Troyflavell Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Hi I have a 2014 wrx sti, live in Newcastle upon Tyne. New to forum and club. Hoping someone can help as I have an issue. Car had a puncture which destroyed the tyre. Drove home on space saver. Ordered new tyre Dunlop sport max 245/40/r18. Tyre was fitted, but awd warning light on when I go over 30 mph. Took car to subaru dealer to get checked out (it's actually a Citroen dealership that sells subarus) They told me tyre I had fitted was wrong as although it was a Dunlop sport max same as original, and the same measurements, it had a different speed rating. Original tyres are 245/40/r18 97w. The one I had fitted was a 245/40zr18 93y. They reckon this replacement tyre has a rolling circumference 20mm different from original. They tried to adjust differential parameters but could not get it within tolerance I took car back to local tyre dealer, he has done a lot of research including talking to Dunlop. The tyres that originally come with the new subaru are manufactured by Dunlop in Japan, and are unique to this market. Dunlop do not make a 245/40/r18 97w for the European market. Therefore you have to order the tyre via subaru and wait, it's been 2 weeks up to now! Oh and it's 2.5 times the price of the uk variant of the Dunlop tyre. Has anyone else has a similar issuer with the new wrx? Is it possible to just fit another uk spec Dunlop to the other wheel on the rear axle, will this work or will it throw up a fault still? Any help would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeEcho Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 I believe pistonheads had a similar issue with their sti: http://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/ph-fleet/subaru-wrx-sti-ph-fleet/31429 Given the car is still in warranty, I'd pony up for the correct tyre, as having mismatched tyres (even front to back) can damage the diff, and I'm not sure how subaru would react if your tyres don't match! I've got a not completely unrelated dilemma at the moment, I'm getting new wheels and have been offered some nankang ns2rs. I've decided against them as I'm unsure how the change in tyre (specifically sidewall ratio) will impact on warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confusedbrog Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Sounds like a right pain in the !Removed!. Would the dealer not tell you if changing a pair would cure it? I'm guessing changing all four would solve it but would be a nightmare if the tyres have plenty of life left in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoozyDave Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 hi mate welcome to the club sorry to hear about the tyre problem. If you can only buy them by special order and they cost a fortune each, why not pay out and buy a full set of uk tyres (will cost a bit, but you won't have the same problem again) and then sell the 3 tyres for a premium (due to availability) to recoup the cost of the new tyres ;) as long as all tryes match (brand and size) you shouldn't have a problem with warranty :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troyflavell Posted August 7, 2015 Author Share Posted August 7, 2015 Hi Thanks for all your responses to my concern. I shouldve said the car only has 2,500 miles on from new, so i am reluctant to change all 4 tyres, especially as Subaru have quoted me £240 each for the Japanese specification tyres. I do have the option to fit 4 X uk spec tyres at my own expense which would cost £440 for 4, but having spent nearly £30k on a car i dont fancy then having to replace all 4 tyres when the car has done so few miles. I also dont want to put Subarus japanese specification tyre on, as i say i have waited 2 weeks for a tyre up till now, and still dont have one, so if i got another puncture i could potentially have the same issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoozyDave Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 you are thinking about the cost of new tyres the wrong way think of it this way - you pay £440 for a full new set, you will have 3 nearly new jap spec tyres spare. put them on ebay/subaru forums/pistonheads for £160 each. To anyone in your position, they will be a bargain and get them out of a hole. Sell all 3 and you get £480 back. So the full new set of tyres will have cost nothing ;) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troyflavell Posted August 7, 2015 Author Share Posted August 7, 2015 Dave you are right in your answer, I could well do that, and I may. However I think that having spent nearly £30k on a uk spec car, it is not unreasonable to expect to be able to get a tyre pretty quick within the uk, the car has a rally pedigree, yet 1 nail has disabled mine for 2 weeks. I also don't think having shelled out that sort of money I should have to mess on trying to sell tyres off it. My other concern is for the other owners of this model subaru, they will encounter the same concern as me, unless subaru can put a proper uk consumable parts network system in place. A uk spec car should be fully supported by the manufacturer. This is the first new subaru I have bought so I'm not aware how good subaru are at addressing these types of concerns. I have logged a concern and I will keep you posted of my progress with subaru uk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeEcho Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Sorry to say it, but from what I've heard, Subaru UK are terrible. They're just the distributor (IM Group) and as such don't really care. My strategy is crossing my fingers really hard and wishing I don't have to deal with them. Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay762 Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 Wotcha and welcome - shame your initial experience is not good :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoozyDave Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 Troy, I see what you mean now. The tyres should be either in stock with subaru dealers or widely available through any tyre dealer. There is no way a brand new car should have to wait weeks to have a tyre shipped half way around the world :( I would be at the dealers demanding a full set of UK available tyres to be fitted and demanding compo for 3 weeks 'car hire' 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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