Next is just like any other wheel stud replacement. Thread the a lug nut on, and whack the **** out of it witht he universal bfh. Again, I love having a California rust free, no road salt car, only took a couple smacks and out the studs came. I had gone down to the local auto parts store and picked up a cheap bearing that would fit over the wheel stud, I prefer to use a bearing over the stack of washers method, as the bearing reduces the stress on the stud. Nothing wrong with the other method, I just prefer this method, makes sense for me and its only an $8 bearing.


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ARP Front Wheel studs installed.


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I didn't take pictures of the rear install, I was too frustrated at Subaru's design on the rear. I first disassembled the emergency brake assembly, abs sensor ring, and removed the abs sensor. The arp wheel studs head was just under 3/4 of an inch in diameter. I got frustrated at the results gotten with a die grinder, so I instead threw some oil on a 7/8 inch drill bit and bore the abs sensor hole slightly larger. I then thread the ARP wheel studs through the abs sensor hole, and with some finagling with the wheel stud and abs sensor ring, I was able to install the wheel studs. I again used the bearing technique with anti seize compound on the threads to pull the new wheel stud in place. Here is the wheel studs installed in the rear, I can't believe Subaru made a design that would require the disassembly and reinstallation of new wheel bearing to replace the studs.


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Rear end all reassembled and ready for wheel to be mounted. I can not wait to get my 6 speed installed with some real rear brakes. Those stock discs are so puny they are not even ventilated!!! Definitely next on the list.


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Here is a picture of my hubadapter.com wheel spacers. Very impressed with the quality of these parts, even though they are simple hub spacers. I have seen some less than excellent wheel spacers on the market, and am very unhappy with their use as it is a safety related part for you and others that share the road with you. I provided my measurements of my inner bore for my rota rims, and the stock wrx hub, and they machined all four wheel spacers to fit perfectly and be hubcentric. All parts fit perfectly, and the 10mm spacer widens my track width just a little under a half inch per corner. With my 15mm of scrub without the spacers, the spacers increase my scrub to 25mm, or about 1 inch of scrub per corner, still way under my 2 inch limit I was originally shooting for. I haven't done it yet, but I have the option to elongate the lower strut mounting bolt hole to increase negative camber. As I increase the negative camber at the lower bolt hole, I can lessen the amount of negative camber used at the camber plate, this will move the line out through the strut top and lower ball joint, and lessen the KPA that I currently have. The downside to this will be that it will increasethe scrub a little bit, and will only be done if I decide I need additional negative camber gain and less self centering steering (caster increases negative camber, KPA increases self steering characteristics/on center steering feel).


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Here is the hubcentric part of the spacer, machined to fit perfectly inside my Rota rims center bore.



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Wheel spacer mounted on the rear of the car.



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Hood louvers installed at body shop. Don't worry they will not be staying brushed aluminum, but the whole hood will be resprayed wrb along with the fender flares.



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Here is a pic illustrating the track width difference with the 10mm wheel spacers. Part of the reason for utilizing the spacers was I was getting a slight amount of rubbing in the front under compression and turning (slightly rubbing in the front inboard on the fender well right under where the oem airbox installs). Obviously, any rubbing is unacceptable, I am hoping this will be a cheap solution to the problem while I save to have the front wheel wells tubbed. Tubbing the front is the better solution, as you can substantially increase clearance both inboard and under compression, and while it would have been relatively simple to do prior, it is not in the budget at this time. I will be incorporating this into the budget at the earlliest opportunity, but I need to get this car back on the road. The increase in track width makes the fenders look back to like they were prior to pulling the fenders. Substantial increase in track width, keeps the scrub radius within reason, and will reduce rubbing under compression in the front, and help fill out those fender flares. The car is currently at the body shop getting cut up and painted, but upon return I will be removing the front springs and jacking the car through its suspension travel to ensure there is no rubbing of the tire under any conditions. There are other band aids that can be done right now instead of tubbing, caster can be adjusted, etc.


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View from the back shows a substantial increase in track width. As has been the theme with this build, I am doing everything possible within my budget to increase mechanical grip while keeping the proper suspension geometry, steering feel, and travel.



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Comparison to the track width and fitment without the spacers.



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Birds eye view without spacers installed



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Here is the update from the body shop. Fender flares test fitted and look excellent on the car. Looking forward to getting full compression travel and wheel lock with some serious rubber. Getting excited....



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Here is how the front of the car will look. Hopefully I won't have any more rubbing in the front with the spacers. Some minor clearancing might be required, but we will see when the car is back in my hands. Fronts look as good as the rear. Loving the progress.


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Some more progress at the body shop.


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