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'06 STi -- How wide can tires be?

21K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  mosc 
#1 ·
Hey everyone,
I have a bone stock '06 STi. It's my daily driver, but I've also started taking it to some Auto-X meets these past couple months. I would like to get another set of the OEM rims and throw some R-compounds on 'em for track days (thinking the Hoosier R's). How wide can I go on the tires without having any rubbing issues? Keep in mind, I'm running AS, so I don't believe I can use spacers... Thanks.
 
#2 ·
225s are what you want. You could probably fit 235s on there if you haven't lowered the car any but that depends on the tire. Any 225 should fit.

Oh, and there are A LOT cheaper rims out there than the OEM. 17x8s are easy to find and can be ~$150 for ones of similar weight and quality to the OEM instead of ~$400 for OEM rims.
 
#6 ·
+1, The OEM are nice, but if you are really looking at getting another set of rims, check into some aftermarket ones, maybe even use the OEM ones for race day then so they dont get beat up.
 
#9 ·
I absolutely agree with ke0ki2k, old thread indeed, but this may actually serve as something useful for other people...

I'm going to talk based on MY own experience, not from what I've read here or there or from what I think works best.

Here is a shot of MY car being driven by ME at an Autocross event last year in Homestead Miami Speedway. Wheels are Rota Torques 17x8 +49, tires are Khumo Ecsta V710 275/45/17. ABSOLUTELY NO RUBBING ISSUES on suspension components or on the fenders!!! Granted, I have coilovers which have a thinner overall body than the OEM spring/strut combo and my suspension is fully adjustable., but anyway, when I switched from the 225/45/17 Hoosier A1's that I was running before to these, I did not changed ANY suspension parameter.





I used these for the whole season and never had any tire come out of the rim, I don't know where that came from. I dominated the ESP class with almost no engine mods, most of the work has been done to the suspension, chassis and brakes...

For the street I am currently using 17x8 +48 SSR Type C-RS with 225/45/17 RE01R tires, not the ultimate size for an 8" wide rim, but not that bad when you take into consideration that is a street tire and usually the wider you go, the more expensive they get. My next tires, as of now are going to be Dunlop Star Specs 245-255...

As for wheel options, the BBS is a great wheel and there are a lot of good offers on used sets, but for competition I would rather go with 17x9 rims. It is easier for 2005+ STi owners to get wheels this size but there are some offerings out there for us WRX/2004 STi guys. TRmotorsports and 949Racing come to my mind on good budget wheels, if money is not an issue CCW is a prime option. Try to stay away of crappy wheels, the only reason I'm using Rotas is because I got them for almost nothing and right now wheels are nowhere near the top of my list...
 
#10 ·
Your suspension is not stock, not even close to stock. If you put a stock suspension on that car, you'd grind those tires into the fender so hard they'd blow.

Also, those tires are totally unsafe for actual roads. A decent bump could dislodge the tire. They're fine for the track provided you have a suspension 4x firmer than stock (which you do), but tires that size have no place on a stock street car.
 
#11 ·
Lets try to stick to the OP's concern.

He was asking for the widest R COMPOUND tire size he could fit on a stock 8" wide BBS rim. He mentioned that he was planning on buying a set of track wheels to install these tires on. Obviously he was not planning on using them on the road, very wise of him.

Now, on the club I used to autocross there were plenty of people that were racing in the Stock categories (I forgot if the STi's run in B, C, D...) and they were sporting 275 tires on 8" rims with NO rubbing issues... There were others in other categories that were even using STi springs/struts on WRXs and 9" wheels with 275 tires or wider, again, no rubbing issues, but I'm pretty sure these had at least better swaybars... who knows...

So yes, it can be done. You can Autocross your car with 275 tires on 8" rims, is not the greatest tire/wheel combo but it does get the job done. Can you drive it on the road like that? I would not recommend it either in fact I highly discourage it, but that has never been the point here...
 
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