Tire size and Lug nuts

[CorSVXette]

I finally got myself a nice set of silver BBS rims off an 05 WRX STI.:D I am sure there are threads out there for this question but the search tool is not the best so I am going to ask again.
1. What is the size of the tire I can put on them without them rubbing?
2. The best all season tire?
3. What about the lug nuts? I thought I remembered reading something about the stock lugs for the SVX will work but the washer will rattle? Can I get the stock lugs off the WRX STI? Will they work? Are the threads the same?

[JaySVX]

They're the 17's right? I'd say 245/40/17 would be good size.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Pilot+Exalto+A%2FS
That's a good rated tire. Personally though, I'm going to be going for summer tires on mine, but if i wanted all season, I'd go by the ratings at tirerack.com, as they're pretty good. You could go 225/45/17 with those tires as they don't come in 245's.

[CorSVXette]

Yea. I am gussing they are 17's. They were off an 05 WRX STI. I don't know much about tire sizes. What do those numbers mean? I understand that 17 is the rims size but what about the other numbers? What is the difference lets say between 245 and 225's? Between 40 and 45?

[JaySVX]

225 and 245 are the width of the tire. 40 and 45 are percentages of the width that calculates the size of the sidewall. therefor 225/40 and 245/40 would have a different height sidewall.

Here's a calculator:
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
The stock size is 225/50/16

[subiedo]

I also acquired a set of STI BBS wheels and decided on the 225/45/17 Pirelli P-Zero Nero M&S as an appropriate tire. In spite of the M&S rating, I'd hesitate to endorse them for winter & snow situations so they're my late spring through fall set-up. Just my opinion but a 245 felt like overkill for general driving & they'll price out higher for relatively little traction gain.

[CorSVXette]

I guess what I am trying to figure out is what size can I put on those rims without it rubbing? Right now I am running 235/45 on a 17 in. rim and it is rubbing in the rear, so I need to go down to a 225 tire correct? What I want to do is try to fill the wheel well with tire and not rub. By the way, that link is pretty cool. By going with the 225/45 17's my spedo is only .3 mph off. So if I go with the 225/45 17 will that fill my wheel well up enough and not rub? Also, as I stated in my first thread and nobody has answered it yet, what about the lug nuts? Can I get the stock WRX lugs from Subaru? From what I think I read somewhere before that the stock SVX lugs will not work with these STI rims correct? Will the stock WRX ones work?

[GreenMarine]

Honestly you are going to want to keep atleast a profile of atleast 45 on the tires... If I were buying some then personally I'd go for what the 2005 STi tire size is (235/45/17)... Or possibly 245/45/17... A profile of 40 or below starts to present problems if the person installing the tires isn't good with low profile tires... They can scratch up your wheels and all sorts of nasty stuff... That happened to me when I was getting 225/45/17's installed... But that was because the installer was a douche bag n00b... Seriously though... Just remember that the rim width is 8" not 7.5" like stock... So the smallest tire size you'd want to do is a 225/45/17 and the largest would be 245/45/17...

Good luck deciding :)

~ Chris

[CorSVXette]

Thanks for your input Chris. If I want to keep my spedo accurate I should stay with the 225's they only throw my spedo off by 3 tenths. ( 60mph to 60.3 mph). Any ideas on the lug nuts?

[Crazy_pilot]

I have the gold STi rims on my car with 245/40/17 General Exclaim UHP's on them. I absolutely love them. As for lug nuts, the stock ones work, but will rattle because of the washers, and look kind of silly. Get a set of chamfered 12x1.25 chrome nuts, or a set of tuner nuts. Regular chrome ones aren't expensive, tuners can set you back a good penny.

[CorSVXette]

Thanks Chris. I don't really know what "tuner nuts" are. but what do you think about the stock lugs from the WRX? I thought they may work because that is what the rims came off of. Just not sure if the threads are the same.

[Crazy_pilot]

Yup, the stock WRX or STi nuts should be fine, all Subaru's share the same stud thread. Just make sure the nuts are long enough to go all the way down over the studs, stock SVX nuts are fairly long, and most other Subie's have much shorter ones.

These are "tuner" nuts:

http://www.corsportusa.com/store/catalog/images/gor-21132bc_w.jpg

They are "spline drive" typically, not your regular hex type thing. That small tool is need to install/remove them. The only real advantage is that you can get them in very lightweight alloys. Oh, and they look cool. I might get black ones eventually.

[CorSVXette]

Thanks for the picture. I have those on my car now! I bought the car with a set of aftermarket rims and those are the same lug nuts I have on there now. At least I think they are because I have tu use that tool to get them on and off. The only thing I am not sure about is the chamfered size. Any way to tell?

[Crazy_pilot]

Those should work fine with the STi wheels. Pull one off and put it against the lug nut hole of the new wheel and you will be able to tell if they fit. The chamfer angle is fairly universal, so as long as they're not flat on the end against the wheel it should all be good.

[kwren]

I have the gold STi rims on my car with 245/40/17 General Exclaim UHP's on them. I absolutely love them. As for lug nuts, the stock ones work, but will rattle because of the washers, and look kind of silly. Get a set of chamfered 12x1.25 chrome nuts, or a set of tuner nuts. Regular chrome ones aren't expensive, tuners can set you back a good penny.

is perfect!