Show off your 5th Gen's aftermarket wheels!!

Hello guys

I’m reading all of your posts these days since I want to upgrade the stock 16” wheels +48 offset, fitted with 205/60/R16, with a new set of 18”s. I was lost several times due to the different opinions and points of views, but somehow managed to survive.

What I want is:

- to have them flush mounted as possible

- to have a nice square tire look, probably with some curb protection edge for the wheel.

- to avoid any rubbing issues

-to avoid any fender rolling

-not to spent much – max $160-170 per wheel

- and I want to keep the stock suspension.

Wheel design – I do like the multi spoke design - Either clean straight lines or the one with many “Y”s as in TSW Nurburgring

In that regard, I found few models, which I personally like:

- AVID1 AV30 – 18x8.5 +35 http://www.avid1wheels.com/wheels/

- AVID1 AV20 – 18x8.5 +33 or 18x9.5 +38 (too wide???)

- XXR530 – 18x7.5 +35 or 18x18.8 +35 http://www.xxrwheels.com/wheels

- XXR550 – 18x8.8 +36

- Konig Interflow – 18x8 +40 (will it be flushy looking???) http://konigwheels.com/wheels/main-line-wheels/interflow/

-PETROL P3A - 18X8 +35 http://www.petrolwheels.com/custom-wheels-rims-p3a/

- Advanti Fastozo 18x8 +35 http://www.advantiwheel.com/wheel/fs-fastoso-silver/

- I do like many of the Drag models, but their offset is usually 45, therefore I’m not considering them anymore.

Color wise – the car is sky blue, so most probably I would go for silver / grey / gunmetal / bronze. The black / gold / white are out of the list for now (although I stated in my previous post that I like the gold DR-19).

After some research and asking few of you in private messages, I concluded that my search needs to be limited to:

- Wheel width 18x7.5, 18x8 or max 18x8.5

- Offset – not lesser than 35 and max 40. Less than 35 will cause fender problems probably.

- Tire size 245/40/R18 (optional 245/45/R18 if fits with enough clearance around the tire)

I used the willtheyfit calculator, which shows significant difference between the stock 16"s and any combo 18"s, but is not giving me an answer about my fenders concerns.

I would be happy to hear your opinion about whether I’m thinking on the right track about the wheels’ width/offset/tire size established limits. Please, do correct me if you think that any other offset / width will do the job.

As you know, this is a really tough decision between what I want and what I can fit, so any help and suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks again!

Great job reading and understanding past posts. You put all the right info together. You'll be fine fender-wise with 18x8+35 or 18x8.5+40. I would recommend 18x8+35 with a 245/45. This is what I run on my Forester and it looks square and protects the wheel. Running BFG SportComp A/S. I had to roll the fenders on the Fozz, but I have had these on the Legacy and no rubbing at all.

Guess I'll drop this here.

Gteaser, Thank you for providing me with the workable options for the wheels sizes.

What do you think about the 18x8.5 +35 variant? A 0.5 wider than the one you proposed to me?

Willtheyfit is saying that the inner rim will be 6.3mm closer to the suspension strut and the outer rim will poke out 6.3mm more than 18x8 +35 variant.

The 245/45/R18 look good on your Forester, but I started to think whether they are going to look a bit bulky on the Legacy.

Anyone with this tire setup around the forum?

One thing I skipped to ask about is the centerbore diameter. As far as I know the OEM size is 56.1 mm. Should I use hubcentric rings by any means if the new wheels differ from the OEM size?

Always use hubcentric rings if your wheels have larger than 56.1 stock size bore. 18x8.5+35 is for sure going to require a pull/roll in the front and a roll/trim in the rear if you run a 255/40 tire, but you just might be able to get away with it with little to no fender work with a 245/45.

The 245/45 will not look bulky on the Legacy, it is a much larger car with larger wheel wells than my Forester. They will look perfect and fill the cavernous wheel well on our cars nicely.

Here's a picture example of a Legacy wearing very similar size wheels/tires. This is user Timothy.B's car. Wheel specs are 18x8.5 +45 (so 10 mm further inset then what you're asking about), tire spec is 245/45/18, on stock suspension. This spec will get you a very square set up and easily clear the fenders both front and rear. +35 as mentioned will be 10 mm further outward, but should also still clear if you stick to a 245 tire, and fill the wheel gap much better than stock. 255 may rub and require a roll if you desire the extra tire meat.

