WRX rims on my Legacy?

eastbaysubaru · Post by **eastbaysubaru** » Wed Dec 11, 2002 7:22 am

So, my question is... Will I be OK if I run stock WRX tires on my car until I can afford to get new tires for the WRX 16's? I know they're a little larger, apparently .7 inches too large. I'm just curious, because they're all over the place right now and I can't really afford new rims and tires, but it'd sure be nice to kill two birds with one stone.

-Brian

FYI...stock WRX tires are 205-55-16 and stock Leg. Turbo tires are 195-60-15

Aaron's ej22t · Post by **Aaron's ej22t** » Wed Dec 11, 2002 8:10 am

yeah it will work. your speedo will just read a little low. basically, you will be going faster than what your speedo says. the closest size for legacy is a 205/50-16. this is just slightly smaller than stock.

Js92Tru · Post by **Js92Tru** » Thu Dec 12, 2002 4:22 am

Or you could be lucky like me and have a speedo that reads slow with the factory size.

Jay

IggDawg · Post by **IggDawg** » Mon Dec 16, 2002 1:43 pm

Aaron's ej22t wrote:yeah it will work. your speedo will just read a little low. basically, you will be going faster than what your speedo says. the closest size for legacy is a 205/50-16. this is just slightly smaller than stock.

You're kidding? My car already goes faster than a stock Legacy SS should... and my speedo's slow? cumagain?

I'm running 205/55/16s Dunlop WinterSport M2s on WRX rims. To answer the 1st question, yeah. they'll fit. And they look DAMN good too. I've only had the car for a couple weeks, and I've had several comments on "Hey, nice rims!" They look nicer than the legacy turbo rims IMO, but not at all *bling* or "rice" or whatever.

but this really has my speedo running slow? damn. I can't wait to get the set of stockers I was promised so I can get some real times.

Post by **Legacy777** » Mon Dec 16, 2002 3:46 pm

Igg,

Try to find one of those speed signs.....where it says your speed is...xxx.

Try and go by it with no one around you and at different speeds to see how acurate your speedo is.

Other way to do this is get a gps unit. It'll tell you your ground speed. Only issue you'd have is the antenna needs line of sight to the satellite so you gotta hold it under the windshield.....unless you have a remote antenna.

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 2:30 am

Another good way is to pull up next to a Crown Vic or Mercury Grand Marquis and look at the digital speedo. Since these are commonly Cop Cars and Taxi Cabs the speedos are VERY ACCURATE and a good portion of them have digital speed read out.

Aaron's ej22t · Post by **Aaron's ej22t** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 6:53 am

with a incorrect ratio that has a tire size which is too large, your car will actually be slower in acceleration. you will rev lower on the freeway at cruising speeds, and the speedo will read slow. search for a tire calculator and do the calculation of a stock 195/60-15 compared to 205/55-16.

-aaron

zak · Post by **zak** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 7:15 am

here ya go! Best one I've found....

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

eastbaysubaru · Post by **eastbaysubaru** » Wed Dec 18, 2002 8:38 am

That's the program I was using to calculate the difference

. I'm just wondering about the possibility of mechanical problems. I'm assuming I'll be fine.

-Brian

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Wed Dec 18, 2002 5:05 pm

From what I understand, you should be fine, unless you have other problems to begin with.

When I put WRX rims and tires on my '93 Legacy Turbo they scrubbed the wheel wells in the rear a tiny bit on sharp turns. I'm pretty sure my rear springs are worn out, though, since I left a lot of weight in the back seat and in the trunk for a long time and never gave the springs a chance to decompress. Until I get new springs I've stuck in little rubber spacers which made the problem go away, although they do kind of affect the spring dynamics...

So unless your springs or struts are worn out, you'll probably be fine. Many people have done WRX wheel swaps.

entirelyturbo · Post by **entirelyturbo** » Wed Dec 18, 2002 7:22 pm

eastbaysubaru wrote:I'm just wondering about the possibility of mechanical problems.

I had 14" stock rims to begin with, and now I have 17's. With my low-profile tires on the 17's the diameter is about the same. But should I be worrying about wheel bearings or anything like that?

Sorry this is off-topic, btw...

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Wed Dec 18, 2002 9:48 pm

I think you should get them, and use 205 50 16 712 kuhmo.

eastbaysubaru · Post by **eastbaysubaru** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 12:44 am

I will eventually be using 205 50 16, but I don't have money for tires right now so I'll be using the stock RE92's that came on the WRX.

-Brian

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 2:29 am

When I had the re-92 they rubbed in a couple places. Only under very hard cornering though. Most noticable on the rear spring seats. They will also rub on the inner front wheel well under hard cornering.

Aaron's ej22t · Post by **Aaron's ej22t** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 9:14 am

subyluvr, you don't have to worry about wheel bearings unless you run a really low offset. don't you have rota wheels? IIRC, they are 48 offset. anything less than 46 is probably about where you start having long-term problems. i would recommend staying in between 48-53 offset.

Post by **Legacy777** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 4:13 pm

My 16" wheels have +45mm offset......and I haven't had any issues. granted I haven't noticed any smoking wheel wells.....or grinding noises.....so I would assume they are fine.

eastbaysubaru · Post by **eastbaysubaru** » Sun Jan 26, 2003 7:20 am

I just got the wheels on two days ago. They look HOT. Much better than my stock 15's. They make the car feel sooo much better too. I immediately felt a difference the first time I took a tight turn. I'm really excited about them. As soon as I get the new axles in I'll be taking it in for an alignment...hopefully on Monday.

-Brian

Pics to come tomorrow or the next day.

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WRX rims on my Legacy?

WRX rims on my Legacy?