legacycentral bbs

i just got my second legacy wagon this week, a silver 94 turbo. my first was a 91 L that was too beat to fiddle with. this one is mint so the fiddling begins!

i am looking for some oldschool jdm type wheels...preferably 16s, and with some dish, ie lower offset. do you guys know of any? the oem look is cool but i want something a little more radical.

i have a few ideas running through my head right now but i am also very curious as to what you guys like...i know the aftermarket is not huge, but for the most part i have seen a lot of "off the shelf" wheels and very modest DIY type exterior modding. what kind of jdm stuff can we get our hands on for these things?

heres my 91 test fitting a friends 16x9 borbet type As for his 96 gti vr6.

also please note the super rare 2004-only option faux wood trim.

Anything that fits any Subaru newer than ours except for a year or so of the STI will fit fine. The Forester has some interesting wheel options if you can find them at a decent price. There's a Torque-thrust style they had that I was considering before getting the falt-spoke 5-stars. Before that I had some 6-spoke 15s from Tire Rack which were truly awesome wheels for cheap (pretty light, very tough, filled out the wheel wells nicely and my car tracked much straighter on the highway than the current Forester wheels), but are no longer carried. I'd sell them, but several of them are slightly warped from sliding sideways into curbs and such so they vibrate.

Steve

Most people around here think I have horrible taste in wheels, so don't ask me

Most people around here think I have horrible taste in wheels, so don't ask me

but i am doing just that.

so nobody even thinks my pics are noteworthy? this place is starving for some excitement, and you guys just deny it when its right under your noses.

Actually, that first shot is the one I was talking about in your other thread.

My opinion is that those wheels, at that kinda offset, would rub like a mofo they way I like to drive, unless the car had absolutely no lateral roll, that is. So, it's really not my bag. To each their own but I don't really like the small and wide look. Too low rider-ish for me.

I love the moonies on your Jetta though.

we were just folling around, the car definitely would have rubbed like mad. it was more a styling exercise i guess haha...anyway i want something in that vein, just a little less extreme. i think these legacys have a lot of untapped potential stylistically. i LOVE the chrome trim you guys are all trying to black out. i miss the chrome handles my 91 had as well.

you guys all seem very performance oriented which is cool, its what these cars are built for. i just want to tap some of the asthetic potential, and then work on the performance.

i know style, it will however take me awhile to get all this new terminology down and figure out what i can/cant do. i am still trying to find out exactly what i need to do do drop this thing like 1.5" with some springs and nice struts. [/quote]

bad thing about low offset it will hurt your bearings.

If you want to lower your car 1.5" you can use Whiteline or H&R springs or others. But if you want to fit KYB GR-2 struts, they will RAISE your front about 1.5" (at least from my experience) so you'll end up where you started from. Whiteline does sell a spring that lowers the front 2" but it's not recommended for use with the GR-2s.

bad thing about low offset it will hurt your bearings.

explain this one to me.

If you want to lower your car 1.5" you can use Whiteline or H&R springs or others. But if you want to fit KYB GR-2 struts, they will RAISE your front about 1.5" (at least from my experience) so you'll end up where you started from. Whiteline does sell a spring that lowers the front 2" but it's not recommended for use with the GR-2s.

so i am still left with the same question. somebody has to have an answer, i have seen some lowered legacys on here...and in all the searching i have done i have not seen any springs made for legacys so which other subaru model would fit a wagon?


a lot of open-ended responses, and not one true response about style either, this place is killing me.

You can't really go with too low an offset anyway as there's not much room to play with.

If I ever get a garage I'm going to flare the fenders out a little more from stock - the way they should've been. They're too subtle as it stands. That way, bigger tires would fit earier also.

I also don't hate the chrome, but it dates the car. As it is people don't think it's as old as it is, but removing the chrome (and the black strip which will go when I do the flares) will knock at least 10 years off it visually.

I'm also working on a lighting upgrade that will resemble an E36 BMWs headlights.

I also am trying to source (cheaper than I've found) some early WRX hood vents.

Steve

I can't fully explain it but, with a lower offset the wheel itself mounts more tword the outside. This puts more weight on the outside of the wheel bearing, instead of spreading it evenly.

The reason noone has responded about the type of style you like is because the majority of us don't like that style. I'd say we'd rather have some oem take off's from imprezas, legacys, foresters, outbacks, bajas than some sub zeros, or p1s or whatever. I would anyway

steve, how far are you with the headlights.

Just mostly cleared out the flutes. I haven't touched it in a few weeks as I haven't had the time and the WRX brakes are the priority now before I run out of pads.

Steve

Real quick- the gr2 thing is an issue with the spring length vs strut length changing from 91-92. The exact figures are running around in the suspension section, suffice to say, if you get some later style struts, get some later style springs, which means new spring seats.

