I FINALLY GOT A WRX!!!

[wuzup76020]

Hello all,
New to the boards and wanted to introduce my self. Ive wanted a WRX since as long as i can remember. After a year of saving i got the car ive always wanted. Its an 08 WRX with 54K miles. I snatched it for 14K cash
Just wanted to share some pictures and ask some questions as this is my first time owning something of this caliber




It has a few modes to it... the turbo was upgraded to the 11/12 WRX turbo ( i think its a VF52)
Its got a magnaflow cat back and a BOV..Thats pretty much it for the engine, Is their anything else that would benifit mode wise? this is my daily driver. Interior is still stock besides the addition of LCD screens in the back seats for the DVD player and a rather nice digital dynamics audio system with a kenwood face plate... Im pretty sure i got the better end of the deal on this one!

Car is stupid fast...just like i wanted

My questions that i have so far have to do with the rims... The previous owner was not aware that he needed to buy the same size rims all around... so he got 8" wide rims on the front and 9" wide on the back so now everytime (not often) it bottoms out the wheel well is shreading the sidewall of my tire.



Will rolling the fender fix this? anyone ever run 9" wides on the back? Im trying to do this without having to buy new rims...camber kits...anything.

Thanks again in advance and im glad to finally be part of the subaru club!
Matthew

[xFalleNx]

You first off definitely NEED to get a new set of wheels, not just because they're hideous, butyou have to have the same size all the way around with an AWD car.

See:
"With one tire significantly larger or smaller, the differential on that end of the vehicle will think the vehicle is turning -- one wheel rotating faster or slower than the other -- while the rest of the drivetrain thinks the vehicle is traveling straight with all wheels rotating at the same speed. This can put enormous mechanical stress on driveline components and lead to premature failure of expensive components."

Secondly, ditch the BOV, unless for whatever random reason the car is tuned for it. Any idea of any other mods that were on it? The previous owner just slapped on the turbo?

[maus]

You need to ditch those wheels ASAP. Also get a new wife.

[Ruh Roh]

^ what anthony said and do you know if it was tuned when those mods were put on?- as in the bov and the bigger turbo?

[rexxx0486]

Welcome and congrats! Listen to xfalleNx he is giving you good advice.

[xFalleNx]

OP, is the overall diameter of the wheels+tires equal all the way around? That's pretty important.

[wuzup76020]

well thats what gets me... the tires are all the same size... the rim width is not which is why you can kinda see the lip of the rim in that top view picture of my wheel. can i ride out the life of the tire and drive it easy until then since the tires them selves are the same? since i payed it off in cash im kinda in "rebuild the bank roll" mode right now and dont have the 2K+ for new rims at the present moment.

I Dont think it was tuned.. I dont have the stock by pass but i do have the plugs and hardware that take the BOV down to a 50/50 so i will be doing that shortly.

[wuzup76020]

You need to ditch those wheels ASAP. Also get a new wife.

No wife for me My hobbies are too expensive and take up too much time so i usually scare them away
Here is me when im not in my subaru

[xFalleNx]

new wheels and tires will cost you a lot less than replacing the diffs....

I'd try to find a stock bpv asap, and more importantly find out if/how the car was tuned.

[wrxtreme06]

If the car hasn't been tuned and doesn't have the supporting mods required, you need to avoid driving the car until you can get it fully inspected and modded/tuned correctly

[michaelwfox]

I would have the drivetrain inspected honestly. No telling if those WHEELS caused any damage but, like others have said they very well could have.

[Soobvirgin]

In just the second picture I could see something was wrong with those tires. They definitely don't look wide enough for the wheels. Then, the picture looking down on the wheel - holy crap! It doesn't even look like the tire is seated on the wheel fully. Forget mechanical damage, this looks downright dangerous. Combined with the bodywork shredding the tires? I wouldn't drive that to the end of my street!

Congratulations on getting a great car, but you're gonna' need to give this attention ASAP.

[wuzup76020]

Yea im thinking so....Maybe i can find someone that will do a swap with me. I like the rims..but i want whats "right". The car it self drives beautifully. pulls everywhere..corners,brakes, and turns just as you would expect but i do agree with you guys. At this point its only making contact with the tire when the car hit a BIG bump or bottoms out. Ive driven it 500 miles in 3 days and its only happened 2 times as i was "driving the piss out of it" lol

[xFalleNx]

Do you get what we're saying about the tune and the diffs becoming a problem though?

[SD_GR]

The rims do not have to be the same.

The total diameter (Φ) does have to be the same.

Since one set us wider but the tyres are the same size it is not improbable that your Φ is unequal. That would be my only worry. Since there is rubbing now that would only get worse if you fitted taller tyres.

I'd measure to be sure.

People run unequal widths with AWD. Running the wide set up front could reduce understeer for autox, for example. Simpler to sell the wide set and buy two more of the narrower set though.