Kidcobalt Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 I have a 1998 Legacy wagon with the stock alloy 14 wheels and the standard 185/70/14 tires. Someone has for sale a set of Subaru alloy wheels (5 lug 100mm pattern) that are 15 inch with 205/70/15 tires mounted on the wheels. I'd like the approximately one inch more ground clearance that would come with this swap, I know the speedometer will read slow after the swap, and there would be a slight loss in acceleration because of the taller tires, but is there anything else I should think or worry about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 Without adding a lift kit, I think the larger 15" wheels are going to rub suspension parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidcobalt Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 That's one possibility--although the 205/70/15 tires were the standard size for the base model Outbacks of the same vintage. Outbacks have different struts than Legacies, I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 Nothing wrong with switching to 15" wheels, just those tires are too tall. I tried putting outback wheels/tires on my 96 legacy and they didn't really fit well. Rubbed bad on turning, etc. They work for the outback because that's lifted from the factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 (edited) your speedometer will probably be *more* accurate with larger tires. they usually read low from the factory anyway, so a small increase usually pushes you closer to reality. my friend had stock WRX wheels/tires on his 1997 Legacy L, i would think they should fit fine on a legacy wagon. my 1997 Legacy LSi sits really low to the ground, i've never seen a legacy with less clearance around the tire (that had good struts ) it came with 15's and 16's fit on it just fine. if it's a stock subaru size tire i'd be surprised if it didn't fit. Edited April 30, 2011 by grossgary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 14 to 16 rims doesn't mean anything...it's the overall diameter of the tire. 185/70/14 and 205/55/16, or even 225/50/16 are the same outside diameter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 search is your friend, watch this: there's a guy running those 205/70/15's in this thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=81017 16" stock subaru *tires* are slightly bigger, but i still stand corrected, i thought he was referring to stock subaru sized 15" tires and didn't notice the numbers. i assumed subaru wheels came off a stock subaru vehicle? i know that's crazy. can you ask the previous owner what vehicle it came off of? tire size calculator: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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