Best Tires for the Subaru Outback

When looking for the best tires for your Subaru Outback, asking which is the better option will get different answers from different people. Subaru, for example, decided on the factory tires that came with your car based on several requirements from engineers, financing, and marketing. Your priorities may be quite different. You may be more interested in fuel economy, a long treadlife, performance on or off the road, or with your budget. Whatever your needs, we’ve got you covered here.

Have an older Subaru Outback? See tire sizes for previous years.

Best Tires for the Subaru Outback 2.5i Base, Premium (17” wheels)

• Riken Raptor - Best budget tire
• Hankook Dynapro HT RH12 - Best mid-priced tire
• Michelin Crossclimate SUV - Best superior tire

Best Tires for the Outback 2.5i Limited, Touring (18” wheels)

• Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport - Best budget tire
• Yokohama Geolandar GO55 - Best mid-priced tire
• Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport AS RFT - Best superior tire

Best Tires for the Subaru Outback 2.4T Limited XT, Touring XT, Onyx Edition XT

• Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport - Best budget tire
• Goodyear Assurance Comfortred Touring - Best mid-priced tire
• Michelin Primacy MXM4 - Best superior tire

Original Equipment Outback Tires

The current-generation of the Subaru Outback has several original equipment (OE) tires, depending on the trim level chosen. The 2.5i Base and Premium models have 17-inch wheels while the other trims have 18-inch wheels;

• The Outback 2.5i Base,Premium came clad in Yokohama Avid GT tires in 225/65R17 102H.
• All Outback models with 18-inch wheels, including the 2.5i and 2.4T models, were sold with Yokohama Avid GT tires in 225/60R18 100H.

Top Replacement Tire Brands for the Subaru Outback

We’ve recommended two replacement tires in 17- and 18-inch sizes. Each choice is based on budget, but if you read further you’ll learn about other metrics that may also impact your decision. All of these tires have ratings of four-stars or higher based on consumer surveys:

17-inch Tires for Outback

• Budget: Riken Raptor tires - are a good budget option with high customer ratings, good tread life, and good all-season traction.
• Moderately Priced: Hankook Dynapro HT RH12 tires - offer good mid-range performance for tread life and traction and are rated highly by consumers.
• Cost-No-Object: Michelin Crossclimate SUV - have everything one could ask for when only the best will do. High customer ratings and a strong reputation for long life and performance.

18-inch Tires for Subaru Outback

• Budget: Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport - offer a lot for just a little and have good consumer ratings as well.
• Moderately Priced: Goodyear Assurance Comfortred Touring - tires have a long life expectancy for tread wear, are a solid road-going tire choice for all seasons, and rate highly among consumers.
• Cost-No-Object: Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires - bring excellence to all metrics and offer good on- and off-road tread wear.

When Should You Replace Tires?

When looking at tire replacement, there are two things to consider: the amount of mileage on the tires and how old the tires are. Mileage is a rough measurement of tread life whereas age is a measurement of the chemical breakdown that occurs to tires over time.

These rules apply whether looking at the tires on your Subaru Outback or on any other vehicle in your driveway or garage. Most vehicles have abou 12,000 or so miles per year put on them and the average tread life for a set of tires is around 30,000 to 40,000 miles. Doing the math, most consumers will require tire replacement on their vehicle every three or four years.

Keep in mind that the treadwear, traction rating, and temperature rating on your tire (more on how those work in a minute) are measured and marked by the manufacturer. There are industry standards for how these measurements take place, but there is no private or government regulation of these measurements to verify claims. The best measurement is the reputation of the tire maker and the consumer ratings given to the tires on sites like Tire Rack.

The measurements given for tread, traction, and temperature are part of the Uniform Tire Quality Grade (UTQG) rating that is embossed on the tire’s sidewall. Every tire should have this rating, which consists of a three-digit number followed by two letter sequences. Something like “500 A A” or similar.

This UTQG rating gives a fair amount of information. Using our example above, here’s what we can learn about the tire:

• 500 - This is the durability rating of a tire as compared to a control tire. The control tire’s tread life is 100. The tread life is determined in a test where the tire is used for 11,520 km (7,158 miles). At every 1,280 km, the tire’s tread depth is measured, providing a projected tread life. The higher this tread life number is, the higher the expectation.
• A - The first letter is the traction rating of the tire, measured as AA, A, B, or C. This indicates how well the tire stops in wet conditions, usually tested on wet pavement. AA is the best rating, A is the next-best, and so on.
• A - The last letter is the temperature rating of the tire, as above. This indicates the tire’s ability to withstand very high temperatures for a period of time.

The factory tires on the Subaru Outback in its current generation are Yokohama Avid GT models. The ratings on the 17-inch tires are slightly different than those on the 18-inch ones, so we’ll look at the slightly lower-rated 18-inch tires. These have a 400 BA rating. This means they are good for about 40,000 miles in tread wear and are moderately good at wet stopping and very good at extreme temperatures.

