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No tyre problems specific to Subaru, but it has a very complicated drive train ... maybe stay away is my advice
Dingbatt: Sorry for being a little OT but there are obviously some pretty knowledgeable folks here when it comes to wheels/tyres.
I took an Subaru Outback for a test drive and was a little surprised by a vibration / shudder most noticeably at between 75 and 95 km/h. Not worse or better under acceleration and nothing noticeable in tight turns so possibly not the CVJs. Online investigation suggested that the wheels may be out of balance, or the tyres out of round. As far as the out of balance goes there is no associated steering wheel shimmy but I am unsure as to how much direct connection there is these days between the steering wheel and the front wheels. I guess there is a possibility of out-of-round tyres, but it's not one I have struck before. My main concern is that if it's not the wheels then the next thing is an out of balance driveshaft.
So anyone (particularly Subie owners) have any comment about other possibilities of if Subarus are prone to this sort of problem?
The salesman said if I buy the car they will fix the problem. To which I replied, if they fixed the problem I would take it for another test drive and might consider buying it. A wheel balance is a cheap fix, but four new tyres, or replacing part of the drivetrain doesn't sound cheap at all.
Good comeback to the salesdrone.
I'd suggest starting with the easiest/cheapest potential fix and get the wheels rebalanced.
That has the potential to mask an out of round tyre to some degree also. If it's a fresh import, chances are it'll be on tyres from the original country which may well be old, hard and not entirely round.
I'd think that it's unlikely to be a driveshaft balance issue (owned or part owned 8 Subaru's, raced 4 of them, never known that to be an issue despite the suggestion of a complicated drivetrain).
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