Effect of reducing wheels to 16 inch

I am about to buy an Outback wagon. They all come with 17 inch alloys and55 series tires. I suspect I would get a smoother/quieter ride over bumps if I change the tires and wheels to 65 or 70 series and 16 or 15 inch diameter. Has anyone else done this? (In case it matters, I am not getting the turbo engine.)

Jim

Reply to
Jim
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I don't know why the ride would be smoother, but the car would have better acceleration but cruise at a higher RPM. The speedometer would not be accurate.

Reply to
John Rethorst

speedo would be off yes, but I dont think the cruising RPM would change with an automatic transmission.

Reply to
dnoyeB

From Jim the OP: I would try to get new tires that had the same OD as the old ones...

I would still be interested to hear from anyone who has done something similar.

Jim

Reply to
Jim

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is a great site to check the effect of the speedometer when changing your tires. Wilco

"Jim" schreef in bericht news:bAeDf.767$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...

Reply to
Wilco van Diest

I previously wrote that I will be getting tires with the same OD as the originals, so the speedo will be OK. I am more concerned about clearing the brake calipers and other suspension stuff that has to fit in the area inside the wheel. - expecially when turning the front wheels.

Jim

Wilco van Diest wrote:

Reply to
Jim

Now that I consider it, I believe you are correct on both counts. Its the MPG (KM/L) that wouldn't change.

I would expect smaller tires to hold less air and produce more rigid ride!?

Reply to
dnoyeB

Thing is, the tires themselves will actually be larger. (Same OD, smaller ID, same width.) Typically, a smoother ride will result, at the cost of less precise steering.

Can't help as to caliper clearance, maybe the dealer?

Larry Van Wormer

Reply to
Larry Van Wormer

Also, frankly, the speedometer probably wasn't very accurate in the first place if it's anything like my Impreza! When I get a new car I usually find myself having to test it at various speeds with a GPS unit, then remembering roughly what the correction is.

-- Mark

Reply to
Mark T.B. Carroll

Reply to
dnoyeB

Jim, you certainly seem more knowledgeble than some of the other posters which is a good thing. Don't know why anyone was assuming you were going to smaller OD tires but you know what they say about people that ass-u-me.

Don't know about today's offerings but I seem to remember a couple yrs ago non-outback models came with rims that were smaller that the outback. My 00 OBW has 16" rims and I seem to remember my bil 98 model had 15" rims. Don't know what changes have been made to the suspension and/or brakes but unless something has changed, dropping down an inch in rim size shouldn't create a problem. Might want to do some checking then look for a set of used factory rims.

I'm with you on the larger aspect ratio tires offering a softer ride.

Mickey

Reply to
Mickey

I suggest you keep the factory tires for at least

15k miles and see what you think then. Subaru's are pretty stiff from the factory and then they get better with age.
Reply to
Jim Stewart

bumps if I change the tires and wheels to 65 or 70 series and 16 > or 15 inch diameter.

Hi, Jim

What you're suggesting is the reverse of "plus-sizing." If you check someone like tirerack.com, they'll have a discussion of the idea, and should have info on the actual sizes that work to keep the same effective OD (you'd probably want to ask your Subie dealer about any clearance issues w/ brakes and such, though.)

As a rule of thumb, you can figure going UP one cross section size for each step DOWN in aspect ratio. In other words, a 205/65-15 would "plus one" size to a 215/60-16 and "plus two" to a 225/55-17. This isn't perfect, but gives an idea of what's out there.

Since OBWs have had 15, 16 and 17 inch wheels thru the years, I'd guess you can probably find a suitable combo (if the brake/offset issues aren't a problem--a lot of local tire shops sell tons of wheels, and some of the guys have told me sometimes the easiest thing is to just carefully "test mount" a wheel and take a close look.) I'm with you and other posters: your ride should be somewhat better cushioned with "taller" tires (higher aspect ratio), and if some of my friends are to be believed, you might also suffer fewer tire problems if you ever get off the smoothest pavement (as in, "Yeah, those wheels and tires LOOK cool, but every time I run over a matchstick I damage a tire or wheel!") Personally, I'm wondering what marketing genius at Subaru decided to try to sell a "go everywhere" concept with 55 series tires... but then they sell a lot of Escalades w/ 22s around here. Go figure. Subies as bling crowd cars? I don' theen' so, Queeksdraw!

Rick

Reply to
Rick Courtright

Reply to
Jonah

Would 16 inch rims fit the brake rotors/calipers?

Reply to
Ragnar

If you dig around at

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you may be able to determine if there have been any brake component changes since the last model that came with factory 16s. If not, then find someone who would like your 17s and arrange a trade. You might even make a coupla bucks as some folks prefer the looks of 17s more or may be planning a brake upgrade and need the clearance. This group would be a place to post and www,nasioc.com and
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have forums devoted to buying/selling/trading. Also, quite likely someone on those forums has done what you're trying to do - or at least you could have Luke at Tirerack investigate it. He's on the wheel/tire board at nasioc.

Carl

1 Lucky Texan
Reply to
Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Reply to
Tony Burns (permanent dismisse

Maybe he likes the rest of the options and the styling of the car? IN reality "Outback" is actually a trim level, not a car in itself.

16" wheels should fit an Outback, but the tire needs to be the same "rollout" (overall final diameter) as the original to preserve speedometer calibration and gear ratios.

I looked into the same idea for my 2001, as I wanted a tire that I could air down for better sand traction. Also, people frequently purchase full sets of mounted snow tires on steel rims for these cars. Most of the time they go with a smaller rim and higher profiled tire for better snow traction. The stock tires don't have optimal sidwall height for snow / off-pavement traction, regardless of how the car is advertised.

That said, remember that some of the handing differences may come from ride height and possible spring and shock differences from the standard Legacy.

Check with tirerack.com or a real tire shop (not necessarily the Wal-Mart tire dept. ) for actual tire / wheel combinations.

Reply to
Bonehenge

Why don't you take the cars for a ride-one with 17 " and one with 16". I'm reasonably sure that the shocks are matched to each tires aspect ratio to give a decient ride.

Reply to
Edward Hayes

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