JohnnyT

Looks nice and clean.

How does the taller 235/45/17 affect the accuracy of your speedometer? 225/45/17 is the accurate.

My original VF40 has 133K on with not signs of quitting. I've been running the COBB stg 2 tune on it for about 5K and it's great.

What a fantastic build. So much talent and skill. Amazing. On a side note, I've been looking at split spoke style wheels for my '06 GT and you had the two on your car that I was considering. The pic with the Raijin on the front and the EKM3 on the back was exactly what I needed to see. Raijin it is.

Would an 18x8 +45 work? A lot of the wheels I'm looking at are that size. No +48 mm, at least for the ones I like. The chart on the first page says they will fit, but I'd like to hear from people's experience. Thanks.

225/40/18 on 18x8 +48mm rim is about perfection. Using a good summer tire makes for a really grippy ride, too.

 

You can run a wider tire, but its more work. Also, there's rubbing, loading limits and increased wear. If you are running a wider tire because traction, you need a stickier tire not more tire. If for looks, well, all the work & dollars to make it look good should be worth it.

 

In the front, a 275/30/18 on 9.5x18 +35mm will fit and even turn, assuming you have small radius springs on your coilovers. On a wagon, the same tire is 2 inches beyond the body and rubs on everything. I believe the sedan has slightly more room, but never verified it.

 

Pretty much everyone running more than 8 inch rims and 225's, has modified their suspension and/or body in some way. Also their alignment has been tweaked. For the ones who claim it was a bolt-on, either bot a modified car or it rubs something fierce and they don't care.

 

If you were local, Id offer to let you sample my collection to see what actually fits/hits/fails for yourself. When I started upgrading tires, my tire guru let me spend quality time with the tire warehouse and a wheel simulator to find a good fit. I ignored the data and bought the 275's combo. What a waste of money.

 

It's your car and your money. If you can find a local who has a combination like you want, ask to see the car. Its covid so a ride along is probably out. But you can shine a flashlight or camera underneath and run your fingers on the inside of the fender lip. Ask them how fast they can go over speed bumps (or do they make passengers get out). How does it do in corners...any scraping or rubbing?

 

This advice sponsored by Driven Products, llc & Michelin, who sponsored me one summer a decade ago.

 

Boxkita, Thanks for all the time you have spent replying to my posts. It is greatly appreciated. Honestly, I just want to get nicer looking wheels than the stockers I have. It seems all the wheels I like don't fit my car. The wheel is either too wide or has too aggressive of an offset or both. The Forcestar wheels I posted seems to be perfect because of the +48 offset and I love the style, but alas, too wide and I don't want to do fender work. The car is pristine and I want to keep it that way. I guess I'll keep looking. BTW, I'm lowered on H&R springs over Koni yellows with a two finger gap from tire to fender all around.

Thanks again.

that question was just answered 3 posts up.

also 235 are designed for 9" wheels something to do with their odd numbers.

The semi concave wheel will likely be hitting your brakes too. Unless they show a lgt with them mounted, I'd say sales pitch. s2baru had forgestars on his 5th gen, so might have direct knowledge on fitment issues.

 

Thanks for your response. As for the 235s, I was going by the wheel and tire fitment sticky in post 1. 225mm = 7", 7.5", and 8"; 235mm = 8", 8.5", and 9". If you think 225x40/18 would be a better fit I can get those. What I hear you saying though is it wouldn't be a good fit without some work.

I found a set of wheels https://www.forgestar.com/wheels/rotary-formed-monoblock-series/f14/ that are 18x8.5 +48 offset. The fitment expert told me that these would fit my Legacy GT with 235x40/18s with not problems. He also recommended a +45 offset instead of +48. Of course, I would be going with the SEMI CONCAVE wheel. From what I read on this forum, this should work also with no rubbing. If anyone can confirm this it would be greatly appreciated.

H&R springs with Koni yellow struts is nice.

 

I have that combo and love them. Fairly comfortable and compliant in regular driving, but tightens up when you lean into the curves. H&R springs have progressive spring rates. They lower the car an inch or so. Much better the the Epic Engineering springs I had. The front spring broke and Epic would call me back. Stay away from them.

Thanks, everyone for your replies and great advise. I will keep all of this in mind. I have two importers I found. MD JDM Motors, Inc. and J-Spec Auto Parts. They're websites mostly show WRX and Forester front clips, but I'll call and see if they can source the parts for me. Thanks again.

yes - you will either need to trim the metal bumper of get the jdm one with it

 

Thank you for your response. After I reread my comment I realized I wanted to know the name of the bumper, not the grill. But I did some more research and found out the this bumper is the pre-facelift Spec B bumper. I think I would need the bumper, the JDM crash beam, headlight brackets, airdam and fender liners, plus that cool honeycomb grill. I'd like to find one with the JDM fogs already installed, since I find it takes some work to make the USDM fogs fit.

