"Aggressive" wheel fitment on second gen BG Legacy?

[teh luckinator]

My original post from legacygt.com, but I was told sl-i was more for second gens, so here it is:

---

Before I start, this thread is not asking for opinions or education on suspension geometry, cars not being functional when low, excessive camber is stupid, etc. It's a thread asking ABOUT wheel fitment, not WHY would I do want to do that (although I do expect a reply like that).

Just seeing WHAT (again, not WHY) wheels people are running on older Legacys. I planned on getting some 17x9's, until I saw this picture:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/04/2722388834_6df2dc171b-1.jpg

17x8 +22

Talking to my friend, he says older Subarus have smaller wheel wells, which I forgot to take into account.

Yes, I am going for the "hellaflush/aggressive/blahblahblah," as much as I hate coining those terms.

Post up your "wide" wheels if you have them, please!

---

And the other question, anyone have experience with Megan and Godspeed coilovers on BG/BD? Yes, they ride like poo, yes they're cheap, yes <insert negative feedback here>. Real question, how low do they go?

Evidently, this is a ricer thread.

I shouldn't go that low.
My axles will rub the frame.
Handling will be horrible.
Rubbing everywhere.
Bottoming out on the road.
etc.

But it's going to happen.

So, people with experience with Godspeed and Megan, please chime in on HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT, not ride quality.

My previous car for reference of how ricey I am:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/04/l_889951ee0e8e4eb0937c67dc9f5965ec-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/04/3358789054_e7f7e5877f_bjpgw497-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/04/dday1030jpgw497-1.jpg

---

After looking around more and posting on that forum, I found more lowered Legacy's. I'll post the cars later, they're probably on here, but I think the sizes I saw were 17x8 +44 or something, aka high offset. I'm pretty sure I'm just gonna get some 17x9's and make them fit, it shouldn't be too bad after looking around at more cars. Just seeing if anyone has tried it yet?

[2000gtb]

I have a BH5 and im trying to fit 18x9.5 +38 on the front +28 on the rear.. still waiting on them though... I too like that super aggressive set ups...

[hallowpoint]

i had some 17x8 +35 offset fn1or-c. on my wagon

[aurelius]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/04/2722388834_6df2dc171b-1.jpg
More pics? I'm all for aggressive but there aren't that many on BDs. Basically, Sybir and the Girodisc cars.
As soon as I get my transmission fixed, 17x8s are the first thing i'm going to do.

Here's some I found off Nasioc:

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/8281/ogaaajylnkcc2a6wjmmrm6y.jpg
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/9154/ogaaaihbt2poxe7lqwmgmzi.jpg
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/7446/user999417384pic6650122.jpg

[chromehorn]

Those look nice. I'm going with 16's though. Running BBS rxiis from the Jetta Wolfsburg this summer. They're only 6.5 wide but will switch to a 16x9 or 9.5 eventually. Figured I just get some cheap 16's for the time being. Basically going for a slammed daily cruiser. Will be keeping an eye on this thread.

[teh luckinator]

hallowpoint - how much camber did you have? i think i have a picture of your car. what i noticed about subarus is when you lower it you don't get more negative camber. guess i'll need some camber bolts, i wonder how much adjustment those give.

aurelius - sweet pictures man! i've been looking through the legacy owners gallery on nasioc, i'm on page 63 so i have a long way to go. any more info on those cars? particularily the black one. how wide are the wheels, camber, etc? looks decent though!

also, here's that yellow car's build thread:

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/legacy-track-build-whatever-100555.html?t=100555

and his flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yokotas13/sets/72157606361905142/

[aurelius]

aurelius - sweet pictures man! i've been looking through the legacy owners gallery on nasioc, i'm on page 63 so i have a long way to go. any more info on those cars? particularily the black one. how wide are the wheels, camber, etc? looks decent though!
Haha, i've been there and done that. Found the blue one on google images.

Here's the post for the dark green one.
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=29942296&postcount=404

[SOREN]

I took a look at the build on LegacyGT, and it's different, but I like it. I'd love to see more of this kind of thing from Japan - got to be honest. I'm interested to see what you do here.

[wiisass]

Those 17x8+22 in that first picture look like they would tuck if the car was lowered.

You could always measure and take a guess. Then just bring a hammer and a fender roller when you go to put them on. I did that on my BH and it worked out well. My wheels could use a little bit of a spacer to make them fit the way I want, but overall I was pretty happy with my guess. I went with 18x9+35 on the wagon and it wasn't nearly as hard to fit as everyone said.

But that's a different car and I have heard that the earlier ones have more trouble fitting awesome wheels.

Just remember, you can always run a spacer if you take a more conservative guess. And if you look at those pictures that Aurelius posted, those wheels wouldn't look very good with the car lowered.

