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View Poll Results: What Color of Wheels for My White '10 2.5i 5-Door?
Blue wheels, yo! 1 50.00%
White all around! 0 0%
Stick with black/grey. 0 0%
Why are you buying wheels for a stock 2.5i? 1 50.00%
Voters: 2. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 09-22-2012, 01:11 AM   #1
Scotthew
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Default [?] New Wheels for '10 2.5i

I'm starting to seriously think about new wheels for my 2010 2.5i Wagon. I just got a promotion, and I think wheels are the perfect way to celebrate!

My stock wheels & tires are 16x6.5+55 w/ 205/55r16. I'm leaning toward switching to 17x7 225/45r17, though maybe as large as 18x8.5 255/35r18 depending on clearance.

How do I determine what widths will fit without issue? Are the wheel wells for the the 2008 body 2.5i, WRX, and STi the same size? The Offset Sticky lists some offset ranges based on width, but does that apply to my '10 2.5i 5-door?

I'm far from a knowledgeable auto enthusiast, so what all do I need to be aware of when up-sizing wheels? I assume there are concerns with wheel weight, bearings, caliper clearance? I want to take a "do no harm" approach.


Secondly, I'd really like to find a nice blue wheel (or black w/ blue accent). Maybe that's tacky, but I think it will look great against my white car. White wheels would be awesome too, but I think it'd be hard to find a match for that off-white Satin Pearl. I'm concerned, however, about painted rims. Will they look like trash in a year or two? Are there any brands you can recommend?

Thanks in advance guys!

Update:
http://i.imgur.com/iBtiz.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/00Ysk.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/4DAbc.jpg
Click thumbnails for full resolution.
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Last edited by Scotthew; 10-07-2012 at 11:44 AM.
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Old 09-22-2012, 12:13 PM   #2
Scotthew
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Here's the wheels I'm considering:

Sparco Assetto Gara 17x7.5" +48 in Painted Blue

With these tires: BFGoodrich g-Force Super Sport A/S

Thoughts?
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Old 09-22-2012, 12:45 PM   #3
sc00by4life
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offset applies to EVERYTHING.

08-10 2.5i and wrx are the same, the sti is not.

i tried the colored wheel route, and then realized 2 weeks later that it didn't look as good as i imagined and was too "loud".

those will fit fine, pick whatever color you want.
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Old 09-23-2012, 08:08 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scotthew View Post
My stock wheels & tires are 16x6.5+55 w/ 205/55r16. I'm leaning toward switching to 17x7 225/45r17, though maybe as large as 18x8.5 255/35r18 depending on clearance.
Go with the 18" setup if you want a terrible ride quality and even slower acceleration than what you already have.
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Old 09-23-2012, 10:16 AM   #5
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Also, all seasons suck.
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Old 09-23-2012, 10:35 AM   #6
Patrick Olsen
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sc00by4life View Post
i tried the colored wheel route, and then realized 2 weeks later that it didn't look as good as i imagined and was too "loud".
I think that's the big thing. Blue will look cool, but will you like it 2 months from now or 2 years from now?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Scotthew View Post
I'm far from a knowledgeable auto enthusiast, so what all do I need to be aware of when up-sizing wheels? I assume there are concerns with wheel weight, bearings, caliper clearance?
Bearings won't be an issue unless you do something incredibly stupid - like install wheels that don't even fit inside the fenders.

Caliper clearance can sometimes be challenging with the Brembos and the old Subaru/FHI 4-pots, but since you don't have those, there's really nothing to worry about. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone post about finding wheels that would not fit over the 2.5i or WRX brakes.

Wheel/tire weight can have a big impact on performance. How big and whether it really matters depends on how sensitive your butt dyno is and what you use the car for. In general terms, heavier is bad, and will adversely impact handling, ride quality, acceleration and braking. This is a pretty good article showing how you can balance the good and bad aspects of upsized wheels. Really cheap wheels are often really heavy, so avoid those and you'll be fine.

You'll typically pick up a few pounds when you upsize wheels, as both the tires and wheels will most likely end up heavier than your stockers. The Sparcos you posted are a pretty typical weight - 19#. There are lighter wheels, and there are wheels that are boat anchors - Tire Rack's wheel "upgrade garage" will let you see that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Scotthew View Post
I'm concerned, however, about painted rims. Will they look like trash in a year or two?
How do your stock wheels look after a few years of use?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Scotthew View Post
Are there any brands you can recommend?
Browse this forum - there are tons of options that will work just fine.

