Mainlander

I'm fairly sure the cars with the CVT are front wheel drive with the rear axle being driven by a clutch pack like the 4AT (I think), with the difference being that the CVT more actively drives the rear wheels under normal driving conditions. I did find this information somewhere when selecting a more off road capable station-wagon to replace my Toyota sedan, I forget where now. I guess its cheaper to build than a proper center diff, and maybe some fuel consumption advantages too, I'd guess less spinning weight with a clutch pack.

Yup. same digits. 225 60 17 I think. Thanks.

So. I downloaded a manual and found this: "All four tires must be the same in terms of manufacturer, brand(tread pattern), construction, de-gree 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 tire scan also dangerously reduce controllability and braking per-formance and can lead to an accident." Mmm. I guess I can somehow measure the tires to prove that they are the same size, or is Subaru just being cautious.

Thanks for that. I had picked up from somewhere that the difference in exact measurements form one tire maker to the next and the change in rolling diameter with tires wearing could cause issues with some AWD systems. I'll stop worrying about it now and find something else to stress about, like CVT's blowing up or something.

Hi all. I've just purchased a 4th gen outback 2.5l with the CVT, ex Japan. This is my first Subaru, and my first AWD car, so I'm fairly green here. There will be a lot of questions over time and this place looks like a good resource of information. I bought the car sight unseen... (yeah, I know) and the first thing I have noticed is that the front tires are much newer and a different brand than than the rear tires. How fussy is the AWD system about this and does this really matter? I'm not too concerned with super-car like handling and performance but I do want the car to be safe and to last me for a long time. Am I going to wreak anything driving it around like this? Thanks in advance. Mainlander.