17x8s on '96 Outback

[Oakieru]

I just picked up a set of 2011 WRX wheels for my '96 Legacy Outback, only to find that when I took it in to get the wheels put on, the wheels rubbed the strut body pretty bad. I know that spacers will put extra stress on my wheel bearings, but I'm okay with that if I can run these wheels. So my question is, what size spacers do I need to run in order to run a set of 2011 WRX 17x8s on my Outback with stock suspension?

[meepers]

What size tires are you running?

[CaleDeRoo]

Are you rubbing on both the front/back or just the back?

I'm running '04 STi BBS which are 7.5" et53 with 225 tires and I clear the rear strut by less than 2mil. So if you're running the stock WRX size you'll probably need at least a 15mm spacer on the rear. No idea about the front.

[WPEC]

My further questions are
1.Are you going to low your car ? Lowering springs or coilovers?
2. What size of tires will be mounted on?

Based on wheel spec of 1996 outback by this site ; http://www.iautobodyparts.com/aly68690u10-1996-subaru-legacy-alloy_wheel-details.html?city_key=usa_mdlinthicum&gclid=Cj0KEQiAsdCnBRC86PeFkuDJt_MBEiQAUXJfLdpYvmYrFmRBk_yAVg5-MGhX4vk662dChCogB-TNFPgaAnHm8P8HAQ
Your stock wheels spec. is supposed to be 15" X 6 , 5 STUDS/LUGS, 100MM BOLT DIA, 6 SLOTS, 55MM OFFSET , THE TIRES ARE 205/75R15

and based on this site ;http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/f53/wheel-tire-faq-19172/
The 11-14 WRX use 17x8 wheels weighing 22 lbs with a 5x100 bolt pattern and +53 offset. The tires are Dunlop SP Sport 01 Summer Tires 235/45/17

Let's go to this site for further comparison; http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp
with stock WRX's tires, same stock height

Suspension clearance: this package is 13 mm (0.5'') closer to suspension/brakes components. Acceptable for most cars.
Fenders clearance : this package will stick out 17 mm (0.7'') further. Make sure that you have enough room under the fender. If not, consider narrower tires or roll your fenders.

Suggestion; you will need 15mm spacers all around and roll your fender in rear / with new wheel alignment set up too.

[Oakieru]

Wow thanks for that post wpec, this was exactly what I was looking for. The tires on the wrx wheels are the stock dunlops, so 235/45/17. I'm not planning on going super low, I spend a lot of time in areas where I need the ground clearance. I've seen a few bg wagons like mine on STI suspension, and I think that'd probably be the lowest I'd go. I'm not positive whether I'm rubbing in the front and the back, I actually just took my wagon over to the local les schwab and tried to have them install, I believe they started out with a rear wheel and just stopped there when they saw it was hitting the strut. So, with that suggested spacer size kept in mind, are there any suspension changes I can make to keep from running spacers? I'm not sure but from reading around on forums I've gotten the idea that STI struts might leave me more room than my outback ones. If that's correct, would WRX struts leave enough room also?

[WPEC]

I wish I had you near by me. So I can test fit those WRX wheels for you as well.
I'd share something ,with my a little experience,
WRX struts&lowing springs from 03 sedan and and 3/8" rear strut urethane spacers on mine,
I believed there was no difference at a bottom spring seat between my BK and WRX where the tires can rub it once rolling mis-spec tire. Anyway,I was noticed dissimilarity on their top mounts and brake hose brackets. However, If you have Running on stock suspension . You're better to run on narrow tires like 215/55 to avoid rubbing issue in&out and keep your speedometer accurately. So far, hope it will drive fine on little hella-flush tires.


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[Oakieru]

Well, part of the reason I picked these wheels up was that the tires on them were so fresh, so changing tires won't be happening for a while lol. I do have a friend with a fender roller though, so I'll have to get ahold of him to get my fenders done and pick up some spacers. I'll post the outcome when I get it put together though. Any recommendations on where to buy spacers?

[WPEC]

Once 235/45R17's rolling on Outback Stock height, it will be looking strange. You might hate life.Well , will you plan on drop?


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[Oakieru]

Yeah, like I said, STI suspension is as low as I ever want to go. I like low, but I like practical even more lol. I'm still debating on whether to pick up WRX/STI struts and springs or to just go coilovers, but its hard to decide without having ridden in a wagon with either of this setups.

[Go Mifune]

Check out the sticky in the wheel tire and brake section of the forum called if I remember correctly-widest wheel and tire you can run without rubbing -by Siber. That has a lot of great info.

[LGT Kirby]

I have these wheels on my 97 GT. It is on stock 06 WRX wagon springs/struts and I have no issues of rubbing. I am running 235/45 tires and have my fenders just slightly rolled but no pull. Also I picked up some 5mm spacers that I have yet to slap on there. Curious how that will affect the setup.

[foohfooh]

Google a guy named wagonista in this forum. He has a second gen. Outback and he is rocking these exact wheels with varied suspension setups.