The Grouch Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 Hi all. Trying to throw some suspension on my '95 legacy wagon has just led to frustration over and over. I got a set of Blitz rims, 16 x 7", +38, where the inside of center hub area rubs on the front brake calipers by a little bit (few millimeters). I believe some thin spacers might solve this, but I am hesitant because the rim is already close to the edge of the fender, spacers might push it out beyond fenders. I thought an offset of +38 would fit w/o a problem on 16x7's but I guess I was wrong, so hitting this wall was very unexpected. And now just looking at the 16" rim suggestions for my ride off tirerack.com, I notice all the rims for my car have an offset of 42 or 45. Any ideas? For those of you with 16 x 7 rims on your 2nd gen legacies, what offset are your rims and what size tires are you running? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Motion Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 its the spoke design that didnt clear your caliper but usually lower offset mean more caliper clearance just get a 3mm spacer its not that much, but enough to clear the caliper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grouch Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 Thanks for the prompt reply. For sure it's due to my spoke design? I've already thought about getting some small spacers, but am worried because the rim is very close to the edge of fender already. Hard to tell 100% how close the edge of rim is to fender because the tire I have on the rim now is too wide and definitely is past the fender (205/55R/16). And if I do try spacers, won't I need extended studs as well? H & R carries them with the extended studs but minimum for my model and year is 5mm. Has anyone had luck with the universal 3mm spacers off ebay or should I just go for the 5mm?? It is such a small difference, that whole 2mm, but again, my rim seems pretty close to fender's edge already... Any advice is appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lookatmyrust Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 with 3 mm you wont need longer studs... you will be fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grouch Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 If I try small spacers, then what I'll have to do for sure is mount on not as wide tires, and maybe try fender rolling to keep everything within the fenders. Correct me if I'm wrong, I thought fender rolling only clears up the space within the wheel well, it doesn't necessarily extend the edge of the fender outward, making it wider?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Motion Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 yes to your confusion about fender clearance...but after rolling it gives much more room to fit the same sized tires...unless your not super low, then it won't make a difference... and 3mm universal one is just fine, get them at the parts store, if it doesn't work. return them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnumber19 Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 How bad it is touching, if its just barely making contact you may consider just removing some material from the caliper to clear your current wheels. If its significant I would stick with the spacers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Motion Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 removing the material from the spokes mess with the structural rigidity of the rim...I would not suggest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnumber19 Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 Not from the spokes, from the caliper itself, and I am talking a small amount, not huge chunks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Motion Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 opps...read it wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnumber19 Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 opps...read it wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aekOne Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 i had a similar problem with Brembo's just rubbing on my spokes. gave the caliper corner a little rub with an angle grinder and they were fine. i would never use spaces again, at least not without using longer studs. last time i used 5mm ones the nuts all threaded and ruined the studs as well. Ended up having to replace all the studs and from the look of the nuts, was very lucky to have not lost a wheel while driving!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grouch Posted December 22, 2010 Author Share Posted December 22, 2010 I was told rolling my fenders also pulls out a little, extending my fender edge outward by about 5-7 mm. This in combination with the spacers and thinner tires might solve my wheel fitment issue, however... Now I'm thinking about long term too.. Option 1: If I fork out the money for spacers and fender rolling and new tires, yea I may fit the wheels in there, but long-term wise, I can't get bigger brakes or anything like that down the road w/o getting new everything. Or if I choose this route, there is still no guarantee because stuff might not fit still and I'll have to buy more diff sized spacers to try out, OR even after all that, it still won't fit and I would have just wasted all that money and in the end, head down option 2 still.. Option 2 is to give up on the Blitz, and fork out the money now for rims with a higher offset and new tires that I know will fit. So it's basically keep trying and it might succeed or might ultimately fail, or just cut my losses and go to option 2. Input, opinions, advice please. What would you do? (College student, not a ballin outa control). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aekOne Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 again, i can't stress enough the resentment i have toward spacers. not only did they damage my car but they're unsafe. Do you like your car? Do you like life? if you answered yes to either of those questions then i'd pass on the spacers i'd really be wanting to test fit any rims before buying them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnumber19 Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 I have to agree with the spacer situation, it really changes the stress dynamic in the hub when you move the wheel outwards. Grinding the caliper is a pretty common process, 3mm off a corner isn't going to hurt anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grouch Posted December 23, 2010 Author Share Posted December 23, 2010 If my offset 38 rims are rubbing the front brake calipers, why does tirerack recommend 16" rims for my car with offsets ranging 45 to 48?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aekOne Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 pretty sure 38 doesn't come between 45 and 48?? i think you answered your own question... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Motion Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 If my offset 38 rims are rubbing the front brake calipers, why does tirerack recommend 16" rims for my car with offsets ranging 45 to 48?? because tire rack is conservative, they only suggest fitment that 100% fits without any modification to suspension or fender as well as as close to OEM spec as possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grouch Posted December 23, 2010 Author Share Posted December 23, 2010 That still doesn't make sense. A higher offset would make the wheel sit more inward, even closer to brakes than the offset 38's. Even if tirerack were suggesting to fit as close to OEM...it doesn't make sense to suggest something that close to the brakes. There's gotta be something more bout the actual design of wheel too? If wheel sits more inward, gotta be a design bout wheel that allows it to sit inward w/o rubbing, but how would I know? Tirerack says the 45 offset for 16" is a direct bolt on and will fit no problem, but the offset still not making sense to me (mechanically inept) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Motion Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 I dont know how your wheel looks like but most JDM wheels have different "disk", high disk to clear calipers, low disk to give maximum lip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aekOne Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 mate it's the spoke design. it's the same as how you can have two different wheels with the same offset but one will clear 4 pots and the others wont or two different wheels with the same offset but one will clear brembo's and one won't. your situation highlights the importance of test fitting wheels BEFORE buying them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grouch Posted December 25, 2010 Author Share Posted December 25, 2010 Thanks for the replies and advice all. Looks like my next step would be to try to sell the rims and tires I have now, recoop some money, and get proper fitting rims and tires (205/50/16), may even roll fenders. Now I want to make sure the next rims I get clear the front brake calipers as well as have enough disk clearance to allow me to put on bigger brakes in the future. For those of you guys with wrx brakes on already, about how much bigger in diameter are '02-'04 wrx brakes vs the stock legacy brakes I got now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camroncamera Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 From what I understand, ~2003-2004 WRX 2-Pot calipers use 11.5" diameter rotors (front). My stock '98 Legacy GT rotors are 10.7" front and 10.3" rear (It seems 10.3" rear rotors is the same size for '04 WRX?) According to http://www.cars101.com/subaru_legacy_archive95_97.html it appears the your '95 came stock with 10.2" front discs and either rear drums or 10.5" rear discs, depending on the trim level of the model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnumber19 Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 From what I understand, ~2003-2004 WRX 2-Pot calipers use 11.5" diameter rotors (front). My stock '98 Legacy GT rotors are 10.7" front and 10.3" rear (It seems 10.3" rear rotors is the same size for '04 WRX?) According to http://www.cars101.com/subaru_legacy_archive95_97.html it appears the your '95 came stock with 10.2" front discs and either rear drums or 10.5" rear discs, depending on the trim level of the model. Why would the rear disc option have included larger rotors than the front? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camroncamera Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 I know, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.