FAQ about wheel & tyre sizes, and offsets.

Detailed descriptions of how to do things to your Liberty.

FAQ about wheel & tyre sizes, and offsets.

Postby Ric » Fri Oct 13, 2006 7:58 pm

I saw this on legacygt.com a long time ago.
This is such a useful post, I'm copying it here also for general reference.

From: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4426

Xenonk wrote:I finally compiled the most completed info I can come up with for wheel and tire fitment questions that everyone has. I mapped this entire post out so that you can pick a rim size you want and the rest will follow, including tire size.. I worked out this post so that you guys can decide on a tire size and it will point to you of what rim specs you need to fit onto the car.. as for brands and types of wheels and tires, well, that's a totally different thread on its own.


-Bolt pattern is 5x100mm, NOT 5x114.3. Only the 2005 Impreza WRX STi is currently running 5x114.3mm. Stock GT wheel width is 7", as stamped on the back of the spokes of your stock rim. 2.5i & OBXT, and OBs will need confirmation.

-Center bore must have to be 56mm or larger (if the bore is larger than 56mm, use hub centric rings to fit properly to your wheel's center bore).

-Lug nuts threading are 12mmx1.25mm. Open or Closed End lugs will depend on the mounting thickness of your rim, usually, closed ends (like the stock ones) are fine.

-Here we go, here are your choices for rim widths (regardless of it being 17", 18", 19" or 20" rims):

{offset in BOLD are the closest possible offset to OEM's scrub radius, you'll notice that once you go past 8" wide rims, you will run out of room on the inboard side to put stuff any more of the wheel/tire to maintain the OEM scrub radius.. 8" and up will increase positive scrub radius}

6.5" (+34mm to +60mm offset, +55) *for 2.5i only
7.0" (+37mm to +57mm offset, +55)
7.5" (+40mm to +54mm offset, +55)
8.0" (+43mm to +51mm offset, +53)
8.5" (+45mm to +48mm offset, +45) *will need to roll the fenders if tires are wider than 255
9.0" (+43mm to +45mm offset, +43) *will need to roll the fenders if tires are wider than 255
9.5" (+38mm to +40mm offset, +38) *will need to roll the fenders if tires are wider than 255

and it also depends on what kind and size of tire you want to run as well (and that can get messy). But to be on the safe side, here is the tire widths you can put on each rim:

195mm = 6.5", 7" and 7.5"
205mm = 6.5", 7" and 7.5"
215mm = 6.5", 7", 7.5" and 8"
225mm = 7", 7.5", and 8"
235mm = 8", 8.5", and 9"
245mm = 8", 8.5", and 9"
255mm = 8.5", 9", and 9.5"
265mm = 8.5", 9", and 9.5"
275mm = 9" and 9.5"
285mm = 9" and 9.5"

Once you decide on the rim size, the tire width you want to run, here are your final tire choices. Note that not all tires are built the same way, so sometimes you'll find two different tire models with the same size (225/45/17), but one can fit on a 7" rim, while the other one will need a 7.5". You'll have to look around the manufacturers' specs on sectional width of the tire.. normally you want your rim width be no more than 1.5" less than the tire's sectional width. For example, if you have a 8" wide rim, your tire's sectional width shouldn't be more than 9.5" or you'll have to deal with the flex on the tire sidewalls. Most performance driving set ups are 1" difference (ie. a 8" wide rim with 9" wide tire). Below I listed for you by rim diameter of which I recommend running with some notes on each tire with notes to go along with them as well:

16 in. rims (for 2.5i) only:

195/60/16 (great for snow rally or snow use)
205/55/16 (OEM sizing which is also good for some non-tarmac surfaces)
215/55/16 (oversized for the rim protection, but very sloppy sidewall handling)
215/50/16 (wider footprint used for more daily driving without harsh gas consumption)
225/50/16 (great for autocrossing, still usable for daily driving all year round)

17 in. rims:

205/40/17 (only for SUPER FAST acceleration and torque; for autocrossing only, do not use for daily driving)
205/45/17 (only for FAST acceleration and torque; for autocrossing only , do not use for daily driving)
205/50/17 (good for snow rally)
215/45/17 (stock)
225/45/17 (good autocross performance tire size for gearing, more mph per gear)
235/40/17 (good autocross performance tire size for torque, more acceleration)
245/40/17 (good autocross performance tire size for traction, will need to have a flatter alignment to make use of the grip)
255/40/17 (maximum grip, good for track days, will need a 9" rim to make use of the contact patch and a good alignment as well).

