bilzebub Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 Hi guys, I just had my winter tires and wheels mounted, and I now hear a scraping noise (springs?) going over bumps and around corners. I bought the car in the US, and my Canadian dealer says that the tires are too big, leaving not enough clearance. Dunn Tire, in Rochester NY (a big chan, apparently) where i bought them, said that they were reccomended for the car. Factory is 215-45R18 These (on Riax Sebring rims, also Dunn Tire) are Blizzaks, 225-50R17 Now, I know absolutely nothing about tires, (or wheels), but I know something is wrong. Could you help me out before the long drive to Rochester to complain? Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnuey Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 According to this, http://www.riaxonline.com/styles/details.asp?wheelid=9&name=SEBRING%20-%20Hyper%20Black&style=2737&desc= you may have 17x7 +42mm. I had 17x7.5 +45mm offset and it was rubbing slightly in the rear on the dips. I'm waiting to try out my 17x7 +48mm. I am lowered on Swift springs and also have 225/50/17 tires. I see two members with +42 and +40mm offsets on a 17x7. http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19741 How bad is this noise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack ffr1846 Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 The diameter is theoretically only 0.3 inches larger. It's also slightly wider. I think gnuey probably hit it with the offset. The combination of larger diameter, wider width and offset may have all added up to make it rub. I would also question why they would put a snow tire on the car that's wider than stock. You'd typically put on something narrower. Something like a 205-50-17 or 55 would be a better choice. jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bilzebub Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 I'm not sure which offset it is (I'm not sure what offset means ), but the manager at Dunn tire agreed to replace them with 215s. It's just wird that they sold 'em to me without checking the clearance (they put them on the car before putting the summers back on). Thanks for the info, guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paycer Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 This doesn't help fix your tire issue, but I can confirm that 225/50/17 Dunlop SP Wintersport 3D tires work on the spec.B. I had a set put on the wife's car two weeks ago (they replaced a set of Yokohama Avid V4S 225/50/17 all seasons), and I've never felt them rub. The Legacy is my wife's so I don't drive it every day, but if it rubbed I'm sure whe wouldn't hesitate to tell me about it! The tires are mounted on 17" Rota Weapon wheels but I'm at work and can't remember the offset. They used to be on her 04 Forester XT and we've re-used them for winter duty on the Legacy. Maybe the Bilsteins on the spec.B are keeping things in check. Wait, I just realized you've got a 3.0R so I think our car and your's have the same shocks. Hmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JABBER Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 my 225/50/17 with 42mm offset rubbed I had to roll the inner fender Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bilzebub Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 Oh, and answring a previous question: the noise is LOUD! Sounds like metal on metal to my ears, but Subaru dealer assures me it is due to the overlarge tires Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 my 225/50/17 with 42mm offset rubbed I had to roll the inner fender 225/50/17 reportedly do not rub on 17x7 +48. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JABBER Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 that 6mm would probably make all the difference, cause once I rolled them they only rub if I have two people in the backseat and hit a big bump!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bilzebub Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 Well I must give kudos to Dunn Tire of Rochester. I went down there on the weekend and they not only upgraded me to a newer version of the Blizzak (the 60 series), they refunded me $160 due to the smaller tire size. I bought them when I bought the car last August, so they really went the extra mile to make me happy (even though i did go the 250 extra miles to get there, heh heh) No noises now -- at least not from my tires - see my thread on wind noise if you're interested - the uS dealer said that there is a 'known issue' with the 2008 Legacy with wind noise coming from the weatherstripping (not wide enough to have the glass sit flush...) Thanks for all the advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnuey Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 225/50/17 reportedly do not rub on 17x7 +48. I can confirm this on my specB on swift springs. I didn't hear it rub on a 200 mile road trip and local driving. 17x7.5 +45 on the other hand...rubbed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Hi guys, I just had my winter tires and wheels mounted, and I now hear a scraping noise (springs?) going over bumps and around corners. I bought the car in the US, and my Canadian dealer says that the tires are too big, leaving not enough clearance. Dunn Tire, in Rochester NY (a big chan, apparently) where i bought them, said that they were reccomended for the car. Factory is 215-45R18 These (on Riax Sebring rims, also Dunn Tire) are Blizzaks, 225-50R17 Now, I know absolutely nothing about tires, (or wheels), but I know something is wrong. Could you help me out before the long drive to Rochester to complain? Thanks!! 225 winter tires is an accident waiting to happen... For winter usage the narrower the better... Check what the car is specified for. The narrowest for my '04 legacy 2.0R is 195, at least when still legal. If the tires comes into contact with something there is a risk that you can have a catastrophic failure if the contact is on a sensitive part of the tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 225 winter tires is an accident waiting to happen... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA SUUB Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 225 winter tires is an accident waiting to happen I guess I should have been dead a long time ago! A 225 tire is 1.4% larger than a 215. I have been driving on 225 tires for years and am still around to talk about it! If the tires comes into contact with something there is a risk that you can have a catastrophic failure if the contact is on a sensitive part of the tire. Do you care to explain exactly what you mean by this comment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paycer Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 My STi has 225 sized tires on it and I dominate the snow! Plenty of parking lot antics have proven that I have some pretty awesome control on those (Pirelli winter) tires. My wife had 225s on her Forester XT and it performed so well that we put the same sized 225/45/17 on her spec.B for the winter (Dunlop M3 3D winters). The wife vetoed lower springs on the sB so the teeny bit larger diameter fills up the wheel wells a bit better and they handle better than the skinny 215's in the dry stuff. I do agree that narrower tires are better for trucks / or probably even a 4WD car when going offroad. I used to run narrower tires on my 74 Bronco in the winter, but now it just sits when the white stuff flies since the Subies are so much more fun on the snowy pavement. If of course you live in an area with icy tundra for an entire season with zero meltage, the narrower tire probably would be a better choice. The idea there is that narrower tires will allow your vehicle to crack through the top layer of slicker stuff and get down to the fluffier stuff to allow the tread to get some traction. The WRC Impreza runs pizza cutters on snow rallys (with some long studs too) to get as much traction as possible but those rallys are exlusively on snow snow covered roads with no dry pavement. In summation, if you live in a climate that sees dry pavement along with snowy pavement during the winter then I can recommend the 225 option especially with our kickin' Subie AWD system! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteyjr Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 I have an LGT with swift springs (quite lowered) running spec B rims 18 x 7 with 225/45/18 tires and no rubbing. As others have said Offset is key here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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