I have the following vehicles and tire/wheel sizes:
'02 Subaru Legacy L wagon: 205/60R15 (15" wheel) = 24.7" x 8.1" '92 Subaru Legacy L wagon: 195/65R14 (14" wheel) = 24" x 7.7" (tire dimensions found at
I will be scrapping the '92 Subaru but would like to keep any parts that can be used in the '02 Subaru, like the tires. I recently replaced the battery in the '92 so I'll check if that can fit into the '02 whose battery needs replacing (too weak for cold winter starts). The difference in width is 0.4" less for my old tires and the difference in height would be 0.7".
I'm wondering if I can use the 14-inch, 5-lug wheels from the '92 in place of the 15-inch, 5-lugs wheels on the '02. Would there be a problem with clearance with, say, the caliper, rotor, or brake hose? Since the smaller 14-inch wheels would rotate more for the same distance travelled by 15-inch wheels, the speedometer would be off (faster). The odometer might also be off (faster counting) with the smaller wheels. The smaller tire at the same pressure will have a higher rolling resistance so mileage will go down; however, it would take many miles at reduced mileage for an increase in fuel cost to offset the cost for a complete set of tires. I'm primarily concerned with fit. Would 14-inch wheels in place for a vehicle spec'ed with 15-inch wheels have fit or use problems?
All the tire sites list 15-inch wheels and tires for the '02 Subaru but the '92 Subaru's 14-inch tires have almost no wear. They were bought and soon after the car got stored. I'm going to scrap the '92. So I'd like to its tires on my newer Subaru when its current set of tires eventually need replacing. I'll keep the 15-inch wheels and put new
205/60R15 tires on them when the next time comes to again replace all tires. The tires themselves probably pose no problem but maybe the smaller 14" wheels put on a car that comes with 15" wheels might encounter a problem with fit or clearance and perhaps alignment or load angle problems.