Pat Olsen
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Old 09-23-2012, 10:53 AM   #7
Scotthew
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Counterfit View Post
Also, all seasons suck.
I recognize that all-seasons aren't ideal. However there are practical limitations to having summer and winter sets, such as storage. Short of stacking the wheels in my small studio, I have no where to keep them. I've been running the stock A/S tires for the last 14k miles through two winters without issue.
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Old 09-23-2012, 10:55 AM   #8
Counterfit
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Well, yeah if space is an issue, do what you gotta do.
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Old 09-23-2012, 11:21 AM   #9
Scotthew
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Really great info here Pat. Thanks for the response.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Olsen View Post
I think that's the big thing. Blue will look cool, but will you like it 2 months from now or 2 years from now?
A good point. I'd like to think that if the paint holds up, I'll be just as happy with blue in the long term, but I've never had something that garish on the car.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Olsen View Post
Wheel/tire weight <i>can </i>have a big impact on performance. How big and whether it really matters depends on how sensitive your butt dyno is and what you use the car for. In general terms, heavier is bad, and will adversely impact handling, ride quality, acceleration and braking. <a href="http://www.caranddriver.com/features/effects-of-upsized-wheels-and-tires-tested" target="_blank"><u><font color="Blue">This is a pretty good article</font></u></a> showing how you can balance the good and bad aspects of upsized wheels. Really cheap wheels are often really heavy, so avoid those and you'll be fine.

You'll typically pick up a few pounds when you upsize wheels, as both the tires and wheels will most likely end up heavier than your stockers. The Sparcos you posted are a pretty typical weight - 19#. There are lighter wheels, and there are wheels that are boat anchors - Tire Rack's wheel &amp;quot;upgrade garage&amp;quot; will let you see that.
With those Sparcos I'm considering per Tire Rack:
Stock: 20.2 wheels + 21 tires = 41.2 lbs
Sparco: 19.1 wheels + 24 tires = 43.1 lbs
I'm assuming a 7.6 lbs and 0.4% diameter total increase isn't very substantial, and my economy should barely feel it.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Olsen View Post
How do your stock wheels look after a few years of use?
My stockers look fine still, but they don't have paint that can chip. I need to search for someone with those Sparcos to see how the paint has held up.
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Old 09-23-2012, 11:26 AM   #10
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The main issue with a larger wheel, is that, even when lighter overall, the rim is further away from the center of the wheel, which has a greater negative effect on acceleration than you could offset by small reductions in overall weight.
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Old 09-25-2012, 04:28 AM   #11
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17x8 +42 - +48 with a 235/40 and done
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Old 10-07-2012, 11:42 AM   #12
Scotthew
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Finally made a decision this week. I went with the Sparcos in 17x7.5" with 225/45ZR-17 BFG g-Force Super Sport A/S. I'm really loving them so far. I'll have to post better pictures once I can borrow a real camera.

http://i.imgur.com/iBtiz.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/00Ysk.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/4DAbc.jpg

Click thumbnails for full resolution.
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Old 10-07-2012, 01:21 PM   #13
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Congrats!! they look unique!!! Im picking up the 18" in Red hahahaha
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Old 10-07-2012, 01:41 PM   #14
Scotthew
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Thanks! Make sure to post a pic in the Assetto Gara thread when you get them.

My next step is to either paint or cover the calipers.
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Old 10-07-2012, 02:08 PM   #15
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Nor "or", just paint.
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Old 10-07-2012, 02:20 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Counterfit View Post
Nor "or", just paint.
Covers look bad I gather? I didn't even realize they were an option till my dad mentioned them. It seemed like an easier solution to the unfinished look of
my current calipers. This is what Google came up with: MGP Custom Caliper Covers. A bit spendy for a simple aesthetics upgrade, and I'm not certain they'd even fit.

Painting will probably be both the cheaper and better-looking option regardless.
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Old 10-07-2012, 04:40 PM   #17
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keep those tires rotated and keep your budget ready to replace them sooner rather than later....they WILL start making noises like ya never thought possible in ~10k miles or so
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Old 10-07-2012, 06:10 PM   #18
Counterfit
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I consider caliper covers to be on par with those wheel covers with the fake drilled brake rotor.
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Old 10-08-2012, 04:26 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Counterfit View Post
I consider caliper covers to be on par with those wheel covers with the fake drilled brake rotor.
Soooo... awesome?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Scotthew View Post
Covers look bad I gather? I didn't even realize they were an option till my dad mentioned them. It seemed like an easier solution to the unfinished look of my current calipers.
If you go with the G2 caliper paint (which I highly recommend), it's pretty thick stuff and helps to smooth out the somewhat rough surface texture of the stock calipers. And really, from a few feet away (which is as close as most folks are ever going to get to your calipers), that somewhat rough cast texture isn't going to make any difference.
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