Originally Posted By: Rand
I was never impressed with the org. model.
It has some bad design compromises for offroad that were not
good for on-road.. and terribly overpriced.
New model looks improved and updated.
This is a very good tire for offroad and gravel roads.
Also "looks" very nice.
And apparently available in a size that fits my 2015 Forester....
They are just a bit larger diameter and you'll have very little clearance. Less than half an inch from the inner sidewall. No rubbing, but if you need chains/cables, you'll probably need the Autosock (size 697). I haven't tried the SCC cables yet, the lowest profile they have, so I don't know if they fit. I keep meaning to test fit them, but I'm lazy.
I've lost a little gas mileage (not sure how much since now the odometer is just a hair off) and the road noise is more, but they are so much better in every type of terrain from dry to wet to snow, to off road. They are also a little over 10 pounds heaver per tire than the stock Geolanders. Heavier than the Coops ATS/3 I was also looking at.
I'm assuming you have the standard 225/60R17 and are looking at the 225/65R17.
I've had mine for about 5,000 miles. Haven't had a chance to really test them though. A couple forest roads, a little bit of surface ice, and some snow and ice just playing around going over one of the passes and stopping in some of the unplowed parking lots and roads in the mountains. That was maybe a 140-200 mile total trip.
I drive a lot on them, about 44 miles each way to and from work and they are handling fine. More road noise than the Geolanders, but nothing too bad.