I have the answer to "how big is too big?"
Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2003 10:51 pm
The answer is a 235/45-17 will not fit at stock ride height and a 48mm offset. The top corner of the tire actually rests against the spring perch in the rear. There is actually about 1/4 inch between the sidewall and the strut body, but the spring perch is the issue. With a 5 mm spacer it would, but that would start getting hard on your bearings. A 225/45-17 should fit without any issues at stock ride height, or even lowered about an inch.
How do I know this? Well, because we had some unexpected snow here last saturday, and I didn't want to drive two hours through it on AVS sports (snow+AVS Sport=ugly dents in body panels). We swapped the wheels on the Legacy and the WRX. Since the Legacy isn't actually very driveable at the moment with only a downpipe on it, we decided to take the WRX on the trip and swap the wheels on the two cars. We didn't drive the Legacy on the wheels, but I thought I would measure and check clearance while the big tires were on it.
I just thought someone might like to know this info.
How do I know this? Well, because we had some unexpected snow here last saturday, and I didn't want to drive two hours through it on AVS sports (snow+AVS Sport=ugly dents in body panels). We swapped the wheels on the Legacy and the WRX. Since the Legacy isn't actually very driveable at the moment with only a downpipe on it, we decided to take the WRX on the trip and swap the wheels on the two cars. We didn't drive the Legacy on the wheels, but I thought I would measure and check clearance while the big tires were on it.
I just thought someone might like to know this info.