I'm looking to switch out from the stock 17" wheels to a set of 18" on my 2006 WRX Hawkeye (currently standard suspension), with the 18" x 8.5" Rota Force in Gunmetal as my main option after searching around on this forum and seeing what everyone has done in terms of size and fitment.

This is how the size will change from stock:



Based on these numbers, should the wheel fit fine and will not scrub? Are there any recommendations in terms of tyre size? I would also be looking to install some pedders suspension in the future which will lower the ride high by around 3cm. Help and advice would be much appreciated as i've never purchased aftermarket wheels before and want to get it right and not have any issues.

Cheers.

 

Ive got these on my 06 hawk, same size 18x8.5 but running 225/40's rather then 235's, car sits 30mm lower on Tein coilovers and have no issues

 

Would you think that 235s would rub with your setup? Do you have a picture of how your wheels look fitment wise? did you need to roll the arches or anything?

 

Do you still have standard suspension or coilovers? Is your car lowered?

I ran 18" 8.75" wide wheels with 225 40 prfile tyres on my hawk WRX with no issues at all. Mine was lowered quite a lot of Tein S Tech springs on standard struts and I had to fit camber bolts all round to dial the camber in and get them to tuck in.

You'll struggle to accommodate 235 tyres, stick with 225 tyres.

I now run the same wheels and same setup but using coilovers on my FSTI and it's soooo much better.

 

My car is currently standard suspension with the view to get pedders suspension or BC coilovers the future for a 3cm or so drop. Are there any safety issues running 225 tyres on 8.5" wide wheels, is there any stretch? The car is my daily driver so i don't want to have any risk of tyre issues.

 

No safety issues running that tyre on an 8.5" wheel. It's actually just inside the legal guidelines for tyre sizes on wheels. It will have a slight stretch, but nothing major. You simply won't fit a bigger tyre on there without running arch extensions or silly camber to avoid rubbing.

My subarus are all my daily drivers and I've run this combo for years now without issue. Pic of my last hawk.



You may wish to get your suspension lowered before you buy new wheels. Nice wheels on high vehicles just look odd.

 

Cheers, thanks for the advice guys. I will go for sorting the suspension first as it's something i've been wanting to sort as the ride quality isn't great at the moment, it's a bit bouncy at times on the original 12 year old shocks and springs. Great to know what tyres sizes to run too, it will take away the head scratching when i pull the trigger on some new wheels.

 

MNA24, what website did you use to find all that information regarding fitment etc? I'm in the same boat as you. Hawkeye WRX and was going to go springs and 18". I cant afford coilovers at the moment and don't like how high my car sits. Think i'm going to go Tein lowering springs but not sure what size 18" alloys to go.

 

The website I used is https://www.willtheyfit.com. I thought about getting springs to lower but my suspension is 12 year old original parts and lowering springs can wear out your shocks faster so I'm just going to replace the bang lot with either Pedders suspension or BC coilovers. I cant afford any form of suspension at the moment but I'm going to save a decent chunk of cash to get some early next year hopefully. PayPal Credit offers 4 months 0% APR credit on purchases over £150 which helps me spread the cost of parts as well.

 

 

Not yet, although I've been doing a little more research and will be going for 18x7.5 Steel Grey Rota GRA when the time comes, as I'll be able to put a more standard tyre on without any stretch and not worry about clearance issues or rubbing. I prefer the look of these wheels as well, bit more smart.