[bigbobchamp]

I tried this with my WRX and was unhappy. I don't have the grip and the wheels are too oversized (215/55/17) for the long WRX gears. After driving a Forester, I realized I should have started there.

Back to square one, where I ask for it all: enough grip on paved windy roads to cause grins, a meaty look, but still enough tire to not get stuck in the sand / dirt. I might do some sort of coilover / aftermarket suspension setup, but it'll probably be for performance / stiffness and stay at stock ride height.

So far I'm eye balling 255/50ZR17 performance all seasons (BFG g-Force T/A KDWS). They're just shyer than an inch taller in diameter. Am I insane? What kind of fitment issues will I have? Can I go wider? What if I lift the car a teeny bit?

I'm not afraid to roll / remove things to have something that works.

 

[Discount Tire]

Welcome to the forum. What year is your Foz?

 

[stan_t]

255/50/17? What wheels, stock 17x7 48ET?

I had 225/50/17s on 17x7 wheels and it was bulging a bit and it was pretty close to the strut with 53ET wheels. Watch out for tire to strut clearance. Also, lifting won't really help much since the spring perch will still be in the same spot.

Stan

 

[bigbobchamp]

Welcome to the forum. What year is your Foz?

I'm actually still shopping for an '05 XT. There's a chance I'll get an '06/'07 though. I have a tendency to plan out my entire next car before I buy it. :icon_biggrin:

255/50/17? What wheels, stock 17x7 48ET?

I had 225/50/17s on 17x7 wheels and it was bulging a bit and it was pretty close to the strut with 53ET wheels. Watch out for tire to strut clearance. Also, lifting won't really help much since the spring perch will still be in the same spot.

Stan

Good point. I'll want to be careful with the offset to make sure I'm not to close to the perch. I figured lifting would help clear the rear wheels of the rocker in the back and give the fronts more space to turn since they'll be so wide. This is all speculation though.

I'm not sure on the wheel setup yet. It's more about the tire, so I'll shop for whatever works. I imagine it'll be something like a 17 x 8.5 or 9 with a +44ish offset.


Thanks guys!

 

[bigbobchamp]

Now that I think about it, the principles of what I'm trying to do aren't that different from the low / aggressive setup guys, just with more rubber. If anything it'll be easier since I want to keep stock ride height.

Edit: Or not - after running some of the super aggressive wheel setups through a tire calculator, turns out most of them have an outer wheel diameter that is smaller than stock, where as mine will be almost an inch or so bigger than stock, on top of being wider.