18" rims on a '91 legacy

[Trey Trey the Turd]

I put 18" rims on the legacy and now the back tires are rubbing. Its a bit too late to go back to the old wheels and I would like to keep the new rims. Is there anyway I can stiffen up the suspension (which is very loose) to fix the problem?

[THAWA]

First of all, bad move Big ass wheels + legacy = ugly as hell and almost undoubtly slower.
secondly, I dont think the suspension is the problem (well it is but it being worn isnt). You're most likely hitting the spring perch of the inside of the strut. The cause for that is too low of an offset for the wheel width. How wide are your wheels and how much of an offset do they have?

[THAWA]

I'm sorry I didn't even welcome you

Welcome to the board !!

[Brat4by4]

First of all, bad move Big ass wheels + legacy = ugly as hell and almost undoubtly slower.

Dude...

Really, how would that make you feel if you had done something similar? Opinions don't help him solve anything.

Anyways, explain exactly where you are rubbing. If it is literally rubbing the inside of the wheel wells, then you might try removing the plastic liner. If that doesn't help, then you could try putting in wagon springs to essentially lift the rear end. If it is hitting the spring perch you can try banging the rub spot with a hammer to move it out of the way... or you might need wheel spacers to move the tire outwards (neither solution is an ideal situation safety wise).

[BAC5.2]

Welcome to the board!

I'm with Hardy, 18's are simply a pure fit issue. Your car was designed around 14" rims, not 18's.

If you are rubbing the spring perch, then there is really nothing you can do to gain clearance outside of a coilover swap, and with 18's it doesn't sound like handling is your main perogative.

[evolutionmovement]

If you're rubbing on the outside then you can have the inner fender rolled for a little clearance. Did someone spec these wheels for you? Because a professional house should've realized the clearance issue. If you did it yourself then I guess that's how you learn. Unfortunately most stiffer suspension (if it's a bottoming out issue) will also lower the car, which won't help your issue.

Steve

[THAWA]

First of all, bad move Big ass wheels + legacy = ugly as hell and almost undoubtly slower.

Dude...

Really, how would that make you feel if you had done something similar? Opinions don't help him solve anything.

It would make me feel like I wasted my money. How would it make you feel?

[georryan]

On the plus side, inspite of the fact that none of us have bought 18's (as you've probably gathered), there ARE people in Australia and maybe the UK that have put 18's on their car and run them as their main rims/tires. It IS possable if you want to do it. None of us would recommend it, but since you have them and want to keep them realize that we don't think you'll get to the point were it will be as rub free as a 16" rim.

So, you will have to do a few things, check the offset, see were it is rubbing, and do what needs to be done to eliminate it. Worst case scenario being that you bought rims with an offset that just won't work with the car, and if that is the case,....well, there isn't much we can do for you there.

[vrg3]

If you don't care about screwing up your suspension tuning, you could go to the auto parts store and buy these big rubber coil spring spacers (sometimes called spring boosters or helpers). Since our cars' springs have relatively few turns, you'll probably need the big ones meant for trucks.

You jack that corner of the car up to unload the suspension, then wedge the rubber pieces in (you're supposed to use one on each side of the spring but on my car I could only fit one), then lower the car.

Realize, though, that it'll definitely affect your spring rate and alignment.

That might raise your suspension enough to reduce/eliminate the rubbing. But I think you'll find that even then it'll rub when you corner. Plus, if your offset is wrong (which is probably the problem, assuming you kept overall rolling diameter the same) you're going to be stressing out your wheel bearings, though. You really should try to fix the problem. Used WRX wheels on NASIOC go cheap.

[omegax]

I had trouble with 16inch wrx rims.. Front was fine but in the rear it rubbed on the strut... put in a spacer and it rubber on the outer lip of the rear panel.. i pulled off the ruber linner and shaved back the fender to realize it was also hitting another spot that i did not evne think about.. the top of the wheel well.. But that was actully about a 1/2 inch of caked on crap that i scraped off. In the end it finally does not rub but it sure was a learning experience and from now on i will reasearch alot more before i buy My suspension is also shot but it does not rub unless i hit a pretty good bump , if i replaced my suspension it may not have hit at all unelss my car was loaded.