[teh luckinator]

aurelius - thanks for the link man! i wonder what size they are

SOREN - yeah i'm interested to see what happens too. i'm not supposed to be spending much on this, because my track car is supposed to get all the money. doubt that will happen though.

wiisass - i was thinking that too. another thing i'm taking into account is how much camber i can get with camber bolts and camber plates. i'm pretty much saying fuck it and going with some 17x9's though haha. how much camber do you have with those wheels? and yeah i could run a spacer if anything. btw your car is awesome, i've watched that whole wagonforce thread on zt blow up haha. i really want one of those mini vans that matt panic posted, but they're basically impossible to find. mark still has his though, i want it!

[hallowpoint]

hallowpoint - how much camber did you have? i think i have a picture of your car. what i noticed about subarus is when you lower it you don't get more negative camber. guess i'll need some camber bolts, i wonder how much adjustment those give.

you can get a little camber out of the front but the rears you will need camber bolts.

[hallowpoint]

or you can be like me and take a hammer and a heat gun and start pulling your fenders. you can also use a baseball bat and have someone drive the car back and forth.

[chromehorn]

Where is this wagonforce thread you speak of? I would like to have a look.

[teh luckinator]

hallowpoint - yeah i'll probably end up pulling the fenders, that's fine with me. and i don't think i'll have to worry about the quarter panel buckling like they do on 240's haha

chromehorn - it's on ziptied somewhere. i thought it was in the chaos forum but i can't find it.

[hallowpoint]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/

[jospgut]

http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz312/josmanuel15/GetAttachment12.jpg?t=1271117477

they were 18x8

[Reason]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/

they were 18x8

Hey can you tell me more of your wheel and suspension set up?

[wiisass]

aurelius - thanks for the link man! i wonder what size they are

SOREN - yeah i'm interested to see what happens too. i'm not supposed to be spending much on this, because my track car is supposed to get all the money. doubt that will happen though.

wiisass - i was thinking that too. another thing i'm taking into account is how much camber i can get with camber bolts and camber plates. i'm pretty much saying fuck it and going with some 17x9's though haha. how much camber do you have with those wheels? and yeah i could run a spacer if anything. btw your car is awesome, i've watched that whole wagonforce thread on zt blow up haha. i really want one of those mini vans that matt panic posted, but they're basically impossible to find. mark still has his though, i want it!

Just take the most aggressive setup people are running and make it stick out another inch and then make it fit. I mean you could probably make those 17x8+22 wheels fit with some pulling. I guess it depends on how much work you want to do.

If Hallowpoint had any fitment pictures, that would probably help.

I'm running like 2-3*, I forget now. I had the sheet from the alignment, but don't know where it went. I'm not really concerned with it though. Tire wear seems alright. And the tires are cheap anyway.

Thanks for the compliment. You're on ziptied? What's your name on there? Those little mitsu things are pretty awesome. But they do seem pretty impossible to find.

And Wagonforce is still blowing up. Well I did get a couple requests for stickers this weekend at E-town. Hopefully I'll stay interested and make it something. There is a blog on the site, just haven't had any time with getting ready to kick off the Club Loose season.

[jospgut]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/

they were 18x8

Hey can you tell me more of your wheel and suspension set up?

I have 2006 wrx struts, well the guy that sold me those springs told me that they are green H tech tein,But I looked everywhere and i couldn't find GREEN H TECHS. I feel them nice, is kinda stiffer, not saggy like the s tein, I really like them, but i wanna lift the car a little bit, too low.
The wheels are Mb weapon 18x8, I had to sell those, because it was rubbing, but I use to like those wheels.

[Reason]

So the do rub? What's the offset?

[SOREN]

Where is this wagonforce thread you speak of? I would like to have a look.
Perhaps you mean the one that the OP mentions:
http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.p ... l?t=100555 (http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/legacy-track-build-whatever-100555.html?t=100555)

I created a profile and made a comment that upset everyone.. oops. I guess I was just a little surprised. This guy, like our generous OP has done some interesting things, and is posting it for the general public to see. If it's not something you like, you don't have to look at the thread, I feel. There's really nothing to be gained by being a douche, it's not like either are putting Pepboys "Flair" all over the cars - they're doing interesting suspension and unique modification.. read it or leave it I say.

Kudos to the OP for the interesting build thread.

[wiisass]

That dude has nothing to do with WagonForce.

The Wagonforce thread is on ziptied in the chaos section which is private unless you're a member.

[chromehorn]

Ya saw the thread with the yellow BG before.

Will have a look into the Ziptied one though. THanks

[Reason]

Wagonofdoom is on here, he has a members ride thread.

