HELP! 15" Wheels on 2003 Outback?????

[danube]

Howdy folks.


I am forced to consult net-wisdom. NO ONE, not even my local Subaru
dealer, can
tell me if I can put 15" wheels on my 2003 Legacy Outback Limited. All
they suggest or
say is that I use 16" wheels. Most of the net retailers (discount tire,
the tirerack...) have
been useless.

I would like to put snow tires on a new set of rims. If I use 15"
rims, I can use a thinner,
taller tire, and this is Ideal. But will the rims fit? I have 13/32"
between the brake calipers
and the insides of my 16" rims. If anyone can tell me the ID of a
Subaru 15" rim, this will
allow me to determine if the wheels will fit or not.

So, if anyone has done this, please let me know (and what brand or
type of wheel you used).
If anyone can measure the ID of a stock 15" subaru wheel for me, that
will also help
tremendously.

For the record: Subaru wheels for the 2003 Limited: $170 on the net
(Auburn Subaru, WA).
but Allsubaru.com has 15" wheels for much much less ($<100). The
difference will allow me to
buy a few spare tires!!

Thanks in advance for any help.

Danube

 

[Greg]

15" wheels will NOT fit the fronts. I just traded in my 98 for an 04 OB and
my 5 year old snow tires won't fit. They hit the brake caliper. Tire Rack is
out of take off wheels for Subaru although they have (ugly) steel wheels.
Found a set of 97 GT wheels on E-Bay and I'm going to fit up some Blizzaks.
WRX wheels would be nice but due to popularity are pricey. I don't like
aftermarket wheels, just never trusted the fit finish or structural
integrity.

 

[Alpha Male]

I'm not a trainer Subaru mechanic, but I'd say you can. Just buy a pair of
those generic black rims, buy some wheel covers, and throw your snow tires
on. Make sure that with the 15" rim, you get the right tires size to ensure
that the outer diameter is still the same.

The main thing to keep in mind is the bolt pattern. The Outback is likely a
5x100 bolt pattern, meaning that it's is five bolts evenly spaced in a
circular fashion with a diamete of 100 millimeters (OK Americans... can you
figure out what a millimeter is?

I bought some 16" snow tires ON rims from a Volkswagen Beetle, I was able to
do this cause I took the time to investigate that bolt pattern and learned
that the VW Beetle was exactly the same as my '96 LEgacy LSi.

While Subaru's are unique cars, don't listen to people who try to tell you
you need special rims or tires cause it's AWD or anything of the sort. A
tire is a tire is a tire, as long as it fits, it should be alright.

That being said, here are some useful links that I used when finding my snow
tires:

This link will let you enter your stock tires size, and then compare it to
various other tires sizes to see what the outcome diamter/speedometer offest
will be. Invaluable in your serach for new tires:
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

This link is a refence of wheel bolt patterns. Subaru's are almost all 5x100
(anything after like 1990 that is). BUt some models WILL be different.
Just be thorough and you will be fine:
http://www.ronalusa.com/cars.html

Enjoy,

 

[Stu Hedith]

I think the concern was 15" rims fitting over the front calipers. The
only way to know is to check and it sounds like Greg did. I've looked
for rims in the past and Subaru had a unique offset to their rims. Does
the Beetle use the same offset as the Subarus?

Stu

 

[John M.]

The main thing to keep in mind is the bolt pattern. The Outback is likely
a

5x100 bolt pattern, meaning that it's is five bolts evenly spaced in a
circular fashion with a diamete of 100 millimeters (OK Americans... can you
figure out what a millimeter is?

Certainly, 100 millimeters is around 4 inches (25.4 mm = 1 inch)

While Subaru's are unique cars, don't listen to people who try to tell you
you need special rims or tires cause it's AWD or anything of the sort. A
tire is a tire is a tire, as long as it fits, it should be alright.

I think it is silly to mess around with something so basic as the wheel
diameters, unless you are doing some sort of hot rodding, etc. We are
talking about basic car stability, safety, and reliablity. If you want to
mess around with something like this, that's your decision, but I would not.
Regards,
John