I am thinking of purchasing an 05 Legacy. Here is my question. If you blow one of the tires do you have to replace all four or can you just replace two? You blow the front so just replace the two in tires in front, etc. A buddy of mine has a WRX and he says you have to on them. The dealer was wishy washy and said you could replace the two on the front or back but I don't know if he was just trying to make a sale. I am still researching this car before I purchase. I will be buying something but want something I will still like after two to three years.

Thanks all

Well! First of all tires don't just blow unless they're worn out. Most go flat because of picking up foreign objects(nails,glass etc.) or degeneration of the bead(bond between tire and rim). Most can be repaired except for sidewall breakdown. Most tire places encourage the buying of ,at least, pairs. Mainly due to the wear factor of the older tire which can affect ride and handling. The dealer was correct in this aspect. He wasn't trying to decieve you, I don't believe. He'd have rather sold you 4 tires than 2. But your friend is somewhat correct. The 2 new tires can affect the handling and ride and wear of the 2 older tires. These characterics pretain to radial tires. They didn't seem to hold true in the old bias ply tires. But there are no real set rules

Umm, arnt you guys forgetting the MOST important part?

Since our vehicles are AWD you have to have same size tires/wear on each rim. even having a little extra rubber on one tire will cause the diff fluid to heat up at high speeds. This will of course lead to a MUCH bigger problem than 500 dollars worth of tires.

Buy 4 new tires, sell the other 3 on ebay. One as a spare and two as a set. Some FWD/RWD car will want them.

Also, another option is to buy another tire, and some shops will trim the tire down so its relativly close to how worn yoru current tires are.

Not all Legacy's have AWD. I don't believe that was mentioned. Thusly,maybe the discrepancys in what we and the dealer and the friend are telling swipter. That's interesting information about cutting down the tire to match the wear. I had never heard that before. Anyone ever had it done?

All Subarus in North America after 1995 (and many before) are AWD. He said it was a 2005 Legacy.

I've only heard of cutting the tire down, but havent seen it done. I imagine its very possible to do though.

Your right. I misread. Thought it was a 95. :banghead: Tire cut down :rolleyes:

All Subarus 1997 and later are AWD

ahh yes, you're correct about all subarus being AWD in 97.

BTW, if you dont believe me about shaving the tire, see this page, about halfway down
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/general/matchingtires.jsp

The biggest reason to change all 4 is with brands and models of tires. Sizes between manufacturers are nominal - like with lumber. Even though they are the same size tires they differ between manufacturers. As far as wear, that's secondary. If your tires are worn then there will be a big difference between old and new otherwise as long as the are the same kind of tire you shouldn't have any trouble.

BTW, how many blowouts have you had in your life? I just went through this with my new Suby and bought 4 new tires. I drive aprox 33,000 miles a year an the stock rubber was only rated for 30,000. I don't want to by new tires every year. I put on Goodyear Assurance and they are great! Don't let a little thing like tires keep you from buying a great car.

Yeah, the stock RE92's are a terrible terrible tire. Bad grip, bad wear, noisy. Most of my WRX friends threw them out with less than 1k km on them.

As long as you're getting the same exact tire, you can just get one (assuming this is just a daily driver). If the opposing tire is worn out as well, get two. You can sell the good one on Ebay or to a used tire shop. If you get a different brand/size/model of tire, you have to get all four of them at once.

Umm... I think your forgeting about tire wear and our AWD systems. I wouldnt advise just buying one or two tires especially if your curent tires are worn, because then youre just going to fry yoru differentials.

When replacing a tire you must be within a 1/4 inch of all the other tires, otherwise you will ruin your differential. If you are over 1/4 inch you have to replace at least 2 tires.

As far as expense goes - How often do you plan on having a blow out and the tire ruined?? It's only happened once to me. Just a thought! Also, if you rotate your tires properly you won't have wear issues and all your tires will need to be replaced at the same time anyway. Another thought! LOL!

When replacing a tire you must be within a 1/4 inch of all the other tires, otherwise you will ruin your differential. If you are over 1/4 inch you have to replace at least 2 tires.
1/4 in. is a lot of wear for a tire. If you'll re-read my post, you'll note that I advocate getting multiple tires if they are significantly worn.