18 in. rims:

215/35/18 (only good for autocrossing use, do not use for daily driving)
225/35/18 (only good for autocrossing use, do not use for daily driving)
215/40/18 (uncommon tire size, close to OEM overall tire diameter, good for daily driving)
225/40/18 (typical sizing, most popular size, GREAT for daily driving)
235/40/18 (very large, but great for pot-hole city driving, may need fender rolling)
235/35/18 (rare size, but closest to OE tire sizing to keep the spedometer reading correctly)
245/35/18 (common autocross, performance size, very good for daily driving)
255/35/18 (very good daily driving size, even better on the track)
265/35/18 (very good daily driving use, but the car wont be able to use all 265mm of tread for the track)
275/30/18 (tallest tire you can mount without fender clearing issues on a 2" lowered car if you get the right offset)
285/30/18 (aka, the "STREETS OF DREAM" setup... the widest you can go.. this is the next tire size I am going for and a rim to match it)

18 in. rims (for Spec B. applications specific):

225/40/18 (common tire to use and gives a better acceleration since it's 0.5" shorter)
235/40/18 (rare size to find, but near stock height for proper gearing)
245/40/18 (popular tire size for the larger cars)

19 in. rims:

225/35/19 (common typical sizing for 19" for our cars)
235/35/19 (tallest tire you can mount without fender clearing issues on a 2" lowered car if you get the right offset)
245/30/19 (rare size, but also tallest tire you can mount without fender clearing issues on a 2" lowered car)

Use these at your own risk, but to my knowledge on a lowered car with a small-spring perch type coilover, it should work and ride fine. The most you'll probably have to do to the fenders is to just roll the lip of it in to give yourself another 5mm of clearance. I hope this helps.


also, there's a good way to check various tyre sizes here: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
Last edited by Ric on Sat Sep 15, 2007 1:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Kosti » Tue Oct 17, 2006 5:44 pm

This is very good data collated by Xenonk!

Nice find RIC
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Postby LIBER8ED » Tue Oct 17, 2006 6:17 pm

very usefull information indeed, seeing as tho i am in the process of having my eye on the market for a set of 19"s.. just dont want it too look stupid, and look like it is in need for lowering.

good work trendsetters
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Postby Mano™ » Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:11 pm

haha yeah i'm thinking 19's as well... but we shall c ;)

19's fit nicely and look better.. 20's look out of place and yeah.. yukky on some of the wheels pplz try fitting lol :roll:
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Postby OOB40 » Thu Oct 19, 2006 3:39 pm

Thanx for the info! :P
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Postby Akwoo » Thu Oct 19, 2006 4:07 pm

i think xenonk has changed this since i got my wheels, I got +45 offset on my car for 8.5 inch wide wheels and I think there is more room for the inside of the wheel. I think I recall he had it at +43 as maximum before.
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Postby DreamarT » Sat Sep 15, 2007 10:03 pm

hmm very interesting, good info.
my gx wheels i have on my lx are 14x5.5jj pretty much same as stock ones just my stockys had 185/70/14's & the gx ones are 195/60/14's
very hard to find in a good brand think mine are called JINTONG there quite good as well car has alot more grip in wet than the stock wheels.
great info on this forum.
cheers
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Postby CJ1177 » Sat Dec 15, 2007 10:47 pm

this is a good offset calc& tyers size calc
Or try this one tyer size calc
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Postby ChrisGT » Tue Feb 05, 2008 8:37 pm

Wheel weights,also knocked off from legacygt.com

http://www.wheelweights.net/
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Postby overl0ad » Tue Feb 05, 2008 9:31 pm

visual representation.

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Postby tangcla » Wed Feb 06, 2008 7:14 am

I'm running 7.5" +42... :P
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Re: FAQ about wheel & tyre sizes, and offsets.

Postby blacktop™ » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:53 am

does anyone know the offset of standard MY07-09 GT specB wheels? i know the size is 18x7 im just after the offset?
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Re: FAQ about wheel & tyre sizes, and offsets.

Postby tangcla » Tue Jan 05, 2010 12:19 pm

blacktop™ wrote:does anyone know the offset of standard MY07-09 GT specB wheels? i know the size is 18x7 im just after the offset?

Offset is +55 for the stock wheels.
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Re: FAQ about wheel & tyre sizes, and offsets.

Postby blacktop™ » Tue Jan 05, 2010 12:29 pm

thanks for super fast reply!!
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Re:

Postby GTB Liberty » Sun Apr 25, 2010 11:22 am

overl0ad wrote:visual representation.

Image


Further help with offsets:

http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp
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