club.liberty.asn.au

Hey there all,

I'm considering purchasing/acquiring a set of Subaru Liberty Spec B Wheels. (Only if they will work that is )

Some Issue I see that may happen:
-Rubbing in wheel well
-Decreased Handling
-Decreased Smoothness of overall ride
-Overall Just any issues involved with going from a 16" rims to a 18" rims

If I did add the wells I've heard that i'd need to add a 15mm Spacer to counter the offset.

Current Wheels on OB: 16" Subaru SG Forrester Wheels

Fitment should be fine as regards offset and rubbing, but expect somewhat sharper handling and more nvh due to the lower profile tyres required.
Stock 18s use 215 40 18s or similar....

I remember having a similar discussion with BillyCorgi about this and apparently they wouldn't work without some sort of adapter due to the suspension differences between the Liberty and the Outback. I'll let him explain the reasons why as he is the expert.

Thank you for the introduction, LittleCorgi.
However, this is an OLD post?

Standard 16 inch Outback tyres were 215/60 R16 for a 664.4mm rolling diameter
Going up to a Spec B 18 inch wheel your close options are
225/45 R18 for a 659.7mm rolling diameter
205/50 R18 for a 662.2mm rolling diameter

The Outback (and Forester, etc) run wheels with 48mm offset.
The Liberty (as will be the Spec B wheels) run 55mm offset.
So running Liberty will decrease the track width of the car.

I explained to the LittleCorgi previously that where the Outback and Liberty share the same suspension components and run the same track width, the wheel offset on the Outback is different.
The extra ride height of the Outback causes further articulation of the lower suspension arms, so the different wheel offset compensates to give the same, common track width for the two families of cars.
Employing a spacer when fitting Liberty wheel would maintain the track width, however spacers are not really legal.

So, if you fit Liberty wheels to your Outback you will be narrowing the track by 14mm (2 times 55 minus 48).
The extra width that you pick-up with the wider wheel will go inwards.
If fitting Liberty wheels I would not go wider than 225/45 R18.
I am running these on my Spec B and they just clear the struts.

Ben, we do not know your location?
You may need to check with your local motor department.
Advice I have received from the NSW RMS is that the rolling diameter cannot be increased greater than 15mm above the largest tyre on the vehicle's tyre placard and may not be reduced beyond 15mm less than the smallest tyre on the vehicle's tyre placard. Different states may have different methods of interpreting this guide.
Good luck.