It's a very comfortable and appropriate setup for a Legacy, doesn't look too bulky at all in my opinion, and leave more enough tire for a comfortable ride.

http://i.imgur.com/iKIUgfJ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/GX3nLvy.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/j48cC7R.jpg

Thank you for your replies – they are another bucket of good advises narrowing my decision. I would rather stay on the safe ground instead of biting the bullet with wider wheels.

Those pics with 245/45 actually look very good for what I am looking for – a good looking everyday family driving horse.

I just came across another model which hits me exactly style wise and I might consider as an option which comes within the established practical Gteaser limits – AODHAN LS002 18x8 +35.

Here are some nice real pics of the wheel:

https://www.aspiremotoring.com/products/aodhan-wheels-ls002-matte-gun-metal

The only problem is that they offer it only in matte gun metal (gold and black are not options), not in silver, but it seems not to darky and will complement the sky blue Subi somehow.

Please stay away from Aodhan wheels, also Ambit, Varstoern, Vordoven, Doss, F1R, etc. These are companies out to make a buck, not good wheels. If you look around on CL and eBay, you'll see the market is flooded with those fly by night brands. They won't even exist in another year or two, because they barely existed a year ago. Stick with the better known name brands that have been around for 10 years or more.

And I personally would even add Avid.1, XXR, Miro and Rota to the list I would never put on my car, but not as questionable as the other listed above.

Even Sparco (read: OZ Racing) makes an affordable wheel in that mesh design and they are a reputable company.

Advanti, MSW and Konig are all pretty much the same company and reputable. Zee199969 has the XXR550 on his car.

Zee199969 has the XXR550 on his car.

Yea, I don't plan to track/autox with these wheels. Also my area is not terribly potholed, so take that into account if your area is.

Rays g-games 19x8 front. 19x9 rear. Rolled rear fenders. Reshaped rear fender liners. 225-35-19.

Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk

 

Rays g-games 19x8 front. 19x9 rear. Rolled rear fenders. Reshaped rear fender liners. 225-35-19.

 

 

 

Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk

Did the Canadians always have a 5th gen wagon? Not sure how I missed this.

Looking good.

Did the Canadians always have a 5th gen wagon? Not sure how I missed this.

Looking good.

It is an outback actually. 3.6r. I have a thread in the conversion. If you look closely, the real legacy wagon have less widebody fenders. They are more flat than what we have here.

Did the Canadians always have a 5th gen wagon? Not sure how I missed this.

Looking good.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/2014-3-6r-legacywagon-aspen-white-6-months-project-260918.html?t=260918

Here's a picture example of a Legacy wearing very similar size wheels/tires. This is user Timothy.B's car. Wheel specs are 18x8.5 +45 (so 10 mm further inset then what you're asking about), tire spec is 245/45/18, on stock suspension. This spec will get you a very square set up and easily clear the fenders both front and rear. +35 as mentioned will be 10 mm further outward, but should also still clear if you stick to a 245 tire, and fill the wheel gap much better than stock. 255 may rub and require a roll if you desire the extra tire meat.

 

It's a very comfortable and appropriate setup for a Legacy, doesn't look too bulky at all in my opinion, and leave more enough tire for a comfortable ride.

I just wanna say, guys, don't do what I did and go with that tire size on that wheel. I didn't realize this right away but I did some research after the fact.

http://i.imgur.com/9hnH4FA.png

The first is the stock tire, the second is the size I should have gone with and the last one is what's on my current setup. I lost some performance with the larger size. Both in butt dyno and real dyno. I'd rather deal with the gap than the performance at this point, lol.

...you're a 3% difference...

But yes, it's small. ~10whp loss to the wheels.

...you're a 3% difference...

 

But yes, it's small. ~10whp loss to the wheels.

It's good to know that. 3% could be nothing for the 3.6, but means significant more for the 2.5 engine.

It's good to know that. 3% could be nothing for the 3.6, but means significant more for the 2.5 engine.

How does that work exactly? 3% is 3%. To a 100 hp car its 3 hp, to a 200 hp car its 6 hp, the effect (or the perception of an affect) would feel the same on both.

It is not really a 10whp loss, your whp should not have changed. It is a 3% changing in effective gearing which you will feel in the seat of the pants. I bet if you brought 2 sets of tires on your car and went to drag strip that you would have a negligible time in your ET/mph. If their was a difference it would be in the 1st 60'.

Exactly this...it is just gearing...it can make for quicker or slower acceleration, but there is zero difference in WHP

More top speed!!! That counts.

Eh, that counts... when exactly? Where can we possibly go to approach our max speed? I can only think of an oval track myself.