Has anyone noticed how little you can turn the wheel before it hits the frame,ect.

[wallace18]

I was wondering if my brake and clutch lines would be in the way of the wheel and tire. I noticed that turning the drivers wheel to the left it hit the frame and alum. before the rack stop. It seems like this would cause problems down the road. Am I worrying for nothing? anyone else run into this? I am having to jump arouns so much on the build due to B/O stuff. Maybe I am too soon to worry?

[RM1SepEx]

I'll toss a wheel on and check it out later this afternoon...

[wallace18]

Heres a photo of what I saw.
DSCF0003.jpg

[Mechie3]

What tire size? You should probably measure the actual diameter too not just calculate it. Is your alignment and ride height set? What control arms?

Just asking so we can compare and compile more info.

[wallace18]

225/40-18. 2002 WRX sedan steel LCA's. It does not matter on ride height or the align. The wheel will hit no matter where it is at.

[Frank818]

225/40/18 are probably around 25".
FFR recommended 215/45/17 are 24-24.5".

How bad are you touching the frame? I mean does it block there or you could still force it to turn more?

[RM1SepEx]

good call! 205-55-16 stock tires and rims from my 05 WRX donor, powder coated semi gloss black. Made custom aluminum centers, they will be PC black this week and laser etched to remove the PC in the Factory Five round logo

I have... less than 1/8 clearance at full lock. Fresh tires... might kiss the edge!

DSCF0037.JPGDSCF0039.JPG

[JeromeS13]

I can't tell from the pictures, but it looks like the car is in the air?

[RM1SepEx]

yes, still on jackstands, waiting for axles before I tighten up the rear suspension and make her a roller

[JeromeS13]

That may or may not affect the clearance... It only really matters with full weight on the wheels. Also, where your adjustments on the upper control arms?

[RM1SepEx]

not aligned... so who knows... Again w/o axles I'll be taking the rear apart so it isn't tightened. I'm pretty sure I won't have a problem. I have slightly larger DIA rear wheel/tires 225 - 55 - 16

I just tossed a wheel on.

[Xusia]

That seems REALLY close - TOO close. That can't be how it's designed. Has anyone contacted FFR, and if so what did they say?

[wallace18]

I guess this is my fault for jumping the gun almost a year ago buying wheels and tires. I thought if I bought a set that fit my year donor they would fit the 818. My bad. I guess I'll sell them and buy the recommended sizes.

[Silvertop]

I guess this is my fault for jumping the gun almost a year ago buying wheels and tires. I thought if I bought a set that fit my year donor they would fit the 818. My bad. I guess I'll sell them and buy the recommended sizes.

To avoid jumping the gun a second time -- I would suggest getting a little more information before moving to sell your wheels/tires. Your overall diameter is only a couple of tenths of an inch more than stock Subaru. It is probable, (or at least possible) that your existing selection will work.

[RM1SepEx]

still too early to see where they end up. I've done zip to align anything yet!

[fateo66]

I guess this is my fault for jumping the gun almost a year ago buying wheels and tires. I thought if I bought a set that fit my year donor they would fit the 818. My bad. I guess I'll sell them and buy the recommended sizes.

One other option you have is to buy the 04-06 STI lower control arms. Those arms offset the lower ball joint forward giving you more caster but also shift the centerline of the hub forward.

[JeromeS13]

You can also do the caster mod, as documented on NASIOC, instead of buying new arms.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1900666

[RM1SepEx]

I have 04-06 STI control arms

[wallace18]

My tires are 24 1/2" in diameter. Maybe my offset is wrong? How do you correctly measure the offset? If the STI arms have the same taper balljoint?

DSCF0002.jpg

[JeromeS13]

Maybe my offset is wrong? How do you correctly measure the offset?
DSCF0002.jpg

You look at the back face of the wheel. It should be stamped in the casting.

