CD Article: 2006 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Sport Wagon

[ghost]

So no one answered my question....does anyone know when the new Impreza is due?

2008. expect an even more high powered STI now that the silly gentlemen's agreement on hp in Japan is lifted.
Personally I wish that concept turbo hybrid hatchback would show up.

[ScoobyDriver]

I emailed Subaru Canada today since I didn't get a definitive answer from the dealership... We'll see what they have to say.

Does anybody know what size winter tire will fit on this model?  The stock tire is a 205/55-16 so I know that will fit but they're darn expensive!  I see some websites listing 205/60-15 and 195/65-15's. 

When I called the dealership they weren't much help.  They said that Subaru recommends the same size winter tire as the stock.  A 2005 model of the same car allows a 16" or 15" I was told but for the 2006 model they're recommending an exact match of the stock tire size.  They gave me some line about alternative sizes affecting the performance of the car and the AWD system.  I'm planning on calling Subaru Canada to confirm.  I'm also wondering if I go against the recommendations and use a 15" rim will my warranty be affected?

I'm new to the site so this may be better posted elsewhere but I thought I'd give this a shot.  Thanks!!

[ScoobyDriver]

Still waiting for my email from Subaru.  It should come soon I suspect or I'll send them a 2nd Request email.

I emailed Subaru Canada today since I didn't get a definitive answer from the dealership... We'll see what they have to say.

Does anybody know what size winter tire will fit on this model?  The stock tire is a 205/55-16 so I know that will fit but they're darn expensive!  I see some websites listing 205/60-15 and 195/65-15's. 

When I called the dealership they weren't much help.  They said that Subaru recommends the same size winter tire as the stock.  A 2005 model of the same car allows a 16" or 15" I was told but for the 2006 model they're recommending an exact match of the stock tire size.  They gave me some line about alternative sizes affecting the performance of the car and the AWD system.  I'm planning on calling Subaru Canada to confirm.  I'm also wondering if I go against the recommendations and use a 15" rim will my warranty be affected?

I'm new to the site so this may be better posted elsewhere but I thought I'd give this a shot.  Thanks!!

[ScoobyDriver]

Just in case anybody is still interested... I haven't heard from Subaru Canada yet so I've sent them a second email.  When I had questions in the past about service promotions and whether you're required to have the coupons from the website to get the deals, they were very helpful.  Hopefully I'll have the same positive experience this time!

Still waiting for my email from Subaru.  It should come soon I suspect or I'll send them a 2nd Request email.

I emailed Subaru Canada today since I didn't get a definitive answer from the dealership... We'll see what they have to say.

Does anybody know what size winter tire will fit on this model?  The stock tire is a 205/55-16 so I know that will fit but they're darn expensive!  I see some websites listing 205/60-15 and 195/65-15's. 

When I called the dealership they weren't much help.  They said that Subaru recommends the same size winter tire as the stock.  A 2005 model of the same car allows a 16" or 15" I was told but for the 2006 model they're recommending an exact match of the stock tire size.  They gave me some line about alternative sizes affecting the performance of the car and the AWD system.  I'm planning on calling Subaru Canada to confirm.  I'm also wondering if I go against the recommendations and use a 15" rim will my warranty be affected?

I'm new to the site so this may be better posted elsewhere but I thought I'd give this a shot.  Thanks!!

[ScoobyDriver]

I got tired of waiting for a reply to my email so I just called Subaru Canada.  They confirmed what I thought was true.  That I can use alternate sized winter wheels and rims without a problem as long as they're the proper ratio.  I may get different performance characteristics from a tall narrow tire (of course!).  But that as long as I was comfortable with that any size wheel  and tire (provided it fits) would be fine and will not impact the warranty in any way.

So the dealership just didn't know what they were talking about!  A 15" steel rim and tire package will easiliy save me a couple hundred dollars over the stock 16" size rim and tire combo size, so it's good information to know!

[johngenx]

Subaru dealers tend to be staffed with people that can't get up to Moron status.

As for running 15" steels, it's an excellent idea.  We're running 15" steels on our Forester and it works very well.  No worry about expensive alloys in the winter and the taller/narrower snow tires actually work better.  A nice bonus was that the wheel/tire combo intial price was about the same as the 16" snows alone, and then we'll save some money every time we get new snowies.

BTW, we're running Blizzaks on our Forester, and they turn the little tall-sorta-wagonny-thing into a snow-eating beast in the winter.  I spend plety of time in the mountains on some pretty poorly maintained roads (and some non-roads, too) and there hasn't been a single moment when I thought we might be immobile.  On a few occasions, the snow was deep enough that we had to push open the doors through snow once we were stopped.  Now, the Impreza isn't quite as tall, but it won't make a lick of difference.

[ScoobyDriver]

Thanks for the Blizzak tip!  I'll put those on the list of list of tires to consider.

Subaru dealers tend to be staffed with people that can't get up to Moron status.

As for running 15" steels, it's an excellent idea.  We're running 15" steels on our Forester and it works very well.  No worry about expensive alloys in the winter and the taller/narrower snow tires actually work better.  A nice bonus was that the wheel/tire combo intial price was about the same as the 16" snows alone, and then we'll save some money every time we get new snowies.

BTW, we're running Blizzaks on our Forester, and they turn the little tall-sorta-wagonny-thing into a snow-eating beast in the winter.  I spend plety of time in the mountains on some pretty poorly maintained roads (and some non-roads, too) and there hasn't been a single moment when I thought we might be immobile.  On a few occasions, the snow was deep enough that we had to push open the doors through snow once we were stopped.  Now, the Impreza isn't quite as tall, but it won't make a lick of difference.

[ghost]

oh no worries with the 15". When I had my 2.5RS Coupe which was shod with stock 16" shoes, I switched to skinny 165/85/15 for winter rubber. Works great! Oh I miss my RS.