[jospgut]

So the do rub? What's the offset?


the off set was 30

[teh luckinator]

Just take the most aggressive setup people are running and make it stick out another inch and then make it fit. I mean you could probably make those 17x8+22 wheels fit with some pulling. I guess it depends on how much work you want to do.

If Hallowpoint had any fitment pictures, that would probably help.

I'm running like 2-3*, I forget now. I had the sheet from the alignment, but don't know where it went. I'm not really concerned with it though. Tire wear seems alright. And the tires are cheap anyway.

Thanks for the compliment. You're on ziptied? What's your name on there? Those little mitsu things are pretty awesome. But they do seem pretty impossible to find.

And Wagonforce is still blowing up. Well I did get a couple requests for stickers this weekend at E-town. Hopefully I'll stay interested and make it something. There is a blog on the site, just haven't had any time with getting ready to kick off the Club Loose season.

I have the same name, I just lurk haha. I was on the DJ Elecktrique forums too so I registered pretty early on ZT.

And those stickers are awesome!

[sybir]

I've had 18x8.5 ET48's with 245's under the fenders on my wagon....it can be done, you just need to know what you're doing. I'll skip the disclaimers for the Ziptied kids, as everyone's already set up camp on stance vs function, and you know what's up with coils, camber, and fenders. One thing is very, very important, though - the 2nd-gen Legacies are McStruts all around. That means no camber gain under compression, you actually lose camber (unlike a 240, for example, where you you keep gaining camber the lower you go). That means if it just barely clears at ride height......you're going to be all over the fenders. Slamming it won't pull them in, it'll make the problem worse ;)

I'm not into running a ton of camber - I knocked the plates in on the front to about 2 degrees when I was running the 245's to keep them off the fenders under compression. Anything's possible, and the fenders don't tend to buckle - I did a pull on my rears years ago with no issues. They rub with 215's on a 7.5 stock, so you've got some work to do.

245's on an 18x8.5, "regular" offset.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/04/IMG_8255JPG-1.jpg

Narrow 235's on a different 18x8.5

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/05/IMG_5055JPG-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/07/IMG_8845JPG-1.jpg

Hope that helps.

[teh luckinator]

Thanks for the info sybir! Helped tons! You're Dre's friend, right? He had a Legacy, now he has a Wagon. We should chill sometime, I'd love to see your car in person.

And more positive camber when lowering, that's horrible. I doubt camber bolts will be enough. But I'm not worrying about anything for now, I still have to wait for the car to be under my name.

[aekOne]

i'm running 18x8 +55 offset. not exactly super aggressive but a perfect fit with no scrubbing

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/

[httrdd]

I am about to go 18's. Those look really good. I never would of thought of running 18's with the old ej25 in there! :lol:

[aekOne]

yeah i've encountered one problem which is that on the rears, the tyres are just nicking the struts so i'll need to use some spacers (when we first measured it up it looked like we had a few mm to spare. My measuring obviously isn't so good lol). Hopefully get some this week sometime

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/

[teh luckinator]

car finally clears this saturday so i'll be picking it up, so i'm gonna get this thread started again.

already have some coilovers in line, helix dna or whatever.

i also found some cr kai knockoffs, drag dr31 i think it's called, but it's 17x9 +28. crap. luckily for me, my good friend with a subaru just got some 17x9 +42 wheels, or somewhere close to that, so i'll be test fitting those ass soon as i get my coilovers on, and work from there. issue i'm worried about now is getting camber. the coilovers come with front camber plates stock, no idea how much i can get there, i'm thinking maybe up to -3 degrees. main issue is the rear, i've been reading camber bolts barely give you any adjustment, MAYBE like -+1 degree. how do people adjust camber besides that? lateral links? someone fill me in please.

[cusco-awd]

+28 is a HUGE jump from +42

[teh luckinator]

yeah pretty much an inch, i figure i could pull an inch out haha.

[teh luckinator]

found cheap wheels

http://discounttires.com/images/images_products/wheels/large/271066.jpg

original plan is cr kai knockoffs, but these are cheap and come in +42. what do you guys think? i'm trying to imagine them on a wagon...

[aurelius]

What size are they?

I just got 17x7.5 +45 and will be running 15mm spacers all round I think.

[teh luckinator]

17x9 +42

i'm pretty sure i'll be going with the drags haha.

[aurelius]

OMG YES PLZ

lime green? :D

[teh luckinator]

well the plan is either white car, white wheels, or red car, white wheels. i love red, but with white wheels it seems really "racecar" you know? picture of red legacy with white wheels anyone? sedan or wagon, i just need inspiration haha.

[lazerface]

yeah, somebody post a photo, or photoshop something. i've been wondering about the red/white combo too.

[subie/legacy]

All Photoshop requests POST HERE (http://www.sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=7383&start=270url)
try posting your request there. I have with good results.

