14 inches and so maybe as you say it was just entirely to much and overwhelmed the Foretster. I will say that I am so very impressed at what he/she did in handling what mother nature threw at us that I can't overstate it. I do think at the end of the day there was just so much snow up under the car that the only thing which would have helped would be another 6 or 8 inches of road clearance.

I was in the Subaru dealer on Wednesday !2/23 for service and was contemplating maybe a trade up to a Tribeca ...to get more road clearance. according to my sales guy the Tribeca doesn't have any more clearance than the Forestor....seems odd and I will check it out....but if that is the case then no reason to trade the Fortester.......

Thanks for the information on the tires. I'll look for something like that whenit comes time to replace the factories. We bought the Forester in March 09 and now have 15,872 miles on it. That includes a trip to the Grand Canyon, one trip each to Cleveland OH (we live in Asheville, NC) Ft. Lauderdale, 6 or 8 trips to Knoxville, TN and the local driving we do. In fact we are leaving for Cleveland tomorrow (Sat 12/26) for a week visit. We both love the car and are still getting used to it. Need to spend more time with the OM and reading posts here.

Merry Christmas to all !

 

[Lawrence Spencer]

[

One other thing, off subject but important to me.....How do you get your vehicle type to be appended to your posts?

 

[2.5x_sleeper]

Welcome to the forum from Oregon! :biggrin:

Love the Forester in the snow picture!

We don't get much snow here, but we do get freezing rain & freezing fog. We have studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta 4 winter tires on winter wheels that we put on as needed. They're expensive, but they'll last a long time. :wink:

Bobby...

My MODding Journal

 

[joe r]

Congrats & welcome to the forum..


joe r

 

[TC2000]

[

One other thing, off subject but important to me.....How do you get your vehicle type to be appended to your posts?

Click on ( User CP ) and then edit your signature just put the vehicle info or whatever you want in there ,,
Merry Christmas to you too and welcome to the group .

 

[SubieOutlaw]

Welcome
gotta love 8.9" of gc

 

[Lawrence Spencer]

Thanks to everyone for the advice and warm welcome.

Am leaving for Cleveland this am, as soon as the black ice burns off.

 

[crewzer]

Lawrence,

Welcome to the site!

I honestly don't know if any tire would help in 14" of snow. However, "winter" tires may be your best bet for a 99.5% solution. Here's a link to what I've done for my '09 Forester.

Another issue for you to consider is the temporary spare tire that came with your AT-equipped car, especially considering your far-and-wide travels.

Specifically, the "donut" temp spare should only be used as a rear wheel, which means you've got to do a double-switch if you get a front flat, and you've got to disable your AT-equipped car's rear axle from the drive train if the temp spare is installed. See pages 9-2 thru -4 in your '09's owner manual.

Accordingly, you may wish to consider buying and carrying a full-size spare. This link will take you to posts on my f/s spare project, and links to useful reports from other members are embedded.

HTH,
Jim / crewzer

 

[Duderotomy]

Welcome to the forum from Niagara Falls!

 

[Tuned200]

Welcome to the forum from KY.