[wallace18]

I found ET48 stamped and after looking up how to correctly measure offset. I found I do have 48mm offset. I added shims to 40 mm and it still hits. I am wondering about my LCA mounting. I have a 2002 WRX sedan donor. So I mounted the LCA as is said in the manual. However in pictures I see metal arms mounted in the outer holes. Nothing is said if the LCA in the photos are sedan or wagon. I sent photos and question to ask a ffr tech and will await an answer. My photo is the pass side FLCA.

81825.jpg81824.jpg

[JeromeS13]

Your front mounting is correct, per the manual:

There are 3 mounting locations to choose from, the top hole is for track ride height, the inner lower
hole is for WRX sedan control arms, and the outer hole is for 2.5RS and Wagon control arms.

Your rears also appear to be correct:

As with the front bushing the inner set of holes is for the WRX sedan arms and the outer is for the 2.5RS and
Wagon.

[longislandwrx]

wait until you have the body on before swapping tires... you may end up wanting to run some wheel spacers which may give you a bunch more articulation.

[wallace18]

Yea I guess I'll wait till I get farther along to do anything with the tires and wheels. I am about a at stopping point due to lack of parts. So much is back ordered. It will do me good to step away for a while.

[Silvertop]

This thread is becoming disturbing. Has anyone approached FFR about this issue yet?

[wallace18]

Erik has the same problem. I am sending a message to FFR tech today.

[wallace18]

Well I got good news and bad news. The good news is I can use my rims. The bad news is my front tires are the wrong size. I guess I'll just get new fronts and go from there. Jim told me they tried my tire size and had the same problem. The Diameter needs to be 24" or smaller on the front and not to wide. He suggested 215/35/18 fronts for me. Thanks Jim.

[Frank818]

So about 215/45/17 if using 17 inches. Which if I remember is FFR's recommended size.

Now for those using ABS (I may be one of them) and wanting some kick *** tires in the behind, if what people say is true that ABS systems usually allow wheels to roll at a slightly different speed before engaging, those of us using 25" tires in the rear and 24 up front should be ok as 1" on 24 is a bit more than 4%.

Is my reasoning theoretically right?

[JAubin]

A 215/40/17 would be the <24" option. 215/45/17 is 24.6" I don't have any information regarding ABS function, but a 1" difference seems like it would be significant. That represents about 2.5 mph difference in speed between the two at 65 mph speed. So probably not a deal killer for speedometer usage, does anyone have any info about the Race Logic setup, if that would be able to account for wheel diameter differences? Almost tempted to look at staggered setups with a 16" front/17" rear now.

[longislandwrx]

yuck, those are some lousy tire options.

I'm going to make a 225/40R18 work, I'll let you know when and how I do it.

[Xusia]

24" diameter?!? OMG. That is going to seriously limit tire selection. For anyone concerned about having enough side wall to avoid rim damage, that almost certainly means 17" wheels (or smaller) as well.

FFR, I'm a bit disappointed here...

[Jim Schenck]

Optimum tire sizes are 215/40/17 or 215/35/18 front and 245/35/18 or 255/35/18 rear. The 255 rears you have to be a little careful on the brand because some brands (hoosier for sure) run pretty wide and are really more like 275s.

The 215 might sound narrow in the front but there is only about 750lbs on the whole front end, and manual steering. 225s may look nicer but the 215/255 combo is the best driving set-up for both the steering feel and handling balance, and with the wheel openings being staggered they don't end up looking tiny in there like it sounds like they might.

[Evan78]

A 215/40/17 would be the <24" option. 215/45/17 is 24.6" I don't have any information regarding ABS function, but a 1" difference seems like it would be significant. That represents about 2.5 mph difference in speed between the two at 65 mph speed. So probably not a deal killer for speedometer usage, does anyone have any info about the Race Logic setup, if that would be able to account for wheel diameter differences? Almost tempted to look at staggered setups with a 16" front/17" rear now.

It looks like it'll accommodate different sizes just fine. They support different number of pulses for each axle (front and rear) as well as different tire sizes. On one of their detail pages, you can find this screenshot:

software-wheel-chanel-setup.jpg

[Frank818]

215/40/17 as optimal?

