Ultimate Tire & Wheel Size Thread

[ateday]

I suspect that, unlifted, a 65 profile would not fit at all well on the older MY03`s.

 

[kiwifoz]

I suspect that, unlifted, a 65 profile would not fit at all well on the older MY03`s.

I ran 215/65r16 Bridgestone Dueler D697 AT on my old 2002 MY03 SG for a short while before I lifted it on raised King Springs only. Never had a single rub and my old suspension was shot (quite sagged, especially in the back).

Ateday I suspect yours may rub because the 40mm lift will push the front wheel further back in its arc, meaning it will be closer to the rear of the wheel arch?

The D697 DID NOT fit in my wheel well fully inflated. However a Kumho KH18 in 215/65r16 did, just. These are onroad tyres though and I wouldn't recommend for even slight 4x4ing.

Here's a pic of the 697s with no lift:

Front right wheel arch clearance with chains

Rear strut clearance with chains

Rear arch clearance with chains

As you can see, with OEM +48 offset wheels there's heaps of clearance even on saggy suspension. I could even fit chains front and rear (although they just touched the front spring perch but still rotated). Rear was fine with chains, over 1cm of clearance everywhere.

Hope this helps

Just for comparison here's one post-lift with same tyres:

As far as the tyre themselves is concerned, I really like the D697 and am running them on the Foz's replacement. Looks different to a 'traditonal' AT like the BFG but still works well offroad, it sheds mud relatively well due to the tapered blocks and relatively open cut. Some people say they're hard and not grippy but I feel they stuck better in the dry than the KH18s I ran back to back as road tyres, and were comparable in the wet.

Do note though that the 215/65r16 is a commercial rated tyre - it has heavy construction and you do pay a weight/performance price. I noticed a definite decrease in acceleration running D697s on OEM steel wheels, vs the KH18s on WRX alloys, despite both being 215/65r16.
In saying this it means you're less likely to get a puncture offroad! They are nice tyres, more aggressive than the Geolandar ATS and cheaper too. I'd have to recommend, even with no lift.

 

[Kevin]

I also ran 21565R16 before changing to 15" wheels. The spare has to be deflated to about 10-15 psi and the wheel well "modified" (i.e. bashed with a big lump of wood)

 

[ateday]

KF, you could be right `cause that`s where it rubs. Have had to cut the tacky placky inner guard protector back a bit.
Kevin, I didn`t bash my wheel well but cut the black sound moulded padding away a bit. Still needs deflating though.

 

[andymccauley]

What's the widest 15-16" 6 lug rims anyone is running on an old DL. After lift I'm thinking of running some 15x8 but was thinking 10 wide might add some more poke

 

[dirty4130]

Hi, Feel free to move my question, as I'm not sure this is the correct place for it. I've seen a lot of conflicting opinions about whether a 215/75R15 tire would fit the 1st generation Forester (99 Forester L, completely stock, came with 15" wheels). I am looking into getting General Grabber AT2s and the sizing options seem to be 205/75/R15 or 215/75R15. I am pretty certain the 205's would fit, but less confident that the 215's would fit. Currently the car has 215/70/R15 no-name tires on it. Any suggestions?

 

[bluesubaru]

According to wheel-size this is what 2020 forester can handle -
225/60R17 7Jx17 ET48

I was thinking 225/65 or 245/65 it should be ok. thoughts?

 

[bluesubaru]

Now I'm thinking 15in wheels instead and just match the ratio of wall to my current overall radius and then i'll end upwith thicker tires.

 

[Ben Up North]

Now I'm thinking 15in wheels instead and just match the ratio of wall to my current overall radius and then i'll end upwith thicker tires.

If you can get smaller rims to fit, this is the best solution.

 

[bluesubaru]

If you can get smaller rims to fit, this is the best solution.

What are you running?

Realised 17s, even though its on the recommended list for Forest, won't really cut it. If I can reduce it to 15 but keep the ratio the same, then i wont have any issues with scraping and i'll be able to enjoy off roading a bit more.

 

[bluesubaru]

Don't forget to hit up @NachaLuva (SubieLift Oz) when you're ready to shove a lift in the beast. Excellent quality kit.

Yeah I hope I am future proofing for a lift with the tyres and wheels i thinking off. Instead of 17" I might go 15" and get more wall length, therefore will be a little more off road friendly.

 

[Kevin]

@bluesubaru I doubt very much that 15's will fit; they manage to do it in the US by fitting after-market wheels with much lower offset but it finishes up with the tyre outside of the wheel arch which is illegal over here ;-) You may get 16s on it without too much difficulty.

 

[Ben Up North]

What are you running?

Just the standard 16" steelies with 215/65 (D697) on them. Have them on my camper trailer too for redundancy purposes (4 spares!) so it's getting a bit pricey to swap them all for a different size...
Haven't had any problems at all with the 65s off-road, haven't done any sand work with them.

You may get 16s on it without too much difficulty.

Oh.. didn't read proper. thought bluesubaru was on 16" already. What Kevin said!

 

[bluesubaru]

Thanks folks. Yeah I've seen 15s in the US. 16 might be better then. I am on stock, so its 18 for me now, stock everything.

 

[bluesubaru]

Just the standard 16" steelies with 215/65 (D697) on them. Have them on my camper trailer too for redundancy purposes (4 spares!) so it's getting a bit pricey to swap them all for a different size...
Haven't had any problems at all with the 65s off-road, haven't done any sand work with them.


Oh.. didn't read proper. thought bluesubaru was on 16" already. What Kevin said!

What brand wheel and tire do you have?

 

[bluesubaru]

My offset stock is +48. I should really stick between +40 to +48 right?

 

[Ben Up North]

Thanks folks. Yeah I've seen 15s in the US. 16 might be better then. I am on stock, so its 18 for me now, stock everything.

Oh! 18! for some reason I thought you were on 17 as standard.

What brand wheel and tire do you have?

Subaru steelies (I've got the poverty pack 2005) & Bridgestone D697 (Dueler A/T). OK on the road but tend to be a bit slippy in the wet (according to Bridgestone they're meant to be pretty good) , but haven't driven any other A/T so they might all be a bit slippy. Main reason for using Bridgestone is that I have family with Bridgestone so I can get them pretty cheap any time I need them. They regularly do specials which almost match the price I get them at.

A really good resource for visualizing things is TireSize.com

 

[bluesubaru]

Nice. Subaru stock is Bridgestone but everyone seems to be leaning toward BFG. I'm still weighing up costs for everything.

Yep i've been sussing out tire size. 245/65/16 seem to be alright according to the image. i dont want to mess with offset too much. i do alot of driving and i dont want to hve random high way vibrations and other wear and tear. ive seen +40 offset with what im looking for

 

[Kevin]

245 might be getting very close to the front spring perch?

 

[Ben Up North]

245 might be getting very close to the front spring perch?

I reckon you could go bigger. Unless there's no space to the spring perch as standard, because @bluesubaru 's configuration is only 10mm radius larger, assuming he's running 225/55R18 at the moment, then it's no closer to the strut than before either (give a mm).