Losing the low profiles

I know they look good, but in terms of driving and potholes, etc. I hate the low profile tires the LGT comes with.

 

I'm not looking to spend a fortune and I don't need anything more than a decent set of all-weather tires. Anyone have any suggestions?

I am not sure i think i understand what you want to do....I don't know as if you could fit much taller tires on the current rims without running into clearance issues.

Also, there are not many, if any at all 16" rims which will fit over our gigantic front rotors.

Not sure what to suggest, anyone else?

I like the set-up we have now personally, although i can easily understand the pothole issue.

Trade in for XT

Don't you think the 16" rims that come on the 2.5i will fit? I would guess so, I'm sure one of those guys would gladly trade you... in fact - if you're interested, I have a friend with a 2.5i that would probably be up for it... let me know if you're interested

No 16" wheels will clear the front brakes.

Do some 17's interfere? because if all 17's fit then there has to be one set of 16's out there that fit... it's just a matter of figuring out which one...

 

Some wheel shops have interior spacing demensions... all you have to find out is the minimum clearance for the brakes...

 

For instance the prelude brakes I'm going to put on my civic won't fit under some 15's but they do under mine... by quite a bit I might add...

Some 17" will not fit

I've already checked for clearance and I don't see how a 16" wheel would fit the LGT. The Outback XT and all other models use smaller calipers and rotors.

Trade in for XT

You could find someone with a WRX and see if they'd swap brakes with ya. Alot of them are dying to get bigger brakes. Then you could fit your 16's.

You could find someone with a WRX and see if they'd swap brakes with ya. Alot of them are dying to get bigger brakes. Then you could fit your 16's.

 

correct me if i am wrong, but won't that seriously affect the stopping power, by going smaller....

I don't think it'll be that drastic... certainly won't improve them any though.

You can switch to 225/45/17s. Slightly larger sidewall.

correct me if i am wrong, but won't that seriously affect the stopping power, by going smaller....

 

Not in commuter use..

To the poster... if you want to swap wheels and brakes straight up I will... I have a base i wagon though so it has the smallest brakes... they're not horrible though.

..

 

Worth a shot at least.

I'm not looking to swap brakes or anything and possibly jeopardize myself and anyone else around me on the road. I'm just looking to avoid having to get my rim straightened every friggen time I hit a pothole.

 

What the hell was SOA thinking putting low profiles on the car. Had I thought about it, it would have prevented me from buying the LGT. I would have gone with the Outback Sedan or something.

I'm not looking to swap brakes or anything and possibly jeopardize myself and anyone else around me on the road. I'm just looking to avoid having to get my rim straightened every friggen time I hit a pothole.

 

What the hell was SOA thinking putting low profiles on the car. Had I thought about it, it would have prevented me from buying the LGT. I would have gone with the Outback Sedan or something.

The words "sports sedan" come to mind....

Do you have that many pot holes in your area? Just raise the pressures a tad and hope for the best. I shake my head when I see cars with 21" - we call them rubber band wheels.

I'm not looking to swap brakes or anything and possibly jeopardize myself and anyone else around me on the road. I'm just looking to avoid having to get my rim straightened every friggen time I hit a pothole.

 

What the hell was SOA thinking putting low profiles on the car. Had I thought about it, it would have prevented me from buying the LGT. I would have gone with the Outback Sedan or something.

 

The "low profile" tires you refer to on the GT isnt as low as you think. You havent seen "low profile" until you see a 215/30/20 tire.. the side wall on that is about 3/4" tall. And I live around the DC area so potholes are a common sight for me. I dont think you will have to worry about potholes on a cast rim that weighs more than 18 lbs on a 17x7 rim. The stock rims can take a beating. If you want, you can go with a larger tire size like 225/45/17 or 205/50/17 (if you can find that one). The Potenza RE92s that comes with the car does have sidewall rim-protectors that will help aid the resistance of a bent rim. To ensure less chances of pothole damage:

 

1) dont drive over them if you can see them, look ahead to just make sure you straddle over the pothole or around it if you can.. it's NOT that much of a hassle to dodge a few potholes along the way.

2) drive a little bit slower to allow the rest of the suspension to absorb the hit, bent rims can also occur when you drive over speed bumps too fast, slow down

3) check tire pressures to ensure proper inflation to help aid the resistance of damage

 

The reason for a lower profile tire is to have more driving/steering feedback from the car (of which I take to a liking since I am a performance driver). I currently use 3 tire sizes and rims for daily driving and I havent had a bent rim over 4 years with the guidelines listed above. Currently I run:

 

18x8 rims with 255/35/18 tires

18x7.5 rims with 225/40/18 tires

17x7.5 rims with 225/45/17 tires

 

Unless you are going off-roading, or you just dont like the feed back you get from the road, (which I personally dont like it when I roll over something and not feel it or hear it.. I am pretty close of being able to hear or feel when I roll over glass or a nail, yea, that's right, a nail), you can go with a taller tire.

 

 

Keefe

Bent-free since 2001 with 110,000+ miles on aftermarket rims

I'm not looking to swap brakes or anything and possibly jeopardize myself and anyone else around me on the road. I'm just looking to avoid having to get my rim straightened every friggen time I hit a pothole.

 

What the hell was SOA thinking putting low profiles on the car. Had I thought about it, it would have prevented me from buying the LGT. I would have gone with the Outback Sedan or something.

 

Have you had really bad luck with bending wheels in the past? I have had low profile tires on several cars for the past 8+ years and have never bent a wheel (knock on wood). The stock tires aren't that low profile. My current setup with 225/35/19's IS. However, the ride is still very smooth and I have inadvertantly wacked a few potholes and raised ridges in the road with them, and no problems so far even when it made a pretty nasty sound.

 

Even if you are very concerned about it, don't swap out your brakes. Just go with a slightly taller tire. I'd say a 215/50/17 would be a good compromise. You could also go with a 225/45/17. Both will offer you about 3/8" more sidewall, which will give you some more cushion.

I'm not looking to swap brakes or anything and possibly jeopardize myself and anyone else around me on the road. I'm just looking to avoid having to get my rim straightened every friggen time I hit a pothole.

 

Oh, I'm afraid it's much worse than that. Look forward to suspension damage. Especially bad with no rear camber adjustments. However I haven't found pot holes to be a problem, that is if you drive into them straight on. Just make sure you have proper tire pressure.

OK.... so related to my previous post about the 2.5i 16" rims - they won't fit? So that means they have smaller breaks I guess... just curious

The GT comes with bigger brakes than the 2.5i. So you cant fit 16" wheels on the GT. Just upsize the tires to 225/45/17, 215/50/17 or 205/50/17.

 

Keefe

I live in Hoboken, NJ. If you can find a 4 foot x 4 foot piece of road that DOESN'T have a pothole, I'd pay you. If I tried to dodge the potholes, I'd get pulled over for drunk driving.

 

I've only had one bent rim (it's been fixed) so maybe I'm overreacting. I actually think I might have actually picked up the car with the rim like that, but only realized it weeks later, which was way too late to even think about going back to the dealer.

 

So I found a place around me that straightens the rims. It's been done and being picked up today. I obviously try and avoid as many potholes as possible, but after 1 experience, I don't want to be paying $100 each time I bend a rim.

 

That being said, I'll reserve my judgement and wait to see if it happens again. Hopefully the correct tire pressure and "some" avoidance" measures will help me avoid another.

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