njsub Posted December 30, 2004 Author Share Posted December 30, 2004 Will those fit on our wheels? And fit with the brakes, etc? What about a steel wheel option? Pros? Cons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted December 30, 2004 Share Posted December 30, 2004 I visit my friend in Hoboken, NJ, so I know what you are talking about in terms of bad pavement. What you eventually want are industrial aftermarket rims that are more dense than a black hole. Just get the tire sizes and wheel sizing that I specified above. GT can only fit 17" rims with a good offset (see my FAQ on wheel fitment and offsets STICKY under the wheel/tire section). Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deer Killer Posted December 30, 2004 Share Posted December 30, 2004 I visit my friend in Hoboken, NJ, so I know what you are talking about in terms of bad pavement. What you eventually want are industrial aftermarket rims that are more dense than a black hole. Just get the tire sizes and wheel sizing that I specified above. GT can only fit 17" rims with a good offset (see my FAQ on wheel fitment and offsets STICKY under the wheel/tire section). Keefe I'm thinking the exact opposite because of recent events. Super hard wheel = broken suspension. It's much easier to replace a wheel than to replace control arms, subframes, bearings, do an alignment, etc. I took a hit to the very edge of the rim. Didn't bend because the stock rims are so hard, it broke a piece off, and transmitted 100% of the force to the suspension. The tire was completely untouched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted December 30, 2004 Share Posted December 30, 2004 It depends on the impact.. wheels roll back and forth, if the lateral force is too great for the tire to handle, it's going to bend something regardless. A rim is going to be as solid as it's going to be (same goes for control arms and links). It's all an application of torque.. since you hit the VERY edge of the rim, then you'll have a lot of torque applied onto the rim, hub, or whatever else is being the fulcrum and the recieving end of the force. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeGreatOne Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 FWIW, if you go to www.tirerack.com, click on any tire you may want to buy, and then click on SPECS for that tire, you can see the radius, the actual SIZE, of the circle that the selected tire will provide. This allows you to compare various fitments without having the tire in your hands. For instance, the rolling radius of a 225/45 x 17 tire may be very close to that of a tire in 215/55 x 17. You lose some tread width, but gain a little sidewall. There are two ways to gain more wheel protection via tire swapping, one is to go to a larger sidewall aspect ratio (i.e. switching from 45 series to 55 series), or go to a tire model that has a firmer sidewall and is better equipped to take a hit. What do I mean by that? As an example, the Toyo T1S, a very popular tire, has a soft sidewall that allows potholes to damage wheels if you get a very low profile. Bridgestone's Potenza S03 has a very firm sidewall that absorbs a lot of the hit and therefore protects the wheel better than the Toyo. The softer tire rides better, but doesn't handle as well as the firmer tire, and the firmer tire is better able to take the hit. Still, going to a taller sidewall aspect ratio is the most effective means to protect your alloys other than keeping the car in the garage One other, very important note: Different tires have different handling and braking characteristics. A very high performance summer tire in a narrower width will perform BETTER than a lesser tire in a wider size! So, unless you're downsizing from ultra performance tires, you will NOT lose much, if any, handling or braking performance by going narrower to get the taller sidewall aspect ratio, asuming you're moving to a better performing tire in the narrower size. For another example (based on my own experience on my Miata), 195/50 x 15 S03s handle and brake better than 215/45 x 15 Toyo T1S tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerseyglock Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 NJSub, Yes, its tough in some area of Jersey. But, NYC is the worst (not all, just in some area). Maybe you should have purchased that road hazzard warranty for tires and rims from the dealer.. Or, avoid pot holes when possible (a poster that was at the Subaru dealer's service waiting area). LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Be careful with some of the tire sizes discussed here. Those Turanza's in that 225/50-17 size have an overall diameter of 26.0" vs our RE92's at 24.6" - that's WAY too big of a change IMHO. I can't recommend going more than +/- 0.5" (maybe 0.6") change in overall diameter. If you change the overall diameter of the tire too much your speedo readings are going to be way off and you are effectively changing the final drive ratio, amongst other possible computer problems. There are other threads here talking about this stuff, I believe. Some potholes are going to claim your rims no matter what you are running - we have plenty of those here in MI - but I really don't think you need to be too concerned. If you want a little piece of mind, I would stick with the stock 17" wheels (probably stronger than most aftermarket because of req'd Subaru durability testing) and go with either 205/50's or 225/45's. Both of those offer (very) slightly more sidewall with overall diameters of 25.1" Seek first to understand, then to be understood. In other words: SEARCH before you post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustinw Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 I never had a problem with overall diameter changes in different tires. I've gone from 1.5" over to .5" under (on another car) and never had issues with anything but clearance, since the car was lowered 4". I was running 215/35R18's and hit a huge lip of pavement, my teeth were rattling, and I was for sure guessing I destroyed the tire and the rim. But, they were both intact and had no damage to either. I'll bet these OE rims are pretty tough. I certainly haven't heard anyone complaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Be careful with some of the tire sizes discussed here. Those Turanza's in that 225/50-17 size have an overall diameter of 26.0" vs our RE92's at 24.6" - that's WAY too big of a change IMHO. I can't recommend going more than +/- 0.5" (maybe 0.6") change in overall diameter. [/quOte] It's actually percentage of the change, not the actual measurement. I wouldnt worry about computers soo much as many autoxers either use shorter tires for more torque or taller tires to get more top speed per gear. As for my daily drive, I use 25.6" tall tires, nothing wrong with keeping the mileage down on the car Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxx Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 hmmm i missed this thread befor i am running wrx brakes on my car. it works out to a 5.6% reward bias shift the abs is BETTER than it was befor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 Yeah - In thinking about this some more it does make sense that you could go a little further from stock on the "bigger" side. You've got two things working for you: (1) as the tread wears down the overall diameter is getting closer to stock, and (2) the OEM's always hedge the speedo on the high side for legal reasons - it reads just a tad faster than you are going - so bigger tires might actually produce a more accurate reading. Too late for me to give it a try; I just put the PZero's on in the stock size - maybe next time. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. In other words: SEARCH before you post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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