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Who's running 15" wheels and beefier tires? Need to see pics.

92K views 66 replies 24 participants last post by  cacti 
#1 ·
As the title says, who's running 15" wheel and rally or offroad tires on their Outback? Saw a couple of pics in an older Method Wheel thread, need to see more because i'm considering doing this to my 2009 OB 2.5i...Thanks!
 
#2 ·
are you typing of a impreza outback sport?

I was under the impression a 2.5i legacy outback of 2009 could not take a 15" wheel do to brake clearance issues.



2005-2009 outbacks use 16" cheapo base steel wheel as the OEM size for that year,

and a good size for snow tires/all terrains where one does want a deeper sidewall to protect the rim,

although the cars typically have 17" alloys on them.


let me know if you want me to change the thread title to 16",....or you can just delete the thread and start over.
 
#3 ·
Motorsport and Rally specific wheels have differently shaped barrels for caliper clearance and crazy low offset. Some of these wheels are 15" and clear Brembos and 4pots. I think they are usually 15x7 +15 offset.

These chaps run 15x7 Methods on the STI racecars.



I just thumbed through all of my LSPR pics from a few weeks ago and somehow I don't have a still photo of neither Travis or Davids car, just a couple videos. There was too many other interesting machines in the Rally I guess.
 
#5 ·
Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks. Yeah, only rally 15" wheels will have enough space within the barrel to clear the brakes, apparently. Wonder what the tire size and suspension (lift, etc.) is on that ABP Outback...will have to look through that Method Race wheel thread to see if they posted that info...

But yeah, i'm interested in some Method MR501's or MR502's in 15x7 with some General Grabber AT2's...
 
#8 ·
That blue OBW looks nice. I have been tinkering with the notion of going this direction as the OBW will never be fast or handle great (least not with my disposable income). Couple of things kind of put a damper on this; speedometer would need a recalibration and in order to take full advantage of the bigger tires a gearing change to the differentials would be a good idea.
 
#9 ·
So, I've looked into this a lot. The 15" wheels fit as long as they are rally style wheels, like the Method race wheels. the blue OB is running 215/70R15. They fit no problem with minimal rubbing. I don't recommend a lift, just because drivetrain and suspension issues can arise. I do believe though, that a 225/70R15 will fit without a lift as well. reason being, I've read that 225/60R17 fit without a lift and with some rubbing. The 225/70R15 is just slightly smaller than the 225/60R17 and so it should actually fit just snug. Plus, it will poke about 1.3" more than stock because of the +15mm offset. That poke out though, may cause some more rubbing than otherwise, but I think some minor trimming or adjusting would fix it no problem.


I used tiresize.com to compare sizes and offset. Love this website. So, to repeat, I know that 225/60R17 fit an 05-06 outback. (idk about up till 09, but I think it would if they're the same specs). So, the 225/70R15 is smaller in diameter by 0.2" and the circumference is smaller by 0.2" as well. It won't make hardly any difference at all in fitment and tightness, but it is smaller and the other one fits. The only thing I'm unsure about is since the offset is different, that may require some potential trimming. Which, I think could be done without too much effort.


hope that helps. and feel free to comment if you feel I'm totally off track and wrong.
 
#10 ·
Wanted to post a follow-up to this thread in case anyone in the future looks to do something similar. Ended up buying a set of Method MR502 VT-Spec's with Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015's in 225/70R15 for my '09 OBW 2.5i. Here's how they look on the car:





Car is currently at stock height and they fit with relatively minimal rubbing on the front fender liners and lower tip of the front bumper cover. Was easily able to get them to fit with no rubbing by removing the front fender liners, coercing the pinch weld behind the tires a little, and trimming a small bit from the corners of the front bumper cover (not really noticeable from the outside). However, I am modding the fender liners so I can reinstall them and have covering/protection for the harnesses, etc in the front wheel wells while still having clearance for the tires at stock height.

