SoNiCa

I'm doing a conversion on a MY98 car still looking best and cheap way to do this.

Ordered and payed;
Advan RZ 5X114.3 18X8.0J ET37 wheels
5X114.3 Front and Rear 356mm Brake kit

Wheels will be 28mm wider from the fender side and 2mm wider from the suspension side according to my calculations. I have JIC coilovers on my car now and thinking of -1.5/-2 negative cambering and using 225/40/18 tires.

Of course I will need a fender work for rubbing issues but I'll keep the fender work at minumum. I'm sure cutting inside lip of the fender will not be necassary so rolling the fender a bit outside may be required. (i dont like widebody kits on 4door cars so not thinking either of them)

I'm also planning STI 6 SPD conversion but as far as I'm aware STI axles are 15mm longer than the stock 5 SPD axles so that will make the problem worst. I want to use 3.4 or 3.9 final drive for an optimum gear ratio for my 550 hp street car.

I really need practical ideas to keep the cost down because its getting expensive and expensive

Plan 1

Advan RZ 5X114.3 18X8.0J ET37 wheels
5X114.3 Front and Rear 356mm Brake kit
225/40/18 tires
05 STI hubs only(nor sure if i need the knuckles)

Q: ABS sensors, E-Brake,Bearing housing may need modification?

Plan 2

Advan RZ 5X114.3 18X8.0J ET37 wheels
5X114.3 Front and Rear 356mm Brake kit
225/40/18 tires
05 STi 5x114.3 Hub Conversion Kit (1200 usd)
6 Gun Racing - Subaru Racing Products and Services

Plan 3

Advan RZ 5X114.3 18X8.0J ET37 wheels
5X114.3 Front and Rear 356mm Brake kit
225/40/18 tires
Full 6SPD transmission
R160 RA diff

Q: Axles are 15mm longer, final drive ratio?

Plan 4

Sell everything cancel project


Plan 4 seems good but i want to make this conversion so really need every kind of opinions. May car is around 360 hp but I aim max 550 hp for the late future so i'm thinking a 6spd in any case.

Cheers

SoNiCa

Any ideas?

SoNiCa

I love this forum!

james-wrx

Geat isn't it ! LoL

speedydaveb

iTrader: (1)

Probably because there are too many questions to answer in one post!

I have a classic with 205/40/17" STi v7 wheels on it and it is running 1°30' camber on the rears and it has been rubbing on the strut on one side (KYB AGX dampers if that makes any difference).

When I bought the wheels they came with the bugeye std tyres (RE040's) 215(?)/45/17" and they rubbed the rear arches and rubbed the inner wings at the front on full lock, the 205/40/17" tyres clear front and back.

Basically IMO I think your tyres are going to rub the inner wing at the front and the struts at the back.

No idea about 6 speed boxes, it's not something I've considered due to cost.

You'll probably need a R180 diff and driveshafts to fit the MY05 STi hubs if they are like the bugeye STi hubs, or at least the outer part of the driveshafts. Also adjustable camber bolts to get the alignment set back up right.

APIDavid

iTrader: (4)

GC8 cars don't suit 18 inch wheels.

David APi

Agents for Simtek, the most exciting new Ecu for years

SoNiCa

That was not the question.



AFAIK, V7 STI uses 8.0J ET52 wheels so when compared to the GC8, there is 13mm differences from both inside/outside.(26mm total) I especially went for ET37 offset thus the clearance from stut housing to the inside of the wheel will be 2mm MORE on my car BUT it will extend 28mm from the outside. A fender work will be done in anycase. I'll try fender roller first.If not fender flares.. If not widebody..

By the way wheel diameter is not the issue. If you are able to find 18 INCH X 7.0J ET52 wheels they will fit on GC8 without any rubbing problems.

STI 6SPD ratios are too short for my goals thats why I want to keep R160 3.9 diff. on my car. I would rather building PPG internals on my tranmission case but this time MY98 trans. case is the weakest point. So I asked if it is possible to fit R160 on a 6SPD. Sure someone should have done this in here.

Anyway, tranmission is the second part of this project. First I need to fit these 5x114 wheels and 5x114 big brakes with standart axles. I believe GC8 axles are thinner but STI hubs are in larger diameter. I cant sort out this problem by fabricating but not sure about the abs sensors and hand brake.

APIDavid

iTrader: (4)

[quote=SoNiCa;7900215]That was not the question.


BUT, it is fundamental to your conversion. GC8's don't feel at all right on 18 inch wheels.

If it is too late because you have bought them, then it is too late. But given a choice stick with 17's.

Then most of your clearance worries etc., will go away.

David

SoNiCa

That was not the answer than.

Saying "GC8 cars don't suit 18 inch wheels" is not informative. I'm not sure how this would effect the car dynamics and car geometry but I'm not worriying about clearance at all.

It is the hub conversion that I'm looking for more information. Hand brake, ABS sensors and axles is the problems to solve at the moment..

Thanks anyway.

banny sti

iTrader: (68)

The JDM sti 6 spd box has a 3.9 final drive, so yes you can retain your diff.

Banny

Saxito VTR

V7 = 7,5 x 17" ET53

StickyMicky

you are going to have to do more then roll the arches on the rear to fit them wheels !!

here is why

et35 offset 18" wheels on mine



you would need to do some of that "vip style" camber mods to get them under IMO

here is another pic

the front wings are NOT standerd in this picture which is why they were not modded (do-luck front fenders, but they still catch when reversing on full lock lol)

StickyMicky

ps. you can fit a widebody to a 4dr car and get them looking reasonably standard looking, most people don't even realize mine is a widebody car until its parked next to a stock version

SoNiCa

Everything is clear and under my control =)

18" X 8.0J X ET37 Advan RZ
235/40/18 Bridgestone S03 tires
5x114 =)



I think my calculations were right. There is no rubbing at all. Even 2 person sits in the rear. Front camber is around -1.15 and rears are -1.0. Coilovers are in full soft (7/5 kg). I just only rolled the rear fenders with a fender roller. Its in the standart height for now but I'm gonna reduce the height in this week and give more negative camber. Car feels allright, no vibrations, no abnormal noise etc..

GC8

Some people cant be helped.

SoNiCa

Yes I agree. Some people likes to lead their own way.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...n/DSC_0079.jpg

APIDavid

iTrader: (4)

See, here's the problem, those wheel arches are all wrinkly now. No professional company such as us or the 'Clinic or whoever could do that to a customers car and have the job accepted.

It can be done and when done as a private job that you do yourself, you can leave the arches all wrinkly, safe in the knowledge that it hasn't cost much.

David APi

SoNiCa

David

Fenders are not "wrinkly" at all. The arch is as smooth as the stock arch. Some non-professional garages here have some tool named "eastwood, fender roller". which makes the job as smooth as possible. And these non professional garage are also able to fabricate custom 5.114 wheel hubs from the right materials.


This is not a private job and we didnt touched the front fenders. 18" wheels suits GC8 cars without any hassle. You dont even need to roll your fenders.