Wide Tires..

[sponaugle]

I have this in my build thread, but I thought I would put it over here in the wheels and tire section in case someone else was looking to do some wider wheels/tires.

I got my wheels and tires today. I was going to get the Mira 398s like Kurt did, but the 18x8.5s are on back order. I called Luke at TireRack and they had the Enkei RFP1s. Since I am planning on doing some reasonable power I wanted to be able to run a larger tire. I also have the STI hubs so my wheels need to be in 5x114.3.

For the front I got the RFP1s in 18x8.5 +30 Offset with 255/35R18 tires.
For the rear I got the RFP1s in 18x10.5 +15 Offset with 295/30R18 tires.

Both front and rear are the same rotational size at 25.1 inches. I got R888s, which are a bit wide for their size. The front 255s are 10.2" wide and the rear 295s are 11.8" wide.

First, a picture:



Now to fitment. The rear wheels have a low offset, and combined with the wide tire make a perfect fit. (at least as far as the frame and suspension is concerned).

Here is the clearance on the rear wheel:





I could fit 305s if I wanted. Enough room on the inside with both the upper links and the lower trailing arm. (with the help of the VCP arms).

My guess is you could get away with +20 offset as well, which is what Kurt is doing. I think +25 offset would be a bit too close. at least with a 10.5" wheel.

On the front, I knew the +30 offset was going to be a problem. I bolted the wheels on without any spacers, and at full lock the wheel was into the bottom chassis brace. I added a 20mm Perrin spacer and it is just enough. A +10mm offset version of that wheel would be just what you need.

Here is the front tire at full lock:



This should be the worst case as the suspension is fully unloaded and the wheel at the lowest point (which brings it closer to the lower frame member).

On the top side there is a lot of room:



I assume I will have body work to do. I did measure the front and rear track. (outside edge of wheel to wheel). In the rear it is 73" and the front 71". My 02 WRX is 69". Without the 20mm space the fronts were noticeable closer.

So if you are looking to run some wide tires and wheels, you have some more data to start with.

Jeff