Best Tires for the Subaru Crosstrek
What are the best tires to choose for your beloved Subaru Crosstrek? It is a difficult question because the versatile Crosstrek can perform differently, depending on the needs of the driver. Some people use it as a basic commuter with a decent amount of cargo area. Others are kitting these cars out for overland excursions. And then there are consumers in between that do a little of both. We’ve considered all of that in our tire recommendations. Whatever your needs, our overview on the best tire options for the Subaru Crosstrek can help.
Get the Best Deals on Tires
Best 17” Tires for the 2.0i and Premium:
- Kumho Crugen HP71 - Best budget tire
- Firestone Weathergrip - Best mid-priced tire
- Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady - Best superior tire
Best 18” Tires for the 2.0i Limited, and Hybrid:
- Riken Raptor VR - Best budget tire
- Continental Crosscontact LX25 - Best mid-priced tire
- Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady - Best superior tire
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Original Equipment Subaru Crosstrek Tires
What tires are on my Subaru Crosstrek? The current generation Crosstrek is sold in three trims with two tire sizes:
- The 2.0i and Premium come with 17-inch wheels and P225/60R17 tires. The OEM tire on these trims is a Yokahama Geolander G91F.
- The 2.0i Limited and Hybrid come with 18-inch wheels and 225/55R18 tires. The OEM tire for these trims is a Falken Ziex ZE001 A/S.
Top Replacement Tire Brands for Subaru Crosstrek
We’ve recommended three replacement tires in both 17-, and 18-inch sizes, in budget, moderately priced and cost-no-object varieties. Whether you have plenty of cash to spend or are watching every penny, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. All these tires have ratings of four-stars or higher based on consumer surveys:
17-inch Tires for Subaru Crosstrek
- Budget: Kumho Crugen HP71 - A bargain at $111, this all-season tire delivers good performance in a variety of weather conditions with a smooth ride.
- Excellent dry rating
- Excellent treadwear rating
- Only good winter rating
- Moderately Priced: Continental Truecontact Tour - Affordably priced at $140, these tires get excellent consumer ratings and boast a long tread life.
- Excellent winter rating
- Excellent rain rating
- Only good comfort rating
- Cost-No-Object: Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady - Priced at $194, this grand touring all-season tire is highly rated for winter weather and has a good treadlife.
- Excellent winter rating
- Excellent comfort rating
- High Price
18-inch Tires for Subaru Crosstrek
- Budget: Riken Raptor VR - With a price of $100, this grand touring all-season tire is a bargain with excellent dry performance and good comfort.
- Excellent dry rating
- Good comfort rating
- Only suitable in light snow
- Moderately Priced: Goodyear Assurance Maxlife - This all-season touring tire is priced at $158 and offers excellent dry performance and treadwear.
- Excellent dry rating
- Excellent comfort rating
- Only good snow rating
- Cost-No-Object: Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady - Priced at $217, this grand touring all-season tire is highly rated for winter weather and has a good treadlife.
- Excellent dry rating
- Excellent comfort rating
- High Price
When Should You Replace Tires?
There are two regular milestones that will suggest that it’s time to replace the tires, not only on your Crosstrek, but any vehicle in your driveway: Time and mileage.
Considering most drivers cover between 12,000 and 15,000 miles per year, most Crosstrek owners will pass the miles their original equipment tires were intended to cover well before they’ll go past the tire’s usable age.
The life of your tire can be somewhat predicted by its UTQG (Uniform Tire Quality Grade) rating. Tire manufacturers apply their own grades to tires for treadwear, traction and temperature. When you’re researching tires online, a UTQG will come up next to the tire name in three digits and a number (ex. 500 A A).
You can glean a bit of info from the tires by reading this rating:
- 500 - The durability rating of a tire, compared to a control tire with a treadlife of 100. To obtain a grade, tires run on a 640 kilometer course for 11,520 km. Every 1,280 km, the tread depth is measured, to provide a projected tread life. The higher the number, the longer the predicted treadlife.
- A - This is the Traction rating of a tire, which indicates how well a tire stops in wet conditions. The highest letter grade is AA, followed by A, B and C.
- A - The second letter in the UTQG is the Temperature rating, which indicates how well a tire holds up to extreme heat. A is the highest, followed by B and C.
Original equipment Falken Ziex ZE001 A/S tires on the Crosstrek earn a 360 AA UTQG rating. Unless they are damaged, these tires could last up to 36,000 miles before you need to replace them.
The other consideration is time. Each tire has a raised date code on the sidewall. The number begins with the letters “DOT” followed by 12 digits in three four-digit groups. The date code is the third group of four digits. To decipher the date of your tires, the first two digits represent the WEEK the tire was produced, and the second two digits represent the YEAR.
For example, if your tire’s date code is 3217, that indicates the tire was manufactured in the 37th week of 2017, or sometime between September 11 and 17th that year.
Once tires go beyond five years old, it’s time to consider replacing them. Tires are made up not just of rubber and steel or Kevlar belts, but chemicals that help the tires resist UV rays, temperature changes and a lot of other environmental hazards. Those chemicals start to break down after five years or so, and the tires aren’t doing the job that they need to do. At that point, it doesn’t matter how good they look. It’s time for replacements.
