Will these wheels rub on my Impreza???
Continuing off from yesterday’s wheel offsets discussion, since the vast majority of our clients are Subaru Impreza owners, it only made sense to discuss wheel sizes and options that fit on the Impreza, and the potential problems that might arise. As mentioned yesterday, heels have to clear 3 main things in order for them not only to fit on the car, but also roll freely: fenders, suspension, and brakes. To add complexity to this, the wheel diameter, width, offset, and even spoke design come into play. For example, even though a wheel might have a diameter, width, and offset that works fine, another wheel with the same exact measurements but a different spoke design might not clear the brakes. And of course, this depends on the brakes being used, whether it’s the stock STI Brembos, a StopTech BBK, or the 06-07 WRX calipers. The good thing though, is that we’ve installed a number of different wheel and tire setups here at our shop, so we can speak with confidence on the combinations I’m about to mention. I’ll also include the necessary suspension and/or fender modifications required for these wheels to fit without any rubbing.
For 02-09 WRX and 04 STI
The WRX and 04 STI are plagued by the 5×100 bolt pattern. This pattern is the actual distance that the lugs are spread apart on the wheel hub. While you wouldn’t think that a 14.3mm difference between the WRX and STI is a big deal, as it turns out, the wider the wheel and the lower the offset you go, the more stress you put on the wheel bearings in this bolt pattern. For this reason, many of the wheel manufacturers that we carry do not even make certain wheel fitments for 5×100. Here are a few examples that we have personal experience with:
- Volk TE37 17×8 +44 5×100 (clears STI Brembos)
- Volk TE37 18×7.5 +48 5×100 (does NOT clear STI Brembos)
- Volk CE28N 17×7.5 +50 5×100 (does NOT clear STI Brembos)
- Volk CE28N 17×9 +43 5×100 (clears STI Brembos, may require fender rolling depending on tire)
- Volk CE28N 18×8.5 +44 5×100 (clears STI Brembos)
- Volk GT-V 18×8 +46 5×100 (clears STI Brembos)
- Volk GT-S 18×8 +43 5×100 (clears STI Brembos)
- Gram Lights 57 Maximum 18×8.5 +45 5×100 (clears STI Brembos)
- Gram Lights 57 Optimise 18×8.5 +43 5×100 (clears STI Brembos)
- 57Motorsport G07WT 17×9 +45 5×100 (clears STI Brembos)
- Advan TC-II 18×7.5 +48 5×100 (does NOT clear STI Brembos)
- Advan T6 18×8 +45 5×100 (clears STI Brembos)
- Advan RS 18×8.5 +48 5×100 (clears STI Brembos)
- Advan RC-II 18×7.5 +48 5×100 (does NOT clear STI Brembos)
- Prodrive PWRC1 18×7.5 +46 5×100 (clears STI Brembos)
- Prodrive GT1 18×7.5 +53 5×100 (does NOT clear STI Brembos)
- Enkei RPF1 17×8 +45 5×100 (clears STI Brembos)
- Work Emotion CR Kai 18×7.5 +42 5×100 (clears STI Brembos)
- Work Emotion XD9 18×8 +45 5×100
As far as tire sizes go, you are of course limited to the width of the wheels that are even available to 5×100. In most cases, you can run a 245/35/18 tire no problem without any rubbing issues, but you can also run a 245/40/18 if your car isn’t lowered very much. However, a 255 tire will definitely require fender rolling and/or cutting.
For 05-09 STI
The change to the 5×114.3 bolt pattern opened up a plethora of wheel options to STI owners. Since 5×114.3 is a more universally-available bolt pattern, just about every wheel manufacturer had varying sizes of wheels that would fit. 8 and 8.5 wide fitments were almost always safe without any risk of rubbing, so long as you didn’t roll with a 245 or larger tire size. A 235 tire size is almost a sure-fire perfect fit with no rubbing issues. However, with more wheels available in 9 and 9.5 inch widths, the trend moved toward these wheel and tire sizes, which almost always require fender modification. Specifically for 9.5 inch widths, coilovers were required for suspension clearance along with rear camber bolts in order for the wheels not to rub on the fenders, which of course needed to be rolled anyway. Again, a few examples, each of course clears STI Brembos:
- Volk CE28N 18×8.5 +52 5×114.3
- Volk RE30 18×8.5 +52 5×114.3
- Volk RE30 18×9 +50 5×114.3
- Volk TE37 18×8.5 +50 5×114.3
- Volk CE28N 18×9.5 +40 5×114.3 (requires fender rolling, coilovers, and rear camber bolts for 05-07 STI only)
- Gram Lights 57 Maximum 18×8.5 +45 5×114.3
- Gram Lights 57 Optimise 18×8.5 +43 5×114.3
- Gram Lights 57F 18×8.5 +45 5×114.3
- Advan RG-II 18×8 +45 5×114.3
- Advan RS 18×9 +45 5×114.3
- Advan RZ 18×9 +45 5×114.3
- Prodrive GT1 18×8.5 +53 5×114.3
- Prodrive GC05F 18×8.5 +44 5×114.3
- Prodrive GC010G 18×8.5 +46 5×114.3
- Prodrive GC05F +44 5×114.3 (requires fender rolling, coilovers, and rear camber bolts for 05-07 STI only)
- Prodrive GC010G 18×9.5 +44 5×114.3 (requires fender rolling, coilovers, and rear camber bolts for 05-07 STI only)
- Prodrive GC010E 18×9.5 +44 5×114.3 (requires fender rolling, coilovers, and rear camber bolts for 05-07 STI only)
- Prodrive GC06H 18×9.5 +44 5×114.3 (requires fender rolling, coilovers, and rear camber bolts for 05-07 STI only)
- Enkei NTO3+M 18×9.5 +40 5×114.3 (requires fender rolling, coilovers, and rear camber bolts for 05-07 STI only)\
- Work Emotion XD9 18×9 +43 5×114.3
- Work Emotion CR Kai 18×8.5 +43 5×114.3
Obviously, with wider wheels, you can run wider tires. As mentioned above, just about everything 255 and up will require fender rolling, but we’ve managed to fit 265/35/18 and 275/35/18 after fender and suspension modification as mentioned above. The Element Tuning Time Attack Race Car pictured above runs on Prodrive GC05Fs in 18×9.5 +44 5×114.3 and 275/35/18 Hankook race slicks.
For 08-09 STI
The wider track and fenders of the 08-09 STI definitely allow for even wider wheels and tires, with much less risk of rubbing. This is partially due to the fact that the 08-09 STI comes with 18×8.5 wheels straight from the factory. All of the above wheels fit perfectly fine on the 08-09 STI, however 265 and wider tire sizes may require fender rolling, depending on how low of an offset you decide to run. Generally speaking, staying with a 05-07 STI safe offset will not require any fender modification on the 08-09 STI, and any of the 18×8.5 wheel sizes can simply reuse the stock Dunlop 245/40/18 tires. Fitment examples:
- Volk CE28N 18×9 +35 5×114.3
- Volk RE30 18×9 +35 5×114.3
- Volk TE37 18×9.5 +40 5×114.3
- Volk TE37 19×9.5 +43 5×114.3
- Advan RS 18×9 +35 5×114.3
- Advan RZ 18×9 +35 5×114.3
- Work Emotion XD9 18×9 +38 5×114.3
- Work Emotion CR Kai 18×8.5 +37 5×114.3
Again, I should stress that these are all just examples that we’ve tried here at our shop, and there are very many other wheels and sizes that will fit just fine. Just remember to do your research and if all else fails, contact us and we’ll be happy to make a recommendation!
