Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

98 Forester. Wheel spacers?


Recommended Posts

From having 28" Wildcat AT's on my Forester, there's maybe a 1/2" between the top of my tire and the bottom of my rear suspension mount. I know that it doesn't rub but I would like to space my tire a little further out to clear a little more of it and be able to fling mud better!:lol:

 

What is a good size spacer and good company to buy them from? A 1/4" or 1/2" may be good but I'm not experienced enough in Subaru's to know whats a good idea and not.

 

Thanks,

Garrett

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not that I want more clearance (sorry if I didn't mention it in the original post). I was morning that not having as much tire under it would be better. And I don't fab, no welding experience yet. I am going to take a shop class at my college and then take a class called "work on your car." It has a professor who is a retired tech that will help you with engine and body work. And I get 3 credits for it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can fab them up yourself or I think Paranoid Fabrications sells them. there aren't any spacers though that will widen the space between the tire and the lower spring perch.

 

Wider tires however... will fling plenty of mud. :brow:

 

HUH? yeah, a wheel spacer between the hub and the wheel will push the tires away from the spring perch. also, using an offset wheel will do the same thing. i have wheel spacers on my car, and they do in fact create a larger gap. curtis

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What year Forester do you have? And what wheels are you running?

 

'98. I have the stock 5 spoke steelies. Maybe I'll just leave the bothersome thing alone until I can save up for offset wheels. I have a few cheaper but important things before I start to get little tedious things done.

My lift is already putting strain on my axles. (I have to change the fronts)

I don't want to buy nice rims if I'm going to be offroading my foz. I may just paint them black or gold and move on.

 

Edit: And it was a VW, of course that would happen. I'm surprised that it didn't go up in flames from an electrical fire.

Edited by Fozester
Link to comment
Share on other sites

'98. I have the stock 5 spoke steelies. Maybe I'll just leave the bothersome thing alone until I can save up for offset wheels. I have a few cheaper but important things before I start to get little tedious things done.

My lift is already putting strain on my axles. (I have to change the fronts)

I don't want to buy nice rims if I'm going to be offroading my foz. I may just paint them black or gold and move on.

 

Edit: And it was a VW, of course that would happen. I'm surprised that it didn't go up in flames from an electrical fire.

 

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

I was shooting at a drift event and had to do some matrix moves to avoid an XXR that was coming my way at a high rate of hooah; off a nissan 240. Stripped the hub out as a result of additional strain from a 1" spacer and launched the wheel mid transition.

 

Not trying to tell you what to do, but wheeling is going to put a lot of torsional strain on the assemblies as it is. I'm sure you could find steelies in the offset you need and save yourself money and heartache in the future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

I was shooting at a drift event and had to do some matrix moves to avoid an XXR that was coming my way at a high rate of hooah; off a nissan 240. Stripped the hub out as a result of additional strain from a 1" spacer and launched the wheel mid transition.

 

Not trying to tell you what to do, but wheeling is going to put a lot of torsional strain on the assemblies as it is. I'm sure you could find steelies in the offset you need and save yourself money and heartache in the future.

 

That sounds like a good idea. I want to keep the tires because they are fairly new so I would probably just transfer them. I'm looking for a bull bar like the stock one from my year. I don't have the money for a pretty chromy one:-p

 

Edit: Fixed my terrible spelling because swipe on my phone is dumb.

Edited by Fozester
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly not sure how you're fitting 28 tall tires on a 98 Forester. The rear spring perch on the strut is too low and doesn't allow for anything bigger than a 215 60 16. I had to change mine out to the 03-08 style to clear the 215 70 16 (27.5"). Spacers are fine as long as they are torqued down properly. Make sure the mating surfaces are clean. People will argue all day about them, but they are used all the time on Subarus without any issue. But a better offset wheel would achieve the same effect. And trailing arm spacers are a good idea, but I am running a 2" lift on my 98 without them and they are fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...