That is strange, there was post in another thread saying

FFR recommendation
Front maximum wheel width and offset: 8 inch wide with 40mm offset
Front maximum tire width: 215mm
Rear maximum wheel width and offset: 9.5 inch wide with 40mm offset
Rear maximum tire width: 255 (some brands are wider and may only fit a 245)
Front / Rear optimum sizes: 215/45/17 Front and 255/35/18 Rear"

Maybe not word to word, but close. Maybe a typo and should have read 215/40/17...
I plan on targetting the optimal setup, just unsure now which of the 2 is optimal. loll

Now on my personal brand, the Yoko Advan Neova AD08:

215/40/17 = 23.7" dia
215/45/17 = 24.6"
255/35/18 = 25", with section width of 10.1" (9.9" thread)
265/35/18 = 25.3", with section width of 10.7" (10.3" thread)

Hoosier R6
255/35/18 = 24.8", with section width of 10.8" (10.3" thread)

I would logically opt for F215/45/17 -- R255/35/18

[Silvertop]

Well, it looks like those of us that are planning on using the stock 16" X 6.5" Subie wheels will still be OK. But the front 205/55's that would have been used will probably have to change to 205/50's to get down to around 24 inch diameter. Rears will still be fine at 225/50 which will keep the rear diameter at 24.9 and keep the speedometer accurate. Car's going to have about a 1 inch rake, though. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing........

[Mechie3]

Just seems odd they would keep the design envelope so tight.

[Xusia]

Car's going to have about a 1 inch rake, though. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing........

Actually, it will be less than a 1/2" rake. The ~0.9 inch difference is diameter, not radius...

[C.Plavan]

Optimum tire sizes are 215/40/17 or 215/35/18 front and 245/35/18 or 255/35/18 rear. The 255 rears you have to be a little careful on the brand because some brands (hoosier for sure) run pretty wide and are really more like 275s.

The 215 might sound narrow in the front but there is only about 750lbs on the whole front end, and manual steering. 225s may look nicer but the 215/255 combo is the best driving set-up for both the steering feel and handling balance, and with the wheel openings being staggered they don't end up looking tiny in there like it sounds like they might.

That SEVERELY LIMITS DOT race tire selection on the fronts. Do a search for race tires in that size......

Street cars will be OK with tire selection, but the guys that plan on racing on DOT R's are going to get stuck with limited sizes- Which in turn hurts us with racing tire contingencies. That sucks. I'm going to find a way to fit at least a 225/45 in there.

[Erik W. Treves]

Erik has the same problem. I am sending a message to FFR tech today.

you forget...I have the same problem but I was quite clear...I did not follow the recommended FFR tire size selection...I will clearance the aluminum and make it work...I am not lacking much....again...keep the alarms off...follow Jim's recommendations and you will be fine...I have said up front I am not stock so to group me with the norm or a guy that "follows directions" is an incorrect assumption..I like exploring the edge..sorry for being so blunt...

[DodgyTim]

The electronic manual that I downloaded from FFR says

Front maximum wheel width and offset: 8 inch wide with 40mm offset
Front maximum tire width: 215mm
Rear maximum wheel width and offset: 9.5 inch wide with 40mm offset
Rear maximum tire width: 255 (some brands are wider and may only fit a 245)
Front / Rear optimum sizes: 215/45/17 Front and 255/35/18

I've been looking at good dry tires, Hankook Ventus RS-3 and BFG G-Force Rival.
The Hankooks in the narrow sizes are all about 25 inch, ranging from 24.9 to 25.1 inch
The BFG Rival is 24.7 inch for the smallest 17 inch, the 215/45/17

Checking tirerack for extreme performance summer in 215/40/17, gives only the Dunlop Direzza and the Yokohama Advan AD08, which are both about 23.7 or 23.8 OD.

Guess it was a good idea to hold off for a while