[Peaty]

My son's OBW was in need of new tires. The ones on the car were pretty cupped from the bad suspension and parts I've replaced. I wasn't in a rush to spend the money. A local Subaru site had a set of 2011 Legacy wheels/tires with less than 800 miles on them for only $350. I couldn't' pass up the deal so I snapped them up today and installed them. Looks funny to me right now but honestly that's not a big issue. There is a great amount of rubber and they are in a lot better shape than what's been on the car for the past 200K+ miles. I would have had to spend a lot more for just tires. Here are a few pics.

Point of reference, they are the same offset +48, width 6.5" and bolt pattern 5 X 100.

 

[cardoc]

Looks really good. Probably just looks a little "goofy" to you because you aren't used to seeing it that way.

Car would look great lowered.

 

[Peaty]

You are right, now that they have been on a little bit it looks normal. I have to say, I took the car for a ride yesterday and it rides 100% better. A much more quiet ride. The tires we had were cupped due to the poor suspension and alignment. The balance was not great either. This makes it feel like a new car. I agree with the lowing but at 209+K miles and my teenager is driving it. I'm not going to do much more than keep it safely on the road.

 

[susiemk]

Looks good.

If you have not changed the suspension yet - get normal 2000-2004 Legacy Wagon struts for a bit of a drop when replacement time arrives, Legacy springs will drop the car a bit more - car will not be scraping the floor it will still sit a little higher than a stock 2000-2004 Legacy if the "lifting Blocks" are left in place.

I think cardoc used Legacy struts for a drop not sure if he used the springs too.

 

[Peaty]

I just did the fronts a few months ago and the rears were replaced already when I go the car. If it were my daily driver I might do that but it's my 16YO son's. The car's got 209K miles in it and I'm thinking the extra ground clearance might come into play at some point. He is a good driver honestly, however he's only 16. It's one of the reasons I put a primitive skid plate under the motor.

 

[Performance Suby]

So it was just worn-out struts that caused the tires to cup? Did the struts clunk, or how did you know it was the struts that were causing this issue?

I know my rear struts on my '03 with 125,000 miles are worn-out since they clunk and squeak when I drive on rough road, but i'm not sure about my fronts since they don't make any noise.

Anyway I put some '06 Forester rims on Outback as well, looks similar to your set-up.

 

[subiesailor]

The 2001 Legacy ran 15 and 16 inch wheels pending model. The Legacy GT and GT Limited came with larger brakes - and the 16inch wheels. The 2001 OB's were all smaller brakes and unless you got a higher trim model they had drum rear brakes also. Vs the disc brakes the GT legacy had. The rubber on the 16 inch wheels also were lower profile than the balloon tires sold on the basic models and the Outback.

If your having fun working on the OB and doing some replacements - eye ball the Legacy GT brake swap as they were much nicer and better brakes than the standard OB set up. Also a 1 to 1 swap for those.

I had a Legacy GT Limited - the difference between the braking and handling with the 2001 OB was night and day. Which was a major reason I got the Legacy not to mention the Loaded GT Limited was a deal of a life time because everyone wanted the SUV looking OB. Funny the Legacy GT towed and stopped better than the OB due to the brakes and tighter steering box one or two less turns lock to lock if I recall correctly.

 

[statueim]

The only thing odd to me is having two similar tones of goldish-silver right next to each other (the body molding vs. the rims). Otherwise, looks good. $350 for the tires and rims is a great deal.

 

[Peaty]

The only thing odd to me is having two similar tones of goldish-silver right next to each other (the body molding vs. the rims). Otherwise, looks good. $350 for the tires and rims is a great deal.

I agree, I'm thinking I may do something with plasicdip on the lower body cladding in the spring.

So it was just worn-out struts that caused the tires to cup? Did the struts clunk, or how did you know it was the struts that were causing this issue?

I replaced the struts mostly due to the mileage. When I did, I discovered a bad lower ball joint. The ball joint and bad alignment did that to the tires I think. After I put the front struts in I had an alignment

The struts were pretty shot but not as bad as I expected for over 200K miles, there was still some resistance and the shaft would slowly but slowly move back out after being compressed.

Even though this is the bass version it has disks all round. I did put nicer pads and brembo blanks in the front and so far stops just fine for my kid's purposes. A few months ago I replaced the rear pads with some Duralast gold (ceramic) I'm not looking to do to much to the car by way of mods. It's a teenage kids daily driver, I just want to be sure it's safe more than anything else.