how wide can an sti go?

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avriette
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how wide can an sti go?

Post by avriette »

I'm getting to the point where I'm looking to replace the tires on the STI. We've got 245's on the OEM wheels; I was thinking of trying to go wider and getting new wheels for it. What's the practical limit for width on the car, provided I had new wheels for the tires? I was thinking 19's.
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Re: how wide can an sti go?

Post by PGT »

what year? I was running 265's on my '08 with no issue. We put 285's on 10.5" SSR wheels on a buddy's car...that was pushing it.
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Re: how wide can an sti go?

Post by Sabre »

^^^ 06 IIRC. Darrin would know best, but I don't think that you're going to be able to go over a 265 with a 19". You'll probably have to roll the fenders even with that. I'm no expert though, that's where Darrin comes in :)
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Re: how wide can an sti go?

Post by avriette »

PGT wrote:what year? I was running 265's on my '08 with no issue. We put 285's on 10.5" SSR wheels on a buddy's car...that was pushing it.
Yeah, Julian is right, it's an 06. Did you have rubbing on the 285s? Is the 08 wider?
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Re: how wide can an sti go?

Post by PGT »

08 is wider (245 on 8.5" is stock). The rear of the car was rolled prior to the 285's and it was on Ohlins so, no issues. They didn't tuck either. 275's on a 9.5" is pretty much the widest you can go with minor tweaks and perfect fitment.
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Re: how wide can an sti go?

Post by drwrx »

There is a great deal of debate on this issue over on NASIOC.
If you are you sticking with the stock 17x8 wheels, your max width will likely be 255 as most 265 widths require a 9" dish.
If you are not going to modify the suspension you will also be limited. Sadly, there do not appear to be any hard and fast rules. The safety zone on a non-lowered stock suspension 04-07 STi appears to be 265, however your results may vary. For every 3-4 posters that say 265s fit there is one who claims that they rub. And then there are folks who claim to have no rubbing with 285s on stock suspension, but my guess is that has more to do with the offset of the wheels than with the tires or suspension. That creates another issue itself. While a certain offset may allow a certain width tire to "fit" it may not actually improve overall grip as weight distribution across the contact patch of the tire in relation to it's position under the car may not yeild optimum traction. Camber position plays a greater role than tread width in these instances. I have also seen numerous tests that indicate that going much beyond 255 doesn't garner big handeling improvements. You should also remember that you will be adding unsprung mass which will affect response as well as grip.

These are the things to consider:
Overall diameter should be around 25". Going up or down slightly won't hurt, but a big increase will cause the final drive ratio to increase, which is not a good idea for a performance oriented auto.

The stock wheel and tire weight is around 45lbs. 20 per wheel 25 per tire. Again adding a few lbs certainly won't affect the car that greatly, but adding 10 extra lbs makes a difference.

A good alighnment will make a greater improvement than a wider set of tires.
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Re: how wide can an sti go?

Post by PGT »

the reason there's variance is because tires with the same size have different sizes. one 265 might be 9.2" wide with a square shoulder and another might be 9.1" wide and a more rounded shoulder. Makes a big difference with fitment.
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