Which has the most bang for the buck? :yumyum: 18x7.5 Liquid Metal - Static +45 offset $148/ea 18x7.5 MB Wheels - Blast +51 offset $148/ea 17x7 Sport Edition - E3 +47 offset - 20.6 lbs. $106/ea
One of these might be purchased and mounted onto the XTi. It depends if I want to invest $1000 for a set of wheels or not.
For your car I like the first ones. they have a kinda bold boxy look like like the forester. The middle ones are cool but are more suited for a traditional "car". And the bottom ones look good but seem a bit too stock looking to me.:dunno: As far as bang for the buck I would guess it is cheaper getting 17" tires?
Id at least by four of them... ha hah a hey I spent $1800 on my package.... but mine is bigger... ha ha (yes I mean that in most way you are thinking thong.. er Fong)
I appreciate all of the opinions, guys. Alike most of you, I am leaning towards the Liquid Metal wheel(s). It's so rugged and aggressive! If I were to ever sell these wheels, it'll fit onto any Subaru ( minus the 05+ STi) so there should be a good demand following.
oh....otherwise the first ones they look more aggressive and seems more suitable for the forester. The second one is too plain and i've seen them on an impreza and they aren't that nice looking. The third is just too fancy for my personal taste.
Only if the offset was closer to Subaru's specs. They are really nice though. I just called Discount Tire for the Static wheels and they weigh 25 lbs each. Pretty hefty, but it's about average for a meaty 18" wheel.
The BBS RK's we have are a 17x7 with a +48mm offset. The come with the BBS center caps, and lug nuts. $120 per wheel. Talk to me if you need more info.
i like the first ones. they have anice shape to em, plus i just dig 5 spoke wheels. the last ones would give you alook similar to a forester STi which i like, but come on 5 spokes! althought he fact they are 18"s worries me. i like 17"s better.
18s worry you.... and why is that...??? I run 19s and they dotn even concern me in the least... although they do take more effort to accelerate etc etc... yes they do I argued against that theory for a long time but when you go from them to my stock 16s and int eh wet I all i do is hit the gas round a corner adn all 4 spint hrough 1st adn 2nd... there is a difference.... especially in the punchiness of the car... 3rd ones get my vote but I am a pimp gangster style roller apparantly...
Be careful of the offset. Unless Subaru changed the newer Foresters(or if the XT is special), you're basically stuck between the range of +53 to +48, +48 perfered to keep wide tires from rubbing the strut. +48 is also what comes on the Foresters stock. If you move outside of this "acceptable" range, they will work, but you have much increased wheel bearing wear. How quickly? I'm not sure...couple weeks, a month or two, depends. There is a TON of info over on Nasioc about this. In this reguard, the second wheels are really the only acceptable option. A couple notes. Look on Nasioc's For Sale section. There's always piles and piles of wheels being sold all the time. As well, I've found Ebay to be a very good resource on wheels. A bit of searching can yield some very good deals. You run an '04 XT...what's the bolt pattern? Still 5x100 or did it ever get bumped up to STI's 5x114, I think it's 114mm. Reguardless, just make sure you're matching both bolt pattern and offset. Our cars are quite unique as pretty much the only wheels that fit are ones specifically made for Subaru. I'll give a nod out to Rota for some excellent bang for the buck rims. As far as size, you'll have to decide if you'd like 17" or 18" wheels better. I run 17"s simply because I felt 18"s look a hair too big. As well, they have to support rough roads, so the longevity of 18"s may be a little iffy on the bumpy stuff. 17"s are lighter. Similar with 16"s. Get as wide a wheel as will match the tire width. Wider is better in the sense of sidewall stabilty. I run 7.5" with 225mm tires, and they match very well. If you're running a 235mm or 245mm wide tire, an 8" wide wheel may be more appropriate. It all comes down to what fits. If you're running aftermarket coilovers, you may have a bit more play room to stuff uber wide tires under the fenders. If not, 225mm is getting close, 235mm would be quite iffy, with the 48mm offset. If you were running say a 51mm offset, you'd be 3mm closer to the strut. If you move out too far, you start rubbing fenders. If you move in too far, you start rubbing the strut. If you move outside the acceptable offset range, you start wearing the wheel bearings.