Most of the styling around here is pretty conservative. Me, i think a lot of bling on an aged car makes the owner look like a poor man trying to wear rich mans shoes. "Look, i can only afford a 13 year old car, but it didn't totally break my bank!!" I'd rather think i just own a nicer old car.

Steve - I saw your Torque Thrust Forester wheels! I thought you were making it up, but I saw them! I like your choice better though.

The wheels you posted... look hideous. Sorry mate . The tires don't even fit the rims!

I stuck with some 17x7.5" Subzero's that are +48mm offset. I'm also wearing a 225/45/17.

I rub a little, but not for much longer

My taste in wheels usually keeps my ride looking very clean and uncluttered.

evolutionmovement wrote:You can't really go with too low an offset anyway as there's not much room to play with.

I also don't hate the chrome, but it dates the car. As it is people don't think it's as old as it is, but removing the chrome (and the black strip which will go when I do the flares) will knock at least 10 years off it visually.

Steve

ok...i have my ways of getting wider rolling stock under these fenders, not really an issue. i have no doubts i could get a 16x8 or wider in there, with no problems rubbing.

as far as the chrome goes, i love this car because it is everything that was right about the early 90s styling. i want to work with its datedness, i see it as a strength. i love the chrome, its classy and timeless. i am not trying to hide what the car is...

THAWA wrote:I can't fully explain it but, with a lower offset the wheel itself mounts more tword the outside. This puts more weight on the outside of the wheel bearing, instead of spreading it evenly.

The reason noone has responded about the type of style you like is because the majority of us don't like that style. I'd say we'd rather have some oem take off's from imprezas, legacys, foresters, outbacks, bajas than some sub zeros, or p1s or whatever. I would anyway

1) i know exactly how offsets work, and it seems you dont have a very in depth explanation for why i shouldnt do it. i have a feeling that the stress created by the lower offset would be neglible, especially since i am not tracking the car. worse came to worse, new bearings.

2) i dont want people to respond only if they have the same style as i do. the whole point of the thread was to see what you guys were into, and to bounce ideas off each other in a style discussion. most of the responses have been totally curmudgeonly. i am just trying to have a little fun here people, this was obviously a total failure.

to the dude complaining about the wheels i posted, like i said it was a joke, i am not going to run anything like that, i am well aware how insane it looks, it why we did it in the first place.

I think many of the upgrade wheels look a little too "inboard". For instance, the WRX wheels 16x6.5 look pretty good but with 55mm offset sit well inside flush with the body, especially in the rear on wagons. The RE92 tires in addition to being mediocre (but not as bad as the press), are very narrow for 205's in fact almost an inch less tread contact width than the 205 RE730's on my BMW.

I would think a wheel with 40mm offset could be compatible with rolled fenders. And at 5x100 lug pattern, that would open up all of the VW wheel fitments, of which there are many expecially nice wide BBS and etc.

I would bet a 17" by 8" wheel would fit with around a 40mm offset, with rolled fenders and possibly raised or recontoured spring perches as necessary. I see no additional stress on the wheel bearings here as the load would be balanced just as well as 6.5" with 55mm offset, other than the increased abuse always found with very low-profile tires.

thanks for the good info...my only question is do i have to worry about finding hubcentric wheels or is that not an issue since they have lug studs?

It's still just as much an issue as with cars with lug bolts. Installation of lug-centric wheels is easier with studs, but they still have the same issues. It's your decision.

How are you going to fit superwide wheels on the car without worrying?

Professor - Where did you get your suspension bushings, and how much did you pay? What part numbers did you use? I am going to need some new bushings before I install the goodies I have on the way...

BAC5.2 wrote:How are you going to fit superwide wheels on the car without worrying?

well i wouldnt exactly call 8" superwide, but i have my ways. the wheels can be past flush with the fenders, but the tires dont have to be...remember i am also a vw guy.

LedJetta wrote:1) i know exactly how offsets work, and it seems you dont have a very in depth explanation for why i shouldnt do it. i have a feeling that the stress created by the lower offset would be neglible, especially since i am not tracking the car. worse came to worse, new bearings.

I just said I can't explain it well, you dont need to reiterate it. Do what you want, when you have to replace your bearings you'll have to replace your bearings.

LedJetta wrote:2) i dont want people to respond only if they have the same style as i do. the whole point of the thread was to see what you guys were into, and to bounce ideas off each other in a style discussion. most of the responses have been totally curmudgeonly. i am just trying to have a little fun here people, this was obviously a total failure.

I don't get it, you want to know what we're into, then when we tell you, you think it sucks, and proceed to talk down to us. Why even ask if you're going to be rude if the response isnt what you want to hear?

and 8" is superwide, considering the stock wheels are 5.5".