205 or 215 or 225??

[warrior]

I finally picked up a set of 17" 2005 Legacy GT rims for my BD!

They come with tires, but two different types, 215/45/17 are the sizes currently.. so I'm gonna get some new tires and not sure what size to throw on for the BD?

205/45/17

215/45/17

225/40/17

I know what all the sizes mean.. Tirerack suggests going +1 I should put on 205/45/17.

[d1giPhux]

I run 215/45/R17's on my 17" rims in the summer.. they work fine on my BD and don't rub. Id go with the 215's. 225 are probably too big if you don't want to roll fenders, or have some rubbing issues.

[warrior]

Sweet, thanks!

Do you have a side profile picture of the rims/tires combo on your car?

[2.5GT]

I have the STi BBS +53 and running 215/45R17. There's enough clearance between the strut and the tire on the rear wheels. Front is plenty of room to run a bigger tire. I rolled the fenders with a baseball bat. Now if you have people in the backseats and going over bumps/dips, then yes, there's slight rubbing lol.

[lord flashheart]

i wouldnt go over 215. youll prolly get some rubbing if you go with the 225

[warrior]

So after some calculating.. the 215/45/17 that I have on the car are way off.

My speedo says 120km/h and my GPS used to say like 119km/h with the 205/55/16 but with these it's 114km/h!!

The tires have about 8,000km left on them.

The rims are 05 legacy gt rims.. 53 offset I think? Miata Tire calculater says with 215's its 1%to fast, with 225's its 0.4% slower.. anyone running 225's without rubbing?? :neutral:

[legacy22]

i run 235/40/17 and i only hit the fenders with 3+ people so i think 225 should b good.

[d1giPhux]

^ ive never heard of people being able to run that size unless they roll fenders. Damn thats a large size for this car un-modded.

[legacy22]

edit. I was going off my profile but i mixed up tire sizes off an 18 somehow. mine are 215/50/17. Sorry guys

[impreza_GC8]

Go with a 215/45/17. I run 225s on my 2.5RS but I have stiffer springs and rolled fenders, even still I barely clear the spring perch. 215/45/17 is a very common Subaru 17" wheel size.

[Sarra]

A 215 will not clear a BK. You'll get rub in the rear. 205 is the widest you can go, really... The sedans are a little more accommodating, though, so a 215 should fit.

[impreza_GC8]

I am very very surprised by this. What about it does not clear? The fenderwell lip? Did you try this firsthand? Did your car have a recent alignment at the time?

[Sarra]

Massive, massive rubbing on the rear fenders. Stock suspension, though, it only rubbed really bad when I took turns rather briskly, or accelerated and turned at the same time. Stock wheels and 215's, it also rubbed worse running +40 offset 16" wheels with stock size tires on, IIRC, those stuck out an additional 5MM than the 215's on stock wheels did.

[98outbackpdx]

idk i have seen 215/75/15 on an BG outback before as far as i could tell it was un modded looked like a farm car

[Wangan Wagon]

Trust Sarra. I just put 215s on my my BK and they rub on mid-heavy bumps, under hard acceleration, hard cornering and cornering matched with bumps. I have 1" fender gap too. I wish I could roll the fenders and quarters, but I have putty job all over so no go.

[Matty2Hotty]

Similar question.... Am on my BE going to run 17x7.5 with a +48 offset.... Tirerack calls for a 205/50 but then i hear everyone running a 215 or 225/45 series. Im going to be dropped on H&R with JDM Bilsteins.

[ScaryFatKidGT]

Where does it rub on the strut? I wanna run 225/45R17s or 225/50R16's

so would 225/45/17 be fine since my fenders are rolled in my bk?

[Sarra]

No idea. I never could find out where they rubbed on my BK.

I've got 225 50R16's on my WRX and they rub very lightly on the strut.

[jey]

When I had 225/50/16s on my WRX wheels on the BK they rubbed on the rear strut. I threw a spacer on there and then it rubbed on the fender. They also rubbed on the front fender when I was turning and took a bump really hard at the same time.

[Sarra]

How big of a spacer? I'm rubbing on the front strut.

^does the wheel offset make a difference? snowflakes have a pretty high one dont they?

[jey]

How big of a spacer? I'm rubbing on the front strut.

I was rubbing on the front fender without a spacer.


^does the wheel offset make a difference? snowflakes have a pretty high one dont they?

Yes.

[jny03subbie]

this an old pic of my car with the 255 35 20. no mods on suspension. no rubbing.. just heavy as fuck, now i got an 06 legacy stock rims with 205 50 17. SORRY i dont know how to post pictures here .

[jey]

You can try uploading the picture to Imageshack.

[dodik]

and look at the last post date lol