 

Would anyone please tell me where I can find this stuff? I found HKC Speed has the bumper and fogs, but it's not obvious if they have the rest of the parts I need. Also, I see japan parts website, but it would cost me over $3K to ship everything to PA. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

I always loved this bumper with the honeycomb grill. Will this fit with the USDM fenders and hood? I don't want to do the whole swap. What is the name of this grill? Thanks.

Here is a website you can use to calculate all the variables. Good luck.

https://tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/

 

From what I remember about the Spec B, the stock alloys are 18". You can go with 17" minimum. Anything smaller will not clear the brakes (I'm sure you know that). I don't know how tall a tire you can go with, but just know that the taller the tire, even though you may not rub initially, will limit your suspension travel before rubbing. The website listed above is a great tool for figuring those things out. Also, consider the weight of the A/T tires you're want to use. That, plus the added weight of the steel wheels pictured above, could add a lot of unhinged weight, which will change the suspension characteristics and slow your acceleration. I'm sure you know all this, but I just wanted to put this out there just in case you didn't. Good luck.

Why would you want to off-road a Spec-B? They are just not made for that. You'll bottom out on rutted roads. Just sayin', although it's your car.

First off, it's not clear if you're running the stock wheels or not. If so, the stock wheels have a +55 mm offset not +45. With that said I think a 235 tire might be a little too wide for a 7.5" wide wheel. I'm running the stockers with 225/45 x 17 tires and they fit perfect, even lowered on H&R springs over Konis. Also, the 225 size makes your speedo more accurate. Here is a website you can use to calculate all the variables. Good luck.

https://tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/

I said "one of". I dont need to boost my ego and was not bragging. But I did install one of the first 5th gen set ups at my shop.

 

 

 

I verified fitment and operation and then started listing and selling the parts and sets on my website. My website was the only one (I knew of) that even listed the Koni parts fitting the 5th gen. I answered a LOT of questions about it. I sold pre-installed sets on my website and when my 6 sets of donor struts were gone, I stopped. I sold far more pre-installed 4th gen set via this forum and the same thing happened, all the cores never came back.

 

 

 

Like I said, not a lot of interest/support for the 5th gen. It was a major change to the platform.

 

I was in one those in the 4th gen sets that Mike made and I did send my cores back all the way from PA. Mike was great to work with.

 

I'm still running the Konis, but had to go with H&R springs when the passenger side front Epic Engineering spring broke. There wasn't more than 50K on them, but I hear that broken EE springs are common. They never got back to me either. The H&Rs are much more compliant, yet they stiffen when pushed on the curvies. I like them much better than the EE springs.

I'm assuming you already have the JDM front fenders. My understanding from following this thread for awhile is you need both JDM fenders to go with the JDM front bumper.

subscribed. Both cars look great.

Thank you, DoctorDave and Febreze Mee for all the input. I was also looking at the Aodhan DS02s in bronze with a polished lip, but the smallest size they make is 18x8.5 with a +35 offset. That offset is too aggressive and I don't want to roll the fenders.

Thanks again. Sorry for hijacking the thread. I follow it because I really like how the JDM conversions look.

Enkei Raijin's in 18x8.5 +45 - if you're looking by compatibility they won't show for the legacy. Need to put your car as a 2011-2014 WRX.

 

Thanks. Does that width and offset require fender rolling? I'm modestly lowered on H&Rs/Koni combo. Also, what size tire are you running on those wheels? Sorry, I'm not looking for JDM conversions, but I like those wheels.

Leave as is. Prefer the waist spoiler to the facelift garnish. Not going to touch the tails since it's my favorite style. When/if I need paint done in the future on the hatch I'm going to delete the badge on the waist spoiler. Should have had that done when the car got painted the Wind Chill Pearl but didn't think of it at the time.

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I like your wheel choice. Which one are these? They look like Enkei's I was looking at on tirerack.

I still have my '06 LGT 5MT Sdn. purchased 1/3/06. Has 130K on it with COBB stg 2 the last 5K. The paint and interior are still like new and it hasn't been driven in the winter since 2015. I have an Outback for the winters and nasty seasonal weather. I really enjoy this car and will keep it as long as there's parts to fix it.

Offset will matter, so we need that info, but also the width may hit the struts and shocks. That's a pretty wide tire.

Very nice. Very clean. Beautiful car.

I will not be interested without a manual transmission. The CVT is a mushbox. The engine sounds horrible as it searches for the right ratio.