^^^very helpful information indeed. The Foresters have a 5x100 (maybe not the Forester STi though) and a 48mm offset standard. I believe that 45mm offset wheels won't do much harm to the bearings since Subaru believes 48mm offset OEM wheels won't harm it. I'm going to try out the Liquid Metal wheels on the FXTi and see how it drives. I can report any cons with the setup later on if there are any.
As soon as my TCF Visa card gets sent to me and activated. I lost it last Tuesday and found out it was missing last Thursday. I can't wait! :biggrin:
I'm going to throw this in here out of recent personal experience. You will damage 18" rims on the craptastic Minnesota roads...this includes freeways and interstates. I have 2 rims which are bent...one of them so badly that we couldn't balance out the last .25 off that it was (no big deal, I don't do 140mph) The roads here are just terrible. And they will damage an 18" wheel simply because you can't run an aspect ratio on your tire great enough to cushion the blows of the sub-standard pavement in Minnesota. To put in in perspective, when I needed new tires in California my rims had absolutely no damage what so ever. I've only driven about 20,000 miles in Minnesota since I've lived here. Get a nice set of 17's and get some tires with a nice stiff sidewall and you should be set.
I see what you're saying and I agree that MN has horrible potholes, but I am saved by driving a Forester. My tires are going to be a size 225/45-18; the same width and height as they would be if I had an Impreza with 17" wheels. Yes! I'm going to get the Kumho Ecsta SPT tires that have "Ecsta" etched into the middle rubber strip of the tire. USDM with KDM bling, yo!
What do you guys think of this wheel? Found it on Ebay. :biggrin: NIPPON RACING WHEELS EVOLUZIONE RACING YELLOW WITH POLISH LIP 18x7.5 +45mm offset 5x100 & 5x114.3 $415 shipped
Once again, I appreciate the responses I've gotten. I just purchased the Liquid Metal wheels using a money order. What's really stupid is that I was waiting for my Credit card to come in so I can order it over the phone and when I couldn't wait any longer, I send in a money order and the freiken Credit Card comes in the mail the same day. too bad, the Money order was purchased and sent in the mail already. Stupid bad luck! Anyway, I'll be rollin' on dubs, Yo's! :biggrin:
That would be ballin'. You aren't man enough to rock these. And at 415 a set...please. I'd be all over these...do they come in JDM Green?
^^I'd really like you to buy a set. Yellow was the old JDM color, it's an antique! Oh and by the way, I was able to get these Liquid Metal wheels + a new set of Kumho Ecsta SPT tires (balanced) + tuner lugnuts for $1000 shipped! If I were to purchase this online, it would have been over $1200 for everything. If anyone is going to buy a set of wheels w/ tires, talk to Bruce @ 800-589-6789 x412. He may be able to hook you up.
hmmmm while I agree that the bigger teh rim the smaller the tire it then doesnt offer the cushioning on potholes and bumps.. but for 2 yrs I have run 19's with 40/45 rubber and havent yet bent a rim.... guess I dotn drive int he cities much but I do go 70mph on country roads (gravel) all the time...
Gravel is a bit different. It is a loose surface, whereas hitting a 3" pothole or asphalt edge that doesn't budge is pretty awful for a wheel. Wish I could have taken pics of the damage, it was nice.
yes gravel (you havent been on the roads I go on daily) is but what comes with gravel roads is lots of bumps, ruts, rocks... yada yada.... not usually anything as bad as a minnesota blackhole in the highway.... I have hit some pretty large holes at least 10inches wide at 70 mph.. I closed my eyes and prayed as I couldnt avoid it in traffic at 70mph and still NO bent rim.... (touch wood - not my own) guess it also comes down to you get what ya pay for.... maybe mine are a little stronger cause they arent LIGHTWEIGHT rims... dunno
Those would look pretty sweet, but you'd have to paint your dash and sidepanels, and reupholster everything in the interior with the same shade of yellow to match them.
Update: Payment was sent via Cashier's Check last Thursday, I received confirmation on Monday, the LM Static wheels/tires/lug nuts/hubcentric rings arrived this morning, and now they're mounted on the Forester! :biggrin: They look soo big. I gotta get used to the new look and the new width of the wheel. I don't have a digicam, but I'll stop by to get some people's opinion at Firestone or something.