While they fit at stock height, I also picked up a slightly-used (only installed for 50 miles and still look brand new) set of RalliTEK Raised Overload Springs from a local forum member. So, as soon as I pick up a new set of KYB's, will be giving her a 1" (-ish) lift. May go higher sometime down the road....we'll see.
 
#12 ·
Honestly...YUP, couldn't be happier for my purposes. My car spends majority of the time on the road, and the low road noise is very nice. We also had a bit of snow and ice here in the Baltimore area the last 2 weeks, and they worked out great. Had good amount of grip and were very controllable and predictable. No complaints.

Regarding the fender liners...I pulled the liners, cut out the portions that were rubbing, and riveted in some hand-bent aluminum sheet to cover the holes and reshape the fender liners appropriately. I then sprayed them with rubberized undercoating. Worked like a charm...at first. I ran into an issue, surprisingly, after I decided to replace the front control arms with some aluminum Mevotech units. I guess the new bushings caused the wheels to sit slightly differently from where they were with the worn bushings....and of course, after the replacement I again got a slight rub towards the rear of the fender liner. Instead of pulling it all apart and re-doing the aluminum sheeting, I just decided to pull the fender liners for now...until I install the RalliTEK Raised springs. With the additional 1" of lift, it should clear fine with the fender liners how they are.
Anyway, I took some pics of the mods I made to the fender. When I get a chance and am on the computer I have them saved on, i'll post them...
 
#18 ·
The BFG competition to the Geolander is The Advantage T/A Pro. Bit more aggressive tread pattern and so far better / tougher rubber compound. Incase anyone wants an alternative option. By far these are the best tires I’ve run on my Subaru’s from a durability/ traction and minimal road performance impact. I’ll be putting another set on no doubt about it.
 
#21 ·
#22 ·
Will these fit fine? Offset is ok?? +48mm.
I had to tell Tire Rack it was an 2005 SUBARU IMPREZA 2.5RS WAGON

https://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Whe...=Bronze+Painted&showRear=no&packageFlow=false

Debating winter tire sizes for next year obviously...
205/75/15 (27.1") may be a little tall, but may not rub due to skinny-ness. Thoughts?
205/70/15 is only 26.3".
215/70/15 is in between 26.9"
I think stock is about 26.6".
 
#23 ·
The 501 VT-Spec are the closest you'll get to an OE-offset wheel that's heavy duty. Granted, the 7 in. width is a little unorthodox for the size, but shouldn't present issues with clearance.

IIRC, 215/70/15 is the smallest Grabber AT2 offered, but there is reports of slight rubbing at full lock or with OE mudflaps.
 
#24 ·
I'm running 235/75/15 inch Wildpeaks on 15x7 JEGS D window. The only issue I have is the front hitting the pinch welds. I only have a 2 inch lift and they fit well but it does require a moderate amount of trimming the bumpers as well as beating back that pinch weld in the front, which is a PITA. Mine fit well for daily driving but I have not had the time to finish up the job(making them fit offroad) they have only been on for a few days so in the next few weeks I will put aside some time to make em fit. HOWEVER I have a -31mm offset because my rims are 5x127 and they require an adapter to 5x100. These rims clear my calipers with NO issues. I have no modified my brakes in any way. I like these rims a lot but they dont ship with center caps(about 60 bucks extra)
 

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#26 ·
Anyone tried 205/75/15 with stock height? It'd be like 0.5" taller than stock but a little bit skinnier. Maybe a "no" based on those 215/70 geolanders rubbing.

It looks like I'm running 215/65/16's right now, I didn't even realize it, thats about 27" so 27.1 should be fine as should 26.9. These are not big lug tires though, just snows.
 
#34 · (Edited)
#36 ·
I tried a cheap 15 from tirerack's sport tuning line: NO FIT


Sparco Terra 45mm offset. NO FIT

I see that Primitive Racing lists the 15mm offset as fitting but 15mm offset will stick out very silly like.

Going to roll on my 16" winter steelies another year.

A full set of the VT Spec with winter tires is $1100 shipped which is really not bad, but not spending it at the moment.
 
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