I have installed rims on my 2003 2.5RS. They were on my 1992 Laser AWD. I am not positive of the offset, but they rub something in the back of the car when I hit a large bump, or hit the bottom of a hill too fast. The mechanic isn't able to see WHAT it's rubbing, and it's not bad to damage the tire.

What could I do to stop that rubbing? Would stiffer shocks help? If so, what is suggested? I don't want to lower the car. The present rim specs are as follows:

16x7 - tire profile 225-50-16.

The information for the original car these rims were installed on is available.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

You're probably rubbing the fenders because the wheels have an offset that is too low. That combined with a 225 tire could cause problems. Adding more negative camber, stiffer springs or rolling the fenders may help but it's hard to say since I don't know what the offset is.

 

Yea, I think it's like +43 or so. I just found out that the stock setting for the 2.5RS is 16x6.5JJ ET55 (Directly from SOA).

Now, if the specs of the rims that I put on are 16x7JJ ET38, what kind of damage/issues will I have? Is there anything I can do to assist with the fittment of the rims?

Thanks to all who have made suggestions and helping.

 

Use spacers. It isn't the best solution but you can run w/ those rims if you put some spacers on them. It will throw your wheel bearings as well as possibly screwing up your alignment.

 

43 is pretty low. If it's not rubbing a lot you may be able to get away with rolling the fenders. You are also putting more stress on the wheel bearings with those wheels and that will cause them to wear faster.

 

Spacers will only make things worse since they will move the wheels even closer to the fenders.

 

It's not the fenders that they are rubbing against. I've verified that with chalk, it's the spring perch that they are rubbing against. The offset of the rims are +38. The exact specs of the rims are 16x7JJ ET38. They are not rubbing all the time, only when hitting dips and taking corners at too high of speed. No damage to anything at this point is visible. What size of spacers should I look for if that's the way to go? And rolling the fenders is not an option.

Thank you.

 

If you’re #’s are correct it makes no sense that the tires are rubbing the struts. Offset is a measurement from the wheel mounting point to the center of the wheels width https://www.i-club.com/forums/wheel-tire-59/official-tech-thread-tire-rack-55297/ (scroll down around 2/3 to the bottom of the page). When you decrease positive offset it will move the wheel outward closer to the fenders. If the #’s are the same for the RS and WRX (the wheel specs are the same) you should be running a +50-53 with a rim that is 7” wide. If you run a 5mm spacer on a wheel with a +38mm you will end up with a +33 offset which will be even worse.

BTW, you may be rubbing the splash guard in the wheel well. Look for signs of rubbing.

 

Just did a search and found this http://toy4two.home.mindspring.com/offset.html. If you think I'm full of it this link will help you figure it out on you're own.

With the wheels you have now the clearance to the strut will increase 11mm and you will lose 23mm (almost 1”) of clearance to the fender.

 

It's not that I don't believe you Mo, I just don't completely understand how the offset works. That's all. I've looked and I could swear that it was the perch, but it might be because the outside of the rim is even with the body of the vehicle. So you may be right. I've not seen any signs of rubbing on the fender, but I'll take a better look and see what I can find. I should just be able to put the tires on the stock rims and it'll be fine. Just have to test that, because I don't want to have to replace wheel berings.

I appreciate your help. I was trying to find that calculator myself to see what the issues would be. Thank you.

 

There’s nothing wrong with being skeptical about what you read in these or any other forums. Believe it or not people give misinformation all the time and that's why I always try to confirm what I read by doing a search.

That sounds like a great idea. 225’s aren’t an ideal size for a 6.5” wide rim but I have heard of quite a few people doing it. From what I've read having you're wheel bearings replaced will run you around $700.

One more thing. Try to reach in the wheel well and feel to see how much clearance there is between the tire and the strut.

 

I already did reach into the wheel well and there's not an over-abundance of space, but I can fit my hand into the space (I did then when I first put the rims on, so this is from memory). There is about an inch to 2 inch between the spring-perch and the top of the tire.

I don't like to be skeptical about what I read here, but I just want to "cover my ***" so to speak. So when you place information about your research, I appreciate it so I have more reference information.

I realize that 225 isn't an ideal size, but those tires only have like 1500 - 3000 miles on them, and that's about it. I've tried to sell them with the rims, but no one has bit in the DSM world. So I'm just sitting on the tires and they'll fit the Subaru well (at least the tires will).

That $700 you mentioned, is that the replacement of all the wheel bearings, or is that PER bearing? Just curious.

 

1-2” of clearance is plenty.

I would do the same thing if I were in you’re shoes. I was just stating that it isn’t the ideal size for the rims you have.

I’m pretty sure $700ish is for all 4 but don’t quote me on that.