Why Not Replace with Original Equipment Tires?
There’s nothing wrong with putting on the same tires that were on your car when it came from the factory. Although they’re perfectly fine, you may be able to find a tire that’s better suited to your specific needs.
You only need to purchase ONE set of tires for your car every four years or so, depending on how much you drive. When an auto manufacturer purchases tires, they buy them by the hundreds of thousands. For the manufacturer, the decision to choose a supplier one brand or another comes down to a price point. For you, your consideration may be completely different. If you could get a tire that stopped 20 feet shorter for an additional $10 per tire over the original equipment, you’d probably do it. Similarly, if there was a tire that made less road noise for a minimal investment over stock, you’d probably decide on the slightly more expensive tire (that is, unless you’re trying to drown out the conversation of your back-seat-driving spouse.)
Changing Subaru Crosstrek Tire Sizes
Depending on the year and model, you may be shopping tires to fit either 17-inch or 18-inch wheels with various widths and sidewall sizes along the way. It is possible to change the wheel and tire sizes, but a general rule of thumb is to keep the total diameter of the wheel and tire the same. So, that means that downsizing an 18-inch wheel to a 17-inch wheel would include a proportionate upsizing of the tire sidewall to compensate.
Downsizing wheels has its advantages. Benefits include:
- Better ride quality – More rubber means more cushion for poor road conditions
- Cost reduction – Big tires are expensive, so moving to a smaller wheel size will mean less costly tire purchases.
- Seasonal changes – Winter and snow tires are available for a larger selection of smaller wheel sizes and the narrower footprint will provide better traction.
- Off-road – Many people choose to downsize wheels for off-road use to increase the vehicle’s shock absorption capabilities and bump traction on loose surfaces.
On the other side of the coin, going up in wheel size has its benefits:
- Better handling – Slimmer profile tires makes for less rubber to move around.
- Better looks – This one’s subjective, but many people feel that larger wheels look better than smaller wheels with more rubber.
- Better braking – Larger, wider wheels provide a bigger patch of rubber on the ground to slow the vehicle, reducing braking distance.
See our recommendations for the Best Extended Warranty for your Subaru Crosstrek
How to Read Tire Sizes
When reading tire sizes, it’s important to understand what the numbers mean. The Subaru Crosstrek’s 18-inch wheels come with 225/55R18 98H all-season tires:
- 225 - indicates the width of the tire from one sidewall to the other in millimeters. This tire is 225 millimeters wide.
- 55 - indicates the aspect ratio, or sidewall height, as a percentage of the tire’s width. In this case, it’s 55 percent or of the tire’s width.
- R - means radial tires. Radials are the most common type of automotive tire and have fabric woven in at various angles with tread that is strengthened with additional layers of rubber.
- 18 indicates the wheel diameter.
- 98 - is the tire’s load rating.
- H - is the tire’s speed rating. H-rated tires have a maximum top speed of 130 mph.
You may have noticed that the Subaru Crosstrek’s two tire sizes have different diameters and different aspect ratios. Generally, automakers choose tires that have the same outer diameter. This allows them to have only one speedometer setting.
Now that you know what comes on a new Crosstrek and how to read the size numbers, let’s look at the different types of tires available to you. Depending on the type of driving you’re doing, where you live, and the weather, you have a variety of choices for tire types:
- 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
| Year | Trim | Size |
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Subaru Crosstrek Tire FAQ
- What are the best tires for the Subaru Crosstrek?
The Subaru Crosstrek can manage off-road adventures and snowy weather. That warrants a tire that can handle a bit more than dry pavement like the Vredestein Quatrac Pro grand touring all-season tire.
- What tires come on the Subaru Crosstrek?
The Subaru Crosstrek comes with either 17-inch or 18-inch wheels. The 17-inch wheels have P225/60R17 Yokahama Geolander G91F tires while the 18-inch wheels have 225/55R18 Falken Ziex ZE001 A/S tires.
- What is the best Subaru Crosstrek tire pressure?
Check inside your driver’s side door for a white and yellow label that will tell you the exact tire pressure recommendations for your Crosstrek model. That tire pressure can also change depending on the load of passengers you’re carrying, as well as the cargo load. Note that the pressure on the tire itself is never the correct setting, but rather a maximum.
- How often should I rotate my Crosstrek’s tires?
Rotating tires is more about the tire than it is about the car. A typical rotation interval is somewhere between 5,000 and 7,000 miles, though specific cars and tires may change those numbers a bit. The Crosstrek is all-wheel so the front tires will likely wear first making it important to rotate regularly.
- What is the best Crosstrek tire change kit?
Your Subaru Crosstrek should have come equipped with a compact spare tire and changing tools in the trunk, unless it’s a hybrid, in which case it has a tire repair kit. Either way, you already have everything you need to physically change or temporarily repair the tire, but you may want to carry an extra roadside emergency kit with an upgraded lug wrench, jumper cables, and emergency markers just in case.
