hey, can anyone tell me if I can use 15 or even 16 inch wheels on my legacy wagon or will that cause problems? I have 14's on now, but need to get winter tires and was thinking i could avoid the typical undercarriage damage i get from driving over snow by putting larger wheels on and thus raising the clearance. does this make any sense? thanks for your help, SK
short answer: yes.
longer answer: As long as it fits.
longest answer: If you're looking to increase ground clearance by going to a taller wheel/tire combo, you don't have to change wheel size, you can just change aspect ratio. (a 205/75-15 is the same width as a 205/60-15 but a lot taller.) If you don't know how to read tire sizes, wander over to
After all that, I honestly don't know what's the maximum size tires you can squeeze on a Legacy, and a lot of shops won't mount anything but the stock size either.
I'm thinking probably one size up than what would come on an Outback is about the max size without rubbing.
Ray
thanks for your help Ray!
news wrote:
You'd have to shell extra dough for Outback or Outback zerosport or get a suspension kit to raise your legacy. If those exist they are probably rare.
If the replacement tires are too wide won't they rub on the wheel well covers at the extreme positions of the steering wheel (while doing the parking lot nirvana). What that could do eventually is to destroy the fasteners for the covers and expose the wires. You don't want that to happen.
Going for 15 or 16" wheels to get good rubber choices is sane. To increase the ground clearance I don't think so. If I were you I'd get 15 or 16" for summer rubber and keep destroying the legacy with 14"s in winter.
You know... I had the same idea, I have a 93 Leagcy LS wagon. I found that this works for me. I have 205/55/16 on my wagon and they look great! work great. You will feel a lttle difference in the handling, but I actually found that having the wider tires handled alot better on the highway. Be carefull not to go wider as you will start to rub the inner wheel skirt if you go even one step wider than 205. I also have the "air ride" shocks which lifts my car a little in the winter for more clearance, but the should work for you.
Good luck!
Harley
Body Roll wrote:
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