Can I put 05' Legacy Rims on 94 Legacy?

[volleybiggs]

I have a 94 legacy with Tires that are 185/70R14. I saw a good deal on
some 05' Legacy Rims that are 215/45R17. Would I be able to just put
them on my 94 legacy? Or is the size to different?
Thanks!

 

[S]

Hi Volleybiggs!

I have a 94 legacy with Tires that are 185/70R14. I saw a good deal on
some 05' Legacy Rims that are 215/45R17. Would I be able to just put
them on my 94 legacy? Or is the size to different?
Thanks!

No reason at all why you couldn't run 17 inch wheels on the older
Legacy. It'll look sharp. AFAIK, the newer Subaru wheels are the same
5X100 bolt pattern, and pretty much the same 35mm offset. Anyone out
there confirm this?

When you go to put rubber on the wheels, tho, you will want to pay
close attention to the tire size. The 215/45/17 tire is about 1/2 inch
taller, and an inch wider than the stock 185/70/14. A 205/45/17 would
be a better match.

This will make a _just_ noticeable difference as far as driving, and
probably won't present any clearance issues, About the only caution
would be in the vicinity of the lower spring perch of the rear strut.
This is the bottleneck as far as running larger/wider than stock tires
on most Soobies. Also, you may want a different spare tire to match

If you are buying the wheels with the tires on them, do try them on
first. If this isn't possible, try to estimate what effect the
additional 1/4 inch of height, and 1/2 inch of width will have. If
this gets the rubber uncomfortably close to the strut (say, closer
than 1/4 inch or so), proceed with caution. You can get wheel spacers
that will move the rim out the thickness of the spacer. They're not
expensive, but 1/4 inch is about as much as you can do before needing
longer studs. Also, Subaru wheels are hub-centric, so you will want
spacers that replicate the hub shoulder for best results.

And then you _do_ realize that low profile 17 inch tires are twice (or
more) the cost of the 70 series 14's . . .

Hope this is helpful.

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B]

I have a 94 legacy with Tires that are 185/70R14. I saw a good deal on
some 05' Legacy Rims that are 215/45R17. Would I be able to just put them
on my 94 legacy? Or is the size to different? Thanks!

What Steve said, but...

Try mounting a wheel on the front, then turn the wheel to full lock and
see if it hits anything. Also, look where the sttrut is to make sure it's
not rubbing. Blow a tire pretty fast that way...

If it clears the strut, you can use it. I did this on a Tercel I had, put
195's on it. Just remember...DON'T GO FULL LOCK!!!!

 

[Squat n'Dive]

Hi Volleybiggs!



No reason at all why you couldn't run 17 inch wheels on the older
Legacy. It'll look sharp. AFAIK, the newer Subaru wheels are the same
5X100 bolt pattern, and pretty much the same 35mm offset. Anyone out
there confirm this?

When you go to put rubber on the wheels, tho, you will want to pay
close attention to the tire size. The 215/45/17 tire is about 1/2 inch
taller, and an inch wider than the stock 185/70/14. A 205/45/17 would
be a better match.

This will make a  _just_ noticeable difference as far as driving, and
probably won't present any clearance issues, About the only caution
would be in the vicinity of the lower spring perch of the rear strut.
This is the bottleneck as far as running larger/wider than stock tires
on most Soobies. Also, you may want a different spare tire to match

may -> do

 If you are buying the wheels with the tires on them, do try them on
first. If this isn't possible, try to estimate what effect the
additional 1/4 inch of height, and 1/2 inch of width will have. If
this gets the rubber uncomfortably close to the strut (say, closer
than 1/4 inch or so), proceed with caution. You can get wheel spacers
that will move the rim out the thickness of the spacer. They're not
expensive, but 1/4 inch is about as much as you can do before needing
longer studs. Also, Subaru wheels are hub-centric, so you will want
spacers that replicate the hub shoulder for best results.

And then you _do_ realize that low profile 17 inch tires are twice (or
more) the cost of the 70 series 14's . . .

Tires:

On the plus side the summer rubber selection is so much wider (if you
care)
on 17 inchers. I doubt you can get semi-slicks 185/70/14 even in this
day
and age. I think 55 ratio is the watershed for decent summer tires
and starting from 60 you mostly get high mileage garbage.
I guess people who care drive WRXes of various ilk though there
is a pervert such as a myself every once in a while.

Just a while guess though to defend my seeming perversion:
with 17" and short sidewalls you are most likely limiting yourself to
Winter Performance tire category which (disclaimer: pure speculation
based on the test results I saw) is only a tad better than all
seasons.
With 14" 70 aspect ratio winters you do get a decent ice&snow
(studdable too) tire selection and studed tires is what I run
on my rear wheel driver now. It's hardly a snow plow with them
but I do get around without needing a yank out of a snow trap this
season.

Spacers:

My uneducated guess (correct me if I'm wrong) is that spacers
in the wheels would put extra strain on wheel bearings.

Other than the lack of highlight on the tire selection aspect
excellent post Steve, very thorough. Thanks.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

I have a 94 legacy with Tires that are 185/70R14. I saw a good deal on
some 05' Legacy Rims that are 215/45R17. Would I be able to just put
them on my 94 legacy? Or is the size to different?
Thanks!

According to this tire size calculator, the new wheels will be 1.7% too
large compared to the old wheels, so at when you're going 60mph on the
speedo, you might actually be going 61mph.

Tire size calculator
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

A second issue would be if the width of those tires will actually fit
within those wheel wells. Typically, it's best to find out what the
largest width wheels that were available for your model and year, and
you may be able to exceed that size by upto 10% as a general thumbrule.
So if the largest tires available on your car were 205's, then 10% would
mean 225's. Anything bigger might rub on the inner wheel wells when
turning sharply.

Yousuf Khan

 

[volleybiggs]

Does anyone where I could find the max size of tire I can put on a 94
Legacy without the tire rubbing on the struts etc? I looked at the
books that came with it and they does not say.

 

[johninky]

http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp?action=submit&reset=yes

Need to take into consideration the width of the wheels and the
offsets. Offset is measured from the centerline of the wheel. Lots
of websites out there that explain wheel offset/back spacing/effects
of increasing wheel width.

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

Does anyone where I could find the max size of tire I can put on a 94
Legacy without the tire rubbing on the struts etc? I looked at the
books that came with it and they  does not say.

you could try the tire/brake (w'ever) forum at www.nasioc.com

 

[Squat n'Dive]

http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp?action=submit&reset=yes

Need to take into consideration the width of the wheels and the
offsets.  Offset is measured from the centerline of the wheel.  Lots
of websites out there that explain wheel offset/back spacing/effects
of increasing wheel width.

In the day and age when 10k+ results in response to a google search
are not atypical it's so much better to include the specific links
rather than leaving a rather vogue "lots of websites" up in the air