BigT Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 I've noticed that with some cars people will get an option to buy a set of 9inch width back tires. Is anybody running anything like this on a leagacy? 9inch is pretty extreme, but we could probably get away with 7.5 or 8 in the front and 8.5 in the back. Also, would this be irrelevant because our car is AWD? I'm beginning to ponder a new set of wheels for performance reasons (braking, handling etc.) It would seem that by changing the width of the rim you can get wider tires, and thus better braking performance. I'm not quite sure if wider tires improve handling. I was under the impression that stiffer side walls improved handling, which comes with a rougher ride and higher possibility of blowouts. If any of this is wrong, or if anybody has and additional info, or has an answer to the original question of variable widths, please fire away. -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 uh, it's not called "variable widths", it's called staggered fitment.. No one wants to run staggered on our AWDs because it would mess up a few things: 1) ruins grip balance 2) limiting amount of contact patch you may ultimately get 3) beating of the diffs 4) possibly changing the handling characteristics of the car which was not designed for You can run 9" wide rims all the way around, heck even 9.5" and 10" (if you can afford them as you probably need custom offsets to work with the car), most of us already run 8.5" wide tires.. it's just that no one out there manufacture a rim in our bolt pattern and width with the correct offset. A custom rim (ie money) can solve this problem and you can run as wide as a 285/30/18 tire on there. Why would anyone want to run a staggered set (unless it's for clearance reasons) when you can go 9" wide at all 4 corners? Some of the BMW and Vette guys run rims that are wide in the front as they have in the rear, especially for race use.. this promotes a better turn-in and front end grip to run bigger tires up front than the normal stock showroom staggered setup (as skinny tires up front promote understeer). Increasing braking performance based on the tire is also increasing lateral (think of the traction circle).. You can certainly get more grip with a wider tire (think of suspension and body roll). The moment your car starts to roll, the inside tires lift off the ground, and thus you are only relying on the outside tire for grip.. if you have your proper tire size and pressures set up right, you can increase that contact patch some compared to a stock tire.. it's all about how much tire you plan to keep on the road.. a proper alignment will set things right. Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigT Posted June 9, 2006 Author Share Posted June 9, 2006 Thanks! So 8.5 wide would still be in the reasonable range for our cars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panamajack Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 You can use different offsets of the same width to allow for different handling. A lower offset in the front will allow for quicker turn in because of the wider stance up front. You wont be able to rotate the tires as easily though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EL PAALO Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 a spacer with longer lugstuds is the way to go with that if you want rotation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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