The other consideration for tire replacement that we mentioned was time. Tires are usually rated to last five years before the chemical breakdown could begin to make them unsafe. On the sidewall of every tire made in North America is stamped the letters “DOT” followed by three groups of four digits. The last group of four digits is the date code for the tire. The other digits indicate some composition requirements of the Department of Transportation.

The date code indicates a week and a year. The first two numbers are the week the tire was produced while the second two are the year it was produced. So a tire marked 3217 was made on the 37th week of 2017 or September 11-17, 2017. Tires have an expected lifespan of five years. So this tire would expire on September 11, 2022.

The thing that breaks down quickest in most tires are the chemicals that protect the rubber and other compounds from the sun’s UV rays. Once those are no longer protecting the tire from breakdown, the tire can begin cracking, splitting, or worse.

Why Not Replace with Original Equipment Tires?

There is nothing wrong with going with original equipment (OE) tires as replacements when the time comes. This is easy, predictable, and a no-brainer. Many choose this route out of convenience. The factory’s choice for tire, however, may not be your best choice for your Outback. You may want better fuel economy, more winter driving safety, longer tread life, or to pay a lower price for your tires. Or some combination of these things.

It’s worth shopping around to see what is available. Beating the wet stopping distance measurement on the stock Yokohama tires on your Subaru Outback is easy to do. Raising that B to an A without compromising the other metrics, for example, may be important to you and worth an extra $10 or $20. Or getting more than 40,000 miles out of the tires may be your priority. This is where shopping around is worth the effort.

Changing Subaru Outback Tire Sizes

Depending on the model, your Subaru Outback may have 17-inch or 18-inch wheels and require tires to fit those. If you have aftermarket wheels (or are upgrading to them), you may have a different size, but most Outback models will have either 17s or 18s.

When sizing tires, the general rule of thumb is to retain the overall diameter of the tire and wheel no matter how you change other metrics. So, for example, going to a larger sidewall tire (which adds cushion and comfort) would mean dropping to a smaller wheel diameter to compensate. Similarly, going to a thinner profile tire would mean a bigger wheel is required.

Downsizing wheels has some advantages:

• Better ride quality – More rubber and sidewall means more cushion for poor road conditions.
• Cost reduction – Thin profile tires are expensive, so moving to a smaller wheel size for a bigger sidewall likely means lower-cost tires.
• Seasonal changes – Swapping to winter snow tires may be a need and in that case, the tires and wheels need to match.
• Off-road – Smaller wheels off-road means more tire sidewall for cushion and grip off the pavement.

Going up in wheel size has benefits as well:

• Better handling – The slimmer the tire profile, the tighter the road feel and grip.
• Better looks – It’s fashionable now to have thinner profiles and larger wheels.
• Better braking – Lower profile tires usually have larger tread meeting the road which means better stopping distances.

See our recommendations for the Best Extended Warranty for your Subaru Outback

How to Read Tire Sizes

Tire sizes are also an important factor and play into the wheel sizes we talked about above. The Outback comes with 225/60R18 100H tires on its upper-end models. Here’s what those numbers mean:

• 225 - is the width of the tire from one sidewall to the other in millimeters--in other words the tread width. This tire is 225 millimeters wide.
• 60 - indicates the aspect ratio, or sidewall height, as a percentage of the tire’s width. Here it is 60 percent of the tire’s width (or 135mm).
• R - means radial tires. Radials are the most common type of automotive tire. There is fabric woven into the tires to strengthen sidewalls and tread and help the tire retain its shape. These are positioned “radially” so they are strongest while the tire is spinning.
• 18 - is the diameter of the wheel (in this case, measured in inches).
• 100 - is the tire’s load rating, indicating how much weight it can bear.
• H - is the tire’s speed rating. H-rated tires have a maximum top speed of 130 mph.

It’s worth noting that the Outback’s 17-inch wheels are clad with 225/65R17 tires, keeping the aspect ratio between the 17- and 18-inch wheels the same.

In general, there are four kinds of tires available at most tire shops for most vehicles and tire sizes. Which is your best choice will depend on the type of driving you do the most. These four include:

• Touring and All-season tires - provide a smooth ride, good wet and dry traction, decent winter traction, and longer tread life. These tires are acceptable for winter use but can’t be expected to provide the traction and stopping power that a dedicated winter tire can.
• Performance tires - are focused on providing confident handling, better wet and dry traction, and a sporty feel. Their higher grip and speed ratings come with a tradeoff of shortened tread life and reduced ride quality.
• All-terrain tires - are built to maximize off-road traction and provide good durability overall. Their construction means more noise and less comfort on the road, but winter traction and tread wear is acceptable.
• Winter and snow tires - are made with special rubber compounds that maintain grip and pliability when temperatures drop. They are also built with special tread patterns to maximize the vehicle’s ability to start and stop on very slippery roads.

Tire Sizes By Year

See our overall recommendations for Best Tires

See our recommendations for the 10 Best Tire Brands for 2021