[sybir]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/06/n561517201_365686_3882-1.jpg

Previous owner of my Enkeis. Hope that helps.

[urban_outback]

im on 02 wrx shocks and h&r lowering springs. i want new springs in the front to get rid of the saggy butt

anyways on 18x9.5 +38 with 235/40s

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/IMG_4062-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/IMG_4064-1.jpg

stole em off my friends wrx ;)

[Matty2Hotty]

Finally someone with a ref once 9.5" wide... Serious fender work would need to be done to have a real flush look without poking any. I think I'm going 9" wide for sure now.

[urban_outback]

yeah thats with stock fenders and 0 degrees camber. im shure they would fit with a little pull and some camber

[sybir]

Fender work is an understatement, lol. You're poking at least an inch and you're not getting much more than 1/2" out of the fenders without massacring them. But run stiff coils and you'd probably be ok. Some S13 overfenders would be slick with that setup if you matched them to the lower cladding, and cut away the fenders for clearance or something.

[wiisass]

I mean I don't know anything about how the BG fenders are constructed, but it looks like that could tuck nicely if you lower it another inch or so, give it a little more camber and roll them as much as you can and hammer a bunch of stuff. But if you can 1/2" out of the fenders, you can probably make up the rest with some camber. It looks like it could be done without overfenders.

[sybir]

Strut cars lose camber under compression, they don't gain it like the multilink cars. Makes everything more of a PITA....trust me, lol. Those tires will never tuck in, you have to bring the fenders out around them, and you can only do so much before you're making shelves, lol.

[wiisass]

Well that's not true. If the angle between the lower control arm and the line between the strut mount bearing and lower ball joint is less than 90*, a strut suspension will gain negative camber. If it's greater than 90* it will lose negative camber.

If lower the car only that much makes this an issue, you should deal with the suspension geometry problems and then you'll have an easier time fitting wheels. I'm sure there are some options for dealing with this.

[sybir]

Take a look at your front LCA's on any Subaru lowered more than an inch, and get back to me, lol. I know what you're saying - what I'm saying is that Subaru strut suspension geometry loses camber once the control arm goes above horizontal, for the reasons you specified with relative angles. I don't care how low or high the car is, under hard compression, once the arms go above level, you lose negative camber. The multilink in the rear is a huge improvement for this reason.

[LiCelsior]

damn 18x9.5 +38 is mad poke, 18x9 +30 should be about the same no? damn, fender flares time.

[jdmg3]

Take a look at your front LCA's on any Subaru lowered more than an inch, and get back to me, lol. I know what you're saying - what I'm saying is that Subaru strut suspension geometry loses camber once the control arm goes above horizontal, for the reasons you specified with relative angles. I don't care how low or high the car is, under hard compression, once the arms go above level, you lose negative camber. The multilink in the rear is a huge improvement for this reason.

For that reason I took out the lifting block off my Outback and also swapped the rear cross member for an STI one witch the mounting location for the LCA are higher. A roll center kit would also help to prevent/minimize that positive camber under compression!

[sybir]

Take a look at your front LCA's on any Subaru lowered more than an inch, and get back to me, lol. I know what you're saying - what I'm saying is that Subaru strut suspension geometry loses camber once the control arm goes above horizontal, for the reasons you specified with relative angles. I don't care how low or high the car is, under hard compression, once the arms go above level, you lose negative camber. The multilink in the rear is a huge improvement for this reason.

For that reason I took out the lifting block off my Outback and also swapped the rear cross member for an STI one witch the mounting location for the LCA are higher. A roll center kit would also help to prevent/minimize that positive camber under compression!

Yep, makes a huge difference. I still haven't gotten around to yanking the spacers on my OB, with all of the other little BS that's needed (new dogbone, steering coupler, etc). Might do it when I swap steering racks since I'll have half of that stuff out anyways.

[jdmg3]

Dont forget the tranny subframe, shifter to floor mount, the rear trailing arms, RSB mounts! Its alot of stuff. I had a buddy that wanted his wagon to be the Outback height so we swaped everything!
If ever you need tips for your rack, I just did my conversion and I did it in a way that I will always use the wrx/sti steering u-joint!

[sybir]

Yep - haven't stared at the tranny subframe so I couldn't remember if the lift there was integrated or spacers like the front and rear subframes. I'd need a full donor to do it in a way that would make me comfortable - original plan was bolting all the WRX bits up when I did a swap, and then I went and bought an STi and stopped caring as much. I've got both types of u-joints sitting in the garage, so I can weld one up to match whatever, but changing the shaft spline is a good idea to be able to use stock parts from something else in an emergency. I'm lazy enough that I'll probably just toss a rebuilt factory rack in when this one finally goes.