2008 Subaru Outback Owner's Manual - Page 386

11-40 Maintenance and service & Tire replacement The wheels and tires are important and integral parts of your vehicle's design; they cannot be changed arbitrarily. The tires fitted as standard equipment are optimally matched to the characteristics of the vehicle and were selected to give the best possible combination of running performance, ride comfort, and service life. It is essential for every tire to have a size and construction matching those shown on the tire placard and to have a speed symbol and load index matching those shown on the tire placard. Using tires of a non-specified size detracts from controllability, ride comfort, braking performance, speedometer accuracy and odometer accuracy. It also creates incorrect body-to-tire clearances and inappropriately changes the vehicle's ground clearance. All four tires must be the same in terms of manufacturer, brand (tread pattern), construction, and size. You are advised to replace the tires with new ones that are identical to those fitted as standard equipment. For safe vehicle operation, SUBARU recommends replacing all four tires at the same time. WARNING . All four tires must be the same in terms of manufacturer, brand (tread pattern), construction, degree of wear, speed symbol, load index and size. Mixing tires of different types, sizes or degrees of wear can result in damage to the vehicle's power train. Use of different types or sizes of tires can also dangerously reduce controllability and braking performance and can lead to an accident. . Use only radial tires. Do not use radial tires together with belted bias tires and/or bias-ply tires. Doing so can dangerously reduce controllability, resulting in an accident. Vehicles equipped with unidirectional tires 1) Front Tire wear varies from wheel to wheel. To maximize the life of each tire and ensure that the tires wear uniformly, it is best to rotate the tires every 7,500 miles (12,000 km). Move the tires to the positions shown in the applicable illustration each time they are rotated. Replace any damaged or unevenly worn tire at the time of rotation. After tire rotation, adjust the tire pressures and make sure the wheel nuts are correctly tightened. After driving approximately 600 miles (1,000 km), check the wheel nuts again and retighten any nut that has become loose. & Wheel replacement When replacing wheels due, for example, to damage, make sure the replacement wheels match the specifications of the wheels that are fitted as standard equipment. Replacement wheels are available from SUBARU dealers.