club.liberty.asn.au

Hi guys,

time for a new set of tyres, i was just wondering if 225/45/18 fit on the stock rims B Spec? i tihnk the rim size is 18 x 7 if i'm not mistaken.

I'm planning to get Bridgestone Adrenalin (225/45R18), any one had any experience with them? or any other tyre suggestions?

Thanks

don't know if this will help, but i've got 225/45/17s on my 17*7 wheels.

I think it's 225/40/18 you need to replace the 215/45/18 OEM tyre. You'll get a bit more sidewall flex when cornering, but you'll save money on the OEM RE050A's.

I don't have any experience with the Adrenalins. Other on this forum have recommended it as a good tyre on Liberty 17" rims.

Cheers,
deucer.

Yup. Agree with deucer in that 225/40-18 is the way to go. But 225 should just barely fit the 7" width.

I know a well regarded and well respected WRX enthusiast who has put 265 tyres on a 7" rim "without any adverse effect".

And this is what Michael South had to say about wider tyres on 7" rims...

..."I put some 235's 45's 17's on a 7" rim on a GC8, cause they were cheap, had 215's before, wouldn't say it was worse, more corner grip, squirm is nothing".

And if you are going to take anyones advice, it would be Michaels...he is a man who knows.

235s??!! woah, i thought that would be pushing.

If i get 225's there a much larger range of tyres. looks like subaru didn't think about this when fitting on 18" rims on the liberty.

thanks for your feedback guys!

evol-98 wrote:I know a well regarded and well respected WRX enthusiast who has put 265 tyres on a 7" rim "without any adverse effect".

Hmm, just because you can doesn't mean you should. Changing the overall diameter of your wheel can effect the speedometer accuracy as well as, I've been told, the ABS system because that's calibrated around the factory wheel diameter.

But why do something that's not common practice and take a risk on your expensive vehicle? If you're gonna be that cheap on tires might as well go back to 15's because 15" tires should be cheap as.

stevey wrote:looks like subaru didn't think about this when fitting on 18" rims on the liberty.

I'd suggest Subaru thought well and good about what size tyre to fit to the 18". They'll have a contract with Bridgestone for tyres. Fitting an uncommon size OEM tyre will help to bring repeat business as vehicle owners opt for the same size tyre when they come to replace them.... and find there's very little else to choose from!

The 215, being more narrow than a 225 say, will have less rolling resistance with a corresponding improvement on fuel consumption.

215 only needs a 7" wide rim. 225 is better with a 7.5" rim. There's a cost saving right there with a 7" rim. Half an inch of alloy from how many millions of rims? It all adds up.

If fitting 225/40'18's, note that the rolling diameter of the fitted tyre is marginally less than that of the 215/40/18 (from memory).

Cheers,
Deucer.

Stevey,

Just make sure that your car is still legal with those tyres fitted to your wheels.

Also, you should seek some advice as to what would happen if your car was involved in an accident. Insurance companies have this horrible habit of trying to find any way they can to get out of paying. If they can prove that your car was no longer legal, and therefore unroadworthy, then your policy may be in doubt.

And then I may be totally of track and none of this will be an issue.

Good decision by Subaru for their business but not for us as consumers.

I'm gonna stick to the factory size

Thanks for your feedback guys

stevey wrote:Good decision by Subaru for their business but not for us as consumers.

Touche Stevey!

hey guys, noob here. Has anyone used 225/45R18's on a Spec B before? do they fit under the car without scrubbing?

Not overly keen on my options with 215/45R18, being the expensive RE050A's, not so easily found (in my online searches at least) PZero Rosso's, Yokohama Advan V103's (about which I have heard some wear comments), Yokohama A10A's (can get cheaper but apparently not so good) and some other mid range tyres from the major brands.

Pretty keen on the Falken 452's if the 225/45 will fit

Cheers guys

smythie wrote:hey guys, noob here. Has anyone used 225/45R18's on a Spec B before? do they fit under the car without scrubbing?

Not overly keen on my options with 215/45R18, being the expensive RE050A's, not so easily found (in my online searches at least) PZero Rosso's, Yokohama Advan V103's (about which I have heard some wear comments), Yokohama A10A's (can get cheaper but apparently not so good) and some other mid range tyres from the major brands.

Pretty keen on the Falken 452's if the 225/45 will fit

Cheers guys

225 / 40's is what you want mate. That way the rolling radious stays the same.

Could never understand why Subaru put 215 / 45's on the 17's, but then put 215 / 45's on the 18's! Do the Spec B's or TB STI's have different diff &/or gear ratios? To the best of my knowledge, they are now putting the 225 /40's on the TB STI's (MY08 +).

Just for info, I'm running the Spec B rims on my car with 225 / 40 rubber & as my tyre guy put it "The rolling radious is a bee's dick out when compared to your 17's"

stevey wrote:I'm gonna stick to the factory size

I wouldn't worry about it stevey. It's a common tyre change for the Libs running 18's. The rolling diameter on the 225/40/18 is marginally smaller than the 215/45/18 from memory and certainly well within the 10% allowable tolerance. So it's a legitimate change.

In fact, was flicking through the current Hot4's mag on the rack today and noticed they upgraded a Liberty GT with 17's to the STI Enkei 18's and shod them with Sumitomo 225/40 tyres. Big performance improvement on the standard Bridgestone 17 tyres they reckoned. But I dont think they'd match the Bridgestone RE050A standard fitment on the SpecB 18's.

Cheers,
Deucer.

Haha. I was going to scan that article in and post it up for discussion.